"Sounds like a great plan, Darling. I think I will grab one now, for the ride! You’re so much better than me at finding these clues; I haven’t guessed one of them. Who would have thought my own dear Brother could have been so imaginative."
"He probably used the internet." Phin leans around Wren to look at his sister, soft light hair falling into his eyes like it was freshly blown. His face held shadows under his eyes, but his clothes were ironed and he looked more presentable than yesterday. He’d been in her room when I’d knocked, so I assume he'd gotten the makeover treatment too.
Lil waved her long fingers dismissively. "Why sneer at tools we as humans created? What’s the point in inventing if we’re judged for using it?"
I roll my eyes, the two siblings now squabbling over the population's usage of phones, and I’ve never felt more at home.
“God, you’re all like this.” Wren whispers, his fingers trailing from my hair and down my neck. "I thought it was just you and Phin."
“We’ve all been brought up together—I was practically raised as their sibling.” I internally wince and quickly add, “With these two. Not Corbin. That would have been weird.”
Willow and Mavis enter carrying their luggage, suitcases rolling behind. They’re polar opposites, the latter in soft creams and Willow in signature black. Her leather jacket is oversized and I'm pretty sure it's guys, the garment far different from the high couture she usually is dripping in. It even contrasts against the small laced dress she wears underneath, knee-high boots and a neck ribbon suggesting she’s going somewhere other than this orangery. Mavis, too, looks wrapped up, ready to face the storm outside.
"We’re leaving." Willow’s tone is monotone and she’s looking past our group.
"Like fuck you are." Cardinal says, my head snapping in his direction.
"I really don’t care for your opinion. We need to get back to London for work." She flips her dark hair over her shoulder, staring him down with a stance like a lioness.
Mavis shifts uncomfortably beside her and looks over at Phin, tilting her head. “I’m really sorry, but I just want to go home. The hotel is lovely, thank you so much Phoenix for letting us stay.”
He gives her a warm smile but then screws up his lips. "Detective Starling said we shouldn’t leave, it's not our decision and I don't want you to get in trouble. Maybe you both should ask him about heading back to London, but you’re not going to be able to travel on these roads. They’re all flooded and the bridge is shut."
She sighs. "There must be another direction to get onto the motorway. You can’t honestly be telling us that tiny village isthe only road that leads here? What about the other properties around the lake? They have their own drives and property lines."
"Those houses are all further down this road; it curves round and opens up more to the lake for the general public to fish and stuff."
She scrunches her nose.
"What’s wrong, Princess? Not getting your own way? Starling said we’re not allowed to leave whilst they investigate, so sit fucking down." Cardy glares at her, which she returns tenfold. It's like watching a game of tennis, their anger stimming to hotter temperatures.
"Again, when I care for your opinion—oh wait, I never will. Go bore someone else with your pathetic brooding."
"Did he really mean we’re not allowed to leave at all? Surely he can’t do that?" Mae asks, clearly worried on whether to leave.
"He’s an officer of the law, Mae. If you leave, you might get in trouble." I say, smiling apologetically, but Willow scoffs–causing my big mouth to function without thinking. "Greeaaaat. sarcastic scoffing, brilliant dialogue." I can’t help myself, not even our depressing reality can stop me from sparing with her. Wren coughs to try to grab my attention, but she’s already pinned her feline gaze on me.
"It’s so funny to me that you get a little D and find this new confidence. You should have asked; I could have told you all about Wren’s magic dick." Internally, I want to grab her head and smash it into the window panes, but I refrain from violence and push down the urge to blush.
"It’s incredibly funny that you’re still using his name to find any importance in yourself." I say, seeing I hit my mark when her left eye twitches. I expect someone to stop us, any of the guys really, but to my surprise Lily crosses her legs and shakes the ice in her glass.
"Oh hush, Wil Darling, you can’t try to hold any high ground when you throw around the band's name. I’m pretty sure selling those stories was the only reason you landed that page spread in Italian Vogue—Mark in wardrobe is a huge Larks fan." I feel Wren tense beside me, my friend completely unaware of what she’s done whilst she rattles on about her favourite editorial.
"Want to tell me which stories?" His voice is cold, hand dropping from my hair, and he stares at the two guests still lingering by the doors. Neither woman says anything, but Willow stands her ground, jutting her chin up. I could swear there’s regret I see plaguing her eyes.
"All our secrets are going to be found, so there's no point in hiding our little shameful moments. I don’t know why you didn’t just ask me for the cash, Darling, but anyway—she sold stories and photos of you to the press." Lily pushes the straw around her melting ice, shaking her shoulder lightly. "Only a couple, no point anyone getting their panties in a twist."
The only noise that fills the room is the patter of thick drops on the glass roof and that damn metal straw clinking against the ice.
"You were the one who sold that story about my Mum, didn’t you?" His voice sounds rougher, his hands flexing in front of him before he pins them to his knees like he’s trying to keep himself up. "I did wonder how the hell they knew I was at the hospital. She hadn’t been dead for more than an hour before I was told there was press outside. The staff wanted me to deal with it quickly, like I wasn’t having to say goodbye to my absolute everything. She was my only parent.”
An ache fills my chest for him and honestly, I could cry. He tries to clear his throat but just looks down at his bruised knuckles wrapped around his knee.
I look up at Willow, her mouth opens a fraction, but no noise follows because Cardinal's deep voice cuts through.
"Enough. Grab your bags, I’ll go with you to the cars and see if we can get them out." Whilst he looks spectacularly bored, his tone has an edge that no one argues with. Both women grab their bags, and Willow doesn’t look at anyone before bolting. Mavis giving us all another apologetic smile before heading out too.
"Those cars aren’t going to budge, man. The gravel's flooded and getting higher." Phin says to him, but he doesn’t glance back as he walks out with his hands in his suit trousers.
