Then he got back into the SUV.
“Mom?” I said, moving toward them.
Linda looked at me from behind the open window. Her sunglasses covered her eyes. “Maybe this will teach you not to ruin everyone’s vacation, Erin.”
Mason stuck his head out from the back seat and smiled. “Let’s see if she can handle it!”
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Brooke laughed so hard the camera trembled.
The SUV began to move.
At first, I did not chase them. I waited to see the brake lights. I waited for Richard to stop, back up, jump out laughing, and admit it had all been a prank. But the red lights vanished around the curve. Heat pressed hard against my face. The desert fell quiet except for the buzz of insects in the brush.
My phone had no battery. My water bottle was still inside the SUV. In my backpack, I had two T-shirts, a paperback book, and one granola bar smashed into crumbs.
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By the time the sun went down, I understood something cold and final: they were not coming back that day.
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