Summer nightmare

Part I : The Call

"Is everything okay?"

Audrey looked up from the computer screen and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

And her eyes went back down to the screen. She scrolled mindlessly through the comments for a few minutes, then closed the lid of the laptop and pushed her chair back.

It was quite a sunny day, and Audrey kept herself from cursing at the sight of the clear blue sky. She hated it. She preferred rain. She loved to watch the sky become grey and stormy. She loved the sound of lightning, and heavy rain hitting the windows.

But today, the odds had decided otherwise; now she would have to cope with another day at the beach. Why does it have to be summer? She let out a loud sigh.

A few forced smiles later, she was gazing through the window of her father's jeep and watching bright blue waves hit the rocks. But all she could think about was going home, where it was probably raining cats and dogs and where Shelby was just only waking up. She checked her watch. She had been keeping track of the time difference, so she knew.

"Will you stop being grumpy and enjoy this a little bit?" Her father stared at her in the rear view mirror.

"Jack, can you let her be for a moment, we've only just got here. She needs time to adjust." Her mother scolded him.

She needs time to adjust. The words echoed in Audrey's head, like the banging of a hammer. She shook her head to get rid of the noise. But it was only getting louder, so loud she couldn't bare it anymore. She felt she was about to blow her top.

"What were you expecting, exactly? Did you really think I wanted to come here? That after all that happened, we'd just go to the beach, eat some ice cream, crack a smile and, Bob's your uncle I'd be happy?"

Her mother didn't dare to turn her head and face her. She looked at her husband, who didn't seem to be affected in the slightest. He wasn't listening.

"Oh blimey, look at the view!"

Audrey looked the opposite way. If only she could be somewhere else, anywhere else than in that car, under this torching sun, in front of this postcard scenery. Both her parents were busy admiring the sea and arguing about if they should go swimming or sunbathing first. Pathetic, Audrey thought.

There was no point in talking them into going back to the cottage to fetch the "sunscreen she forgot" or "medication she didn't take". Her mother always came prepared, which could have come as handy in certain situations; unfortunately it had always got Audrey into some sort of trouble, and in this case she was trapped once again. She would do anything to get out of this awful situation.

As if some higher power had heard her request, her phone suddenly started ringing. Seeing Shelby's name appear on the screen, Audrey immediately cleared her thoughts and took the call.

"Shelby! How are you? Thank God you called!" She squealed, not giving Shelby the time to respond.

"Oh dear Lord, I really can't stand it here. The sun, the beach, the mosquitos, at least they have good cocktails!" She added, well aware that her parents were listening.

"Audrey" Shelby spoke in a calm tone.

"Yes? What is it?"

"Audrey, you need to come home. Something's happened. Something really bad."