Chapter 8 - THE CONFRONTATION AT THE CAFE
Audrey knew she couldn't stay in the room forever.
She wanted to feel the sand between her toes.
She waited until she saw their Ubers pull away,
then she dressed in a simple black swimsuit and a sheer cover-up.
She spent the afternoon on a private stretch of beach,
reading a book and listening to the gulls.
But when she went to the resort's small cafe for an iced tea,
she found Scott waiting for her.
He had stayed behind,
knowing his family was a sinking ship.
"Audrey,"
he said,
standing up from a small table.
"Can we talk?"
Audrey hesitated,
then sat down.
"You have five minutes,
Scott."
"I'm sorry,"
he said,
and for the first time,
he sounded like he meant it.
"I should have stood up for you."
"Trevor and the others...
they've been living off you for so long they forgot you're a person."
Audrey looked at him,
seeing the shame in his eyes.
"Why are you telling me this now,
Scott?"
"Because I'm leaving Brooke,"
he said.
"Watching her laugh at you in that lobby...
it made me realize I married a woman I don't even like."
"I'm taking the bus back to Atlanta tonight."
Audrey felt a strange sense of solidarity with him.
"Good for you,
Scott."
"But don't expect me to pay for your ticket."
He laughed,
a sad,
short sound.
"I don't.
I'm using the last of my savings."
"I just wanted you to know that someone saw what they did."
"And someone thinks you're right."
He stood up and walked away,
leaving Audrey alone with her tea.
She realized then that her move hadn't just broken her marriage.
It had cracked the entire facade of the Parker family.
May you like
The "whole family" was already falling apart.
And she hadn't even had to say a word.
