Page 101 of This Love
Gram’s shaky finger pointed to the whiteboard.
Ava’s name had been hastily wiped through.
Gram sank onto the bed. “That poor girl.”
“Stay with the baby. I’m going to get security. Maybe she’s wandering around.”
The confused nurse pushed the bassinet inside. “Is everything all right?” Her eyes grew wide as she took in the room.
I didn’t have time to explain things to her. I needed to find Kenisha or Jennifer. They knew what she looked like and what had happened. Hopefully, they could help me find Ava before she got too far.
I paused for a moment, glancing around. “Where did you leave our bag?”
Gram gestured toward the corner. “Over there. The bag was on top of the scrapbook. They’re both gone.”
I stared at the empty corner. She must have tried on her clothes and figured out they were hers. Then, she left with everything. A terrifying mystery to solve. A dead panic.
Our new family was already in peril.
Chapter 40
Ava
The halls went on and on. There were so many people. Anyone could be looking for me. Anyone could be Mom.
I kept my head down and didn’t meet anyone’s gaze. Finally, I reached a big open section with a glass rail. Far below was the ground, with more people walking around.
Something dinged behind me. Wide doors opened. People went in and out. Arrows pointed up and down. My brain whirred. Then the word arrived. Elevator.
I raced inside as it closed. The doors bumped my bag and opened again.
Come on. Close. Close. Close!
Three other people were inside. One held a big vase full of red flowers. The other two stood close together. They paid no attention to me. I was still safe.
The elevator went down, down. My stomach felt strange, like it was lifting inside my body.
Then the doors opened to noise and a different type of air.
Here, people walked in every direction. There were so many smells. I didn’t know what any of them were, but they made my stomach rumble.
I walked swiftly to the middle of the space. I looked up and could see all the floors, including the one where I came from. I dashed away. I couldn’t have anyone see me from up there! Someone there knew my name. They had written it on the board for anyone to find, including Mom.
Mom was bad.
The sun blasted through enormous windows, a whole wall of them. I headed that way. People walked through doors that slid open by themselves. I rushed toward them and burst out to the other side.
The sky opened wide. It was pleasantly warm outdoors. I clutched my bag and walked along the sidewalk. There were cars everywhere, rows and rows of them. Did I have one here somewhere? I sensed I could open a door and sit behind one of the wheels. But I couldn’t picture what to do. And I had no way of knowing which one might be mine.
I walked for a while, the big hospital building far behind me, when my body started to hurt in several places. The back of my hand where the blood came out. The purple bruise near my eye.
And between my legs. Down there, it hurt more and more until I couldn’t walk anymore. It hurt too much.
A bench ahead had a lone man sitting on it. I collapsed onto the other end, pressing the bag tight to my belly. The pain eased some but throbbed in a steady rhythm.
A hospital was for sick people.
Maybe I shouldn’t have left. I could see the big building in the distance. I could go back.
