Sugary Splurges

[Susan Matthews]

The door clinked lightly as Susan let herself into the dark candy shop. She made sure the door was closed securely behind her, keeping the cold out as she made her way to the counter. In dire need of some light, Susan groped blindly for a moment, until the light switches were found and a warm glow exuded from the various light fixtures around the small shop. Susan smiled as she looked around at the plethora of sugary sweets that she was to sell.

From underneath the counter, Susan retrieved her apron and tied it with little difficulty around her. In turn, she removed her cloak, folding it to replace the small shelve where her apron had been previously. Lastly, she pinned her small name tag to the corner of her Honeydukes en-crested apron. With her uniform all in order, Susan returned to the front of the shop, opened the blinds, letting in even more light. Before returning to her place behind the counter, Susan flipped the closed/open sign to open.

As no immediate customers rushed into the sweet shop, Susan pulled a stool up the counter and promtly sat upon it. Seeing no one around to object, she pulled a book from her bag she'd brought along. Reading for pleasure, she read lightly, subtly aware and listening for the chime of the bell that would signal the entrance of a person in need of a sugar fix.

[tweetsie]

Audrey pushed open the door to Honeydukes, letting the scent of sweet candies envelop her, as she pulled a navy hood over her hair to cover it. The fifth year’s auburn red hair was initially covered in a creamy white cap and she wore a navy blue coat that kept her warm and framed her figure nicely. And of course, there were buttons. A white scarf kept her neck warm and with her hands in her pockets, she had achieved only having her legs (clad in blue jeans) cold. She made a very recognizable figure with her plain style, somehow. Maybe this was because Audrey was known for hating anything overdone, she liked bold colors that stood out with no intricate patterns. Not to mention the fact that her shoulder blade length reddish hair was very tell-tale and her eyes were an unfair green. They took all attentions away from her fine featured freckled face, and led everyone to automatically look straight at her, or avert their eyes.

But there was something different in Audrey. Previous to her brother’s death, she had been carefree and rather happy. Of course, she always over-analyzed, but she was dead set on becoming a president of something back then. Now she really wasn’t sure. But Audrey would lie to herself. Of course she still wanted it. She had always wanted it, which would mean she still did. This self denial was self destructive, but no one knew Audrey enough to see this in her… especially because she wouldn’t allow any contact like that. Other than that, her luminous eyes betrayed a bit of the knowledge of the ages she had gained. She had been completely unaware of what was going on in the world, other than in her world, for the past year and a half. But her own misery and nerves had affected her more than world events affected others- somehow. Perhaps it was her analytical nature that had led her to over-think the things that concerned her closely.

She was known by her family for a dangerous sweet tooth; Audrey had an almost innate love for candy. She could buy bags and bags of it and never get sick- but something stopped her from buying from Honeydukes. She knew that her friend- well sort of friend, Susan worked at Honeydukes. Susan was a Gryffindor she had been very close at one point. And then, Audrey had chosen to ignore this best friend for an entire year and a half, and now here she was, hiding behind shelves at Honeydukes, attempting to avoid meeting with Susan. Her need for candy had gotten the best of her, finally. Audrey took a bag of sugar quills off the shelf, and shuffled over to counter, her quite footsteps padding on the floor. She put the quills on the counter, and took out her money, automatically turning to avoid looking at whomever she was paying. She had decided prior that it was better not to even look who it was selling, so she wouldn’t feel intimidated. Anyway, they couldn’t see her hair because of her hood.

Nobody could possibly recognize me… she thought, I have this stupid hood on for a reason after all. But something in the back of her mind was nagging at her about this assumption.

[Susan Matthews]

Hearing the familiar clink of the door signaling a customer, Susan glanced up, marking her page and closing her book. In one swift movement, she slipped the book onto the same self occupying her cloak beneath the counter and stood to greet the customer. “Good morning, and welcome to Honeydukes,” she said automatically, just loud enough to be heard at the front of the store. Her thoughts still on the most recent chapter of her book, Susan didn’t pay much attention when the girl who had entered did little to return the customary salutation.

From across the shop, Susan watched as the girl placed the hood of her coat over her head, covering her gorgeous auburn hair. Susan watched with curious eyes as the girl quickly shuffled to an aisle. Susan took note that most people when entering a building bothered to take their hoods off, rather than to put them on. She waited for a moment, waiting for the girl to reappear, to maybe offer an explanation for her curious behavior. When she did not show herself immediately, Susan returned to her seat on the stool to mess with the peeling paint on the counter until the customer was ready to check out.

