Chapter 12 - Colin
Amanda wasn’t hard to find. She was loud and the center of attention in the formal living room, a crowd of girls around her, hanging on her every word. Her hands moved animatedly as she talked, the wine in her hand dangerously close to sloshing over the edge of her glass. I’d upgraded from beer to scotch, and it flowed like water as the hours ticked by. I couldn’t get my mind off Annie’s new friend. The idea of letting him walk out that door in one piece was eating me up inside.
My cell vibrated against my leg, and I pulled it from my pocket, my heart rate accelerating as I saw Connor’s name scroll across the screen. I motioned to Amanda that I was going upstairs to take the call. She nodded and smiled brightly as she continued to entertain our guests. I answered and hurried up the first flight of stairs.
“Any news?” I asked as I made my way down the hall and up the third flight of stairs.
“Dead end.” Connor sighed, and there was a rumbling on the other end as he tried to suppress a cough.
“How long is this shit going to go on?” I snapped as I walked into my office, my hand dragging angrily over my hair.
“As long as it takes, Colin.”
I dragged my hand over my face with a groan, thankful the alcohol was numbing my anger, but it wasn’t enough. “Keep me posted.”
The floorboards creaked behind me, and I spun around to see Annie standing in the doorway, her body swaying slightly under her own buzz. I ended the call and shoved the phone back in my pocket.
“What are you doing up here?” I asked in a clipped tone. What I really wanted to know was how much she had heard.
“Who was that?” she asked, her chin in the air.
“That was Connor. He wanted to know how your party was going.” I walked toward her, my hands shoved in my pockets.
“You’re lying.” She folded her arms over her chest angrily as she blocked the office doorway. I grabbed her shoulders and easily moved her out of my way as I went toward the stairs.
“Go enjoy your party, Annabel. I’m not in the mood for your shit right now.”
“Actually, I was just leaving.”
I stopped and slowly turned to face her. She took a small step backward as her confidence shrank under my gaze. “Not now, little one. Just go back to your party and hang out with your friends.”
“No.”
“Excuse me?”
“Colin, I’m an adult now.”
“Hardly.”
“Oh, that’s rich coming from you,” she retorted angrily, and I struggled not to laugh.
“It’s not safe. It’s the middle of the night, and I’m not going to trust some half-baked prick to keep you safe.”
“That prick cares about me.”
“I don’t?”
She didn’t answer, and I swallowed back my anger as I took a hesitant step closer to her. “Come here. I want to show you something.”
She looked at me skeptically for a few seconds before she nodded. I walked down the flight of steps to the second floor, glancing over my shoulder at her as I unlocked the door to my bedroom. I pushed it open and stepped aside, waiting for her to enter. She crossed the room, turning around as she reached my bed.
I stepped inside the doorway and grabbed the glass decanter of whiskey that sat atop an antique dry sink. I poured myself a drink and held up the bottle for Annie to see. She nodded, her lower lip pulled between her teeth as she sank down on the edge of my bed.
Chapter 13 - Annie
I hated that Colin and Connor were keeping secrets from me. It made me feel more alone than ever. The only person who seemed to care about me at all anymore was Jacob, and I had nearly destroyed that.
I stared at Colin’s back as he poured our drinks, not speaking.
“I’m sorry I was being such a bitch. I just hate that you never tell me anything. I’m not a child anymore. If something is happening, I have a right to know.”
Colin hung his head as he leaned with both hands on the wooden stand. “It’s not that simple.”
“Yes it is.”
He turned to face me, a drink in each hand, sadness on his face. He held a glass out to me, and I took it with a small appreciative smile. I sniffed as I raised it to my mouth, scrunching my nose at its harsh smell.
“Breathe out, drink, then you inhale,” he said before pouring his drink back like water.
I expelled all of the air from my lungs and tilted the glass back, fire burning its way down my throat as a drop of amber liquid slid over my lip and down my chin. Colin wiped it away with his finger before it could hit my stark white dress.
I gasped, hating the flavor of the alcohol more than the bitter wood taste of the wine. “That doesn’t make it any better,” I said with a laugh as my body immediately began to warm and my lips went numb. Colin took the glass from my hand and set them both on his nightstand.
“It takes practice.”
As my laugh subsided, I looked over at him. He still looked troubled. “What did you want to show me?” I asked as I blinked my heavy eyelids, my tongue feeling thick.
“I wanted to show you that I do care about you.”
“What?” His voice sounded muffled as I squeezed my eyes shut before forcing them wide, the room blurring around me.
“Shh…I’m sorry.” His hands were on my shoulders as he lowered me onto the mattress. “I couldn’t risk you screaming and our guests hearing you.” He tucked my hair behind my ear, and I couldn’t even lift an arm to protest. “It’s just the pills that I take to help me sleep through the nightmares. It’ll wear off by morning.” His warm lips pressed against my forehead, and the bed moved beside me. I listened to his footsteps grow distant, and then his door closed. The faint click of a lock registered in my mind before dreams took over.
I slid down to my knees, the hard wooden floorboards causing them to ache instantaneously, but the pain was welcome as the rest of my body felt numb. I glanced up at Colin, who smiled sadly as he dropped to his knees beside me and grabbed my hand in his, clutching it painfully tight at his side. We let our eyes fall closed, and Taylor began to say a prayer at the front of the church for my mother.
“Dear Lord, I ask you to turn this weakness into strength, suffering into compassion, sorrow into joy, and pain into comfort for others. May your servant trust in your goodness and hope in your faithfulness, even in the middle of this suffering. Let him be filled with patience and joy in your presence as he waits for your healing touch.”
“I need to see her,” I whispered, and Colin’s thumb slid over the back of my hand in warning to not speak. I pictured my mother’s vibrant smile the day we came here, full of hope and wanting to help others. It had been three weeks since I had seen her. She had suddenly fallen ill shortly after we arrived, and now she was resting in the main house. It killed me inside not to be able to comfort her. Taylor said her condition was improving, but he didn’t want to expose her to any other illnesses.
When the service ended, Colin pulled me to my feet, and my knees shook, threatening to give out from under me. He looped his arm around my waist and guided me toward the door.
We left the overcrowded building and made our way slowly across the meadow, the hot Mississippi sun blaring down on us and causing my stomach to turn from the sudden influx of heat.
“I need to see her, Colin,” I said now with more authority in my tone.
“You’ll never get inside Taylor’s house, and if you do, you might not come back out.” His voice was laced with worry, and it jarred me coming from someone who seemed to fear nothing.