Before Brielle could answer, Jazz came back inside. Her face was pinched, and her skin was pale.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, getting up off the stool and going to her.
“It’s my mom,” she said tightly. “She’s in the hospital. She’s fine. She’s not the one who—” She sucked in a breath of air. “She didn’t recognize our neighbor… Mom went at her with a knife when she came over. Mom’s sedated and I—”
“You have to go.” I nodded. “Absolutely. But you can’t drive. Not in the state you’re in.”
“I’ll drive you,” Brielle said, reaching for her best friend’s hand.
Jazz nodded. “But what about this?”
“We’ve got this,” I assured her. “Both of you go. Drive safe.”
They quickly gathered their belongings and were out the door.
Connie and Eddie looked at me.
“We’re so fucked,” Connie said as soon as they were gone.
“Normally I would agree with you, but not this time,” I said as I reached for my cell phone. I pressed a button, and she answered on the first ring. “Mia? I need help.”
Chapter41
Two hours later,Darcy arrived with a small crew in tow.
“We have come to rescue you, fair maiden,” Duke teased. “Just give me an apron and point me in the direction of the stove.”
Connie handed him a spatula. Duke peered at it for a moment. “What’s this?”
“A spatula,” she said.
“What’s it do?” he demanded.
“On second thought—” Connie filched the spatula from Duke. “You need to do something low-key, like dipping strawberries into chocolate.”
Waverly stood in the corner of the kitchen, completely absorbed in her phone.
I looked to Willa and then raised my brows at her, asking her to silently explain why her younger sister had tagged along.
Willa sighed. “She was suspended from school, and I can’t leave her at home alone unsupervised. Is it okay that I brought her?”
“Totally. It’ll probably be good for her,” I said. “Was she suspended for cutting school?”
“Yeah. And for leaving campus without permission.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what to do. I’m her sister—she won’t listen to me. But Mom is never home, so I’m the only one who even tries to knock any sort of sense into her.”
“Well, she’s here with us, so we can put her to work and keep an eye on her.” I winked. “She’s probably bored.”
“Or wants attention that she’s not getting at home. Doesn’t take a genius to figure her situation out. Absent mother, no father…she acts out, and there’s no one to tell her ‘no’.”
“Hey, Waverly,” I called out.
The teenager looked up from her phone, her expression sullen.
“Have you ever made meringue?” I asked.
She shook her head.
“Want to help me make it? I can teach you if you want?”