So absorbed the in the chipping of the paint, the girl took her by surprise when she placed the bag of sugar quills on counter between them. Standing up immediately, Susan looked to the girl and responding automatically again, asked if she had found everything alright. Seeing the candy of choice, Susan smiled, recognizing the candy as one of her favorites as well. Taking the bag in one hand to read the price and using the other to type the labeled price into the register, Susan couldn't help but let the girl know of their similar taste

“I love sugar quills,” Susan smiled, reading the label. “Me and one of my old friends used to split the packs we bought, we could finished them all in a day,” she placed the bag back on the counter, allowing the price to project from the other side of the register, and held out a hand to collect the amount the girl had supplied. “Except Audrey doesn’t—,” Susan suddenly met the eyes of the girl across from her and ceased speaking. Enveloped in the green eyes that belonged to the said friend, Susan was suddenly unable to finish her sentence: doesn’t speak to me any more.

((haha i added to our history, sneaky sneaky me. Let me know if i modded too much))

[tweetsie]

((No, it was alright. As long as you can guess my intentions, and you generally can or I'll let you know))

Audrey felt a rush of relief run through her as the girl at the counter appeared not to recognize her. Especially since Audrey recognized the girl- Susan's voice was etched into her mind as the voice of familiarity. Too much familiarity. She looked up for a brief moment and ruined her disguise as her eyes met Susan's. A rush of emotion spun into her head and she felt ill from the taste of them. When one spent a year and a half avoiding eyes, it didn't take much of a glance to throw one off the edge. Her big eyes widened and her mouth fell open as her eyes met Susan's and she felt completely petrified.

How did one react to someone like Susan? She couldn't even come up with words at this moment, but it wouldn't do to rush out. No, no that would make her look like a coward. And she really wasn't scared of much except for herself. She reached out and grabbed the bag of sugar quills in her cold, trembling hands as millions of memories and emotions she didn't want to feel again flooded her senses. Her eyes automatically flashed down to her hands almost as soon as she met Susan's eyes, and she looked at the bag of sugar quills in her hands.

Her mind felt frantic. She needed to do something- anything to break the silence. Audrey tore open the bag of Sugar Quills in her nerves and held one out to Susan. It looked like a peace offering, gently trembling from her hands. She held it at the tip and it slipped from her hands as she lost her grasp for a moment. It fluttered to the counter and landed, looking at her as if it were one glaring mistake. Audrey let out a tiny gasp, staring at it in quiet horror. "Oh God, I'm sorry." she cried quietly. It was directly an apology for dropping it but the words were meant with the full force of something more.

She attempted to restrain her tears procured by the overwhelming thoughts she had, and still they dripped out. She grabbed her scarf and wiped at her eyes, trying to maintain at least the inkling of control she could still feel in her. The issue was, when she had been working for a while to restrain feelings and emotions, and they came rushing back it was almost like the world had fallen from beneath her feet. And it had right now and she was just floating in space. Her mind felt completely numbed of thoughts.

[Susan Matthews]

Susan left her hand extended between the two of them as they seemed frozen in time. The only visible movement between the two had been the widening of Audrey’s eyes, the slight drop in each of their mouths, and the subtle movement coming from Susan’s shaking hand. Neither said a thing as Susan’s mind rushed with all the things that had been left unsaid in their lack of communication. When thinking about what had gone on between them, Susan wasn’t sure if she should choose between being angry and being sad, or possibly a combination of the two? Angry that her attempts to repair their dilapidated friendship failed and sad that Audrey refused to make the effort let her in to help her.

An eternity passed between the extenuation of the hand and the action that was Audrey seizing the bag of sweets. Finally able to retract her hand, Susan watched in an awed silence as she stood on one side of the counter in her oddly formal apron and Audrey on the other in her more casual coat. The rip of the bag drew Susan’s eyes at last from the green abyss that was Audrey’s eyes. Looking down, Susan eyes fell upon a single sugar quill, extended from Audrey’s hand. Saying nothing, but meaning everything, she watched as the candy was held between them for an instant. Anyone looking in on the two girls would have thought the scene curiously simple, but when the shaped sugar fell from Audrey’s fingers it all became much more complicated.

