Page 91 of Through the Storms
At least Oakley had been gracious and hadn’t asked any questions when Chloe asked to be booked in her own room tonight. There was a knowing look in Oakley’s eyes. Chloesuspected Lana had picked up more from their conversation than Chloe realized.
Just as Britt eased the van into the exit, Chloe’s phone rang.Mia.She glanced around at the others who were all quietly watching out the window, but none was sleeping.
Oakley glanced over her shoulder at the sound.
Chloe held up her cellphone and met Oakley’s gaze. “It’s my daughter, Mia. Do you mind if I answer it?”
“Please, go ahead,” Oakley said.
“Hi, Mia,” Chloe said into the phone. “What are—”
Mia cut Chloe off and rambled incoherently. Chloe tried to cut in, but Mia was talking so fast she couldn’t find her opening. “My birthday is ruined,” Mia cried into the phone.
“Okay, honey,” Chloe said. “I need you to take a breath and slow down. Why is your birthday ruined?”
“Dad,” Mia choked out between sobs. “He’s forcing me to go to the monster’s house tomorrow—on my birthday.”
Monster?“Sara?” Chloe guessed.
“No! Geesh, Mom, why would you call Sara a monster?”
The indignation in Mia’s tone told Chloe that she’d made a major faux pas. “Um, I thought you were upset with her.”
Mia snorted. “It was all a big misunderstanding. She didn’t mean to snub me. When I saw her, her friend was telling her about her mom’s chemo treatment, so Sara was being supportive. She’s so kind. So amazing.”
Chloe refrained from saying,I told you so,even though she’d spent nearly half an hour trying to convince Mia that Sara’s actions were likely not personal. “I’m so happy you girls worked it out,” Chloe said instead.
“Yeah, she’s an angel not a monster.”
“So what monster’s house are you supposed to be going to?”
“Candace’s.” The repulsion was evident in Mia’s voice. “Well, not her house since she lives with Dad but her parents’ house.”
Chloe pushed down her defensiveness at the thought of Mia spending her birthday with Dennis’s girlfriend. “Why would he want you to do that?”
“How the hell should I know?” Mia yelled.
Chloe bit her lip and counted to ten. It wasn’t the time to confront Mia on her cursing. “Honey, we just arrived at the hotel, so we’re about to get out of the van.”
“Everyone in the van has been listening? I can’t believe you’d do that.”
Calm.“It’s okay. They can only hear my end, and, uh, since you’ve been doing most of the talking, they’ve not heard anything.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Chloe caught Riley grinning. Chloe turned and faced Riley. She grabbed a chunk of her hair and pretended to pull it while she did a silent scream.
Riley buried her mouth against her arm and tried not to laugh, but it was proving unsuccessful.
“Are they laughing at me?” Mia asked.
“No, sweetheart. Everybody’s trying to get their things together. Give me a second. Let me get out of the van, so I can give you my undivided attention.”
Oakley threw open the van door. With a smile, she motioned for Chloe to exit. Chloe grabbed her bag, mouthed athank youto Oakley, and hopped to the ground. She went around to the front of the van and leaned against the hood.
“Okay, sweetie, tell me what happened.”
“He’s making me go to Candace’s parents’ house for the weekend.”
“Where’s he going to be?”
