Audrey laughed. Deanna had been extra clingy since Audrey’s fight with her dad, and even this morning she’d hovered around like a bad smell. To the point that Audrey had asked her little sister to give her a moment of peace while she’d been washing her face, because her head was too full to deal with memories of Ronan and a barrage of questions about nothing in particular.
“Okay, how about this… There are chili peppers so hot they can kill you.”
“Really?” Deanna’s eyes widened.
“I was reading an article about one called the Dragon’s Breath,” Audrey said. “And it’s supposed to be seven times hotter than a habanero and fifty percent hotter than the average Carolina Reaper.”
“But how does it kill you?” Deanna asked.
“Well, the capsaicin concentration can trigger anaphylactic shock, which can cause a person’s airways to close. Even if it doesn’t kill you, something that hot will cause blisters in your mouth, and your body would likely immediately reject the pepper.”
“You mean you’d vomit it up? Gross.” Deanna pulled an icky face. “Spicy vomit would not be good.”
“No,” Audrey said with a chuckle. “It definitely wouldn’t.”
Deanna chatted happily the entire way home. She’d stayed late at school rehearsing her audition for the school play, so Audrey had been able to pick her up after work. It was a little after six, and the sky was still light and golden. The neat little rows of houses rolled by as they drove. Eventually, the scenery started to change, and Audrey felt the pit form in the depths of her stomach.
Coming home was often giving her this feeling lately. But she had a fun evening ahead—it was taco night, her personal favorite. Afterward, she’d clean up from dinner, put the washing on, tidy the house, and take the trash out, and then she would settle in and do some reading for Ronan. He’d emailed her a copy of the first chapter of his book, and she couldn’t wait to dive in. It would be the first time she’d actively used her brain today.
She pulled Big Red into the driveway and killed the engine. But before she’d even had the chance to get out of the car, Georgie flew out of the house, letting the front door bang behind her. The look on her face made the blood in Audrey’s veins run cold.
She pushed open the door and got out. “What’s wrong?”
Georgie’s face was streaked with tears, her eyes red-rimmed and her lashes stuck together in little spikes. For a young woman who was usually meticulous about her hair, it was currently in disarray, falling out of her ponytail in chunks. She tried to speak but hiccupped instead.
“Georgie, calm down.” Audrey grabbed her younger sister by the shoulders and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “What’s going on?”
“Oliver.” She hiccupped again. “He had a fight…with dad…about his graphic design stuff…Dad said he needed to…stop fucking around…and get a real job…”
That was rich, coming from the man who was chronically unemployed. Audrey shook her head; she wasn’t going to focus on the fact that Georgie was cursing when she knew she shouldn’t—a hard thing to uphold when any time one needed to quote their father it involved dropping the F-bomb.
“Slow down,” Audrey said. Then she shot a look at Deanna, who was standing beside them, eyes big and round and brimming with worry. “You, get inside and start your homework.”
Deanna shook her head. “But—”
“Now.” Audrey stared her down until Deanna’s shoulders sagged and she went into the house, her backpack slung heavily over one shoulder. “Okay, what happened after the fight?”
“Oliver left, and Dad said ‘good riddance’ and called him a selfish little…” She bit down on her lip. “It was bad. I wanted to follow Oliver, but then Dad started storming around the house, and then he left, too. I figured I should stay here in case Deanna came home, because I couldn’t remember who was picking her up and I didn’t want her to come home to an empty house.”
Audrey pulled Georgie into a hug. “You’re a good big sister. Do you have any idea where Oliver went?”
“No. I tried to call him, but…then I heard his phone buzzing in his bedroom. He didn’t take his wallet, either.” She shook her head, another tear spilling out of her eye. “I know they fight sometimes, but this was different. Oliver said he was going to leave because he hates living here and he hates our family