Gasping involuntarily, Susan reached to grab the candy as it left Audrey’s hand before it met the counter. She missed though, coming just short. The quill made of sugar hit the counter where it promptly broke in two. Susan stared in awe at the quill just beneath her fingers, not sure of what to say or how to make it better. Audrey’s cry of an apology drew her attention up ward as she recognized the threatening tears behind her old friend’s eyes. Fearing a huge scene and a big deal, Susan rushed out from the counter to stand next to Audrey. Wanting the tears to end, and everything to go back to the way it was Susan struggled from a moment. She knew it wouldn’t be that easy. Realizing she had to do something besides just stand there, she volleyed between hugging and taking Audrey’s hands in hers before decided on a different action all together.

Taking half of the broken sugar quill from the counter, she held it out to Audrey. “Truce?” she asked with the intent that they should start where they had left off, and deal with the rest later.

[tweetsie]

Audrey sniffled as she dabbed at her eyes with her scarf, sorry for the awkward situation she'd caused. It wasn't really her fault she was emotional here, because she really wasn't emotional ever. The few times Audrey did get very emotional, it was worse than most people who were constantly emotional. She took half of the broken sugar quill wordlessly and bit at it tentatively. The sugary taste flooded her mouth and she absorbed it almost instantly... her mind processed all that had happened. Audrey had a quick sense of logic, despite her occasional losses in composure. She pulled herself together gradually until she felt like she wouldn't blunder everything she said.

In her natural flowing way, she managed an apology that felt inadequate and broken to her, but not to anyone who didn't know her. By nature she was charismatic... a sly fox if nothing else. She had the ability to get herself out of situations with a couple words and an enchanting look. But honestly, when she meant it, she had to think through her words all the more carefully. She didn't get so far in this conversation, but she ended up relatively coherent and sounded completely sincere"Truce. Although, I really am sorry. For everything. I've been... less than acceptable." she said, softly, looking off to the side, taking in the room for a moment.

She realized how warm she felt after a moment and took her hood, hat, and scarf off, holding the last two in her hands. Audrey slowly realized she didn't know how to start a conversation with Susan, at least not right now. But something had to be said or she would never be able to say anything. The conversation would just feel more and more awkward as the seconds ticked off the clock. "I'm sure we'll be able to finish this bag, at least today, what with me so sobby." she said with a hint of a small smile and a sniff of her cold red nose, gesturing the bag of sugar quills. There was something she'd been missing with everyone else- that old sense of humor. She had somehow let everyone else make the jokes, but even having a hint of a positive phrase was a good sign. A bit like having her old self back, actually.

[Susan Matthews]

Susan breathed easily only after half of the sugary quill left her touch. Watching Audrey suck on the sweet treat, it seemed to take her a moment to process exactly what Susan had meant by truce. In Susan’s eyes a truce would be a pact not to worry about the past for now. The plan she had made up in her head didn’t go much further than finishing the pack of sugar quills. She didn’t know what would come at the end of the day or anything past that.

Not knowing what else to do after Audrey accepted the candy, Susan took the other half of the quill and placed it in her own mouth to taste. The concentrated sugar was almost too much, but Susan kept the sweet in her mouth anyway. It tasted good against all the sour things in her life lately. When Audrey did decide to speak, she confirmed the truce and attempted an apology as well. “You know,” Susan began directly after Audrey had finished, “Don’t worry about it.” She waved a hand, brushing it off as unneeded.

Susan stood oddly still as Audrey began to take her winter wear off, clearly making an effort to stay for a while. When all that was left was her hat and scarf in her hands, Susan was wasn’t surprised to hear that Audrey planned on staying awhile. It was the joke that got Susan. Sure when they were younger they had been able to make jokes, but with the conflict between them she had nearly forgotten. Smiling despite herself, Susan took the bag from Audrey and went back around to the other side of the counter, motioning for Audrey to follow.

Preparing for what she assumed would be plenty of time catching up and getting back to their old selves; Susan duplicated her stool and took a seat on her own. She planned to allow Audrey to stay and chill with her until her shift ended. It wasn’t exactly a busy day, and the way Audrey had offered to finish the bag together Susan assumed she didn’t have much else to do that day anyway. Without much debate, Susan pressed the clear button on the cash register and awarded Audrey with the employee discount for today.

