Lost and Found

Chapter 22 | Girl talk

Sitting on her bed, Julia fumbles with her fingers. Uncertainty crosses Olivia's eyes. What is Julia supposed to do in a situation like this? Is this even a friendly talk or a bad talk? Julia takes one of her pillows and hugs it as a safety blanket. Olivia hasn't met her eyes once, looking everywhere but at Julia. Maybe she's building up the courage to say something?

"So... What did you want to talk about?" Julia says, hoping it doesn't come out too defensive.

Olivia hasn't returned her calls or text, and now she suddenly appears on her doorstep. In the Netherlands, it would be rude to come unannounced, but Julia isn't in the Netherlands anymore.

Olivia plucks at Julia's blanket, sitting half on the bed and half out of the conversation. "Are you and Ash together?"

Julia takes a sharp breath. Is there a correct way to say, 'yes, I'm dating the guy whose friends bullied your friends at the party'?

"Ash and I are dating," Julia says as she stares into the distance.

"So you're not with Matt?"

Julia snaps her head to Olivia. "What... No, of course not."

A sigh of relief comes from Olivia, and Julia watches her face. Why would Oliva think she would cheat with Matt? Actually, it's kind of an insult. "I wouldn't do something like that to friends. Or to anyone, for that matter." The words come out harsher than Julia meant, but Olivia left her. And for what? Because she thought Julia might date Matt? Olivia could've asked her instead of hurting her like this.

"So you're not interested in him?"

Julia squeezes the pillow, taking a deep breath. Getting angry won't help right now. "Did you really throw away our friendship because you were jealous? Matt and I are friends."

Olivia's face flashes red. Tears well up in her eyes, and she hides her face in her hands. Julia chews on the inside of her cheek, switching from anger to pity.

"You don't understand," Olivia says.

"I don't, because you refuse to talk to me. You made me feel bad about myself for weeks. You made me believe this was all my fault, but all I did was be friends with Matt."

"I'm sorry. I just—' Olivia sobs. A deep sigh rolls over Julia's lips. Wrapping her arms around Olivia, Julia pulls her further on the bed. "People at school always fawn over him, but he never really engaged. But with you—" Olivia's voice trembles. "You're beautiful and kind—"

"But I'm not interested in Matt. Which I could've told you if you would've talked to me."

Olivia pulls away from her. "But he's interested in you?"

Julia rolls her eyes and pokes Olivia's side. "No, stupid. You're the only one Matt's interested in."

Wiping away her tears, Olivia meets Julia's eyes. "I'm sorry I was such a terrible friend."

A deep breath pushes past Julia's lips. "I forgive you."

Her friends never forgave her for not being able to do all the things they wanted to do, and Julia ended up with almost nothing. She won't let others feel that kind of abandonment. It's wrong. Humans are made to have friends, family, and other loved ones.

"Can we forget all this drama and go back to being friends again?" Julia says.

"Yes, please," Olivia says as they lay down on her bed. She leans her head against Julia's shoulder.

A soft knock comes from the door. "Julia?" Robin says as she opens the door. "Your mom let me in."

"Come in." Julia scoops over on the bed.

"Hi, you must be Olivia. I'm Robin." Robin greets Olivia and lays down beside Julia. "Nice to finally meet you."

"Yeah, you too."

They all stare at the ceiling until Robin breaks the silence. "I heard your mother has signed on a house."

Olivia jerks up. "You're moving?"

Julia laughs. "Yeah, closer to school and the forest. The place is really awesome and big."

"That's great." Olivia lies on her side as she leans her head on her hand. "I hope you understand you're obligated to have sleepovers in your new room."

"Deal."

Robin bites back a smile. "You know, it's the same street Mason lives on."

Julia jolts up. "What!"

At the same time, Olivia asks, "who?"

"It doesn't matter," Julia says. Who's she trying to convince here, Olivia and Robin or herself? "I'm with Ash now. Mason had his chance."

Robin leans her head on her hand as she turns to Julia. "So, you wanted a chance with Mason?"

"Wait... Mason! The one who plays basketball too? You wanted to date Matt's rival?" Olivia laughs. "He's hot, though."

"I thought you two hated Mason? And like I said, I like Ash." Julia crosses her arms over her chest.

"He's kind of hot, too," Olivia mumbles.

Julia chews on her cheek. The taste of blood fills her mouth. "I feel like we're going too fast. I hardly know him," she finally spills the beans and a relief washes over her. At least someone knows now. The weight lifts from her chest.

"You should tell him. No boy owns the right to push you to his speed," Olivia says.

"But what if he doesn't understand? I don't want to lose him. Besides Robin, he's been the only one from school who's kind to me and didn't let me fall."

"Being kind doesn't give him rights you don't want to give," Robin says to her. "Ash should accept your feelings. Otherwise, he's not the right fit for you."

She knows her friends are right. Yet, she still feels conflicted. Her stomach twists and turns as exhaustion washes over her. "I'm afraid he'll abandon me." Just like everyone else did.

Both Olivia and Robin put an arm around her. "You can't let someone push you around because you're afraid they'll leave," Olivia says.

"And you can't tell what people will do if you don't talk to them," Robin adds.

Julia smiles. "You don't even like him."

Robin shrugs her shoulders. "No. But it doesn't matter what I think. It matters what you think."

"And if he hurts you, I'll stand by you and hurt him back," Olivia says. "Burn his car and stuff like that."

Robin laughs. "I'm in."

"Thank you." Julia grins. "I'll ask him to talk tomorrow."

"You can always call us when things go wrong." Olivia kisses Julia's head.

"Let's do something fun. I'm done talking about boys." Robin sits back up. "Wanna watch a movie?"

Julia climbs out of bed. "First, let us eat cake."

---

I really want some cake right now.

And have a movie night with some friends. 

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