Because of Sydney (15 page)

She stood next to me, while I grabbed the key card from my wallet. The tequila making both of us feel relaxed and eager. Her fingers ran along my arm, I couldn’t get the door opened fast enough.

I pushed on it, drawing her with me into the dark room. My hands ran through her hair. Her mouth was on mine. Hot and fierce. One of my hands trailed along her shoulder, down her chest, cupping her breast. I squeezed until I heard her groan. Her tongue lashed wildly.

As I reached for the zipper on the dress, her phone began to ring. She paused for a second, but ignored it.

“Probably a pocket dial or something,” she breathed. Her fingers began to work the buttons on my shirt.

The ringing started again, and her eyes flashed to mine. “Sorry, I better check it.”

“No problem.” I sat on the couch, while she dug through her purse looking for the phone.

Before I knew what was happening, she answered, walked into the bedroom, and closed the door.

I waited. A few minutes passed, and I walked into the kitchen and poured a glass of water from one of the bottles on the counter. The hotel had delivered a fully stocked basket of snacks and drinks. I could hear her voice, muffled by the door. I sat the empty glass on the bar and stood in front of the door. She was still talking.

I took a pack of cookies and sat on the couch, flipping on the TV. It was instinct. I always searched for the business channel. I didn’t register the stock report when the numbers scrolled across the bottom of the screen, my attention was on the bedroom door.

This was damn ridiculous. We had been in the middle of something I didn’t think needed to be interrupted. I turned off the TV and walked to the bedroom.

“Sydney?” I tapped on the door. When she didn’t answer, I opened it. “Syd?”

She was sitting in the center of the bed, her legs pulled up to her chest, the dress crumpled at her hips. The phone was still in her hand.

“Everything ok?” I was afraid to ask.

“I just need a minute.”

I sat next to her. “You’ve been here for half an hour. Have you been on the phone the whole time?”

“No,” she whispered.

I took the phone from her hand and laid it on the bedside table. “What’s going on?”

She shook her head. “I-I just need a second. I’ll be back out.”

I saw the forced smile on her face. Damn it. Part of me wanted to walk out of the room and pretend she could pull herself together and we’d start off where we left things when the phone rang. Then the other part of me looked at her. Mascara smudged, eyes red, and I knew spending the night with me was the last thing on her mind.

I kicked off my shoes, and laid down next to her. At first she was reluctant to move, but I managed to pull her against my chest. Her head rested over my heart. I ran my fingers through her hair. I didn’t know if I should try to get her to talk, or wait for her to say something.

“Did you get some bad news?”

She was silent. I don’t know how many minutes ticked by before she finally spoke.

“It’s my sister.” Her voice was almost too quiet to hear.

“Did something happen?” I didn’t expect it, but there was a knot in my stomach. A sense of dread moved in. I stopped playing with her hair and my hand pressed deeply against her hip.

“Yes and no.”

I was out of my element. I kept my mouth shut while she talked.

“Something happened to my sister.”

“Is she ok?”

“It’s been almost five years since she’s been gone.” Sydney talked slowly. Slower than I had ever heard her.

I had no idea what to say. There was a lump in my throat. “Did she? Is she?”

“She’s not dead.”

“Oh.” I was confused.

“She ran away. I haven’t seen her in five years. Or my niece.” She straightened her back, until she was sitting up, looking at me. “She’s in hiding.”

“Darlin’, I’m not following.”

Sydney sighed. “It started when I was in high school. She’s older than me. She was dating this guy. Not a good guy. We thought he was hanging around with a bad crowd, you know? Making bad choices. Doing stupid stuff. But Hailey couldn’t see it. She thought he was going through some things and he would change. But he didn’t. He got more involved, and it made him unpredictable. Angry.”

“What was he doing?”

“He worked at the train station, at the ticket booth.”

“Well, that sounds legit.”

Her head turned, so her eyes were locked on mine. “It wasn’t. He used it as a way to sell stolen merchandise. Eventually, it led to drugs. At least that’s what we think.”

“I’ll stop asking questions. You tell me what happened.”

“Anyway, Brian was running this side business, and it was taking over his life. Then Hailey found out she was pregnant. She swore he would marry her and they would raise the baby together and everything would work out.” She closed her eyes.

“What happened?”

“He blamed her for getting pregnant and told her she did it to get money from him. She was devastated. She ended up moving back in with my parents. It was my senior year of high school. She had the baby at Christmas. A little girl she named Gracie. That was the picture you saw on my dresser.”

I remembered how she had quickly yanked it from my hand.

“Anyway, it seemed like she and Brian were finished. He didn’t even come to the hospital when she had the baby. We all thought it was over. But then he started showing up again, and he was threatening Hailey. He said she owed him money. He threatened her saying he would get the money from her.”

“What about your parents? Did they get involved?” I could feel my pulse starting to pick up.

