I’m going to come back to your place.
His reply was instant again, as if he was waiting for me with his phone in his hand, even though I unintentionally took a little longer to respond.
Donovan
I will send Miles to you. I won’t even be in the car. He’ll bring you back. Thank you for hearing me out, Audra.
44
DONOVAN
Ihadn’t felt panic like that in a long time. When Audra saw me at the top of the steps and then pushed out the door anyway, I felt like I got punched in the stomach. I was sick about everything that had happened at dinner, and then when I couldn’t find her, I started to lose it. Audra was obviously a grown woman and could handle herself, but she knew nothing about New York and didn’t know anyone there.Where could she have gone?I didn’t even think she knew my address.
When I got out of the restaurant, the first thing I encountered was that shit-stain photographer. In an act that was going to be all over the gossip column of that stupid magazine, I snatched his camera, took out the memory card, and was about to squash it when he held my arm and begged me.
“Please,” he pleaded, “irreplaceable photos of my mother are on there.”
I hesitated because, although I hated everything this guy stood for, his voice conveyed a desperation you couldn’t fake, and I wasn’t that person.
“Give me the camera,” I demanded. “I’m deleting the photos of the woman who ran out of here.”
“Fine. Done.” He handed over his camera without hesitation, and I clicked through and deleted the photos of Audra. Fuck, I’m glad those didn’t go to print. They would have had a field day.
“Get a new damn memory card,” I said, frustrated. He nodded his head and thanked me profusely before running off. I grabbed the back of my neck as I looked for Miles. God, taking Audra to dinner was beyond dumb. It was so selfish to expose her to my toxic parents, and doing it despite knowing Evelyn was going made it so much worse. My parents did a bang-up job of showcasing their worst behavior. And after all the shit Audra had to listen to and deal with, she still stuck up for me before she left. I didn’t do that for her, but she had no problem telling my parents how great I was.God, what an asshole, I admonished myself for my spinelessness. That was their final strike, and I was officially done with them.
Miles pulled up, and I asked if he had seen her, which he hadn’t, and then I started war-dialing. Of course, she didn’t answer. After driving for fifteen minutes around what would have been a logical perimeter for her to walk, it hit me that Jules was still at the restaurant, and Audra would probably answer her. So, at my request, Miles took me back.
Walking through the restaurant, I saw my parents and Evelyn still sitting there. The look of hope on my mother’s and Evelyn’s faces as I walked toward their table made me rage, so I flicked them off as I went past. Real mature. Wonder if a camera phone caught that one.
Juliette was in the party room on the other end of the floor, and the door was closed. As I got closer, it sounded like they were having a good time, and when I opened the door, therehad to be two hundred people inside. Jules was tall, but I couldn’t see her, and it was dim, so I shouted, “Juliette!”
I knew my voice had a booming quality, and it quieted down as I walked through the party while people turned to look at me. I cleared my throat and said it again. “Is Juliette here?” Fuck’s sake, I didn’t even know her last name. I thought it started with an H.
And then I swear a sea of people parted to Jules walking up between them with widewhat the fuck is going on hereeyes. But because she was so good, she waved to the crowd and said, ‘present.’ That elicited some laughter, and then things seemed to resume. She grabbed me by the elbow and tried to lead me out of the room. It felt like I was getting scolded, and I was so off my rocker, I laughed. But before we exited, I stopped her.
“No, my parents can’t see or hear this,” I said. Instead, we veered to a corner of the room.
“Mr. Wright, that was some entrance. What’s going on? Where is Audra?”
Swallowing hard, I answered, “She’s gone.”
Her eyes narrowed at me. “What do you mean she’s gone?”
“Things went off the rails at dinner, and she stood up, told off my parents, and took off.”
Juliette nodded her head, looking proud. “Good for her! I don’t find that surprising given the couple of minutes I was over there.”
I didn’t know Jules well, but it was evident how fiercely loyal she was to her friends.
“There was disaster brewing, and they were real assholes.”
I don’t think Jules understood the state that Audra left in, though. When she finally comprehended it, her tune changed.
“I’m assuming you don’t know where she went?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t. And I know. It was so stupid to bring her. I’m worried, Jules. She doesn’t know the city, doesn’t know anyone here, and she was really upset when she left. I stayed an extra two minutes to yell at my parents for the stunt and then tried to chase her. It’s like she disappeared. I have no idea how someone can run that fast in heels. McKenna followed me out and went one way, while I went the other, but McKenna has only met her twice; she might not even recognize her.”
“And you’ve called?”
