As soon as the door is open, I prop it with my foot and dragthe rest of my stuff inside. “Sweet of you to help your sisterout. What did you do all day? Did you ever go to the bodega toget—”
I stand up and turn around.
Like, not just of people. But of everything.
The suitcases I set on the bed, the cash I placed on the TVstand, and the sister I left on the dingy chair by the window…all gone.
“Elise?” I call out even though I know she won’t answer.
Panic thrums through me, vibrating until I’m sure I’ll fallapart.
She ran away. I was afraid of it in Oklahoma City, but wherewas she going to go? She’d be easy to spot. But a fourteen-year-old loose in New York City?
“God, I’ll never find her.”
My stomach is bottoming out. I’ve only fel
