Page 14 of No More Words

“Be right back.”

She gets the food and divvies out their burgers and fries. Aside from a few complimentary grunts from Josh, they eat in relative silence. Josh devours his cheeseburger. Olivia picks at her fries, wondering if this is the first meal he’s eaten today. Her phone pings with a text to rate her Dasher and she gets an idea.

“Have you called your mom to let her know you’re here?”

He shakes his head.

“Do you have a phone on you?”

He bites into a fry and shakes his head again.

That’s unfortunate.

“Here. Use mine.” She slides her phone across the table. “Give her a call. She must be worried.” Lily ran away because she wanted to keep her baby. Either Josh ran away on his own, or something happened to her so they were separated. Otherwise Olivia imagines Lily wouldn’t let Josh from her sight, not with his condition.

He stares at her phone.

“Go ahead,” she encourages. She taps the screen, prompting him to act.

He frowns and Olivia tilts her head. “Do you know her number? You know, her phone ... number.” She slows the pace of her words but his frown deepens.

“Yes,” he says.

“Great! Call her.” She inches the phone closer.

He digs into his cheeseburger in no apparent rush to call. All right. She’ll try another tactic. She picks up the phone. “Give me her number. I’ll call her.”

He sends her an empty look, so she mimes dialing and talking on the phone. She looks at him expectantly. “What ... is ... your ... mom’s ... number?”

He sets down his burger and counts on his fingers. His mouth forms shapes. She watches, dumbstruck he has difficulty with numbers, too. “Five ... nine ...” He stops. His hands drop. He stares at his food.

“And?” she prompts.

He averts his face. His expression is tight but it doesn’t stop his chin from quivering.

“Josh,” she says, trying not to sound intimidating. “Did you forget her number?”

He stares at the floor. She taps the corner of her phone against her chin. He might not remember Lily’s number, but the fact he tried to give it to her so she could call tells her Lily isn’t dead. Otherwise, why would he bother?

She wants to melt with relief onto the table. “Where is she?”

He shrugs.

“Can you tell me then why you’re here? How did you find me? Who was that woman who dropped you off?”

Josh presses his lips tighter after each question until they’ve lost all color.

Her own frustration mounts. How can she help him if he doesn’t at least try to answer her? “Josh—”

“No.”

“Look—”

“No!” He covers his ears and squeezes his eyes shut. “No, no, no.”

“Okay, okay. No more questions.” Her heart races up her throat, anxiety rising with it, heightening her fear that something terrible has happened to Lily.

Leaning back in her chair, she glances at the microwave clock. It’s late. He’s tired, and she has work to do. With any luck Lily will be here by morning, or Josh will come around. He’ll tell her what happened. Otherwise she’s calling the police. Or Lucas. Someone is bound to know what’s going on.

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