Page 74 of Break Out

“Okay, I’ll be right there,” she finally says, hanging up the phone and turning to me. “That was Arthur.”

“Okay?” Why is he calling her?

Aubrey pinches the bridge of her nose. “My mother’s missing.”

“She’s what?”

She lets out a strained laugh. “Exactly. I don’t know.” She waves her hands around. “Something about her saying she was going down to the restaurant in the lobby for breakfast after Clara and Chet left but never showing up there. No one can find her.”

“She’s a grown woman. Who’s fully capable of making her own decisions, right?”

“Yes,” Aubrey says, dropping back down onto the couch and tucking her legs up under her.

“Maybe she doesn’t want to be here anymore. Can’t say I blame her after the way she acted yesterday and all the other times this week. Maybe she finally realized that no one really wants her here if she’s going to behave that way, so she left.”

“I don’t know, but Arthur’s in the lobby and I told him I’d be right there,” she says, picking at her nails.

“Okay,” I say even though I want to tell her not to bother. Would her mother do the same thing for her if she suddenly left? But I don’t say those things. The last thing I want to do is make Aubrey even more anxious than she already is. “Want me to go with you?”

“No, that’s okay. I’m going to change and go.” She gets to her feet and walks into the bedroom.

With a groan, I drop my head against the back of the couch and close my eyes. This is not how I saw this trip going, heck, it’s not even how I saw today going, even after Clara and Brielle came by.

Chapter twenty-nine

Aubrey

The next few hours pass quickly as I help Arthur search for my mother. We finally get some information about where she might have gone when the concierge comes back from his break. He tells us she tipped well, which is why he remembered her, and that he got her a car to the airport earlier this morning.

I’m not sure why Arthur didn’t do it before, but as soon as he heard that, he called their bank and discovered that a one-way ticket to Orlando had been booked this morning. We assume she got on the flight. Arthur was beside himself the whole time, apologizing profusely to me for the hassle. I’ll give him credit for the way he handled the situation. He’s a good man in an awkward position. I don’t know what I would do if I were in his situation. But I don’t have time to dwell on that because now I have to meet my sisters and break the news to Clara.

As I make my way to Bri’s suite, I replay the last few hours, trying to figure out how I’m going to tell Clara that Mother’s gone. As much as I’m angry at her for the way she acted yesterday, I still expected her to show up to the wedding. And now she’s not. Today is turning into a shit show. I hope for my sister’s sake that everything else goes smoothly.

Bri must see the stress written on my face because when she opens the door to her suite, her smile drops.

I step inside, taking a deep breath. When Clara sees me, she starts to get up from the couch, but I shake my head and sit down next to her. I take one of my baby sister’s hands in mine and stare into her eyes. The couch dips behind me as Bri sits down, but I don’t turn to face her.

“Mother’s not coming.” Might as well rip the Band-Aid off.

“Wha-what do you mean?” Clara chokes out, her eyes filling with tears. “She was fine when Chet and I left her earlier.” Her gaze darts from mine to Bri’s as if Bri will have an explanation.

“Clara,” I say gently. “A car drove her to the airport a few hours ago. Probably right after you talked to her.”

“Maybe she went to pick someone up,” Clara suggests, wiping away the tears that are now freely flowing.

It breaks my heart to see my sister so broken up about our mother not coming to her wedding. I don’t know if I’m more angry that Clara is so upset about it even after the way Mother treated her, or the fact that she had the audacity to leave.

I shake my head. “No. Arthur called the bank, and there was an airline ticket purchased this morning.”

“That doesn’t mean she’s actually not coming. Maybe she’ll change her mind,” Clara protests.

“Maybe,” I say gently, rubbing a hand over my sister’s arm. “Arthur was calling the airline when I left to come here. To see if she boarded the flight.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Bri hisses out behind me. “Of all the days for her to throw the biggest tantrum ever, she chooses today.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, my forehead furrowed.

“Don’t you see.” Bri waves her hand around. “She’s doing this because she knows Arthur will be frantic trying to find her. That we’ll want to help him, and Clara’s big day won’t get the attention it deserves. It’s her way of still being in control of the situation.”