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“Mom’s sleeping, okay, buddy? I’ll turn on the cartoons and make you Pop-Tarts.”
He nodded as he was still not fully in the land of the living. I turned on the television and grabbed the house phone and dialed Mellie’s number. There was no answer. It was Saturday, and she normally took Deacon to his softball practice.
Shit. What was I going to do? I couldn’t take Eli with me to the medical center. That would lead to too many questions, and besides, he didn’t need to see Mom like that.
Before I knew what I was doing, I’d jogged into my bedroom, found my cell phone, and scrolled to Becca’s number.
It was a bad idea. A really bad idea.
But what choice did I have?
CHAPTER5
BECCA
I rolledover and fumbled for my cell phone, desperate to put a stop to the incessant beeping.
“Hello?” I murmured.
“Becca?”
“Ugh, goodbye, Evan.” My finger hovered over end call, but he rushed out, “Wait! Something happened, and Eli…”
I bolted upright, the sleep haze immediately lifted. “Is he okay? What happened?”
“He’s fine. Eli’s fine. It’s my mom.”
Of course, it was.
“I don’t have anyone to watch him while I take her to the medical center. I don’t want him to see her like—”
“I’ll be right over.”
“Thank you.” His voice cracked, and for a second, I forgot he’d hurt me and pictured him with Eli. Evan, the protector.
Throwing off the comforter, I quickly washed up, brushed my teeth, and pulled on some jeans and a shirt. It was only eight thirty, so I grabbed a beanie and yanked it over my bedhead.
“Becca, where on earth do you think you’re going? It’s not even nine yet.” Mom stopped in her tracks on the way back to her room from the bathroom.
“I… uh, I have a thing.”
“A thing?”
“Yeah, Mom, it’s no big deal. I’ll be back later.” I jogged down the stairs, ignoring her stare of disapproval.Grabbing my jacket, I unhooked my key off the rack.
Leaving the house, I had a million scenarios running through my head. I’d seen Ellen drunk. She’d had a mean tongue and used Eli against Evan. Had something like that happened again? It must be bad for him to have called me. I was angry at him but how could I say no? It was Eli—an innocent child who didn’t understand what was going on around him. I could do this for him—for Evan—without things getting weird.
It took me ten minutes to get to their house. My hands trembled, matching the churning in my stomach, as I feared what I might find when I arrived.
Evan answered the door, his face ashen.
“Is she okay?”
“She’s pretty beat up.”
Beat up?The words were on the tip of my tongue, but then a little voice shouted, “Yay, Becca’s here.”
Eli ran straight past his brother and launched himself at me, wrapping his little arms around my hips.
