Chapter 2
Eli's question broke something inside me.
Why didn't you come find me?
I wanted to tell him I hadn't known.
I wanted to tell him no one had told me he existed.
I wanted to explain nine years of silence, returned letters, unanswered birthdays, and nights when I wondered whether my little sister ever thought about me.
But Eli wasn't asking about my pain.
He was a child who had been alone for days.
So I forced myself to breathe.
“I didn't know where you were.”
He stared at me.
“You knew my mom?”
“Yes.”
“She talked about you.”
My heart squeezed.
“What did she say?”
“That you made pancakes shaped like animals.”
A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.
Lily used to complain that my pancakes looked like roadkill.
“She remembered that?”
Eli nodded.
“She said yours were ugly.”
I started crying.
Noah looked confused.
“Mom, why are you laughing?”
“Because that sounds exactly like her.”
I wiped my face.
Then I stood.
“Both of you, inside.”
Eli immediately stiffened.
“I can't.”
“Yes, you can.”
“My dad might come back.”
That brought reality crashing in again.
“What's your father's name?”
“Scott.”
“Scott what?”
“Mercer.”
I didn't recognize it.
“Where did he leave you?”
“The bus station.”
I stared at him.
“He told you to wait at the bus station?”
Eli nodded.
“He said he had to get money.”
“When?”
He thought.
“Sunday.”
It was Thursday.
I felt sick.
“And you left the station?”
“The security man said I couldn't stay.”
“So you walked here?”
He nodded.
“Why here?”
His eyes moved to the photograph.
“Mom wrote your address.”
My skin prickled.
The address on the back was my current home.
I had only lived here for three years.
Which meant Lily had known where I was.
Recently.
That single realization hurt almost more than everything else.
I brought Eli inside.
He stopped in the entryway as though afraid to touch anything.
Noah immediately opened the pantry.
“Can he have crackers?”
“Yes.”
“Cookies?”
“Yes.”
“Ice cream?”
“No.”
Noah frowned.
“Why not?”
“Because I'm still your mother.”
For the first time, Eli smiled.
A real one.
It made him look even more like Lily.
My husband, Ben, was still at work.
I called him first.
He answered on the second ring.
“Everything okay?”
“No.”
My voice shook.
“I need you home.”
“What happened?”
“I found Lily's son.”
Silence.
Ben knew the whole story.
He had been there through years of confusion.
He had held me when my letters were returned.
He had watched me cry on Lily's birthday.
Finally, he said, “I'm leaving now.”
My next call was harder.
My mother.
Margaret answered cheerfully.
“Claire, sweetheart.”
“Mom.”
Something in my voice changed hers instantly.
“What happened?”
“Did Lily have a child?”
Silence.
Not confusion.
Silence.
My stomach dropped.
“Mom?”
“Why are you asking me that?”
I gripped the phone.
“Answer me.”
Another pause.
Then she whispered, “Where are you?”
I almost laughed.
“You know.”
“Claire—”
“Did Lily have a son?”
“Yes.”
The room seemed to tilt.
I sat down.
Noah and Eli were at the kitchen table sharing crackers.
I lowered my voice.
“You knew.”
My mother started crying immediately.
“It's complicated.”
“No.”
I stood again.
“Don't say that.”
“Please let me explain.”
“You told me Lily disappeared.”
“She did.”
“You told me she wanted no contact.”
“She said terrible things when she left.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
My mother went quiet.
“Did you know about Eli?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Since he was born.”
Eight years.
My own mother had known I had a nephew for eight years.
I pressed my fist against my mouth.
“Why?”
“Claire, Lily was unstable.”
“What does that mean?”
“She made bad decisions.”
“Having a child?”
“No.”
My mother's voice sharpened.
“Running away with Scott. Refusing help. Making accusations.”
“What accusations?”
“Things that weren't true.”
“What things?”
She hesitated.
My anger grew.
“Mom.”
“Where is the boy?”
I went still.
“How did you know he was a boy?”
Silence.
She had revealed too much.
“You knew.”
“Claire—”
“You knew something happened to him.”
“No.”
“Then why aren't you surprised he's here?”
“I am surprised.”
“You don't sound surprised.”
She began speaking quickly.
“Listen to me. Scott is dangerous. If Eli is with you, call the police.”
That terrified me.
“What did Scott do?”
“He has a temper.”
“And you let Lily stay with him?”
“She chose him.”
My jaw clenched.
“You always say that.”
“What?”
“She chose.”
My voice broke.
“You use that sentence every time you want to avoid responsibility.”
My mother's breathing changed.
“Don't speak to me like that.”
“Then stop lying to me.”
Noah looked toward me.
I turned away so he wouldn't see my face.
“Where is Lily?”
My mother didn't answer.
“Mom.”
“I don't know.”
“Is she alive?”
“I believe so.”
My knees weakened.
“You believe?”
“She stopped contacting me months ago.”
“You were in contact?”
Silence again.
Every answer opened another wound.
“You told me she never contacted anyone.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“From my own sister?”
“From chaos.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Where was she living?”
“Claire—”
“Where?”
“Riverside.”
That was less than two hours away.
Nine years.
My sister had been less than two hours away.
“Do you have an address?”
“I had one.”
“Send it.”
“I don't think—”
“Send it.”
My voice came out colder than I had ever heard it.
“If you don't send me every address, phone number, message, and piece of information you have about Lily within ten minutes, I will drive to your house and take your phone apart myself.”
She gasped.
I didn't care.
“Ten minutes.”
I hung up.
Ben arrived fifteen minutes later.
He stepped into the kitchen and froze when he saw Eli.
Eli looked up nervously.
Ben looked at me.
“Oh my God.”
“I know.”
Ben crouched.
“Hey, buddy. I'm Ben.”
Eli nodded.
Noah immediately said, “He's my cousin.”
Ben looked at me.
The word cousin made everything suddenly real.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“He is.”
Ben's expression hardened when I explained what Scott had done.
“We're calling the police.”
Eli panicked.
“No!”
Ben sat beside him.
“Not because you're in trouble.”
“They'll take me away.”
I knelt.
“You're staying with us tonight.”
I didn't know if I could legally promise that.
I promised anyway.
“You're my family.”
His eyes filled.
Then my phone buzzed.
My mother had finally sent screenshots.
Old messages.
Addresses.
Photographs.
One message from Lily was dated only three months earlier.
I opened it.
My hands shook as I read.
Mom, please tell Claire I need her. Scott is getting worse. If anything happens, Eli knows where to go.
Below it was my mother's reply.
Stop dragging Claire into your problems. She has her own family now.
I couldn't breathe.
Ben read over my shoulder.
His face turned white with anger.
There was another message.
From Lily.
Please. At least give her my number.
My mother's response was only three words.
Leave Claire alone.
I stared at the screen.
For nine years, I had believed my sister had rejected me.
Now I knew the truth.
May you like
She had been trying to reach me.
And my own mother had stood between us.
