Chapter 37

AUDREY

I can't do this.

I am currently sitting at my desk in my temporary office, my mind still trying to process what happened two days ago. My official office is still being refurbished, according to Mariah, my father began redecorating it for me on my birthday, trying to make it as perfect as he could.

But I couldn't deal with this. It's too sudden. I'm eighteen!

"Miss Parkinson, Mr Bishop is here to see you." Mariah's voice is chirpy over the phone, even on Mondays.

"Okay send him in." I set the phone down and stand up to greet him as he walks through the door.

"Ah, Miss Parkinson, the beauty herself," he pulls me into a gentle hug, "congratulations on taking over the company by the way."

I smiled brightly, despite the churning of my stomach. "Thank you. Are you here to discuss the help hotel? Please tell me you and your staff found a better name for it."

He chuckled and sat on one of my sofas as I sat on the other across from him. "I think help hotel sounds cool. Someone else thought of calling it 'The Helping Hand Hotel'."

"I like that, 'The Helping Hand Hotel', it's better than help hotel anyway."

He simply smiled and took out a folder and a pen. "Well, shall we discuss this then?"

I responded by getting my own, "Yes, we shall."

We then proceeded to sit for the next three hours. Multiple coffees and a few snack breaks later, we had just about finished our meeting.

"That'll be all for today if I have any other questions I'll just pop in." He stretched as he stood and packed his things away.

I too stretched, the feeling heavenly after being slouched over for too long"Great, I'll see you later then."

I stumbled back to my desk, my legs still not quite awake as I plopped onto my chair. I glanced over at my desk calendar and sighed, it was full to the brim with most meetings taking place overseas.

I sat for a moment, gathering my thoughts before picking up my phone and dialling Mariah. "Hello Miss Parkinson, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yes, there are a few things I'll need you to do."

I excused myself early, making sure all my work was done for the day and drove home. Upon arriving I began to make my way up the stairs, but I stopped halfway. I could hear a crowd cheering, but where is that coming from. I hopped down the stairs and cautiously walked down the hall, passing the home cinema.

"Yes, go Audrey!" It was Margo, but it sounded like she was a child. I went back to the home cinema and peaked through the small gap.

There on the screen was a video of me. It was me when I was a child, I was running down the track with determination, as I always did during Rowell Primary's sports day.

I passed the finish line before anyone else, an epic victory for me at the time, but since when did a video of it exist. Why? The camera turned from the track to my father at the time.

"Aw honey, are you okay?" It was my mother's voice, it held amusement and I could see why.

My father stood there with a happy grin, his cheeks were pink with pride. "She did so well. Did you see that Katie, our daughter won, beating everyone else by a landslide. She was amazing!"

I looked away from the screen to see my father in one of the chairs. His cheeks glistened, but he was smiling brightly. It was when the tears rolled down his cheeks that I realised what was happening.

Another video had started playing, but I don't know which one or how many there were as I had already begun retreating to my room. I flung the door open and stood there, gazing out mindlessly.

My thoughts were too loud.

I felt like someone had plunged a knife into my heart.

It's true. He really did care, all of those years he-

I couldn't take it anymore. My rock solid exterior crumbled to ash, the walls I built cracked and fell, the debris making it almost impossible for me to breathe. I felt confused, I felt lied to, I felt so utterly devastated that I couldn't do anything but sob. I grabbed a pillow and screamed into it, hoping it was quiet enough to not attract any attention.

It was then that I knew I had made the right decision. It was then I knew that what I was about to do was necessary for me.

I stumbled to my bed, fumbling around in search of my phone, I didn't even recall throwing it onto the bed. I let out a groan of frustration after a few minutes, almost drowning in emotion until my hand grasped it. Finally. I unlocked it and hit dial, waiting anxiously for an answer.

"Hey Aud, what's up?" The voice was as happy as usual.

"Libby, I'm really sorry for what I'm about to do and I hope you can understand what I'm doing before I..." It's okay, she'll understand. Just breathe.

"What is it? Is everything okay?" Her voice shifted from happy to one of concern. So I began to read as best as I could in this state.

My voice was weak, and it wavered with emotion when it got a little harder to handle. Despite her concern, she was patient as she waited for me to finish, I think she must feel weirded out to hear me in this state, I'm normally cool and collected in front of people, but right now I am the complete opposite.

"Audrey, stop apologizing," she scolded when I apologized for the fiftieth time, "it's okay. Audrey, it's okay. I understand your decision and I'm not going to stop you. You know what you need right now and I'm not going to stop you from trying to make yourself happier. You need this, you've worked so hard, you deserve this."

"Thank you so much, just visit me, okay?" My voice was barely a whisper as I choked back a sob. She was so accepting and understanding, it was strange to hear her usually loud and cheery voice so soft and calming.

"Of course! Absolutely, why wouldn't I?" Her voice was back to usual now, the shift in mood caused me to chuckle as we said goodbye and ended the call.

Time to break the news to my family.