Chapters (51)
- Cover
- Praise for Sara Shepard
- Also by Sara Shepard
- Dedication
- PART ONE
- —
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- PART TWO
- Piper
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Piper
- Eighteen
- Piper
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Piper
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Piper
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Piper
- Thirty-Four
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- What’s next onyour reading list?
Just looking at the picture made her chest seize. She was leaving her baby. She didn’t even know for how long. Was she nuts? She imagined how her mother would take this, her sisters. Mel’s high-achieving children, Gwen’s Instagram-perfect life, and here she was, unable to handle herself, unable to handle a single child.
She’d sold out her friends, and she didn’t even remember doing so. She was losing the plot. Whole chunks of her life were gone—and maybe she’d even hurt Piper. Being in an environment where she could concentrate on herself was the only way to fix things. This was the rational thing to do. She needed to be well for the baby and Graham. Matthew would be okay—he was so young he wouldn’t even notice Lauren was gone.
Her phone rang. Andrea, read the caller ID. Lauren froze. She’d been afraid of Andrea and Ronnie calling ever since Graham had dropped the bomb that she’d ratted them out. Early this morning, the police had even come to the door—to corroborate what Graham told them about Andrea and Ronnie in the station, no doubt. Lauren had been so traumatized and ashamed, she told Clarissa to tell the cops that she was sick in the bathroom and couldn’t see them. Later, Clarissa had brought Lauren a cup of digestive tea and the officer’s card. Please call, Detective Allegra had scrawled under his name.
The phone kept ringing. Maybe the cops had hauled in Andrea and Ronnie without Lauren’s verification. Was Andrea calling from the police station? Oh God. She let the call go to voicemail, but moments later, Andrea called again. Lauren let out a silent scream. Was Andrea going to call and call until Lauren picked up?
Her fingers had a mind of their own; they pressed the green answer button. “Lauren.” Andrea’s words were rushed. “We need to talk.”
Oh God. Oh God! “I’m sorry,” Lauren blurted. Her voice was an octave higher than normal. “Andrea, I’m so sorry.”
“You’re . . .” Andrea sounded confused. “Why?”
“I didn’t mean to say anything. Not about you, or Ronnie—I’m sick. Really sick. I don’t know what I’m doing half the time. But I’m going away. To deal with it.”
“Going . . . away?” Andrea sounded flabbergasted. “Now? But we need you!”
Lauren could feel warmth through the line. Even after all Lauren had done, Andrea was still being nice.