Page 119 of Perfect Three

“Fuck off, Allison!”

Allison flinched at the pain, the agony in her mother’s voice.“Why don’t you ring them?”she suggested.

Lucy laughed.It wasn’t a nice sound.It was filled with regret and sarcasm as well as so much misery.“Too late for that, chicky.Too late!”

“Oh, Mum, I’m so sorry.”

“Too late for that, too.”She waved a finger in Allison’s general direction.“You fucked it all up!”She swayed as she peered at Allison.“I’m ready to jump off the mountain and solve it all.”

“Mum!Please don’t talk like that!I love you!We all love you.”

Lucy sounded almost sober as she clearly said, “Go away, Allison, before I say something else I might regret.Don’t want our last words to be so bad.”

She turned away and Allison watched as she took a huge breath, her shoulders rising.Then she turned back to her daughter.“Goodbye, Allison.Say goodbye to Geoff for me and kiss the kids, tell them I really love them so much.You won’t have to worry about me anymore.”

“What are you saying?”Allison screamed in horror.

“If you don’t understand, that’s your problem.The house is yours and so is any money in the bank.Goodbye.Now leave me.”

“Mum!”Allison screeched, trying to understand, trying to get through to her mother.

“Get out now, Allison.”Her words were no longer slurred.It was only the back-and-forth, unsteady motion that gave her away.“I don’t want to see you anymore and soon I won’t have to.”

Allison stood staring at her for a moment in shock.

“Get out now!”Lucy screamed.She looked at Allison with contempt.“And turn the music back up as you leave!Let me hear it for my last few hours.”

Allison was torn.She didn’t want to leave her mother in this state, but if she stayed, she really might hear something more she didn’t want to.Lucy might do something really stupid.She was in a panic.If she’d understood her mother correctly, she intended to do something bad.Allison knew if she stayed Lucy would probably act immediately.She needed help.She’d go outside and call Geoffrey.He’d get through to Lucy.

Her mother’s infuriated yell echoed through the room.“Get the fuck out!”

Sadly, Allison said goodbye and, crying softly, walked from the room, taking the wine with her.When she reached the kitchen, she looked around and saw another two wine bottles—one empty and one full.She grabbed the full one and left the house with the two wine bottles, dumping them in the garbage bin.

Reaching her car, Allison’s dread flooded her.Her mother was right.She had broken her mother’s heart.Allison got in the car and rested her head on the steering wheel.What could she do?Her mother seemed determined to kill herself.Lucy was so drunk Allison knew anything could happen.

Somehow, she needed to stop her.She just hoped Geoffrey would know what to do.She’d call him and stay here to make sure her mother didn’t leave the house.Allison wished she’d picked up Lucy’s car keys.

“Maybe I can sneak back inside and find them after I call Geoff.”

Sniffing, she rummaged in her handbag for a tissue.She found one down the bottom alongside a crumpled business card.It was the one Sebastian had thrown at her that awful day she’d made her mother choose.She’d picked it up off the floor and tossed it in her handbag.She looked at the card.If anyone could possibly save Lucy, it would be Sebastian and Jack.

Maybe, just maybe, those two would help.

Allison was sure no one else could.

Taking a deep breath, she picked up her mobile phone and dialed the number.It rang twice, then went to the answering machine.

She gave a strangled sob when she heard the message.There were three voices on it, and they were all laughing.

“Hi.This is Lucy, Jack, and Sebastian.We’re not here but leave a message and a number.Then maybe we’ll ring you back.Bye.”

Her mother’s voice sounded so happy, so alive.She wondered why the men had left her voice on the machine.Maybe they still cared enough for her.Allison would leave a message and then ring her husband.

“This is Allison Douglas, Lucy’s daughter.I want to apologize, I know I was wrong, and I’m so very sorry.If you still have any feelings for my mother, can you please help her?”Allison started crying again.“She’s...I...She’s at home, but she’s drunk.I’m so scared she might do something to herself, something bad.She—”

“Allison!”

“Oh.”

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