Page 91 of You Were Invited
Later that night, Peter brought takeout for their late dinner. They all ate together in the bedroom— Molly under the blankets, Annie on the end of the bed, and Peter in a chair at Molly’s side. Molly was chatty, but halfway through the meal she looked exhausted. She set her half-eaten plate aside on the nightstand.
Peter raised a brow. “You done, Molly?”
Molly blinked, covered her yawn with her hand, and shook her head. “I’ll heat it up and eat more later.” Molly closed her eyes and leaned back against her mountain of pillows.
Peter reached over and stroked her arm gently.
Annie took this as her cue to leave. She grabbed hers and Peter’s plates, which he’d practically licked clean. “I’m heading to bed. I have an assignment due.” Tomorrow was also the surprise party; she had a few people to check on regarding dessertsand snacks. “Hey, Molly? I’d like to treat you to lunch tomorrow,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound suspicious.
“That sounds lovely. We can pick a place in the morning. Goodnight, Annie,” Molly murmured, pulling her blankets up to her chin.
Once in her room, Annie realized she was tired, too. She quickly sent out messages to party guests before she sent a goodnight text to Julian. Too tired to get up and shut off her lamp, she fell asleep, phone in hand.
Several hours later, she woke up and got out of bed to use the bathroom. Oddly, the kitchen lights were on. She heard the front door creak open. She hesitated in the hallway, her heart quickening. Had someone broken in?
Peter rushed around the corner.
Annie jumped backward, clutching her chest. “Woah!”
Peter was out of breath. “Sorry. I'm scrambling. I'm taking Molly to the hospital,” he panted. “Excuse me.” He eased Annie aside.
Annie’s jaw dropped. “What! Why?” She followed Peter to Molly’s bedroom, bracing herself.
Molly sat on the edge of the bed, her chin tucked into her chest, a pained look across her face.
Peter took his wife by the elbow and stroked her back. “Breathe, Molly.”
“Shoes,” Molly said, her voice thin with a slight background whisper of fear.
Annie froze in the doorway. “Is she okay?”
“She doesn’t feel well,” Peter explained. He put his wife’sslippers on her feet.
“Like how?”
“Dizzy, some cramping.”
While Peter helped Molly shuffle from the bedroom to the front door, Annie dashed to her room and threw on sweatpants and a jacket. Grabbed her phone. Keys. She caught Peter right as he was helping Molly to the car.
Peter started, “Annie, you can stay here—"
“I’m coming, too. Are you done inside?” After a nod from Peter, Annie locked the door behind her. “Plus, my car is blocking you guys.”
Peter strapped Molly in. He sprinted around the car to the driver’s side.
Was it appendicitis? A blockage? Annie’s mind raced, her heart in her throat as she sped after her friends, desperately praying everything would be okay.
thirty-five
Julian read Annie’s text at dawn and immediately called her.
“I’ll be there as soon as possible.”
“No, no, stay and work.”The tension in her voice betrayed her.“I’ll see you in a few days... So long as everything goes well here… The doctors finally just ordered some tests. There’s no party today.”
He switched his phone from one hand to the other as he pulled on his boots. There was an equally long list of things he liked and hated about Northgold; at that moment, he absolutely disliked how far it was from Annie’s home. She’d barely been gone a day; not a single hour hour had passed where he hadn’t worried or thought about her.
“You're far more important than work, sweetness. I’m not cancelling our plans to come down. I appreciate the concern, though.”
