name was Grace or something like that.â
âHer name is Brianna now. Grace is an old-lady name.â
âSo now what?â Justin said. âDo you have some kind of plan or are we just going to drive around forever?â
I didnât like the snarky sound in his voice.
âOf course I have a plan,â I said. âYou think Iâm stupid? Weâre going to Montreal. Why do you think I told you to turn right back there?â
âIâm not driving all the way to Montreal,â Justin said.
âWell, we canât exactly stay around here, can we?â I said. Sometimes he was so stunned.
âYeah, but why Montreal?â
âBecause itâs a big place. No one will find us there.â
âAll you told me was you wanted to see her. You didnât say anything about taking her, about going to Montreal.â
I reached over and squeezed his leg. âIâm sorry, okay? I just didnât know if youâd help me if I told you what I was going to do.â
âI wouldnât have.â
âSee? Thatâs why I didnât tell you.â
Justin made a growling sound in the back of his throat. He reached for the radio. I grabbed his hand. âNo, you canât put that on,â I said. âYouâll wake the baby.â
Justin yanked his hand away and held it up between us. âDonât talk to me, Evie,â he said.
That was fine with me. We drove in silence for a while, just the headlights of the truck shining through the darkness. Then I heard a whimper from the car seat. The babyâs little face was twistedinto a frown and she was waving her arms, her two tiny hands clenched into fists. I leaned over to tuck the blanket around her a bit better, but she started crying. For a little baby she was loud.
The truck zigzagged on the road. âChrist, Evie,â Justin said. âDo something. I almost went in the ditch.â
âSheâs just hungry,â I said. I reached for my backpack on the floor. Iâd brought everything I figured Brianna would needâbottles, diapers, blankets. I gave the bottle of formula a shake and took the cap off. âHere, sweetie,â I said, putting the nipple in her mouth. She sucked on it for a minute, then made a sour face and spit the nipple back out again, crying even louder than before.
âWhy doesnât she want it? â Justin said.
âI donât know,â I snapped. âMaybe sheâs not hungry. Maybe her diaperâs wet or something.â I slid my hand partway under Briannaâs backside. Her sleeper thingy didnât feel wet, and the diaperdidnât seem very squishy. I stuck the bottle in her open mouth again. She barely drank any before she spit it out, and she turned her face away when I tried again. And she kept on doing that. Sheâd take maybe one drink and then spit out the nipple and cry again. Over and over.
Chapter Three
âJustin, you have to pull over,â I said finally. He didnât hear me. I leaned across the seat and whacked his arm with the back of my hand. âPull over,â I said again.
âWhat for?â
âI wanna burp her.â
âSo? Do it.â
âI have to take her out of the seat, asshole,â I said, shouting so heâd hear me over Briannaâs crying. âJust pull over.â
Justin puffed out his cheeks and then let out a breath. âFine,â he grumbled through clenched teeth. He slowed down, pulled over onto the gravel side of the road and put the truck in park. Then he turned off the ignition, grabbed the keys and got out. I heard him swearing under his breath.
Brianna was still hollering. Her face was all red and wrinkly and her eyes were squeezed shut. Geez, how could someone so small make so much noise? The sound made my stomach into a big, hard knot.
I lifted her out of the seat. She was heavier than Iâd thought and hard to hold with her arms and legs going all
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