Page 204 of Burning Daylight
Just like Beverly said, someone’s waiting for me. Anxiety squeezes my middle tightly, but I ignore it and quicken my steps to get there.
I approach slowly, my heart thudding in my ears. The woman standing by the passenger door straightens when she sees me. She looks familiar, but I can’t place where I know her from. Maybe if my brain was working better, but for some reason, it’s not.
Probably the shock of everything.
She’s a bit older, her face having deep lines like she’s lived a hard life. Her brown-black hair is pinned back, and she’s wearing a soft gray cardigan. And she’s just so…damn…familiar.
She gives me a small smile. “Juliette?”
I swallow, unease flickering deep in my gut as I nod at her.
“I’m here to take you to Roman.”
I hesitate, my brows pulling in and my footsteps stuttering. “That’s not…Bevie said I couldn’t see him.”
She grins wider, her fingers absentmindedly scratching at her opposite arm. “Change of plans.”
Her voice is calm. Reassuring, even.
I tilt my head, my vision going fuzzy before snapping back into place. “How do you know Roman?”
She eyes me carefully before opening the passenger side door. “I never said I did. Hurry up, if we don’t want to be seen then we need to go.”
My stomach churns but I slide into the car and she’s there in the next second, slamming her door closed and driving away.
The interior smells faintly like leather and alcohol remover, and the silence coats my skin like razors.
“I’m sorry about your cousin,” she says after a few minutes. “And about Roman. I can’t imagine what that feels like.”
The words make my throat ache. I don’t want to talk about Tyler. I don’t want tothinkabout Roman.
“Yeah, thanks,” I mutter, resting my head against the window. The cold feels good against my overheated cheek.
My eyes close and then I shake my head.Why am I so tired?
The woman nods, eyes still on the road, and I drift off, unable to stop myself.
“Hey,” I mumble, trying to get my head on straight and force my lids open.
They slide shut again.
A familiar woman is standing over me and shaking me awake.
I’m not really all here, my brain feeling like egg yolks that got scrambled. I squint up at her.
“You’re…Roman’s mom?”
She freezes, her hand gripping me tightly on the shoulder.
Suddenly, my memory filters in, and I realize where I am. How I didn’t recognize her…and now she’s here.
I press my hand to my forehead, banging it a few times, trying to unmuffle the memories.
“Yeah, sweetie, I told you that.”
“You did?” I scrunch up my face, trying to recall.
I look around, realizing we’re at the entrance to the trail that leads to Upside Down Rock.
