It's been five years since the sudden disappearance of Cora Cadigan's mother. Five years since the case was closed before it even began.
In the final summer before the end of high school, Cora knows it's her last opportunity to find the answers she...
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Rhys
"It's been half an hour. I'm going back out there."
I'm just about ready to rip this fucking suit off myself. The air-conditioning is on the lowest setting, barely relieving any of the warmth I'm feeling.
Max is standing by my side, jaw tight as he scans the crowd, hoping Abby will come back to speak with him.
As usual, he's kept tight-lipped about their fight. Even when I questioned him profusely, wanting to know what could have possibly caused it tonight.
"She wants space," I speak. "Don't be a hypocrite and just give her some."
"Hypocrite?" he questions.
"You're the one who told me to leave Cora alone after everything that I did."
I pull on my best fake smile when I notice a photographer walk past. He quickly snaps one of Max and I before hurrying off to the next group. We are deliberately standing away from the stage, trying to draw as little attention to us as possible. I just want to be alone, but it's impossible on one of the most important nights of mum's life.
"Look how well that worked out," Max snorts. "You were speaking to her tonight."
"She didn't have to come out," I defend. "She came on her own will."
I can't see her anywhere. Cora isn't sitting with any of her friends. At least that means I don't have to see Ryan wrapped around her like the fucking obsessive prick he is.
I watch as Ryan glances around the room, before typing rapidly on his phone. Once he finishes, he leans over to talk to Teagan, his words inaudible from the distance between us. Tea shrugs her shoulders, turning to gaze around the room. When her eyes land on me suddenly, she frowns, picking up her phone.
No doubt it's about Cora. They thought she should be back by now too.
"What kind of conversation takes half and hour?" Max mumbles to himself. "I thought she'd be back. Mum's speech starts in—"
