CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
The first time Riley knocked on Jilly’s door, she received no reply. She glanced back at April and Gabriela then knocked again.
This time Jilly’s voice called out …
“Leave me alone.”
Riley’s anxiety was rising by the second.
This isn’t going to be easy, she thought.
She called through the door, “This is your mother.”
After a short silence, she heard Jilly say …
“You can come in.”
As Riley opened the door and stepped inside, she saw that Jilly was sitting in bed with her computer open on her lap. Her little dog, Darby, was lying sleepily beside her.
Jilly looked at her with surprise.
“Mom—what are you doing home?” she asked.
Then Jilly gasped aloud when she saw Gabriela and April follow Riley inside.
For a moment, Jilly stared at all three of her visitors wi