[tweetsie]

"Haha... thanks..." Audrey laughed quietly, as Susan gave her a discount. Well, it was certainly nice to have a friend who worked in a candy store. 'No, not a friend yet,' she reminded herself. She pulled a couple fingers through her hair and sat down on the stool conjured for her. The situation here was uncomfortable. She didn't exactly have a book on how to start a conversation with a friend you had ignored for a while and then decided to sit down and have a friendly chat over tea with. Speaking of, even in the warm store, Audrey was cold. She took one of the sugar quills and conjured it into a teacup of hot chocolate.

"Would you like one?" she asked, offering a quill (which she obviously intended to change into some beverage for her as well) to Susan, as she stirred her own with a quill. "I mean, I know you're not as cold natured as me..." she smiled crookedly and looked at her freezing hands. They really were freezing and she picked up the teacup, letting it send warmth to her hands.

"So." she began and couldn't think of what to start her conversation with. "How.. how've you been?" she asked, trying to keep the conversation off of her as long as possible. Nothing had happened in her life since her brother died- she had made sure of that with her seclusion, so if the subject turned to her it would undoubtedly be discovered and shamed that she had done nothing with her time. And then it would become apparently obvious how disconnected Audrey was with all that was going on around her, and this "war" of sorts. There was no question that Audrey, if she were actively involved in anything like that, could cause a lot to happen if she tried.

But Audrey wasn't interested in the outside world or deep relationships because uninvolvement was her way of abstaining from dying in any sort of conflict. You could call that an irrational fear of sorts, if you were making an understatement.

[Susan Matthews]

“No big,” Susan responded almost instantly after Audrey’s expression of gratitude. “I mean, I’m going to be eating them too, right?” she added with a smirk, remembering her manager, an extremely kind wizard that was pretty lax when it came to employees and paying for their own sweets. Since taking up the part time job, Susan hadn’t spent a knut on candy. Good for the pocket, but bad for the teeth . . . It all depended on how you looked at it, or didn’t as Susan liked to. One chocolate frog a night and her teeth weren’t aching, yet at least.

Susan hardly noticed as with one quick movement, Audrey transfigured her particular quill into a cup of steaming hot chocolate and offered one for her as well. Susan politely thanked her for the offer, as she didn’t know the particular charm herself. Susan found simple transfigurations almost impossible to remember, especially when it came to cooking. Just as easily, if not easier, she could have found the do-it-yourself packet in the back of the store and mixed her up her own cup of liquid chocolate. However, she passed on the warm beverage, as she was, as Audrey had known, “not as cold natured as her”.

“I think I’ll just have them in their sugar form,” Susan explained as she took the offered quill to place in her mouth where the last one had disappeared. Sucking on the pen-shaped structure, Susan couldn’t help but compare the sugary sweet taste to that of muggle rock candy. She could only imagine what a wizard would think of rock candy. Probably utterly pointless if it didn’t taste like rocks. The same in everyway except shape, the sugar quill had a little something extra to it. A charm or sorts, Susan decided, used to enhance the taste or something along those lines.


She didn’t realize the silence between then until Audrey began the obvious attempt at a conversation. The general question of how she’d been lately brought up plenty of uncomfortable topics for Susan. Instead of realizing a simple answer of fine, or alright would have sufficed, she couldn’t help but think of all the ways she’d moved on since Audrey’s sudden bout as a recluse. Upon returning to school on her fifth year it hadn’t taken long for her to pair up with Dylan, to befriend and to create the various bonds with the others like her.

When thinking of her friends, she was reminded of another subject that wouldn’t do to talk about either. The war. The subject made her sick just thinking about it. She thought of all the events tying back to the war, all the things that had happened in the lapse that Audrey had sequestered herself. The trouble with Zee, D’rorah’s near corruption, the loss of Wysteria and Mallan, not to mention Cait’s utter depression and Alessandro’s bout of amnesia. How did one begin to explain?

“Things have been . . .” Susan struggled to find the right word. “Crazy,” she supplied, instantly regretting it immediately after the word left her mouth. She flinched slightly at her own realization of what connotation the word brought to their conversation. Supposing she should have kept their new try at a decent conversation light, she back tracked, “Well, more complicated . . . er,” she attempted and failed again, “No, things have been labyrinthine.” She decided in the end, alluding to the fact that things weren’t as hopeless as they seemed and were just confusing at the moment.

