Page 74 of Forbidden Dark Vows

The line goes dead, and I’m left staring at the silent handset.

Sitting at my desk, I replay the conversation in my head. I can’t help thinking that this has played straight into Celia’s hands. I’m here, and Ruby is there, exactly where she wants her.

The meal that never happened has left a sour taste in my mouth. My dad’s behavior was appalling, like a child who didn’t get a shot at the ball because the other kids were faster than him, but he’s still my dad, and if I don’t try to clear the air one last time, I know it will always be hanging over my head.

I call home. No answer.

I try the hotel in Chicago where he was staying, and the receptionist tells me that he checked out earlier today. I even try calling his cleaning lady, who tells me that he fired her a couple of days ago.

So, where the fuck has he gone?

25

RUBY

I hearmy mom talking to someone and I throw back the covers on my bed. Goosebumps immediately pop on my bare arms and legs, and the room sways out from under me like I’m drunk. I didn’t even have a drink last night. At least, I don’t think I did. It’s all a bit vague, but I’m still left with the lingering sense of uneasiness that I haven’t been able to shake since I first called Karl Weiss.

I wait for the dizziness to pass. My heart is racing, and I can’t seem to slow it down, even when I take deep breaths.

It must be stress related. I remember my roommate in college talking about an auntie who lost all her hair when she discovered that her husband had been cheating on her for years, had a whole other family in a different state. She ended up with heart problems and had to have a triple bypass before she was forty-five.

I’ve been so worried about my dad, and everything with Mom and Karl Weiss, that it’s obviously starting to affect me. I need some downtime, but I can’t bear to think of my dad in the hospital waiting for me to visit. He needs me. I can’t let himdown, not when he has always been there for me, no matter how sick he was. Even when he could barely speak after his first stroke, he was still the one who wanted to hear everything about my school day.

I open my bedroom door. The house is quiet again now. “Mom?”

Nothing.

I go back for my robe, my teeth chattering. The heating must not have clicked on yet. I have no idea what time it is, or how long I’ve been asleep, but the house has settled into its own version of twilight, so I’m guessing that it must be late afternoon or evening.

“Mom?”

Sounds reach me from the kitchen, and I walk along the hallway, surprised when my shoulder keeps brushing the wall like I can’t even walk a straight line. I open the kitchen door, and she’s staring out the window, a cup of coffee in one hand, and the house phone in the other.

“You’re awake.” She puts them down on the counter and rushes over to me, her expression faltering. “Why are you out of bed? You should’ve called me.”

She eases me into a seat at the table and flicks the kettle on to boil, dropping a teabag into my favorite cup.

“I’ll make you a green tea. It’ll flush this virus or whatever it is out of you.”

“You think it’s a virus?” My head feels heavy like a bowling ball, and I cup my chin in both hands to hold it upright.

“Of course, sweetie. You look dreadful, and you’re still shivering, look at you.” She pulls a blanket out of the storage cupboard and places it over my shoulders. “You’ve been running a temperature all day too.”

She fills the mug with boiling water and places it on the table in front of me. The smell makes me feel nauseous. I try sliding it away from me and manage to spill some across the table.

“I’ll get it!” Mom grabs a kitchen towel and mops up the spill, her mouth set into a narrow line. “There’s only half a cup left now, but it will have to do.”

I shake my head. “I can’t drink it, Mom. The smell…”

“Hold your nose. It’s good for you.”

She keeps moving around the kitchen, opening cupboard doors and straightening appliances. I can’t keep up with her, so I stare into the cup at the teabag that’s bleeding green water and try to focus on what I wanted to ask her. Something woke me up. My mom was talking to someone, only now I know she must’ve been on the phone.

“Who was that?” It’s an effort just to speak.

“Who was what, sweetie?” Mom’s gaze drifts around the room and settles on the phone. “Oh, I called the hospital to let your dad know why we’ve not visited today.”

I swallow a mouthful of green tea and grimace, hiding my tears behind the cup. “Has Harry called?”

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