Such a Beautiful Family: A Thriller(2)

It was a large bedroom. Curtains were closed. Smoke swirled upward, hitting the ceiling and spreading outward. Definitely weed. A group of four huddled together in the corner doing lines of cocaine off a mirror laid flat on a dresser. Guys and girls had gathered around the bed, shouting excitedly, just as they had been doing in the backyard. Stepping closer, she peered between two people, surprised to see two guys and a girl rolling around on the bed, rubbing oil on one another. The female appeared to be enjoying herself, although she looked high, making her wonder if the girl had any idea what was really going on.

Her heart pounded. A swooping sensation in her gut made her stomach knot. Backing away from the crowd, eager to make a quick exit, she paused to take one sweeping glance around the room for Allina. Allina wasn’t there. But the bathroom door was shut. Wondering if Allina could be inside, she knew she couldn’t leave until she knew for sure. She headed that way. Two guys grabbed her arms, one on each side. The one to her right was looking over her shoulder at someone. She followed his gaze and saw Shane nodding at him.

What the hell was going on?

Her stomach flip-flopped. She felt woozy. Instinct screamed at her to get out of the house. Now! She jerked her left arm hard enough to get loose from the guy’s grip, then pivoted fast, kneeing the other guy in the balls. She took off, pushing her way through the crowded room to the doorway. If anyone tried to stop her, she would bite and scratch and scream.

“Where are you going?” she heard Shane calling after her as she ran down the hallway toward the stairs. Stumbling and weaving her way through the throng, back the way she’d come, she felt a hand on her ass and swatted it away.

Her name floated through the air as she rushed down the stairs, hanging tight to the railing to stop herself from falling. Her legs felt like rubber. Relieved to see the front door still open, she ran through it, didn’t bother staying on the path, just ran across the lawn to the street, where she followed the line of cars parked at the curb until she got to the Toyota Corolla her dad had bought her last year. It wasn’t until she slid behind the wheel, shut the door, and locked it that she noticed it was already dark outside. She took a breath. Her head pounded. Her mind was reeling. The adrenaline racing through her body made her feel loopy, confused. She needed to take a breath, calm down, and focus. Once she got home, she would call Allina’s brother and tell him what was going on.

Her fingers tightened around the steering wheel as she drove. It took every bit of mental effort to concentrate on driving.

Once she merged onto the freeway, her eyelids began to feel heavy. She’d never felt so tired in all her life. It was as if her body were melting into the seat. The glare from the headlights blurred her vision. She blinked, a long blink, letting her eyes rest for just a second. When she opened them, twin bright lights were headed right for her.

Before she could swerve out of the way, the force of impact jolted her body and created a cacophony of sounds, starting with the swooshing of the airbag before it slammed into her face, jerking her head back and leaving her ears ringing. Glass exploded, and everything felt as if it were moving in slow motion as debris flew around her.

Suddenly, she was rolling, rolling, skidding to a stop. Am I inside the car or outside? What happened to the airbag?

Gritty, sharp-edged pavement bit into her flesh. She opened one eye, saw a blur of mangled metal and rubber. Two cars. One upside down. The other turned at an angle. Which car was hers?

Blood oozed down her face, dripping into her eye as the acrid smell of smoke thickened, threatening to fill her lungs. Only then did she feel pain. Pain so excruciating, it grabbed her by the throat and dragged her screaming into the dark.





CHAPTER ONE

Nora Ruth Harmon awoke with a start. Using her elbows to prop herself upward, she listened carefully. She’d thought she heard a noise, but now all was quiet. The neon numbers on her bedside table glowed in the dark. It was 2:00 a.m. She turned her head. David was sleeping soundly. When her eyes drifted shut again, she heard it again—a loud moan coming from her son’s room.

Trevor was having another nightmare.

She pushed the covers aside, slid her feet into her slippers on the floor, grabbed her robe from the chair nearby, and walked quietly past Hailey’s room.

The door to Trevor’s bedroom was open, which wasn’t unusual considering his fear of the dark, a fear he’d been unable to overcome. She pulled her robe tightly around her waist as she entered his room and then stood there watching him. Her son would be turning thirteen tomorrow, and despite her opinion that he was an old soul, mature beyond his age, he now had a new fear—the fear of water.

The thought broke her heart. Mostly because Trevor had always loved the water. When he was small, they used to call him Little Duck. But everything had changed after their trip to Maui one month ago. Every year David and Nora, along with their two children, Trevor and Hailey, flew from Sacramento to Maui for a week of fun in the sun at their favorite resort. They had shared so many wonderful experiences over the years . . . until their most recent trip. Trevor and his dad had gone to the pool early to grab towels and save lounge chairs. But Trevor had been impatient and took a ride on the pool slide. A decision he regretted when an older boy—a bully, according to Trevor—pushed him down the slide. Instead of waiting the allotted time necessary for Trevor to get out of the way, the big kid came down the slide, too, and landed on Trevor. Not only did the other kid fracture Trevor’s shoulder, but he kept pulling him underwater, keeping him from getting air. Trevor nearly drowned and spent two days in the hospital. The other boy was fine. He told the woman who had pulled Trevor from the water and gave him CPR until an EMT arrived that they had both slipped at the top of the slide.