As thoughts of recent events clouded Susan’s mind, she failed to answer the obvious question of how she in particular was doing. Not realizing her misunderstanding of the question, Susan stuck the candy back in her mouth, allowing the sugar to permeate her mouth, gently soothing her.

[tweetsie]

When Susan declined a drink, she took a sip from the warm liquid she let it flood her, chasing out the last chills she felt from the outside air. Twirling a strand of her reddish hair around her finger she let it fall into a loose curl and then unravel. The sugar quills and the chocolate may have been a bit much for anyone but her, but Audrey had true tolerance for this kind of thing. She had only learned how to transfigure the hot chocolate because she had to- her will was her strongest driving force and if she didn't have that, she really wouldn't ever do anything.

When Susan replied, Audrey pursed her lips a bit in thought. She was unsure of how much she was allowed to bother Susan right now, seeing as they didn't know each other very well. It used to be that Audrey could just ask and she'd figure it out... but right now, it was question of whether she had the right to poke and prod until she figured out what was going on. Her reserved side didn't work near as well as her curiosity and she found herself wanting to figure out what this 'labyrinth' was about.

"Crazy.... how?" she asked, looking at Susan, trying to decipher what she meant by that. She noted that Susan had not completely answered her question, but perhaps the answer to her first question was within the answer to her last.

[Susan Matthews]

“Not crazy,” Susan corrected her, “labyrinthine.” She let the vocabulary word roll off her tongue skillfully. If one thought at the surface the word was one that meant of or pertaining to a labyrinth. Delving deeper however, it was also an adjective used something to describe something as complicated and often tortuous. She hated to use a word with connotations such as that of tortuous, but found no better way of voicing the summation of her well being at the moment.

Now that she was sure Audrey understood that crazy wasn’t the right word, she shifted slightly in her seat, trying to decided how best to answer the next three letter question. How? With a glance in the direction of the windows, Susan witnessed an icy winter breeze nearly take the hat off of a passerby and shivered for their sake. To Susan, the temperature inside the sweet shop was comfortable, but she nearly shivered again in thinking of how she was to explain to Audrey, how.

“It’s just,” Susan began her attempt to explain, “things have changed, you know.” She knew this probably wasn’t the best topic to speak at this point in time, but Audrey had brought it up after, whether she had intended to or not, the subject was in the air. “We’re not the same, you and me,” Susan said as gently as possible. “I’m not the same person I was last year,” she supplied sadly, avoiding eye contact and chipping at the paint on the counter once more.

Truthfully she really wasn’t the same person anymore. Sure, Susan’s hair was still the same shade of brunette and she hadn’t grown since; however, since last year Susan had found a new crowd and she no longer held the same interests. She found it difficult to place where Audrey fit into her life now. Things had changed, and were certainly tortuously confusing now.

[tweetsie]

She nodded in agreement to Susan's words, sighing inaudibly. A labyrinthe- that seemed like a metaphor for her life in some way. She turned in a direction and she didn't quite know how she had gotten where she had, but she didn't know where she had come from. It was really just the moment she was in, right now.

Audrey's eyes, which were focused on her lap, widened and honestly it felt like salt on an open wound. She had given herself up to the risk of talking to Susan, stepped out of her comfort zone to speak to her, and Susan was at this moment rejecting her in a sense. The change in demeanor in Audrey was almost frightening, but it was nice in a sense. She was apathetic about so much right now, that the least bit of a change was visible.

She sat up, tense at Susan's words that were meant to be kind and well, sorrowful. Her bright green eyes alert, Audrey studied Susan, searching for something in her that had any weakness- any connection to her. She set her drink down and tapped her fingers, twirling a sugar quill in her other hand. Of course, to most people this would look as if she was just paying attention, but to people who knew her well, it was an obvious sign of her defenses setting up methodically behind the outermost workings of her mind.

"Not the same?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "How is this not the same?" she began, not really expecting an answer. It was rhetorical and she hoped Susan had the sense to see that it was so, especially since they had changed so much. " You're not the same person you were last year, but I'm not the same either Susan... I've changed as well. And yet, after all that I've been through- maybe not as much as you, but all that I've been through emotionally in this past year, I'm the one who chooses to respond to you."

