As soon as I’ve taken Jack to school, I start searching for Megan again. Tess gives me the name and number of the person Justin was supposed to be staying with the night before.

When I call, it’s a teenage boy who answers. “Hello?”

“Hi. My name’s Tom. I’m looking for Justin.”

“He just left.”

“He was there last night?”

“Yup. Here all night.”

“Do you know where he is now?”

“No idea.”

“Thanks.”

I hang up, frustrated. My last shred of hope has been extinguished. At least if Megan had been with Justin, she wouldn’t have been alone.

With no more leads to go on, the only thing I can do is drive around. I go from place to place, asking everyone if they’ve seen her. She’s not in any of the coffee shops or restaurants. I don’t find her at the park or gym. No luck at the cinema or mall.

That worry inside me grows. My lungs constrict. If Megan is missing, Laura will never forgive me. I’ll never forgive myself. I should have watched her closer. I should have cared more.

Zoe was right.

When I’ve spent three hours driving around, I head to the police station. I go up to the desk and give the officer the case details. “She’s still not come home,” I tell her. “The boyfriend’s story checks out. She’s nowhere to be found.”

“Sir, we’re following procedure,” the woman vows. “We’ve had officers looking for her.”

“It’s not enough. We need to start investigating.”

“If we have cause to believe any harm has or could come to her, that’s exactly what we’ll do. Right now, the most likely scenario is that she’s run away.”

“She’s been away all night without telling us where she is. Isn’t that enough to consider that harm might come to her? It’s freezing outside. What if she’s been on the streets?”

“If anybody was taken to the hospital with Megan’s description, we’d know about it. Sir, the best thing you can do is wait at home in case she comes back. Keep your cell fully charged. We will contact you if we find anything at all. If she’s not found by this evening, we’ll be more than willing to discuss this further.”

I leave, furious. Why don’t they care? I’m shocked when I realize Zoe’s words are echoing through my own mind. I understand why she was upset last night.

I start thinking through all my options if Megan isn’t found today. She’ll be on the front page of every publication I own. I’ll call in every favor until she’s home.

My cell starts to vibrate in my pocket. I pick it up, expecting it to be Zoe checking in. Maybe she’s forgiven me.

I can’t believe my eyes when I see it’s Megan calling. I almost drop my Bluetooth in my rush to answer. “Megan?”

She’s crying. “Uncle Tom?”

“Where are you? Are you okay? Where have you been? Jesus, Megan, I’ve been worried sick.”

Megan’s sobbing on the line. I realize that raising my voice is doing no good, so I lower it to a level volume, and speak in a gentler tone. “What’s going on, kiddo? We’ve been looking for you.”

“I was with Justin, but we got in a fight, and now he’s gone.”

“Where are you now?”

She hesitates, then stammers out the truth. “Boston?”

My heart drops to my stomach. “You’re in Massachusetts?”

She cries some more. “Please don’t tell my mom or Aunt Zoe. I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right. Calm down. I’ll come and get you. Where are you specifically?”

“I’m at a motel. The Ramada.”

“What’s the address?”

She reels it off, and I write it down.

“Are you still in the room?”

Her sobbing intensifies. “No. Check-out was two hours ago. I’m stuck in the lobby.”

“Do you have enough money to book another room?”

“No. My card’s maxed out.”

“I’m going to transfer some money over. I want you to book another room, and stay there until I get there. Order room service. Get yourself some lunch. Whatever you need. Stay put. I’m coming.”

“Thanks, Uncle Tom. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s all right, Megan. I’m on my way.” I open my laptop and immediately transfer a couple hundred dollars to Megan’s account. Then I call Zoe.

She answers on the first ring. “Tom! Any news?”

“I know where she is.”

“Thank God. Where is she?”

“She was with Justin. Don’t worry. I’m going to get her now.”

“I’m going to kill that boy.”

“Tess is going to be hearing about it, don’t you worry. I wish I knew the kid who lied to me on the phone. You can relax now. She’s safe, and will be home tonight.”

“Tom?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you, and I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

“For the things I said last night. I was scared, and I took it out on you.”

“No, you were right. I was cold. It took me a bit longer than you for the panic to kick in, but when it did, it was intense. I don’t blame you for calling me out.”

“We’ll talk tonight.”

“We should. We might be a bit late getting in, but don’t worry. Oh, that reminds me. Can you pick up Jack?”

“Of course. How far are you going? Where was she?”

“It doesn’t matter. She’s safe. That’s all. Look, I have to go. I’ll see you when we get in.”

“Thanks, Tom. Bye.”

I’m still outside the police station. I step back in and sheepishly explain what’s happened.

The officer smiles knowingly but doesn’t gloat. “I’m glad she’s turned up safe. I’ll take her off the system.”

“Thank you.”

I get back in my car, fill up with gas, and begin the two-hour journey to Massachusetts.

* * *

I pull up outside the Ramada and call Megan on my cell. Two minutes later, she appears at the entrance, and timidly opens the car door and climbs in.

