Exhausted from the day, Laurie cracked the door to Timmy’s bedroom after her father was gone. She could barely make out his silhouette on the bed in the pitch dark. Her little boy was well beyond any need for a night-light. He wasn’t even a little boy, she supposed, but she would choose to think of him that way for now.
Once she had crawled into her own bed, she pulled out her phone, which had been turned off during dinner, to send Charlotte a quick text message. Still aching from spin this morning. Why didn’t you warn me? She pulled up the emoji menu and added tiny pictures of a bicycle and a happy face with devil horns.
Charlotte quickly replied with a flexed muscle, followed by a kiss sign, followed by Zzzz to signify sleep.
Laurie was still smiling about the note when a new voicemail alert appeared on her screen. The phone number looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it. She hit the play button.
“Ms. Moran, it’s Kendra Bell. You caught me off guard today at the house. I didn’t even have a chance to tell you my side of the story. Can I meet you tomorrow afternoon? I looked at the patient schedule at work, and I can leave a little early. Would three o’clock work? And, please, you must keep your promise to keep my kids out of it.” Her voice was shaky.
Laurie replayed the message, making sure it wasn’t her imagination.
No, she was certain. Kendra’s concerns had been apparent earlier that night, but now she sounded different. She wasn’t simply anxious or nervous. She sounded rattled. Shaken. Absolutely terrified. And yet she was agreeing to do the show.
Why are you so scared? Laurie wondered. What are you afraid I’ll find?