Page 87 of Trouble

“We’re looking for Audrey, Mrs. Waits,” Liam said, sounding more polite than I’d ever heard before. I turned to glance at him, just to make sure he hadn’t been replaced by a some body snatcher orsomething.

“I think it’s best if you leave,” the woman said. “Now.”

I placed a hand on the door as she tried to close it on us. “We need to speak withAudrey.”

“You’ve done enough damage to my daughter,” she snapped, and for such a small woman who obviously spent most of her life wearing pastels and a polite smile, the fire in her eyes was mildly impressive. “Leave, or I’m calling thepolice!”

Well, damn. Guess Audrey had told her parents we were the reason she’d disappeared onthem.

Before either of us could respond, an achingly familiar voice called out from within the house, “Mum? Who’s at thedoor?”

My stomach knotted with excitement and that aching, hollow feeling I’d carried around with me since the day Audrey left us. I’d recognize her voiceanywhere.

“It’s nothing, honey, just go rest,” her mother called over her shoulder, but to no avail. The door was opened a little wider, and then she was there, standing next to her mother, a look of surprise—and pain—on herface.

“Oh.”

“Audrey, weneedto talk,” Liam said, sounding every ounce as desperate as I felt at the sight of her prettyface.

“Please, just for a few minutes,” I added, even though I had no intention of ever leaving her side again. “It’simportant.”

Her mother—still looking like she was about to erupt like a damn volcano—opened her mouth, undoubtedly to turn us away. But Audrey placed her hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, Mum. They have a right toknow.”

Mrs. Waits hesitated, shooting daggers at us before she turned to her daughter. “Are yousure?”

Audrey gave her a small smile. “Yeah, it’s fine. Could we have some tea in the conservatory,please?”

Despite what the woman obviously thought of us, manners won out in the end. She gave a clipped nod and stalked off to thekitchen.

“Sure she won’t put rat poison in it?” Liam asked with a hesitant look after hermother.

Audrey huffed, an amused sound, and pushed the door all the way open. “Comein.”

We followed her through the house decorated in cream and beige into a large conservatory overlooking the back garden. Audrey closed the french doors behind us and gestured for us to sit on the cushioned wicker sofa. She took a seat herself in the matching chair on the other side of the glasstable.

For the longest while we simply sat and looked at each other insilence.

It wasn’t until I let myself study her pretty face more carefully that I realized something was off. Her skin was paler than normal, and a little gray, and there were dark circles under her eyes. The hollows of her cheeks far more pronounced than they’d been even when she was living off fish and canned beans inWales.

Sick, mind-numbing fear sunk into the pit of my gut when I recalled what she’d told her mum:They have a right toknow.

“Are you sick?” It came out as a hoarse whisper, my vocal cords tightening with a kind of panic I hadn’t felt before. I couldn’t lose her.Wecouldn’t lose her—not now, after everything we’d been through. It wasn’t fucking fair,it—

“No.” She straightened up and took a deep breath. “No, I’m not sick.I—”

The French doors banged open, and her mother stepped in balancing a tray with a tea pot, cups, sugar, and milk. She put it down on the coffee table with a huff and another glare at Liam and I before she exited the conservatory again, slamming the doors behindher.

“What on Earth did you tell that woman we did to you?” I asked as Audrey poured the tea forus.

She laughed, a small sound, but it was still beautiful.Soothing.

“And what’s wrong, love? Something’s obviously not right—you look…” Liam trailed off, and I shot him an amused look. He didn’t want to tell her she looked likeshit.

“I know.” She rubbed her hands along her thighs, obviously nervous as she shot us both a glance. “I’ve had a hard time keeping food downlately.”

“Been to the doctor?” I asked, a worried frown making its way back on my face as I watched her. She was clearly not happy about what she was about to tell us, but she’d said she wasn’t sick. I clung to that as I stared at her, willing her to just fucking tell us what waswrong.

“Yeah.”

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