Forty-Four
Later that evening, after watching the Albina guests leave in the thumping helicopter, Audra lay on her bed with her laptop, waiting for the wi-fi to connect. She'd seen the IT guys carrying all the gear back from Albina, so she figured everything would be back to normal. Sure enough, this time the connection worked on the first try. Her email chimed, telling her she had a message from Sam, wanting a video call.
Audra didn't hesitate. Waiting only long enough for the webpage to open, she initiated the call.
"Did you get them? Did you? They're sold out everywhere!"
The Chaya tickets. Which, despite her threat, she hadn't sold. And she couldn't. Even if she hated Jay, she couldn't do that to her sister.
Audra summoned a smile. "Yeah. Happy birthday, I guess."
Sam's happy scream set Audra's teeth on edge, but she didn't complain. She'd rarely seen Sam so happy. Sam's voice slowed into intelligible speech again and Audra realised she was talking to someone off-screen.
"Who else is home?" Audra asked.
"Just Ben," she said, then frowned. "He says he needs to talk to you."
The room blurred as Sam twisted the webcam to face Ben.
"Hi," he said, mirroring Sam's frown. "Your car rego's overdue. And the insurance, too."
Audra blinked, then remembered. "I gave you the money for that before I left. In cash, remember?" It was the last money she'd had at the time - she hadn't even had a couple of dollars for a bottle of water at the airport.
"What? Oh, so that's what that was for. I used it to replace my tools. They got stolen off Joe's ute when we were at lunch a week after you left." Ben shrugged. "I'll have to owe you."
Audra wanted to reach through the screen and throttle him. "That was more than a thousand dollars, Ben! Money to pay those bills that I gave you because I trusted you!"
Ben's eyes dropped to his lap. "Yeah but...I forgot, and when I found the money, it was like a miracle. Joe was going to take another apprentice instead if I didn't replace those tools. I'll pay you back, honest."
No, he wouldn't, because he'd never have the money, Audra thought but didn't say. Instead, she sighed. "You better. So I have to find another grand so you can pay the bills?"
Ben hunched his shoulders. "Um, probably more than that. Y'see, there's fines for paying late and for driving unlicensed and the car'll need to go over the pits for inspection, so there's inspection fees, too."
Audra felt all her savings slip away. "How much?"
"Leon says about three grand. No, wait, four including the rego and insurance."
"Four thousand dollars? My car's not worth that! What the hell for?"
Ben mumbled something that Audra didn't catch, so she asked him to repeat it. Her older brother pressed his lips together as if he didn't want to.
Sam shoved his shoulder and the room blurred again as she turned the camera back to her own face. "If he won't tell you, I will. All the taillights are gone and the blinkers, too. The hatch on the back doesn't close properly on account of it being bent out of shape, so you'll need a new one of those, too. Leon said that's why the police declared it not roadworthy any more. Even if you replace the lights, exhaust fumes will creep into the car unless you can shut it."
"Leon? He's not supposed to be driving," Audra began ominously.
"Nah, he got doctor's approval a fortnight ago, but he didn't have a car, so he borrowed yours." Sam grinned gleefully. "You should've seen him hit the letterbox on his first drive. One minute it's there, the next, SMASH. Bricks and dust everywhere. I never liked that letterbox."
"Leon. Our brother, Leon, who crashed his car and nearly killed himself, has been driving my uninsured and unlicensed car for a fortnight?!"
"Four weeks, actually," Sam volunteered. "He has a new girlfriend and he couldn't take her on a date on the bus, so he borrowed your car."
"BEN! I trusted you!" Audra bellowed.
A firm knock sounded at her door.
"I'm busy!" she called.
The knocking resumed.
Swearing, Audra told Sam, "I have to go. I get paid in a couple of days. I'll sort something out." She terminated the call, crossed the room in two strides and yanked open the door. "What?"
Serge folded his arms. "You all right?"
"Fine." Audra waved at the laptop. "Family problems."
"I heard. Actually, I think everyone on this side of the lagoon heard. If you need someone to talk to, you know I'm here."
Did his gaze drop to her chest, or was she imagining it? Jay couldn't be right. He couldn't be. Serge wasn't interested in her boobs or any part of her body. "Thanks, but I'm not sure there's much to say. What do you do when you want to kill your family?"
Serge grinned. "Work out. It's why I got into fitness, I guess." His smile faltered. "If you want, I have tomorrow morning free. I could give you a training session. Help you work off all that frustration."
She wished with all her being that she could take Penny's advice and take him to bed, eyeing the bulging biceps that showed at their best when he had his arms folded like that. She had frustration on all sides tonight.
Shit. Take advice from Penny, the bitch who gave blow jobs to every dick she saw and called HER a slut? The girl who was probably wrapped around Jay right now? Fuck no. Just the thought of that made her want to hit something.
"Yeah. Sure. Tomorrow," Audra said finally.
"It's a date." Serge sauntered off.
A date? Well, maybe. Tomorrow, she'd see. Right now, she just wanted to go to bed and sleep before anything else happened. Tomorrow couldn't be worse than today.