Chapter 2

The next morning I go see Mom. I mention the surgery date, casual as I can.

Her whole body tenses.

"Did something happen? With Drew?"

"I didn't say anything weird, baby. Don't let others find out we're related. It'll look bad for him."

She actually glances around the room like someone might be listening.

I follow her eyes. The cramped six-bed ward. The thin curtain barely pulled around her cot. The woman two beds over moaning in her sleep.

My throat closes up.

The day Mom got admitted, Drew sat me down with that calm doctor voice.

"It's fine if she comes to my hospital. But no one can know she's your mom. You know how many people are gunning for my spot. I can't be seen pulling strings."

So she got dumped in a six-bed ward.

She knows he's picky about food, so she brought fresh vegetables from her garden. But he let them rot on the counter.

I swallow hard and force a smile.

"Don't worry, Mom. I'm getting you moved to a private room this week."

In the hallway I lean against the wall and wipe my face.

Then I look up and freeze.

Drew and Sienna are walking toward me. Laughing. His hand on the small of her back.

The second they see me, they spring apart and start fake-bickering like they always do.

Sienna loops her arm through mine.

"Sloane! Babe, I ate something bad, came to get checked out. I was just about to go say hi to your mom."

I'm so trained to care about her, the words come automatic.

"Are you okay?"

She nods sweetly.

"Drew was a lifesaver. Personally examined me and everything."

Drew shrugs. "If it weren't for Sloane, you think I'd make an exception?"

I stiffen.

"Then can you make one for my mom? Move her into a private room?"

Drew's eyes are still on Sienna, soft and entertained. They cool the second they land on me.

"That's different, Sloane. How would it look to the other patients?"

I laugh under my breath.

He can publicly run a stomach exam on Sienna. But my mom has to stay invisible.

I don't fight him. I just pull my arm out of Sienna's grip and walk away.

She calls after me. I walk faster.

She keeps calling. I'm almost at the elevator when I hear it—

A loud thud. Then a scream.

I stop. I turn around.

Drew is already crouched on the floor, scooping Sienna into his arms. His face is white with panic. He doesn't even try to hide it.

I follow them to the exam room because I don't know what else to do.

Drew is running around like she's bleeding out. I step forward to help roll up her pant leg.

"Get out," he snaps. "You're in the way."

My hand stops mid-air. I let it drop.

I stand in the hallway for twenty minutes. When he finally comes out, his jaw is locked.

"She tore a ligament when she fell."

I exhale. "Okay. As long as she's all right."

Drew rips off his gloves and throws them in the trash.

"All right? You think everyone's as lazy as you? How is she supposed to play now?"

"What is wrong with you today? You throw a fit at home, you throw a fit in public—"

I stare at him. I open my mouth to say she's the one who chased me down.

But he's looking at me like I'm something stupid. Something exhausting.

Every word I had dies in my throat.

From inside the exam room, Sienna calls my name, soft and pitiful.

I start to go in. Drew grabs my arm.

He pulls out a tissue and gently—gently—wipes a tear I didn't know I'd cried.

Then he says it.

"Don't let her feel sorry for you and take your side. You're not a child anymore."

He turns toward the exam room, already done with me. Two steps in, he realizes I'm not following.

"What are you standing there for?" he asks.

I look up at him.

"Drew. Let's break up."