Unbreakable (2 page)

Mark had been watching her the entire time, a neutral expression on his face, but he didn’t move to help her. Sophie turned to face him once she had deposited Abby near the warmth of the flames. “Look at her. She needs to sleep on a proper bed.”

“I don’t think she cares right now where she sleeps, as long as she’s sleeping.”

“Don’t
you
care? What kind of asshole are you?”

“Look, Abby’s fine, okay? She’ll sleep it off, have one hell of a hangover, and get over it. So just calm down already.” Finally deigning to help, Mark reached across for the spare blanket and spread it across Abby’s sleeping form. “She’s not the first teenager to pass out on a beach and I guarantee you she won’t be the last. Use the other blanket if you want to sleep on it or stay up with me. We can watch over her ‘til the sun rises and then I’ll take you back to Abby’s place.”

“Sunrise? That’s hours away! I’m not sitting here for hours so you can watch the sunrise!”

“So sleep. Like I said, there’s the second blanket. Use it or don’t use it. I don’t give a crap, but I’m staying here ‘til sunrise. Unlike you, I can handle my alcohol.”

Sophie glared at Mark before looking down at Abby.
Damn
, damn, damn. Now what am I going to do? Thanks for landing me in this, Abby
. She didn’t want to leave Abby unconscious on the beach but on the other hand she sure as hell wasn’t going to sleep here with Mark present. Who knew what kind of crap he would try and pull? What she did know was that she had to find somewhere to sleep soon because all her body wanted to do was lie down and let oblivion take over.

She couldn’t call her parents or Abby’s parents. It just wasn’t an option. The problems she faced now were nothing compared to how their parents would react. They would be extremely pissed off that her and Abby had lied to them about staying over at each other’s places and that they now needed a ride home because they were hammered on the beach. Worse than that however was the possibility of them finding out about the shoplifting. She just couldn’t take that risk. They would go ballistic and she had enough drama to deal with as it was without adding to it. It was better for everyone if their parents knew nothing.

She knew Darla’s car was in for repairs and that Darla wouldn’t be able to borrow her parents’ new and expensive cars. Darla didn’t exactly have the best driving record and her parents wouldn’t allow her anywhere near the steering wheel of their own cars. Suddenly an idea popped into her head.

“Can I sleep in your car?”

“Yeah, whatever.” Mark fished in his pocket for the keys and tossed them at her. As Sophie walked off Mark called out to her. “Don’t get any ideas about driving off. You’ll leave Abby abandoned with no transportation if you do.”

“I wouldn’t do that. We’re not all jerks,” Sophie replied without turning around.

“That’s rich coming from a shoplifter.”

Mark’s chuckle followed after her as Sophie made her way across the sand. Her legs felt heavy, as if the sand clutched at them every time she took a step, but she forced herself to keep going.
I don’t care how long it takes to reach his car, I’m not spending anymore unnecessary time around Mark as long as I can help it. Now lift your damn legs, Sophie
. What had been a few minutes’ walk before took her significantly longer to retrace her steps but she eventually made it back to Mark’s car. Pausing, she looked around, but the parking lot was still deserted and she heard nothing unusual. Unlocking the door, she slid into the back seat and closed the door behind her, locking it with a small degree of satisfaction. She just hoped Mark would stay with Abby and not try and come to pester her again. Laying her head down on the seat, using the stolen clothing as a makeshift pillow, Sophie closed her eyes and slept.

What is that damn noise? I’m trying to sleep here…just let me sleep…
The tapping was insistent and continued on until Sophie opened her bleary eyes before shutting them again against the sunlight that streamed onto her face. Waiting a few seconds, she opened her eyes slowly again, raising her hand to shield them as she gazed around.
Where the hell am I?
It took her a few moments before she remembered where she was.
Oh crap, Mark’s car. Just great. Must be Abby and him wanting in. What time is it?

Sophie forced herself to turn around and face the tapping that was coming from the window directly above her head. Eventually spotting the uniformed police officer, Sophie bolted upright on the seat and subsequently gripped her head.
Bad move, Soph. Bad move
. She tried to take some steadying breaths but they offered no relief for the decimation that was currently her head. She’d never felt so bad in her entire life. She wanted to escape from her body but knew she was trapped with nowhere to go and no option than to endure the next few hours of hell. Every part of her screamed out for water and the thought of food appealed greatly to her and made her want to throw up in equal measure.

“Please open the door.” The officer’s voice and expression were neutral as he stared at Sophie through the glass. Looking groggily around, Sophie located the keys on the floor and unlocked the car. As the door opened, a wave of fresh air hit her which helped her to feel slightly better. She looked at the officer and attempted to smile sweetly, though to the officer it appeared more like a grimace. “Good morning, officer. Can I help you?”

“What’s your name?” The officer stared at her with a look that declared he knew exactly what she’d been up to the night before.

“Sophie.” She returned the officer’s stare, refusing to look away.

“Is this your car, Sophie?”

She paused before answering. She didn’t want to get Abby in trouble, but she couldn’t care less what happened to Mark.
Get it together, you need to not screw up here
. “It’s a friend’s car.”
Well, friend of a friend
.

“What’s your friend’s name?”

“Mark.”

“Surname?”

Shit
. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” The officer looked at her questioningly.

“Okay, look. I don’t know him that well. He’s my friend’s boyfriend. I decided to come and sleep in the car so they could have some private time. I don’t know where they are right now.”
Technically that wasn’t lying; they might have changed locations…

“I’m going to need you to get out of the car, please, Sophie.” The officer stood back and looked pointedly at Sophie, who slowly made her way off the back seat before stepping up and leaning as nonchalantly as possible against the car.

