Kingston

55. Olivia

'Congratulations on getting the lead, Olivia!' A girl named Jenny from my music class said, with a friendly smile, as I passed through the common room on Sunday morning.

'Thank you,' I replied, and I exited the common room, pulling my bag further up onto my shoulder.

I walked through the halls to the grade 12 study rooms and found a corner desk where I pulled out my script for the show and began to study it. My eyes focused on the words on the pages but all I could really see was the visions of what I had walked in on the day before. It was still stuck with me and no amount of distraction was taking it away.

I had hurriedly returned to my dorm room after I had found out about Shane and Axel. Seeing them together, it just didn't make sense, but made so much sense at the same time. It didn't seem right, but it explained everything.

I had cried right there in front of them and I hated that. I hated that I'd let them see how much they'd hurt me. As much as I believed they probably did feel bad, I cursed myself for letting them know they'd broken my heart. They couldn't care about me that much at all if they'd been able to do what they had done. Shane and I had never seen eye to eye so I understood why he had done it. I understood that he had likely had no care for hurting my feelings in the beginning, as he'd probably liked Axel for a long time. We had become friends though. We had become close. What hurt the most was that I thought I had found a true friend who wanted good things for me and wanted to listen to me and understood the things I was going through. I was more heartbroken than anything over the fact that I had lost that friend.

As for Axel, I wasn't surprised. I'd sensed that he was cheating on me all along. The not wanting to spend time with me, not wanting to sleep with me, how easily he took us breaking up, how he never bothered to contact me after that...he never loved me. He probably didn't even care now that I had caught him and that it had broken my heart. He was probably more concerned about people finding out that he was gay. Axel...gay...I would never have thought it. The worst part was, I cared about him so much that I wished he had just came to me and confided in me about who he really was and I would have been there for him.

I felt stronger when I woke up Sunday morning. I hadn't cried since I'd left their dorm but I'd been frustrated and angry and numb. I'd trashed my room then re-tidied it several times but since I'd walked away from the two of them, I hadn't been able to cry since.

I spent quite a bit of time reading through my script before I did some homework and spent as much time in the study room as possible until my stomach was growling and I couldn't ignore it any longer.

I left the study room and headed through the halls to the cafeteria, passing by the grade 13 wing on my way. My attention was caught by two pretty girls swiping their way into the common room as they talked and laughed and I paused. It brought my mind back to Christian and how I still hadn't managed to contact him or find a way to talk to him about his relationship with Chloe. At this point, I knew I had to find out what I could from him and then take this information to the detectives. This stupid investigation hour at drama studio detention was no longer going to be a thing. I loved Chloe so much and I wanted justice for her but it was time for me to leave it to the experts to find out what really happened.

I hovered at the end of the hallway for a short while until three guys exited their common room and strolled towards me.

'Hey guys?' I stopped them in their tracks and they all looked at me and frowned. 'Sorry, do you know where I can find Christian Cahill?'

They shook their heads and one of the guys shrugged apologetically. 'Sorry, we don't really hang with him.'

I nodded as they walked away and I waited longer, asking the next few groups of grade 13 students who exited the common room but no one knew of his whereabouts. Eventually, I struck lucky.

'Hey, excuse me?' I addressed two guys who were coming towards me, heading to the common room. 'Do you know where I can find Christian Cahill?'

'Christian?' One of the guys scratched his head as he thought about it. Meanwhile, the common room door beeped and he smiled and pointed towards it. 'Oh, there he is.'

I turned to see Christian heading out of the common room and I felt butterflies in my stomach. I recognised him from his Facebook, before he'd deleted it, but seeing him in person made me realise even more how surprising it was that Chloe had been into him. I'd known him to be a nerd from what I had seen on social media, but in person, he looked even more like one. He was cute in an adorable kind of way but certainly not the type of guy I'd picture breaking her heart.

'Christian?' I addressed him with a smile and he stopped and returned it, looking curious and confused. 'Hi, my name is Olivia.'

'Hello?' he replied, slowly. 'Can I help you with something, Olivia?'

'Yes, you can actually,' I told him. 'I'm here to talk to you about Chloe...'

'Okay...Chloe who?' he asked.

I frowned softly and my smile faded into annoyance. 'Chloe Yates...'

'Oh...' His eyes widened and then he frowned as he shook his head slowly. 'What do you want to discuss her with me for?'

'I'm sorry...why are you talking about her like that?' I asked, getting angry. 'It's kinda' disrespectful.'

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound disrespectful,' he said, shaking his head apologetically. 'It's very sad what happened to her.'

'Yes it is...' I replied, quietly, as I studied him. 'That's why I want to talk to you. Obviously, she was my best friend so she opened up to me about a lot of things and you were one of the things she told me about before she died. It wasn't in great detail, so I don't know what actually happened between you two but...that's why I'm here. I want to know what happened.'

He stared at me with an open mouth and blank eyes, making me feel uncomfortable as I stood and stared back at him.

'I'm sorry?' he questioned. 'I'm not sure what this is...'

'Please don't lie to me,' I sighed. 'She told me you two had a thing going on. I know she was sneaking out to see you after curfew. I know she-.'

'Please, let me stop you there.' He interjected and waved his hands erratically, frowning and shaking his head at me. 'Olivia, was it? Yeah, Olivia...I have no idea what you're talking about.'

'Don't do this, Christian,' I told him. 'The truth will come out in the end, you have to be honest with me. This doesn't mean I'm accusing you of anything. I just have to know!'

'I didn't know your friend,' he stated, becoming evidently annoyed. 'What you are saying right now is way off. I honestly never knew who your friend was until it was announced that she had been found dead in the lobby. I've never spoken to her in my life.'

'Are you kidding me right now?' I scoffed. 'She told me way before she died about your relationship!'

'What relationship?' Christian cried. 'I never had a relationship with that girl; I've been in a relationship with my girlfriend since grade 8!'

'What?' I gasped.

'I'm sorry, Olivia,' he said, letting out a breath as he composed himself. 'I'm sorry for what happened to her and I would never speak ill of the dead, but...she lied to you. I never knew her. I swear on my life.'

'But...it doesn't make sense,' I murmured.

'This type of thing starts rumours and I really don't want to be dragged into this because of something your friend told you,' Christian said, sternly. 'Please, don't involve me in this again.'

He walked away from me, leaving me dumbfounded in the hallway. I could tell by his reaction that he was telling the truth. It hadn't made sense to begin with. Chloe would never have went out with a guy like him. This whole situation only led right back to one simple and unsurprising fact. Chloe had lied to me.