“I think you need to go. Don’t leave a little boy stranded. That would be
 
 terrible.”
 
 “His teachers know. They’re going to wait with him until I get there
 
 since I’d be late.”
 
 “You had better leave then. He’s probably worried about his mom and
 
 his mom is probably worried about him.”
 
 “I hate hospitals,” Taylor muttered. “I imagine Adriana isn’t fond of
 
 them either.” She turned but turned back around just as fast. Her mouth
 
 opened, but clearly she had too much on her mind and it was getting tangled
 
 and not coming out.
 
 “It’s alright. Go. I’ll look after her. I know you really don’t like me. I
 
 know that we’ve clashed about this place and about my company’s
 
 involvement in it. I know that— well— I know there are things that you
 
 can’t stand about me, but right now, you don’t really have a choice and I
 
 give you my word that Chloe will be just fine.”
 
 Taylor’s face scrunched up. She jammed her hands into her pockets, her
 
 face a riot of mixed emotion, but finally nodded again. This time when she
 
 turned, she kept walking in the right direction.
 
 Christina’s promise weighed heavily on her. She knew that she’d keep
 
 Chloe safe, like she said, but as to whether Chloe would be happy about it,
 
 she had no idea. She hoped that the little girl wouldn’t be too upset to wake
 
 up and find that her mom wasn’t there. Christina wasn’t sure if she could
 
 deal with a little kid meltdown. Christina inhaled deeply and glanced down
 
 at the mass of dark hair pressed into her ribcage. That warm sensation
 
 stayed with her.
 
 “Somehow you’re stuck with me for another few hours at least. Hope
 
 you’re okay with that,” she whispered.
 
 Chloe went right on sleeping. Christina picked up her tablet, exited out
 
 of the app she was working on her art in, and instead got the internet up and
 
 running. Hopefully, there was a crash course on childcare that she could