Chapter 7 - THE DESPERATE MORNING
The next morning,
the Parker family woke up in a motel six miles from the beach.
The air conditioner was broken,
and the curtains smelled of stale cigarettes.
Diane had spent the night on a sagging mattress,
and her back was screaming.
"I can't stay here,"
she moaned,
looking at the flickering fluorescent light in the bathroom.
"Trevor,
call her again."
"I've called her fifty times,
Mom!"
Trevor shouted from the other room.
"She’s blocked us!"
"Even Owen at the front desk won't take my calls!"
They gathered in the motel’s cramped breakfast area,
staring at the dry cereal and the watered-down juice.
"We have to go back to the resort,"
Brooke said,
her hair a mess.
"Maybe if we see her in person,
we can talk some sense into her."
"She’s probably at the spa right now,"
Diane added,
a spark of hope in her eyes.
"Using the credits I was supposed to have."
They pooled their remaining cash and took another Uber back to the Halcyon Dunes.
They arrived looking disheveled,
their clothes wrinkled and their spirits broken.
They tried to enter the lobby,
but Owen was standing near the door,
talking to a security guard.
"I'm sorry,"
Owen said,
his voice as cool as the morning air.
"But you are no longer welcome on the property."
"What?"
Trevor gasped.
"We’re just here to talk to my wife!"
"Ms. Thorne has requested that you be trespassed from the resort,"
Owen explained.
"If you do not leave immediately,"
"the local police will be called."
Diane began to wail,
a loud,
dramatic sound that caused several wealthy guests to turn and stare.
"She’s heartless!
She’s a monster!"
"No,"
Audrey’s voice came from the balcony above them.
They all looked up.
Audrey was standing there,
wearing a white linen robe,
holding a cup of coffee.
She looked radiant.
She looked untouchable.
"I'm not a monster,
Diane,"
Audrey said,
her voice carrying effortlessly.
"I'm just the person who stopped paying for the play."
"The 'whole family' is together,
right?"
"Isn't that what you wanted?"
"Enjoy your time together."
She turned and walked back into her room,
May you like
the glass door sliding shut with a final,
satisfying click.
