“I tried to stop her,” Ethan said. “But she was determined.”
“So you went with her.”
“I couldn’t let her go alone, Mom.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
He swallowed.
“I promised Lily I wouldn’t tell anyone where we were. She thought if people found us, they’d send her back.”
“And today?”
“I thought if the police saw me, they’d find her.”
I thought about the jacket.
“What about that old man?”
Ethan looked embarrassed.
“I gave him the jacket and asked him to tell me if anyone ever asked about it.”
“Why?”
He hesitated.
“I thought… maybe someday you’d recognize it.”
“You wanted me to find you.”
“Maybe,” he admitted softly. “I didn’t want you to think I was gone forever.”
A few days later, the police found Lily.
After speaking with her privately, they opened an investigation. Her stepfather was removed from the home, and Lily was placed somewhere safe.
For the first time in a long time, she could breathe without fear.
A few weeks later, I stood in my living room watching Ethan and Lily sitting on the couch together.
They were watching a movie, sharing a bowl of popcorn.
They looked like ordinary teenagers.
For nearly a year, I believed my son had vanished from the world.
But he hadn’t disappeared.