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checked the number. Nicole.
    “Don’t freak out, but I just—”
    “Nicole!” I couldn’t help raising my voice. Sometimes she could be so exasperating. I hadn’t even gotten home yet, and she was already drilling me.
    “Wait, Al, listen – it’s your mother. Gram and Pop had to take her to the hospital. She’ll be okay, but she needed to get stitches.”
    My heart stuttered in my chest. “Stitches? What happened?”
    “I don’t really know. Mom just said she had an episode during dinner and was banging on the window...and the glass broke.”
    I looked over and Ethan met my eyes curiously.
    “We’re almost home, meet me there.” I clicked my phone shut and leaned my head against the back of the seat. “My mom broke a window with her hand. She needs stitches.”
    I looked over at Ethan, expecting to see pity, but, thankfully he just nodded and kept driving.
    “Do you want me to take you to the hospital?” he asked, his voice gentle.
    “You don’t mind?”
    Ethan clenched his jaw, and I looked away. “Of course I don’t mind. You should probably text Nicole and let her know, though.”

    We drove the rest of the way in silence, a million feelings—namely guilt—running through my mind. I should have been there. I should never have gone out. But what would it have mattered if I was there? Would I have been able to help? Oh god, did Liam show up again? I was starting to hyperventilate.
    Ethan placed a hand on my knee as he parked the car, and for once, my heart rate slowed rather than raced. “She’ll be okay,” he said.
    I nodded, and then we hurried into the emergency department, scanning the crowded lobby. I didn’t see my grandparents anywhere, so I headed to the Triage station where a middle-aged woman was typing something into the computer. She didn’t even look up when I arrived. I bounced on the balls of my feet for a second, waiting for her to greet me. Finally, I coughed to get her attention.
    She glanced up at me. “Can I help you?” she asked, her voice nasally.
    “Yes, my mother is here—Elizabeth O’Malley. I need to know where I can find her.”
    “Just a minute.” She yawned and typed a few strokes into her keyboard.
    I looked over at Ethan to find him watching me, his expression anxious. As I turned my attention back to the woman at the desk, I saw Pop walking toward us, carrying two coffees.
    “Thanks, I’m all set,” I said to the receptionist. She returned my gaze with a bland expression.
    “Allison, what are you doing here?” Pop asked, glancing between me and Ethan.
    “Nic called and said you had to bring Mom in for stitches, so Ethan drove me over. How is she? Is she okay?”
    He smiled tiredly. “She’ll be fine. Twelve stitches in her left hand. Those darn birds in the yard were making an awful racket. She was really upset.” Pop shook his head and motioned for us to follow him.
    “Al, do you want me to take off?” Ethan asked. “I can stay if you want me to.”
    I looked at him. “You can go. I’ll be fine.”
    He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked out the huge glass window in the lobby. “Okay, well, let me know if you need anything.”
    I smiled and nodded. “Thanks for bringing me, Ethan. I owe you.”
    The corner of his mouth lifted. That was a look I recognized. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Gram was sitting at the table with a clipboard when I walked into the kitchen the next morning, remaking the chart that kept track of my mother’s medication schedule. She now had to add painkillers to the anti-psychotic drugs she already took daily.
    I watched my grandmother fill in the sheet, whispering to herself about the dosages and medication names. I wondered, not for the first time, if I’d actually be able to handle the medications and care of my mother on my own.
    I pulled my hair back into a ponytail. I had to work the ten o’clock shift at the hardware store. My grandfather wasn’t working that morning, but I didn’t see him around