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“I will.” I rested my hand on the dividing door, then left.
Even though the sun had set over an hour ago, the night was pleasantly warm. But there was no time to enjoy it: I was on a mission. I clutched the test bag in my hand and hurried across the plaza, then down an alley toward the test site.
During the walk, I thought about what I would tell the people there. I had stolen the test. They might know that I shouldn’t have it, that there was no way I could have administered it away from the testing site.
Then again, I doubted they would ask any questions. They were swamped earlier today and probably wouldn’t have time to worry about the details. They would take the plastic bag and toss it in the pile with the other tests that had been administered.
I was a block away from the testing plaza when I came across two police officers, chatting quietly while looking at their phones.
I stopped out of instinct, and considered hiding. But one of them had already seen me. He said something to his partner, who also looked down the street in my direction. A flashlight clicked on and they approached me.
“Test,” I said, holding up the bag. “I have to take this to the testing site.”
One of the cops shook his head and pointed back the way I had come. I recognized him as the same cop who had caught us twice already. And based on the look in his eyes, he recognized me too.
“This isn’t like the other times,” I said with a nervous laugh. “I’m just dropping this off at the test site. It’s right over there, around the corner. It will only take me a minute…”
The other cop barked an order at me in Italian. His hand drifted down to his hip, unclipping something from his belt. His handcuffs.
The other cop said something, and the only word I caught wasstazione. It sounded like station.
Police station.
They’re going to arrest me, I realized in horror.
My legs moved without thought.
I darted between the cops and sprinted toward the testing site. Shouts followed me but I could barely hear them over the sound of my breathing, constricted by the mask. My feet pounded on the cobblestones and the plastic bag swung at my side as I ran down the street, turned left, then ran some more.
The drab tents of the site were up ahead. There was a line, but if I could run around it and drop the bag off at the front…
A body slammed into me from behind, knocking the wind out of me as arms wrapped around my chest and dragged me to the ground, sending Donovan’s test flying. I cried out as the bag slid across the cobblestones and came to a stop underneath a bench.
“The test!” I cried out. “Please, just give me the test, I need to turn it in, they’re waiting for itright there!”
I felt cold metal snap onto my wrist behind my back. One of the cops growled something like a curse.
“Stop,” I begged as he dragged me to my feet. Tears ran down my cheeks and were absorbed by the fabric of my mask, the mask I had borrowed from Donovan, the man waiting for me at home. “Please stop, just let me turn in the test. I need to turn it in for Donovan. He’ssick.”
I let out a wail of anguish as they dragged me away, leaving the test underneath the bench.
44
Donovan
The Day Without Molly
Everything was a blur.
I slept, and woke, and drank some Gatorade, and then slept again.
I didn’t want to get out of bed. I was more fatigued than I had ever been in my life. I barely had enough energy to walk to the bathroom. Even the simple motion of bending over to wash my hands in the sink left me feeling lightheaded and weak.
My dreams were vivid. First Molly and I were in a big empty room, tearing walls down with sledgehammers and then painting the remains green. She leaped high into the air and clung to a chandelier while spaghetti sauce dripped out of her pockets onto a big plate of pasta.
Then Molly and I were carrying trays full of white dishes, more dishes than I had ever seen in my life, acartoonishamount of dishes stacked high and wobbling this way and that like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Molly weaved between tables and chairs while balancing the tray of dishes, and then she tripped and fell! But as she crashed to the ground, the dishes flew in all directions and landed at all the tables in the room, one in front of every person who was seated and waiting. None of them broke, and everyone clapped like it was some sort of magic trick.
Then I was sick again, lying in bed and too nauseous to eat. Molly took my plate and wolfed food into her mouth and made a joke about how if I couldn’t eat, then she would have to eat enough for two.
