Page 141 of The Night Shift
There are no new texts. Just the one from Sid sharing his number.
(718) 090-4627: Sid here. Please feel free to reach out if you ever want to talk.
My eyes skim over the letters a few times. I feel a little numb.
It’s weird, having someone console you for something that probably affected them a million times more. An odd variant of shame coils inside me. The diabolical kind that’s impervious to logic. What shatteredme, must have lefthimin ruins. I should have been the one to reach out first. Not the other way around. My throat burns, like there’s too much pressure building in mychest, steam that needs to be let out. I wish I was still in Theo’s car underneath his body.
Now, a different kind of shame washes over me.
I slide my phone back into the jacket pocket and near my apartment door when I spot a head of dark brown hair sitting on the floor leaning back against it.
“Audrey?”
She looks up at me, her knees tucked to her chest. “Holly. Hi.”
“What are you doing here?”
She stands. She’s wearing her signature oversized shiny wool coat, her glittery blue purse dangling from her shoulder.
“I wanted to apologize for the way we left things at the hospital,” she says, shifting on her feet. “I came on too strong. I realize that now. I’m sorry.”
“How did you get my address?”
She pauses, an abject look of panic on her face like she just got caught doing something bad. “Your friend gave it to me. The bartender.”
My frown deepens. “Cami?”Why would Cami give her my address? They don’t even know each other.
“Can I come in?” she asks before I can counter question. “I won’t stay long. I just want to talk.”
Today has been a lot. It’s late, I’m really tired, and thanks to Theo, my inner thighs are aching so badly I need a hot bath before bed. “Ten minutes, tops.”
She nods.
I move past her to enter my access code into the keypad. We step inside, and I flick on the lights. I kick off my shoes. Audrey does the same. The light catches on her glittery stockings.
We move to the kitchen and sit on the barstools across from each other. “Okay. What do you want to talk about?”
Audrey pulls her coat tighter around herself like it’s armor.
I mirror the action, tugging Theo’s jacket around me. It still smells like him. Comforting.
“I’m leaving tomorrow,” Audrey says.
“Leaving?”
“The city. This place…it’s way too much for a girl like me. I need some peace and quiet. Somewhere gentler.”
I don’t know what to say. Or rather how to say it without sounding like a bitch. “What does any of this have to do with me? It’s not like we’re friends. Why come all the way to my apartment in the middle of the night to tell me this?”
Audrey smiles and ironically, it’s the first flash of sadness I’ve seen on her face. “You’re right. We aren’t friends. But I wasn’t lying when I said I want to help you. Not because I care about you or I want what’s best for you. I only care about myself. It’s selfish, I know. But I’m sure you can relate to that.”
The reality check is jarring, but not untrue. “Help me how?”
Her eyes soften. She reaches across the space between us and takes my hand, her fingers warm and steady around mine. “Where were you tonight?”
“Out.” The soft skin of her palm sends a distinct chill up my spine.
“Out where?”
