The disappointment was crushing. I tried to put on a brave face as I straightened. It wasn't Ethan's fault; he'd really tried to find her.
“Hey,” he said as he drew me away from the nurse's desk. “It's okay. This isn't over. It's just a set back.”
“Yeah. You're right,” I nodded. I fought not to cry.
Ethan held open his arms. I stepped closer and he wrapped me in a hug. I wasn't going to cry all over him. But I let him hug me.
“It's not over,” Ethan promised. “I will not stop looking. We will find her.”
I nodded into his shirt. Which I was not crying into.
He looked around the ward over my shoulders. He patted my back and hummed for a moment.
“She was here for a while,” he said. “Maybe one of the other patients saw something. Let's look around. Talk to them. Maybe there's something.”