“Yes. My dad called the police. He confronted Brian. They filed a restraining order. They did everything they could legally do. But Brian seemed to find a way to Hailey, if she was at the park with the baby, or if they were at the mall. It didn’t matter—he was watching her constantly. Until one day, she came home.”

Sydney stopped. Her eyes fell. I couldn’t tell if she was going to keep going.

“She came home, and her clothes were ripped, she was crying. She had a black eye and a cut on her arm. He had attacked her when she was leaving work. He said it would be worse the next time if she didn’t pay him.”

“God. What did the police do?”

Sydney shook her head. “Nothing. The next morning she and the baby were gone. They left in the middle of the night. We never heard her leave.”

“She took off?”

“Yes. She left a letter saying it wasn’t safe for anyone. She took Gracie and started over somewhere Brian couldn’t find them.”

I sat forward. “Tell me the guy went to jail.”

“No. Without Hailey to press charges for the assault there wasn’t much they could do.”

“That is insane. The guy should be behind bars.” I felt the heat rising in my neck.

“My parents tried. They filed harassment charges. He was out of jail after thirty days. Nothing seemed to stick. It didn’t help that Hailey disappeared.”

“But where is she?”

“I don’t know. She called my parents tonight. That was what the phone call was about. My mom wanted to let me know.”

“Do you ever talk to her?”

“Sometimes. She uses disposable phones. I don’t get to call her. It’s whenever she wants to check in.”

I could hear it. The anger in her voice. The resentment. The hurt and confusion all of this had caused.

“When is the last time you two talked?”

“Almost three months ago.”

“I don’t really know what to say.” I was dumbstruck. How was this beautiful, driven girl carrying this secret with her?

“There isn’t anything you can say. It’s been close to five years. This is how she wants things.”

“And you? How do you deal with it?”

Her shoulders relaxed slightly. “I try to focus on my life. I can’t convince her to go home. I can’t promise her she and Gracie will be safe.”

“So you moved to a different state and threw yourself headfirst into a new career.” It made sense. I doubted the painful memories of her sister were in South Padre. Although I knew how memories could haunt no matter where you were.

She nodded. Her body relaxed against mine as she slid against my frame. I wrapped an arm around her, pulling her tight. I had this sudden urge to protect her. Shield her from the hurt and the pain. Block it from touching her.

“I couldn’t stay there any longer. My parents live by their phones. Every time one of them rings, my parents jump, hoping it’s Hailey. I couldn’t stand it anymore. I had to get away.”

Her voice sounded tired. Her hand rested against waist, and I laid my hand on top of hers.

“Until he’s in jail for something stupid he does, she won’t come back.”

“What did your mom say tonight?”

Sydney yawned, her body growing heavier next to mine. “That Hailey said to tell me hello. That Gracie is reading now. And then she started crying. All the calls are the same. They never change.” Her shoulders slipped under my grip. “I wish it was different.”

I reached toward the lamp and flipped the switch.

“I know you do, baby. I know,” I whispered the words over her head. I would hold her as long as she needed. I didn’t know what else I could do.

I held her close until we both fell asleep.

I
stretched my arms over my head and sat up. I was still wearing my dress from last night. Mason wasn’t in the room. I didn’t mean to fall asleep on him last night. I didn’t mean for any of that to happen. I spilled everything about Hailey and Gracie. I groaned. Way to keep it light and fun, Sydney.

I closed the bathroom door behind me and brushed my teeth. Usually after the calls about Hailey I slept restlessly. My dreams filled with frantic scenes of trying to rescue her. I would search the rooms of an empty house. Sometimes the house was on fire. I never found her. I always woke up feeling sick and angry.

I was angry at Brian for ruining our family. I was angry at the police for not protecting my sister. I was angry at my parents for not finding a way to bring her back. But mostly I was angry at Hailey for choosing him. She was the one who let him into her life. She destroyed our lives. When those thoughts came, I pushed them out, telling myself I was selfish. I felt guilty for even thinking it. Hailey was a victim. I zipped my toothbrush back in my overnight bag and walked into the suite to find Mason.

He was standing in front of the window. The phone pressed to his ear. The business channel was on mute, and there were spreadsheets scattered on the coffee table.

I made a cup of coffee while he finished his call.

He turned and smiled. “Good morning.” He tossed the phone on the table.

He had obviously showered. His hair looked dry, though. I wondered how long he had been awake.

“Good morning.” I stirred in a teaspoon of sugar and tasted the coffee.

“How did you sleep?”

“I-uh-thank you.” I was utterly embarrassed. My family secrets spilled in a mess at my feet. I realized I didn’t have one of those terrible dreams about my sister last night. Mason’s arms had been around me. I might have dreamed it, but I thought he kept checking on me, running his hands over me gently, drowning out the pain.