“Happy, officer?” Sophie tried not to give away how nauseous she felt as she stared calmly at him.

“Yep, most days I am.” The officer’s tone was friendly but even in her hazy state she didn’t miss the underlying note that declared '
You don’t want to mess with me'
. “Sophie, do you have any form of ID on you?”

She reached back into the car for her bag and rummaged for her driver’s license before handing it to the police officer.

The officer examined her license. “Miss Morgan, you said Mark is your friend’s boyfriend. Could you tell me your friend’s name please?”

“Abby Lewis.”

“Please can I have Miss Lewis’ address and contact number.”

“Why?”

“In case I need to contact her parents.”

“Why do you need to do that?”

“Won’t they be wondering where she is?”

“No, she was going to be staying the night at my place.”

“I see. Aren’t your parents wondering where you are then?”

“No…”

The officer grasped the situation quickly. “Let me guess, you told them you’re staying over with Miss Lewis?”

Sophie refused to answer and instead just stared at him.

“Sophie, I’m trying to help you here. Don’t you want to know your friend is okay?”

“She’ll be fine.”

“Miss Morgan, have you been drinking in the past twelve hours?”

“No, officer.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yes, officer.”

“Hmm, well let’s just say if someone
was
out drinking with their friend and now they don’t know where their friend is, that person would be worried. That’s a normal reaction, isn’t it?”

“Yes, officer.” Sophie looked down at the ground in an attempt to settle her wooziness.

“Now if that friend was a young woman she could be particularly vulnerable if she has drunk a significant amount of alcohol. What if she’s passed out in a strange place with strange people? Surely the right thing to do would be to make sure she’s okay?”

“I guess so.”

A radio voice suddenly cut through the air, and Sophie noticed the police car that was parked nearby. The officer told her to wait at Mark’s car as he strode to the radio and spoke quietly to the person on the other end. He glanced at Sophie as he listened, though she couldn’t tell what was being said. Eventually he returned to her. “Miss Morgan, if someone were to be drinking around here, where do you think they would go? I would really like you to consider the safety of a vulnerable female before you decide whether to answer or not.”

Sophie scowled as she debated internally with herself. Abby would be pissed off if a cop found her with bottles of alcohol strewn across the sand. Then again, she was worried about her friend. If only this cop would just leave, then she could go and find Abby herself.

“I don’t know, officer.”

“Okay, Miss Morgan. You’re going to have to come down to the station for questioning.”

“What? I’m not doing that!”

“Miss Morgan, I have just received confirmation that this car is stolen. You’ll need to come with me and answer some questions.”

Stolen?
The queasiness increased tenfold as Sophie processed this information.
Damn it
! How dare Mark involve her and Abby in this!

“I didn’t steal this car! Mark told me and Abby it was his car!”

“Well if that’s the case then it would be really helpful for both you and Abby if you tell me where Abby and Mark are right now.”

Sophie waited a few seconds before sighing and pointing to the beach. “The last time I saw them was a few hours ago on the beach. They’ll probably be in the same place, about ten minutes that way. You’ll have to go over the dunes.”

The officer nodded and led her to the car, where she slid into the back seat as the officer’s partner watched her from the front passenger seat. Once she was inside, the partner exited the car and locked it before following the first officer. Turning her head, she watched as both officers strode briskly towards the location she had pointed out. She felt like crap right now but no doubt things were going to get a whole lot worse.

***

One hundred hours of community service and a fine. All things considered, Sophie was incredibly lucky. The fact that the shoplifting was her first offense had played an important part in keeping Sophie out of court. The police had linked the stolen car with video footage from the mall which had captured Sophie escaping into the waiting vehicle. Separate video footage and eye witness reports had linked Mark to the stolen vehicle, and this in combination with his confession that he was the one solely responsible for stealing the car had enabled Abby and Sophie to be cleared of any involvement in the car theft.

Abby had also been required to pay a fine and carry out one hundred hours of community service. At the moment, however, Abby wasn’t speaking to Sophie. Mark had told Abby that Sophie had made moves on him, and Abby refused to believe Sophie when she insisted that Mark was lying. Wounded pride and a refusal to acknowledge the possibility that her boyfriend had wanted to cheat on her, in combination with the fact that she was still pissed off that Sophie had told the police where to find them on the beach had strengthened the icy barrier between the previously close friends into an impenetrable wall of silence. For her part, Sophie wanted nothing to do with Abby as long as Mark was in the picture. Hell, it was Abby’s fault she was in this mess to begin with. Abby was the one who had encouraged her to shoplift. Abby was the one who had hooked up with some loser car thief.

As far as Sophie’s parents were concerned, none of this was relevant. She wasn’t surprised. They never saw anything from her point of view. Still, screaming at her made a difference from screaming at each other. Sophie watched her mom’s face. The anger was evident but she’d blocked out the sound, instead watching the way her mouth opened and closed. Her dad sat next to her mom, both parents providing a united front for once as they stared at her from across the kitchen table.

“Sophie, are you even listening to me?”

Sophie adjusted her gaze from her mom’s mouth to her eyes. “What?”

Her mom let out an incoherent sound of exasperation before closing her eyes in an attempt to regain her composure. After a few seconds she sighed and opened her eyes to look at Sophie again. “Sophie, this isn’t a joke.”