“I just don’t think I can.”

“Of course you can. It’s easy. We just walk out the door.”

“No, but my parents. My whole family… They’ll kill me when they find out.”

“Fine, Maggie, whatever. But whether you’re coming or not, I’m still going.”

“Tonia!”

“I can’t leave her alone in the hospital while all this is going on.”

“She’s not alone; she has doctors and nurses.”

“I’ve been calling and calling, and I can’t get one helpful person on the phone. Twice they picked up, but all I heard was “umm sorry we’re busy.” They were just watching TV! I could hear it in the background!”

“That’s not their fault. Everyone’s watching TV right now.”

“That’s not the point. Look, I need to be with her. Just in case anything happens.”

“What do you think will happen? They undid it, didn’t they? He’s not controlling her anymore.

“I don’t know. I just have to go.”

“Tonia, you can’t.”

“If you’re coming with me, let’s go.”

“…”

“Okay, then. Well, I’m leaving,” Tonia opened the door to exit Maggie’s bedroom.

“Wait. Fine,” Maggie grunted a sigh of surrender and Tonia pushed the door closed. “I can’t believe I’m actually agreeing to this, but fine. I’ll go with you.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. But we have to go quickly before I see sense and change my mind. Oh my goodness, I will be in so much trouble.”

“Don’t think about that. Think about Annora.”

“Yes. We’re doing it for Annora.”

“That’s my girl. So how should we get there?”

“We can take my brother’s moped.”

“Do you know how to drive it?”

“I don’t have a licence, but yeah. Oh my goodness, what if I get caught by the police, driving without a license?” Maggie rubbed her eyes vigorously.

“It’s okay,” Tonia soothed. “We’re going to be fine.”

Maggie took a deep breath. “You get to work printing out directions, and I’ll write my parents a note.”