“You are one of a kind,” I say, smiling softly at her. Getting up off the couch, I fold the blanket. “Kallie and Casey are really lucky.” I pick up the stuff to put it away. I don’t know where, but I’ll at least take them to the room I’m staying in.
She shakes her head. “I’m the lucky one. Now go wash up, and I’ll call Casey to come for breakfast.” I nod at her and bite my tongue when I want to ask about Casey. I walk away, trying not to think about how different our lives have been. When this whole thing blew up, my mother made one phone call to tell me not to reach out to her until it blew over. She didn’t rush to my side, and she didn’t send a lawyer for me. She did nothing, which just made me cement the decision to cut her out of my life. It’s just me, I think to myself. I can be okay with just me.
I put the stuff down on the bed and take my phone out. I make the call that I don’t want to make, but I do it anyway. I have to get out of here, and the sooner the better. The call goes straight to voice mail. “Detective Gonzales, it’s Olivia Young. I was wondering if you could call me back please. Thank you.” I put the phone down beside me, and I’m about to get up when the phone rings. I see that it’s an unknown number, so I don’t know if I should answer it, but it might be the detective.
“Hello,” I say, my voice soft and quiet.
“Ms. Young.” His voice sounds like he just woke up. “It’s Detective Gonzales.”
“Hi, Detective,” I say. “I’m sorry if I woke you.” I close my eyes. “I didn’t even think about the time difference.”
“More than okay,” he says. “Is there something you need?”
“I was wondering …” I start to say. “I’m coming back to LA tomorrow. I just want to know how safe it is.”
He exhales a deep breath. “I’m not going to lie to you. There have been no more break-ins at your place, and with the man arrested yesterday, I don’t think the threat is there anymore.”
I exhale the breath I was keeping in. “Perfect,” I say even though I’m not sure if I’m happy or sad with his answer. “Well, I will touch base with you once I’m home.”
“That sounds good,” he says, and I disconnect, tossing the phone on the bed. Heading to the bathroom, I wash the tears off my face that I didn’t even know were there, and the whole time, I can hear my mother’s voice.
“Stop with the tears, Olivia. Tears don’t help anyone.
You don’t depend on anyone but yourself, Olivia; therefore, you can never be let down.
Never let them see your weakness.”
Breakfast is weird, and when Casey says nothing to me the whole time, I have to think it’s because we’re all invading his space. But by tonight, I’ll be gone, and his life can go back to normal. As I watch him walk out of the house, I think I breathe a sigh of relief. But then the minute I can’t see him, my heart speeds back up. My eyes roam around the room frantically, looking around to make sure I can see everything in case someone comes to us.
When Kallie comes in an hour later, Charlotte leaves. “Why does that face scare me?” Kallie asks while I laugh.
“Maybe because I haven’t put on makeup in five days.” I try to joke, but my heart gets heavier, knowing that I’m also leaving my best friend behind.
“We went to Cabo last year.” She points at me. “And you went ten days without makeup,” she reminds me. I try not to think about how empty my life will be without her, but it’s fine. It’ll be okay. Maybe not right away, but eventually, it’ll be okay.
“The detective called me this morning,” I say, and she just looks at me, waiting. “Okay, fine, I called the detective,” I say, lifting my hands in the air. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter who called who. What matters is that it’s safe to go back home now that they caught the guy.”
“I don’t know, Olivia.” She blinks away her tears.
“I can’t stay here forever, Kallie,” I say, blinking away my own tears as my stomach sinks. I feel like I’m going to be sick. “It’s time that everyone gets on with their lives.” I try not to think about Casey and him getting on with his life. He’ll go back to being the hottest bachelor in town, but this time, I won’t be stopping him from dating.
“Everyone is getting on with their lives with you here.” Her voice is soft now, but then it rises just a touch. “Is it Casey?” she asks, getting angry now. “Did he say something to you?” She shakes her head. “Fuck him, you can stay with us.”