Riley is still kneeling on the bathroom floor when she hears footsteps pounding up the stairs.

They’re fast.

Too fast to be casual.

“Riley?” her mom calls.

The bathroom door swings open and her mother appears in the doorway, breath slightly short from running.

“Honey, are you okay?” she asks immediately, dropping to one knee beside her. “Did you eat something funny?”

Riley wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. Her eyes are wet and her throat still burns from throwing up, and at first she assumes the tears are just from that.

Then her breath catches.

The tight feeling in her chest suddenly breaks open and the crying starts again before she can stop it.

Her mom reacts instantly.

She pulls Riley against her, wrapping her arms around the smaller body and holding her tight while Riley presses her face against her shoulder.

“It’s alright to cry,” her mother murmurs softly.

Her voice is steady, though Riley can hear the strain in it.

“This is scary. I know it is.”

Her hand moves slowly up and down Riley’s back in a calming rhythm.

“But you’re a good girl,” she continues. “And you’ll be brave.”

Riley clutches at her shirt, the words spilling out between shaky breaths.

“I looked it up,” she sobs. “I looked up what happens to kids.”

Her voice cracks.

“They’re gonna kill me, Mom. They’re gonna stop my heart and kill me.”

Her mother tightens the hug for a moment before answering.

“I know.”

She shifts slightly and lifts Riley off the floor, carrying her the way she used to when Riley was little. Riley instinctively wraps her legs around her waist while her mom holds her against her chest.

“I know it’s hard to understand,” she says quietly while stroking Riley’s back. “And sometimes it can even seem cruel.”

She steps carefully out of the bathroom and into the hallway, still holding her.

“But you remember the stories Grandpa used to tell you, right?”

Riley sniffles and nods weakly.

“About what it was like before the System?”

Another nod.

Her voice comes out small.

“I’m scared, Mommy,” she admits. “I don’t wanna die.”

Her mom presses a kiss against her hair.

“Nobody does,” she says.

Her tone stays gentle but the words don’t soften.

“But you can’t escape it. None of us can.”

She adjusts her grip slightly so Riley sits more comfortably in her arms.

“You’re going to die, sweetheart,” she says quietly. “I can’t stop it. You can’t stop it.”

For a moment the hallway is silent except for Riley’s uneven breathing.

Then her mom speaks again.

“The best thing you can do,” she says firmly, “is make the next seven days the best fucking seven days of your life.”

She pulls back just enough to look Riley in the eyes.

“Alright?”