“I can’t think right now. There’s just too much going on. Too much I don’t know. I’m not sure how much I want to know, honestly. Is marriage really supposed to be this hard?”
“It’s not supposed to be, but you’re not communicating with each other right now, so it’s bound to be bad. Trust me, I know,” Scott tells me before smiling at Yasmin.
“Am I making a mistake, here? Honestly? I need you to tell me.” I look around the room at all the people I care most about in the world. Well, except for one.
My dad answers first. “I don’t know. There seems to be a lot going on. More than we know. Neither one of you have handled these situations very well. I don’t like that Olivia made you hide your relationship, but I also think you should’ve talked to her before today.”
“I agree that there seems to be more going on than we know about. Especially if she’s living in her car,” my mom says and then looks at Chloe and Yasmin again.
“I’m really angry at her, but I don’t want her to suffer. Can you try to find out where she is, Rose? I’ll go to her and talk. If we can’t work things out, I’ll at least make sure she has a place to stay and food to eat. I won’t take no for an answer.”
“I’ve been trying to text her, but she’s not answering. Let me call her. She has Bluetooth, so she should answer if she’s driving.” She dials and then shakes her head. “It went to voicemail. I’m scared.”
“Uncle Luke, we have to find her. Can we all split up and drive around town?”
“We’ll do it after the party. The two of you are supposed to be celebrating, and there are guests outside still.”
“But, Grandma…”
“A couple of hours shouldn’t make that much difference. Now, all of you go out and try to enjoy yourselves while I talk to Yasmin and Chloe.”
“If it’s about Olivia, I want in on the conversation, too.”
“Candi should be included, Maggie,” Yasmin says.
“You’re right. Candi can stay. We’ll see the rest of you soon.”
That was a little strange, but we all go with it. My mom wouldn’t tell us if we asked, anyway. She’s like a vault. One that my dad has learned to try not to open sometimes.
As soon as I walk back out to the party, Nikki and Michelle rush up to me. “Are you okay?” Nikki asks.
“I don’t really know.”
“So that was your wife?”
“Yeah, Michelle, that was Olivia.”
“She kissed that other guy?”
“Apparently.”
“I’m sorry, Luke. I was really looking forward to meeting her, but that’s just wrong.”
“Yeah, Nikki, it really is.”
We talk for a few more minutes and then I go mingle with all the people who are looking at me with pity in their eyes. I don’t want anyone’s sympathy. I just want answers. Unfortunately, I just made the person who has those answers leave. Again. I’m obviously not learning from my mistakes.
The party seems to go on forever, but the guest finally leave. We all meet up again to plan where we’re going. Rose still can’t reach Olivia, and it’s wearing on her. Ryan gets out a map of the city and we split it up. I’m taking Rose with me.
Four hours later, and no one’s found Olivia. Granted, Las Vegas is really spread out, and we’re just a few people, but we were all hoping for some luck. Rose is crying openly as Alex hugs her, and Candi isn’t holding up much better. Honestly, neither am I. I know I have to put on a brave face for Rose, though, so I tell her everything’s going to be okay. Now I just need to believe it, too.
Chapter 20
Olivia
It’s been a few days since the disaster that was my sister’s graduation party. I’ve avoided all her calls and texts, as well as Candi’s. I wanted to throw my phone out the window at times. I just can’t deal with what happened yet. I’m glad I didn’t get rid of it, though, because I just got a call for a job interview. The only problem is that I need a shower, and I’m not willing to kiss anyone for it.
I know what I have to do. I don’t want to do it, but I have to call either Candi or Rose. I decide that Candi will be easier to deal with right now, so I try her first. My call goes to voicemail. She must be napping, or doing something with Hope. I take a few deep breaths and then dial my sister.
“Liv. Oh my God. Are you okay?”
“I’m…well, not really okay, but I think I will be.”
“Where are you? We tried looking for you!”
“We?”
“Me, the Griffins, and Candi.”
“Oh. You shouldn’t have gone to the trouble.”
“You’re my sister. I need to know you’re safe. I saw your things in the car when you drove away.”
“That’s kind of why I’m calling. I need a favor.”
“Anything. You know that.”
“I need to take a shower so I can go to a job interview later today. Do you think Luke might be gone for a little bit so I can come over there?”
“He said he was meeting a friend for lunch, so sure. You can come around noon.”
“A friend?”
“Yeah.”
“Is it…never mind. It’s none of my business.”
“He’s not over you.”
“He should be after all I’ve put him through. I’ll be over at noon. Thanks.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
I hang up and make myself some ramen for breakfast. If I said I was getting really sick of it, I wouldn’t be lying. But it’s better than no food at all. I drive to a hospital closer to Luke’s house and sleep for a couple of hours.
When I wake up, I see I have a missed call from Rose. She also texted. Apparently Luke left earlier than she thought and said he’d probably be back by one. I turn on the car and drive as fast as I can without getting pulled over. I overslept a little and it’s already after twelve.
