I rushed to her, holding her tightly as she cried into my shoulder, her body shaking.
“I’m here,” I whispered. “I’m here.”
She clung to me like she thought I might disappear too.
When she finally calmed down, I checked her carefully.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head. “I was thirsty… and it was hot.”
“I waited,” she whispered. “I thought they were coming back.”
The nurse explained.
Lucy had been found alone in a parked car. A stranger noticed her crying and called for help. Emergency services got her out and brought her in.
“How long was she in there?” I asked.
“We’re still confirming,” the nurse said. “But not a short time.”
Not short.
A police officer arrived.
He asked where I had been. I told him—at work. That Lucy had been with my parents and sister.
“And the car?” he asked.
“I loaned it to them.”
“Did you give permission for her to be left alone inside it?”
“No,” I said immediately.
Never.
Back in the room, Lucy looked at me.
“Am I in trouble?” she asked quietly.
