LAUREN

 

The hallways that had seemed so empty but filled with promise when I ran along them with Tyler, were now dark and long. I walked quickly to my room and hurriedly shut the door behind me. Leaning on it heavily, I dissolved into tears, letting myself slip until I was a puddle on the floor. The underwater lights of the pool shimmered on the deck and the lights of the city twinkled in the distance, but I didn’t care about any of it. Tyler’s cold eyes burned into my brain.

I didn’t even know how to start sorting through my scattered thoughts. Tyler was mad at me because he thought I had kissed Gabe. But why was he unwilling to listen to me? Why was he so eager to believe I would do that to him? He sounded so cold. So desolate. So definite.

My phone pinged each time a message came through but none of them were from Tyler so I turned it off.

About an hour passed before the sound of people stumbling down the halls crept under the crack of the door. I sat still slumped against it, listening and hoping that one of them would be Tyler. But they all brushed past my doorway, couples laughing, murmuring words of affection as I sat alone on the floor.

Reaching for my discarded phone, I turned it on. There were still no messages from Tyler. I pressed on his contact and began to tap out a message only to delete it when words failed me. After a wave of imagined brilliance, I tapped out another only to delete it when I read it back and realised how desperate it sounded. Staring at the numbers of the clock, I pressed the palms of my hands to my eyes. I needed to think. I needed to breathe. And trapped here where everything reminded me of him didn’t help. I needed comfort. I needed familiarity. And despite my hesitation, there was really only one place that I could get that now, even though my brain was screaming at me to reconsider. Taking a deep breath, I dialled the number.

“Lauren?” A voice burdened with sleep answered. “Lauren, are you alright? I couldn’t find you after the—” she stopped talking and gave me the chance to let out one sob-ridden word.

“Mum.”

That was the thing about my mother. Despite her harsh words and unrelenting stances on her opinions, if you needed her, she was always there. I just didn’t normally need her.

“Where are you, Lauren? I am coming to get you.”

“I want to go home.” I could barely get the words out.

“Wake up.” I imagined Mother shaking a confused Dad awake. “Wake up, we’re leaving.” Her attention came back to me. “Pack your bags, Lauren. We’ll be ready in ten minutes down in the lobby.”

“Mum, I need—”

“Hush,” she demanded. “We can talk about this on the way home. For now, you just get your stuff. I’ll call your sister.”

* * *

A dazed Morgan sat in a chair in the lobby, head resting against her hand, the temptation of closing her eyes winning over before waking herself back up every time her head slipped off her hand.

“What’s going on?” she asked when I sat down beside her. “Mum wouldn’t tell me anything, just that we were going home. Are you coming too?”

Sadie walked through the lobby, stopping when she saw me, a frown crossing her face. “What’s going on?”

She hadn’t been witness to the incident in the bar, though I was surprised to find that Tyler hadn’t gone running to her. Tears welled in my eyes again. I pushed them back but I still couldn’t muster a smile.

“Might be best to ask Tyler that.”

“Tyler?” Sadie sat down. “What’s he done?” Her tone was playful but when she looked into my eyes, she sighed and rested her hand on my thigh. “Do I need to talk to him?”

I shook my head, unable to speak.

“The beautiful bastard yelled at her in front of all these people, basically accusing her of cheating,” Morgan said, stifling a yawn.

“Cheating?” Sadie repeated, her frown deepening.

“There was a fight too.”

“A fight?” It seemed all Sadie was capable of at this time was repeating words.

“Tyler and Gabe, after he found Gabe and Lauren kissing.” The sleep had now left Morgan’s eyes and they were awake with gossip instead.

“I didn’t kiss him,” I added wearily. “He kissed me.”

Sadie’s eyes grew round. “Gabe kissed you?”

I nodded.

“And Tyler saw?”

I nodded again.

“Shit,” she muttered.

“Shit,” I repeated.

“Shit,” Morgan agreed.

“Language, girls!” Mother scolded, catching the tail end of our conversation.

“I’ll find him,” Sadie promised. “We’ll get this sorted. Don’t leave. Not yet.”

“He doesn’t want to talk to me. I’ve already tried,” I replied. “And to be perfectly honest, it’s like the air around here is too thick with Thornton cologne for me to think, to breathe.”

“But Tyler wouldn’t want—”

“It isn’t about what Tyler wants,” I said with little emotion in my voice. “It’s about what I need. And what I need right now is to get as far away from here as I can.”

Sadie pulled me close, patting my shoulder. “I get it. I’ll talk to him. I’ll explain.”

“You shouldn’t need to,” I replied.

* * *

The car trip home was oddly quiet. Mother didn’t lecture me and the rest of my family fell asleep. I was crammed into the back seat with Morgan and Alistair, my head pressed against the glass, staring at the night sky.

My perfect Tyler-shaped bubble had popped but now I was in another kind. One that felt cold and foggy and distanced me from the rest of the world. It made me turn off my phone rather than staring at it constantly, waiting for that one name to appear.

When we finally reached my parents’ house, I ignored all the concerned stares and questions regarding my welfare and crawled fully dressed into bed, pulling the covers over my head and drowning myself in darkness.

* * *

Mother shook me awake after what seemed like a second later. “Lauren,” she said in the sharp way only Mother could. “Lauren you’ve got to come see this.”

When I made my way into the lounge, the face of the morning news anchor was frozen on the TV screen and red bannered words stood out boldly. THORNTON INDUSTRIES OWNER CRASHES MERCEDES INTO GLASS FRONT OF HIS OWN CASINO.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

Dad pressed the remote and the news anchor’s face blurred back into motion.

“And finally, we bring to you a rather odd story that unfolded overnight. Police responded to calls after Hamish Thornton, the owner of Thornton Industries, crashed his own car through the lavish glass front of the casino owned by his company. To make matters worse, it was during the opening night of the casino with many important guests and media invited along to the auspicious event.”

Images of the shattered glass flashed across the screen, and sure enough, there was Hamish’s vehicle planted squarely in the entrance of the lobby. The images switched into motion to reveal a stumbling and drunk Hamish emerging from the vehicle and batting off the people that were attempting to help him. They then switched to him resisting the help of the police and eventually them escorting him away in handcuffs.

The news anchor appeared back on screen. “Photos have also emerged of two of Mr Thornton’s sons allegedly in a fist fight earlier on in the evening. Thankfully, no one sustained any serious injuries from either incident.” Turning in her chair, the news anchor directed her attention away from the camera and towards the waiting weatherman. “Well, Dan, it sounds as though the evening didn’t all go according to plan for the Thornton family.”

“One would think not, Hilary,” the weatherman replied. “This company better reign in the members of its namesake before they become a ‘thorn’ in its side.”

Dad paused the screen on the news anchor’s face mid-smirk and eye roll.

“Seems like that family you are so fond of has got themselves into a spot of bother,” Mother said, her brows lifting high in an expression that only meant one thing.

I told you so.

 

* * *

Keep reading for a sneak peek at the first chapter book four…
 

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