Lily’s mom pulled her close in a hug. “Lily, we’re going to get some dinner downstairs in the cafeteria.”
“Thanks. I’ll stay here. One of Josh’s friends is coming over to the hospital in a little while. We’ll grab something to eat near here,” Lily said.
“A friend? I didn’t know you knew anyone here.”
Lily didn’t say anything. No way could she explain. Like she’d really be able to tell her mom she was waiting for Peter, a kid who was flying in from Seattle. Not just to see Josh. But he had to get into Josh’s laptop. After that … she’d arranged it all with Sam … Chicago was now their meeting place.
Lily worked out a plan to present to her mother. She had a good argument for staying in Chicago until Josh recovered. All her schoolwork could be done on-line. She’d stay with Josh’s family. She’d be able to visit him in the hospital.
Of course she wouldn’t be doing any of that. Josh’s recovery totally depended on her real plan. After Peter had a chance to download the data on Josh’s hard drive, they would leave. She and Peter would go with Sam. They had to look for Josh in a place that didn’t even exist yet. Not for another 2000 years.