There's Only You ✔

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Olive was locked in a daze as she continued to type furiously on her phone. No matter how many times I shook her shoulders or repeated her name, the phone won her attention.

She gritted her teeth at one point and shook her head. Whoever she was texting was clearly responsible for making her distressed. Once she was done with her last message, she pocketed her phone and smiled at me like there wasn't a problem.

"I'm sorry. It's just... family troubles. That's all."

"What kind of family troubles?"

Olive looked like she was hesitant to tell me. We told each other everything from period stories to what we were binge watching on TV.

For her to be hesitant to tell me something, whatever it was must've been big. She turned away from her locker to face me, but her eyes were still downcast. "My family's sort of... kind of... pretty much... sort of very pissed at me right now."

"How come?"

Every time she spoke, she would let out a breath and try again. However, the words couldn't come out of her mouth.

"Olly, you know you can tell me anything, right? What is it?"

"My family's pissed at me for not wanting to report Gray for assaulting me. They said that he needs to get what he deserves before he could hurt anyone else."

The name 'Gray' was locked up in a safe in the back of my mind since our last encounter. Each time a mental image of him dared popping up in my head, I quickly replaced it with the thought of puppies. The sounds of their tiny yawns, small barks and their paws digging into your lap until they settled were my saviors. But Olive challenged that by bringing up he-shall-not-be-named.

That would make me feel much better. Now that she said his name, the pain, the slaps, the bloody noses were all I could think of.

Puppies...

Puppies...

Think about all the Goldendoodle puppies that you could fit in your arms.

Their wagging tails and puppy noises.

"Oh."

Guilt shielded her eyes and it showed with her rubbing her own hands together as well as with her tapping foot. "I kept telling them that they would only sentence him with only a few months in jail which, in the sad reality we live in... would've been true, but that's not the main reason."

The guilt in her eyes.

Her fiddling fingers.

Her foot tapping the floor.

No.

No, no no.

She couldn't have heard...

Oh shit.

Who are we kidding? Of course she heard! Zach was screaming loud enough for the whole neighborhood to be able to eavesdrop.

"The main reason is that... you heard me, Zach and Kayden talking about... what happened that day."

"Yes. And the guilt had been eating me alive. You felt like you had to do what you did to protect me. You did that to make sure he doesn't go near me again. I didn't tell you because... you asked me to leave the room so obviously, you didn't want me to hear. I was going to make you the hot chocolates. I was. But then... I got curious and... I was a selfish bitch and decided to eavesdrop which I know was wrong and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."