“I’m not leaving until you do.”
“Fine. But stay here.” Finn pushed away from the car and marched back toward the house, glancing over her shoulder to glare at her sister.
“I will,” Zadie muttered, watching Finn sit down in the driveway and pointedly turn so she was no longer facing her. After a moment, her sister reclined so that she was lying flat on her back on the concrete.
“This is insane.” Zadie looked up at the house and into the windowof her old bedroom. She used to run to it anytime she heard a car pull into the driveway, ever hopeful that it was some boy who’d come to woo her. She wondered who lived in that room now, and prayed to whatever God would listen that whoever it was didn’t look out the window to see the strange girl splayed out in their driveway.
She looked back at Finn, who as far as she could tell hadn’t moved since she’d lain down.She’s probably asleep,Zadie thought, yawning herself. It was almost two in the morning. Just that knowledge alone made her want to shut her eyes.
Zadie didn’t remember the clock turning three, and yet the neon green digits on her dash read3:17.I must have dozed off,she thought, blinking heavily. Her eyes darted from the clock to her sister, who was no longer in the driveway but was standing on the front stoop with one hand on the doorknob.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Zadie was wide awake now. As quietly as she could, she opened her car door and padded across the lawn. “Finn!” she hissed and grabbed her sister’s arm. “What are you doing?”
Just then the porch lights blinked on. “Shit! Finn, come on. We gotta go.” But Finn couldn’t hear her, and by the far-off look in her eyes, it was clear she didn’t see her, either. Zadie could hear noises coming from inside the house. She didn’t have time to wait until Finn came out of the echo on her own, and she didn’t have the strength to drag her back to the car, so she did the only thing she could think of in the moment: shove her sister up against the brick wall of the house and flatten herself next to her. Finn let out a small gasp as the impact woke her from her trance, so Zadie clamped her hand over her sister’s mouth to silence her.
The front door swung toward their hiding spot and a beam of light stretched over the lawn. Zadie held her breath as she waited for whoever was behind the door to step into the light and discoverthem lurking in the shadows. Several throat-tightening seconds passed. Then the door closed and the porch light clicked off, plunging the sisters back into darkness.
Zadie hazarded a step in the direction of the car when Finn whispered, “She didn’t have a choice.”
“What?”
“Mom. She didn’t want to leave, but she had to. I just saw it.”
Zadie nervously glanced back at the front door. “Can we talk about this later?”
“I watched her walk out the door and get in her car. I watched her drive away. She was sad. Really sad.” Even in the dark, Zadie could see tears collecting in her sister’s eyes. “I never really believed she left on purpose, but now I’m sure of it.”
Zadie didn’t think Finn’s echo proved anything. Did she believe her mom was sad about abandoning her kids? Yes. Only a complete monster wouldn’t be in that situation. But she still left, and Zadie had no interest in revisiting the issue. Not now. Not while they were trespassing on private property.
“You can tell me more about it in the car. Come on.” Finn let Zadie lead her away from the house and into the station wagon. “Where’d you park?” Zadie asked, not seeing any other cars parked on the street.
“On Brushwood. I didn’t want to draw attention from the neighbors.”
Zadie nodded and put the car into drive. As they pulled up behind Kathy’s maroon SUV, Finn said, “There’s something else. Remember that compass Mom used to hang around her rearview mirror?”
“Yeah.”
“In my echo it was pointing west.”
“Okay…” Zadie had expected more to the story. “Is that it?”
“Well, yeah, but—” Finn paused and shook her head. “Wait. No. You don’t get to make me feel bad about this. I finally have a clue. Arealclue.” A second later, Finn was outside and slamming the car door behind her.
“Finn. Wait…” Zadie followed her sister to the driver’s side of the SUV. It was then that she noticed the bags in the back seat. “So that was your plan? To drive off without telling anyone where you’re going?”
“That’sstillthe plan,” Finn said defiantly, one hand on the steering wheel.
Zadie groaned. She loved her sister, but her obstinance was infuriating. “You’re seventeen! Do you even have any money?”
“I have a few thousand saved up, plus graduation checks.”
“I can’t let you do this alone. It’s dangerous.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. I’ll tell Mom you said hi.” Finn tried closing the door, but Zadie braced it with her elbow.
“What are you doing?” Finn said, exasperated.
“Just… give me a minute.” Zadie looked out at the road that was only faintly visible by moonlight, a road to nowhere. She was silent for a few moments—at least from Finn’s perspective. In Zadie’s mind, a lot was being said.