"It wasn't a sacrifice for you, to talk to me- for you I'm just another friend now, apparently... but you're not just another friend to me, I gave up something when I talked to you and when I stopped talking to you. But you're just cowardly, aren't you? Even for a Gryffindor. I made myself trust by talking to you when I could have just ignored you- but you... you've 'changed' as an excuse not to trust me. I changed as an excuse not to trust anyone, but I can bring myself to change again to speak to you and let you in. But I haven't changed who I am. I'm still Audrey."

"If you can't... if you don't even trust me, then you're right. We're not the same and I might as well just get up and leave. But if you really feel that way, let me know honestly, instead of just hiding out behind words like 'change'." Audrey fell quiet, tasting her words that floated in the air between the two of them. She didn't want Susan not to trust her- she wanted Susan to be her friend, and she was riding on a risk here. But she wouldn't build a friendship on lies and on overlooking their past and present, because they had changed.

On the bright side, this kind of reaction was in want from her long ago. Something that threw an opinion in the air. She had been coming down to nothing more than apathy, but here she was anything but- she was offended.

[Susan Matthews]

As Audrey’s eyes widened in pain, Susan voluntarily looked away. She had spoken the truth when she had claimed that things had changed. Change was good and often inevitable. The only problem seemed that Audrey had remained the same or gotten caught in a rut somewhere along the way. If only they could go back to last year, then things might be different. If only, for that reason though . . . as much trouble as the new changes had brought, Susan decided she wouldn’t trade them for the world. Never meeting Dylan? Bryan? Caitlin? The names went on and Susan couldn’t wish that away.

It was her questions that caught Susan off guard. How was not the word she had been expecting. In all honestly how were things not the same? What could she say? A part of Susan seriously telling Audrey everything, after all wasn’t that how things were before? She would look Audrey in her promising green eyes and say, “Audrey, I’m in a war. I am the Shadow Warrior of Earth, and you have no idea what’s been going on this past year.” But she didn’t say anything; she couldn’t, she was almost certain.

Not catching the rhetorical phrasing, Susan opened her mouth to speak. She didn’t know exactly what was to be said, but she intended to speak, to attempt an explanation. However, Audrey didn’t giver her the chance when she began again, claiming she had changed too. Undermining her late best friend, Susan hadn’t believed Audrey capable of change. Hearing her now though, Susan doubted herself. She was aware of the emotional trouble that Audrey had recently undergone and understood that no one could go through something like that unscathed. How scathed though was the question now.

Susan sucked sourly on the quill, slowly becoming more and more peeved at the direction this conversation had taken. The truce candy had suddenly lost its sweetness, Susan felt sick, and stood to chuck the candy in the garbage on the other end of the counter where numerous rappers littered the base of the black plastic lining. She did her best to be mature as she let Audrey have her bashing time, believing she partly deserved it after what had previously gone down.

But when she threw out the word, “cowardly” Susan couldn’t help but ball her firsts defensively. The clever Ravenclaw certainly knew how to get her and Susan visibly fumed as a result. “I’m the coward?” Susan interjected, raising her voice slighting, “Was it me who ran away from my friends last year? Was it me who refused to ask for help?” Susan’s eyes began to water slightly at the memory of Audrey’s recent debacle of a social life due to her loss.

Standing now, and clearly upset, Susan volleyed between returning to her seat and walking right out the door. As much as she wished to storm right of the sweet shop right now, she was aware that it would cost her, her job. Susan groaned angrily at her self and partly at Audrey as she realized she’d had her trapped. “You want me to trust you?” Susan asked, repeating Audrey’s plea. “I’m not hiding, Audrey,” she told her a littler fiercer than she meant to. “I’m right here,” she paused before restating, “I’ve been here.” “What do you want to know?” Susan questioned, raising her hands in the air, suddenly tired of all the evasive words.

"I think you should leave," she said decisively. "We can talk about this later," she folded her arms, wanting to resolve things, but not on the path they were headed at the moment. Where they had been quietly sharing their candy, Susan couldn’t imagine sitting back down quite yet. Audrey had done her job in stirring up old emotions. This must have been how she’d expected Susan to react, or had she really changed that much? Waiting for a response, she lowered her hands into her pockets as she waited for Audrey to leave. Susan was not a coward. She meant what she said and Audrey couldn’t prove otherwise.