Keeping my emotions in check, I raise my eyebrows. “Quite the adventure you went on last night. Want to talk about it?”

“No.”

I take a moment to look Megan over before I set off. Her eyes are tear-stained, and her clothes are a bit disheveled—probably from sleeping in them. But other than that, she looks unharmed.

“Are you okay?” I ask her. “Are you hurt?”

“No, Uncle Tom. I’m fine. I just want to go home.”

I look at her more carefully. Her skin is gray, and she has one arm wrapped around her middle like she feels sick.

I recognize that look. “Hungover?”

She looks up guiltily. She doesn’t answer, but her face says it all.

“Did they serve you alcohol in there?” I’m ready to get out the car and give them a piece of my mind.

Megan shakes her head, and shuts her eyes, leaning back against the headrest. “No. Justin took a bottle of vodka from home.”

My grip tightens on the steering wheel as I step on the gas. “Let me get this right: Justin steals you away in the middle of the night, drives you out of state, gets you drunk enough to be hungover the next day, then leaves you stranded alone at a motel?”

She starts sobbing. “I know. Fucking bastard.”

“Language.”

Half a smile emerges through the tears. “Uncle Tom, you’re learning.”

I hold in my own smile. This situation is too serious to joke about. “This isn’t funny, Megan. What happened last night was very serious. We went to the police.”

She winces at the thought and gazes down at her lap. “I’m really sorry.”

“What were you thinking?”

“It was Justin’s idea.”

“What was he planning?”

“He said we should go to New York.”

“I could have taken you to New York and put you up in a penthouse. I sure as hell wouldn’t have left you at the Boston Ramada.”

Megan falls against the car door, kicking off her boots and curling her feet up under her. She looks exhausted and emotionally drained.

“Why did you want to go to New York?”

She chokes up when she tries to answer. “I don’t know. I wanted to get away. I know you think I’m stupid and selfish.”

I glance over at her. “That’s what they said about me when I left for New York.”

Megan looks up at me. She seems surprised that her clueless Uncle Tom might be the one to understand.

“I left because I didn’t feel good enough for my family. I thought it would be better if I went away, but it made everything worse. When my dad got sick, I didn’t think it was right to go back. It would start up all those old arguments; rub salt in the wounds. So, I stayed away. Then my mom got ill, and I knew she would never forgive me for not being there when my dad died, so I stayed away again. Then your dad passed away—”

“And you stayed away.” Megan finishes my sentence and sits up a little straighter. She’s looking at me intently, hanging onto my words.

“The thing is, Megan, running away doesn’t solve the problem. A lot of the time, it makes it worse. Take it from me.”

“Justin convinced me. He made me worry about what was going to happen.”

“Then what?”

“I started getting nervous once we crossed state lines. I started thinking about Mom in the hospital.”

“Did you ask him to turn around?”

“No.”

“So, you got as far as Boston?”

“Yes. We booked into the motel.”

“You drank.”

She bites down on her lip. I see a couple of tears spill. “Yes.”

“And then?”

“I got emotional. I couldn’t stop thinking about Mom and the fact that I was abandoning her. I started thinking about how worried Aunt Zoe would be. I realized that I was making a mistake. I told Justin I wanted to go home.”

“What did he do?”

“He got mad that we drove all the way there, and now I wanted to go home. He told me I was drunk, and that I should sleep it off. He said if I still wanted to leave in the morning, he’d take me back.”

“And that didn’t happen?”

She shakes her head. “In the morning, I told him I still wanted to go home. He flipped out and said his mom would kill him if he went back now. He said he’d already planned somewhere for us to stay in New York. I told him I didn’t care. I wanted to go home. He said he was going to New York, whether I wanted to go or not.”

“And he left you there?”

“I told him to fuck off.”

“I’m proud you stood your ground, but you understand that you put yourself in a very dangerous position going off with him like that. Underage drinking? You realize the kind of serious trouble you could get in if you were caught?”

“Please don’t tell my mom. Please don’t tell Aunt Zoe.”

“What about Justin’s mother? She thinks he’s staying with a friend. You can be damned sure I’m going to tell her the truth. When she realizes that Justin is gone, she’s going to be worried sick.”

“I know where he’s planning on going. I’ll tell her exactly where he is.”

“I’ll think about it. This is very serious, Megan.”

She’s crying again. “I know. I knew it was stupid as soon as we set off. I don’t know what I was thinking. Everything with Mom was too much. I had to get away.”

“You’re going through a super tough time right now.”

Megan wipes her eyes with her sleeve. “I really thought she was going to die. I had this sudden fear that me and Jack were going to have nobody left. Dad’s gone. Grandma can’t look after us. What would happen? Justin convinced me that it was better to leave on my own terms then get shoved into the foster system.”

“You know your aunt Zoe would never let that happen. And, maybe you don’t believe me, but I would never let that happen.” I glance over at her. “I mean that, Megan. No matter what happens to your mom, you’re going to have a home at the end of it, with Zoe or with me.”