I park a couple blocks down the street, and Rose is running towards me before I have the car off. When I get out of the car, she covers her mouth to try and hide her sob, but I hear it. I know I look a mess, but it is what it is. I smile at her and walk over.
“Oh God, Liv.”
“It’s okay, Rose. I just need a shower.”
She doesn’t look convinced, but she nods and pulls me inside. I almost start to walk up the stairs when I remember that I can’t use my old bathroom. It’s not mine anymore. Rose catches me as I correct myself and reaches out to squeeze my hand. I follow her to her bathroom.
I know I’m supposed to be hurrying, but the hot shower feels so good that I can’t get out yet. I know I’m pushing my luck, though, so I reluctantly step out a few minutes later. The room is completely fogged up, so I crack the door to get rid of some of the steam. I’m turning back to the mirror when I hear a girl’s voice. It’s not Rose. I stop to listen.
“Thanks for lunch, Luke.”
“Anytime, Nikki. I appreciate you being there for me the past couple of days.”
“Of course. Anything you need. You know that.”
“I’m a lucky guy.”
“Don’t you forget it. Your house is great, I can’t wait to come over again.”
“I’ll put something together soon. In the meantime, do you want to get together again next week?”
“I would, but I’m going on my annual summer road trip. When I get back, we’ll hang out for sure.”
I don’t hear anything else, so I know they’ve walked away. Probably to the front door. Well, Rose was definitely wrong. Luke’s over me. So far over me that he’s already dating. I get dressed as quickly as possible and then sneak into Rose’s room. She has her headphones on but takes them off when she sees me.
“What happened, Liv? You look as white as a ghost.”
“Luke’s home.”
“Did he see you?”
I shake my head and look away. “He brought a girl here.”
“What? No.”
“Yea
h. They went to lunch and he made another date with her, plus said he’d put something together for her to come here again.”
“I’m so sorry. I can’t believe this.”
“I’ve got to go. Can you distract him so I can leave?”
“Sure. You’ll call me later, right?”
“Yeah. I will. Be good for Luke, okay?”
“I’m not promising anything.”
“Rose.”
“Liv.”
“Fine. Just don’t torture him too much.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
* * *
Luke
Rose asks me to see my office. It’s a little weird because she’s never been interested before, but she is living here, so I lead her upstairs. She closes the door when we walk in, which is even weirder. I stand a little bit away from her as she takes everything in.
“My sister did all this?”
“Yeah.”
“It must have cost a ton of money.”
“I guess.” I start to shrug and then freeze as I figure out the answer to a question that had been keeping me up most nights. How it took me so long, I don’t know. I’m in here every day.
Rose must see that I’ve put it together. “Yes, Luke.”
“I didn’t ask you anything.”
“Because you’ve figured it out already.”
“She spent all her savings on this room.”
“Yeah. She didn’t think it would be a problem since she had a good job, and well, a place to stay.”
“Until I took that away from her.”
“It wasn’t all your fault. You know that. I love my sister, but she did things wrong, too.”
“But I took her house from her—oh shit!”
I drop into my desk chair and wake up my laptop. I go to my bank website, but instead of logging into my main account, I log in to the account Olivia added me to. I see what I thought would be there, and it makes things even clearer. I drop my head into my hands as I realize why she’s living in her car.
“What is it, Luke?”
“When we moved in, your sister wanted things to be fair. She insisted that she pay half the bills. Since I bought the house, she wanted to take care of the first month’s utilities, cable, and insurance. All those payments, along with what I’m guessing are the last bills from her apartment, along with her cell phone bill, came out of her account about a week and a half ago. All of it, with deposits and the fancy cable modem and shit, cleaned out her account.”
“That’s why she’s in her car.”
“I need to find her. I need to fix this. Why didn’t she tell me? Or go get money from our account?”
“Candi gave you her debit and credit cards from your account.”
“She could’ve gone inside for money. She’s still on my accounts. No matter what I’ve said I keep hoping she’ll come home. And I’ll have my home again. Her.”
“What about the girl who was here?”
“Girl?”
“You didn’t have someone here in the house a little while ago?”
“Just Nikki.”
“Nikki?” Rose looks a little angry, and I’m confused.
“She’s the librarian at Goolsby. The married librarian who’s been helping me out.”
“Oh God.”
“Did you think I was going out with her? With someone else?”
She looks conflicted, but answers me. “Not me. But Liv did.”
“What? How?”
“She has a job interview and needed to take a shower. I let her use my bathroom, and she heard you talking about ‘lunch dates’ and having her over again.”
“No. NO! Where is she? I need to explain.”
“She’s gone. I brought you up here so she could sneak out.”
“I should be mad, but bringing me here cleared some things up. She’s okay, though?”
“She’s still really thin. And before her shower, her hair was really greasy and she…well, she smelled a little.”
I swallow hard, because the thought of my beautiful wife having to sneak in for a shower that she obviously needs is about to do me in. “Did she say why she kissed Blaine?”
