Chapter 2
Amanda stared at the device in my hand like it was alive.
“Give that to me,” she said.
Her voice was different now.
Thin.
Careful.
I closed my fingers around it.
“No.”
Her eyes snapped to mine.
“What did you say?”
I swallowed.
My throat felt tight.
But Lily was standing in the hallway crying, and the chicken was still on her plate, and my noodles were getting cold in front of me.
I said it again.
“No.”
Amanda stepped toward me.
“Ethan, that belongs to your father.”
“Dad gave it to me.”
“And now I’m telling you to hand it over.”
Lily ran back and stood beside my chair.
“Don’t take it.”
Amanda turned on her.
“Lily, upstairs. Now.”
“No.”
Amanda looked shocked.
Lily had never said no like that before.
Neither had I.
Maybe courage is catching.
Maybe little kids pass it back and forth when grown-ups are cruel.
Amanda reached for the device.
I slid off my chair and backed away.
The red light kept blinking.
“What is it?” Lily whispered.
“I don’t know,” I said.
That was true.
I only knew Dad had looked serious when he gave it to me.
Amanda forced a laugh.
“You two are being ridiculous. It’s probably just a tracker. Your father worries too much.”
But her eyes kept moving to the red light.
Then we heard a sound from the device.
A tiny click.
Amanda stopped breathing.
A voice came through.
Static first.
Then Dad.
“Ethan?”
My whole body went still.
“Dad?”
Amanda lunged.
I screamed and held the device against my chest.
Lily threw herself between us.
“Don’t touch him!”
Amanda grabbed Lily by the shoulders and moved her aside.
Not hard enough to knock her down.
But hard enough that Lily cried out.
Dad’s voice came again, louder now.
“Amanda?”
The kitchen went silent.
Amanda’s hand froze inches from me.
Dad’s voice changed.
Cold.
“What is happening in my house?”
Amanda straightened.
“David, this is not what it sounds like.”
I had never heard Dad speak the way he did next.
“Where is Ethan’s lunch?”
Amanda looked at my bowl.
Then at the table.
Then at Lily’s full plate.
I heard Dad breathe through the device.
“Answer me.”
“He has lunch.”
“Why does he have noodles while you and Lily have the meal I ordered for both children?”
My eyes widened.
Dad had ordered it?
Amanda closed her eyes.
Lily whispered, “Daddy?”
Dad’s voice softened immediately.
“I’m here, sweetheart. Are you okay?”
Lily burst into tears.
“Mom said Ethan isn’t my real brother.”
There was a long silence.
Then Dad said, “Ethan, buddy, listen to me. Take Lily and go to the front porch. Right now.”
Amanda snapped, “No.”
Dad’s voice turned sharp.
“Amanda, step away from my children.”
My children.
Not my child.
Not Ethan and your daughter.
My children.
Lily grabbed my hand.
We ran.
Amanda followed us into the hallway.
“Stop this right now.”
I opened the front door.
Cold air hit my face.
Lily and I stepped onto the porch, still holding hands.
Across the street, Mrs. Keller looked up from watering her plants.
Dad spoke through the device.
“Mrs. Keller, if you can hear me, please go to my porch.”
Amanda cursed under her breath.
Mrs. Keller dropped the hose.
Within seconds, she crossed the street.
She saw our faces.
Then she looked at Amanda standing behind us.
“What happened?”
Amanda smiled.
That soft fake smile.
“Nothing. The children are acting out.”
The device made another sound.
Dad said, “Mrs. Keller, I’m on my way home. Please stay with Ethan and Lily until I get there. I am calling the police.”
Amanda’s smile died.
“The police?” she said.
Mrs. Keller stepped between us and Amanda.
“Yes,” she said. “I think that’s a good idea.”
Amanda looked at me then.
May you like
Really looked.
For the first time, she understood I was not alone anymore.
