Bad Liar

Chapter Twenty Five

"Keys?"

Damon tosses them at Miles and he catches them easily. He makes a click sound with his tongue and gives him the thumbs up, before guiding me towards the door.

When we get outside, I cup my hand over my face, to shield myself from the bright sun. Miles leads me towards a heavily modified Hilux. I make an impressed face as I climb into the passenger seat.

"Nice set of wheels," I say with my eyebrows raised.

"He's a carpenter. Needs the room for his tools," Miles explains.

The car is loud when he starts it. He lets it warm for a minute or so, before we make our way into town. I help Miles pick out the card. He makes the choice of pink and white lilies for the flowers. They look beautiful and match the card pretty well.

I find myself smiling the entire time. It feels so normal to be doing this with Miles, even though almost two years ago, he wouldn't be caught dead with me in public. It's crazy to think how much has changed with time.

"Is it weird that I'm nervous?" Miles asks me, once we're back in the car.

"Of course not."

He taps his fingers restlessly on the steering wheel. I reach out and rub his bicep gently, trying to be of some sort of comfort, while also enjoying running my fingers over his muscles.

"That feels nice," he mutters with a sheepish smile.

When we pull up to my house, the first thing I notice, is that Finn's car isn't in the driveway. I can't decide whether that's a good or bad thing. It would have been nice to get this over with, with the both of them.

"Ready?" I ask him quietly.

He nods, giving me a nervous smile. "Yeah, let's go."

I hold his hand as we walk up to the front door. I squeeze it tightly, before turning the knob. I frown when it's locked. I pull my keys out and step inside. It's unusually quiet. When mum is home, she usually has the T.V going or music. It's deadly silent.

"Mum?" I call out.

Miles and I exchange a look. I walk through the house, calling out to her. After checking all of downstairs, I take the stairs two at a time. I lightly knock and poke my head into her room.

She's lying in bed. I frown, looking down at the time. It's past 12pm. My mum is one to be up before 7am, despite it being the weekend.

"Mum?" I say loudly.

She doesn't stir.

I walk to the bed slowly. I shake her shoulder, calling out her name. When she doesn't respond, I panic, thinking she might be dead. I hurry around to the other side and my foot kicks something. I hear a bottle roll against the floor, before hitting the wall.

I stare down at the empty bottle of wine. Oh. She's passed out. I pick up the bottle, my eyes pooling with tears.

"Find her?" Miles asks, walking through the door. He pauses, his eyes flickering from mum, to the bottle in my hand.

I inhale quickly, feeling shaky. I stride past him and down the stairs. I begin furiously rummaging through the cupboards, trying to find any alcohol in the house. Anything I find, I pour down the sink, not bothering to wipe the angry tears rolling down my cheeks. I begin searching the entire house, pulling things out of cupboards, throwing things around, feeling restless.

"Isobel," Miles says in a soft tone. "Stop."

I ignore him. I continue sweeping through each room, searching relentlessly for any bottles that could be hidden anywhere.