jaw locked.
“Yeah well, then start acting like it,” he murmurs.
“I am, asshole,” I say, grabbing my phone so I can call Mia again, but it goes straight to voicemail.
“What do we know so far,” Liam starts. “Obviously while I was out looking for you before Cole texted, she was here getting an earful from you.”
I choose not to answer that jab, as I crack my neck, trying to relieve some of the tension that has settled there.
“Yeah, we left her on the beach when I put this jerk to bed,” Cole says. “But when I went back to look for her, she was gone. But something was off last night. You couldn’t see that because you were hammered.”
“What do you mean?” I demand.
“I don’t know. She looked like she was having a panic attack.”
“I think that’s because Nancy died.”
“Yeah, I keep thinking that, but it doesn’t fit, there’s something else. I don’t know what but I saw it from the corner of my eye.”
“Well damn, that won’t fucking do shit for us,” Liam says running a hand through his hair. “This summer already blows.”
“Maybe we need to just give her time, she’ll come back,” Cole says. “She has to. I don’t think she’d abandon the woman who raised her now, after everything?”
“She did before when she was fighting for her life,” I say. “What’s stopping her now that Nancy is dead?”
“Well unlike you, she actually has a bleeding heart,” Cole fires back. “But either way, we need to take matters in our own hands. Track her fucking phone, the GPS in her car, anything.”
Just then, Mom walks in like she’s about to have lunch with Michelle Obama, Oprah and Stephen King, in that order.
“That’s won’t be necessary, boys. If that girl left, it’s because she finally realized the truth that she isn’t wanted here,” she says, the cheery note in her voice chilling the blood in my veins. “Besides, it’s illegal to stalk someone considering your dubious intentions toward the girl.”
What the ever loving fuck?
6
Cole turns around and greets my mother like he always does without fail like the charming asshole he is, ignoring what she just said about Mia like the polite shithead he is.
“Hey, Mrs. Fitz,” he says with a small wave. “What’s up?”
“Oh, come on Cole, call me Courtney. I’m not Mrs. Fitz anymore, thank God,” Mom says making Liam roll his eyes. “I loved your valedictorian speech. You’re a great orator like your father.”
“I don’t know if anyone can be compared to that man, but thank you, Mrs. Fitz. I gave it my best shot under the circumstances,” he says, shooting me a look. We all know what circumstances he’s alluding to. “You look lovely this afternoon.”
“Cole,” Mom warns, but I can hear the smile in her voice.
“It’ll take a bit of getting used to, Mrs. Fitz,” Cole says instead, that charming smile still intact.
You can count on Cole to charm his way into any room, with anyone, at any time.
“Yup, that’s my mother, always looking lovely,” Liam scoffs. “Are you going out for lunch to celebrate Nancy’s death?”
“Liam,” Mom warns. “How can you say that?”
“If the shattered glass shoe fits…” he trails off.
Mom shakes her head, then turns to look at me, but I turn away from her, choosing to look out at the beach as the thing in my chest aches, longing for something—longing for someone.
“Julian, my love, how are you today?” Mom asks, her gaze burning into my back. I turn around and look at my mother, the woman who did nothing but make Mia’s life hell.
“Why are you still here?” I demand.
“Julian, sweetie, I know it’s been a hard couple of days but I’m still your mother, I’m always going to be there for you.”
“So it seems,” I mutter. Even when I don’t need her, she’s always there. Somehow though, I don’t really trust her presence.
“Mom, what are you doing here?” Liam demands with a heavy sigh. “I don’t think now is the time to gloat in Nicky’s face.”
Nicky. Yes, maybe she knows where Mia went but I wouldn’t count on it; if there’s anyone who can hold a grudge and smile in your face, it’s my Little Minx. But beside all that, where is Nicky? Last I heard of her was when she was wailing, her cries so damn heartbreaking, reminding me of a time not so long ago when Aiden passed.
“Whatever you might think of me, Liam, just know that I do know grief. I’m just here to offer my