One Summer in Paris(77)

Audrey had never seen such naked anxiety on anyone’s face before.

“Hi, Grace. I don’t feel well.” The words ran together with no punctuation.

“Oh, honey—” Grace dropped to her knees beside her.

Audrey felt her hand, cool and steady, on her brow. “Drank too much. Sorry—”

“Hush. Don’t talk. You’re safe now. I’m going to get you home.”

Audrey was dimly aware that she didn’t really have a home, but the word sounded so good she didn’t argue. Home sounded like a place where you were safe and loved.

Grace soaked the corner of the towel in cold water and wiped Audrey’s face and neck. “Can you stand?”

“Etienne—” she mumbled. “Gone.” She couldn’t hold on to her thoughts long enough to form a complete sentence. Words came and went like flashing images. She felt as if a rock band was performing inside her skull.

“Don’t worry about him now. We’ll figure it all out later. Can you stand?”

Audrey didn’t think she could, but with Grace coaxing and hauling her she managed to stagger to her feet. It turned out that moving wasn’t a good thing. “I’m going to be sick again.” She made it to the toilet and retched miserably. Her stomach burned. Her throat stung. She hated being sick.

And then Grace was there, smoothing back her hair, stroking her back and murmuring words of comfort.

No one had ever held Audrey when she was sick before. Somehow it made the whole thing not quite so bad. She sank onto the floor of the bathroom again and closed her eyes.

“Can’t walk.” She knew she was slurring her words. “Leave me.”

“I’m not leaving you.” Grace opened the bathroom door, and Audrey heard her voice, cool and commanding.

The next moment two guys had slunk into the bathroom and helped Audrey up.

Together they carried her downstairs and outside into the street where a cab was waiting.

Audrey discovered that drink numbed humiliation.

She still didn’t know where Etienne was, but it was probably safe to assume he’d done a runner, and who could blame him? She’d do a runner too if she was capable of putting one leg in front of the other.

She slumped in the back of the taxi, only half listening as Grace gave instructions.

“How did you know where I was?”

“Your location was on your text.”

Audrey kept her eyes closed. “So now you’re a tech wizard.”

“I am. Stop talking. We’ll soon be home.”

“Grace?”

“Yes?”

“Are you mad at me?”

“Never. I might be mad at Etienne, though.”

“Washn’t his fault.” Slurring, Audrey flopped against her shoulder. “Don’t leave me.”

“I’m not going to leave you, honey. I’m right here.”

The journey was a blur, but somehow they arrived home, and Grace helped Audrey up the stairs. She groped the wall for support.

“Not my apartment.” She was struggling to walk in a straight line. There was no way she’d make it up the final flight of stairs to her room. The way she felt, she’d happily sleep in the stairwell.

“You’re spending tonight in mine, so I can keep an eye on you. I’m going to make you a strong coffee, and you’re going to take a shower and drink lots of water.”

“Need to lie down.”

“Shower first.” Grace coaxed her into the bathroom, and Audrey clutched the wall for support as Grace tugged off her clothes.

“I’ll drown.”

“You’re not going to drown.” Grace turned on the jets and nudged Audrey into the spray.

Icy jets of water sprayed her, and she gasped, her head clearing a little.

Then Grace was wrapping her in a large, soft towel and guiding her to the sofa.

“Sit there for a moment.”

Audrey sat, shivering like Hardy after a bath.

She felt sicker than she ever had in her life before.

But Grace was there, encouraging her to drink a large glass of water and then a small cup of black coffee that was so strong Audrey almost choked again.

“Shorry. Didn’t mean to drink.”

“Don’t think about it now.” Grace took the cup from her and put a couple of pillows on the sofa. “Can you lie down or does your head spin?”

Audrey tried it, and decided it was bearable. She closed her eyes and a moment later she was enveloped by softness as Grace wrapped her in a blanket.

“Grace?”

“Yes, honey.”

“I know you wear tights in the middle of summer and dress like a granny, but you’re very kind.”

That was the last thing she remembered.

When she woke, fingers of sunlight were poking through the shutters. Grace was sitting across from her. She looked pale and hollow-eyed.

Audrey groaned and lifted her head. “What time is it?”

“Ten o’clock.”

“Ten!” Audrey tried to sit up but her head exploded and she lay down again. “I’m late for work again. Elodie will fire me.”

“It’s Sunday. We don’t open until twelve.”

“Oh.” She closed her eyes, but that made the spinning worse so she opened them again. “I remember you giving me water in the night. Have you been there the whole time?”