“No. We didn’t have time to talk. Are you mad that she came here to shower?”
“Not even a little. Give her whatever she needs, whatever she’ll take. If you need me to leave the house, just tell me. I want to see her and talk to her, but I need her to eat and shower. And sleep here if she needs to. Just tell me next time.”
“I will.”
“She wanted to use your bathroom, huh?” I shouldn’t be hurt by this, but I am.
“No. She started for the stairs and then caught herself.”
“If she’s over again, tell her she can come up here.”
“Will you be up here waiting for her?”
“I told you I’d leave.”
“No. You should be up here, and then the two of you can talk. You have more miscommunications than ten couples combined.”
“Yeah, we do. Can you get her back over here tonight?”
“I’ll try.”
“Thanks, Rose.”
“Don’t thank me yet.”
* * *
Olivia
I get to the restaurant where I’m being interviewed a little early. It’s a little strange that they want to meet here and not at the workplace, but the woman said “lunch interview,” so I think I’ll have something other than ramen today. The hostess shows me to my seat and I order a Pepsi. I need a little caffeine, and I’ve missed my favorite drink. It’s a luxury I can’t afford right now.
I’m looking over the menu when I sense someone in front of me. I lower the menu and frown. “Blaine? What are you doing here?”
“I saw you walk in when I was driving by, and since I need to talk to you, I parked and came inside.”
“I have nothing to talk to you about.”
“So you’re just going to keep living in your car? I could get you out of there and it would be easy for you.”
“Nothing having to do with you would be easy.”
“Don’t you even want to know my offer?”
“Not really, but I don’t think you’ll leave until you say what you came here to say. So, go ahead.”
“Well, see, some of the guys at the frat were very interested to know that you tamed Luke Griffin. They’ve agreed to pay you $1,000 each to sleep with them. See, easy money for you.”
I stand up and get right next to him, smiling the whole time. “You want to pimp me out?”
“Well, I wouldn’t put it in such crude terms.”
“I would.” I’m still smiling, so he doesn’t expect the punch I throw at his groin. I’m a little weaker than normal, but I connect and he falls to the ground.
“Fuck, Olivia. What’s wrong with you?”
“You just tried to get me to sleep with guys for money, and you have to ask?”
The hostess and manager run over. “Is everything okay, miss?”
“I’m on the ground and you’re asking her?”
“Yes, he is. Please take out the trash for us, Marco.”
I look next to me and see one of the most stunning women I’ve ever laid eyes on. That’s saying a lot since I’ve been around Candi, Yasmin, and Chloe, plus their friends Erika and Sam quite a bit. She has long dark hair that is loose down her back, and gorgeous brown eyes. She looks like a supermodel, and she’s smiling at me.
“Hello, Olivia. My name is Reina, and I’m here to help you.”
“Oh. You’re the person I spoke to on the phone about the job. I’m, well, I’m sorry you saw that. I’m not usually like this. I promise.”
“I know all about you. Let’s sit down and chat.”
“Okay.”
“Did you have a chance to look at the menu? Order whatever you’d like.”
“Thanks.”
The waiter comes and takes our order. Reina orders without looking at the menu. She called the manager by his first name, so I figured she was a re
gular. After the waiter leaves, Reina leans forward and looks me in the eye.
“I meant what I said about helping you, Olivia. To start, I need you to stop acting like a child and remember that you’re a woman.”
“Wh-what?”
“You heard me.”
“I thought this was a job interview.”
“You already have a job waiting for you, a job you loved enough to give up a pretty awesome internship for.”
“How do you know about that?”
“I already told you that I know all about you. And to be honest, some of it really pisses me off.”
“I think I should go.”
“If you walk out of this restaurant right now, you’ll get no help from me. You need my help and we both know it.”
“I don’t need to be condescended to.”
“Actually, right now, you do. Do you know how many women I see who are living on the streets, or a shelter, or their car, like you? The only difference is that those women don’t have a choice, but you do. You are choosing to be jobless and homeless.”
“You don’t understand.”
“But I do. You’ve had some rough things happen. Some of those things were your fault, and some weren’t. It’s time to move past them and take back your life. Your parents are assholes, and you did everything you could to please them. That was never going to work. They didn’t want you to make them happy, they wanted to control you. By the time you realized that, it cost you your husband.”
“If you know that, why are you harassing me?”
“I’m just getting started, so you better sit back and be ready to face some hard truths.”
“You think that will help me?”
“I know it will. You need to hear it, and you won’t listen to the people who love you, so I’m here to do it for them.”
“Someone sent you?”
“All I’ll say is that my boss is good friends with Maggie Griffin. Are you ready to listen to me?”
“I guess so.”
“Good. Let’s talk about your job. You love working with Candi, and from what I’ve gathered, she didn’t want you to quit. She even offered you one of her guest rooms. I get you turning down her offer of a place to stay, because that would have been really awkward, but your job? Come on. That was just plain stupid.”
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