Fool's Gold [Completed]

13: Cannonball

I hadn't returned to the club immediately after getting back from London. I allowed myself a few days to rest and resync my sleep schedule to being back on the east coast and took on a couple shifts at the diner to make sure I had some sort of income, but it was only a matter of time before Richie would start to wonder where I had disappeared to and I didn't want him to try and find me. Lord knows what he would do to me when he did.

I knew the girls would want to see me as soon as I got back into town so I could tell them about my trip, a thought confirmed by a text I got from Dory asking if I wanted to have another sleepover soon, though it'd probably only be the two of us. I asked about Daphne, but Dory said she hadn't been around the past couple nights and nobody had heard from her, including Olivia. That got me worried, but Daphne had a tendency to disappear sporadically, sometimes for weeks at a time, so I tried not to think too much of it. That didn't keep me from sending a message her way to make sure she was alright though. She would turn up eventually, I had to keep telling myself that.

Part of me wasn't sure if I was ready to tell either of them about what happened, or if I even wanted to tell them in the first place. Dory would be curious, that I was sure of, but I'd gone against basically everything they had advised me to do, so they'd probably be upset with me for crossing that line. I still had gifts to bring to them though and bringing them to the club might not be the best idea, especially if Richie saw them. I guess that left me with making my rounds before heading back to work.

I didn't bother to unpack much when I got home, only having grabbed out my dirty clothes to wash, the bag of souvenirs that I'd left sitting on top of my dresser, and the beautiful crimson dress that now hung securely in the back of my closet. I didn't know if I would ever have a chance to wear it again, but I didn't want mom to see it and ask where I'd gotten it from. To her knowledge, Harry and I were nothing more than good friends. Maybe that's all we still were.

I shook the thought from my head and then grabbed onto my phone, looking through my short list of contacts. If I was going to bring people their gifts before staying the night with Dory, then I figured I could stop by Olivia's on the way to drop hers off in the process.

"Hey Liv, I'm back in the country. I have something for you. Would I be able to bring it by today?"

I set my phone down and pulled a few things out of my half-full suitcase, tucking them away into my usual overnight bag. I knew mom probably wouldn't be home until late, so I left a note on the counter for her once I'd gathered everything I needed from the bathroom. I hated leaving her alone so much lately, but she always insisted that she didn't mind. I hoped that was actually true and not her lying to keep me from feeling badly about having somewhat of a social life.

By the time I came back to my room, my phone had lit up with a new text from Olivia.

"Sure, girly! I've got Eden today, I hope that's alright. She wants to say hi."

I paused for a moment, smile growing as I read over the words, though it was more of a bittersweet one, if anything. I had been so wrapped up in everything in my own world that I hadn't kept up with the things in Olivia's the past few months. Something good must have happened for Eden's grandmother to allow Olivia to have her alone for a full day and I hadn't been there to celebrate with her.

"Of course it's okay. I can't wait to see you and meet her finally. We have so much to share."

With my things packed and shoes on, I headed out the door and made my way towards Olivia's apartment. The heat beating down on my shoulders was intense, but I thought the walk would help me to clear my head from the swimming thoughts. Between the guilt I felt for not realizing things were going on back home with Olivia and Daphne to the worry I had over the status of my relationship with Harry, my chest felt tight and not even the fresh air seemed to be helping.