Foundation of Dance

Chapter 17

Olivia

I stood outside my house, holding my suitcase tightly in my hand. There was no car parked outside the driveway and my heart thumped painfully in my chest as I remembered what mum had said the previous day.

"I will be waiting for you at home," mum hissed and without a second glance at any of us, she got into the car and sped off.

I bit my lip and my hand hesitated at the door, remembering the concern Mrs Reynolds and Alexandra had when she left, they both offered for me to stay with them but I refused. Alexandra spent almost the entire bus trip trying to convince me to go home with her. 'I didn't want to bother her, but I'm starting to regret rejecting her offer,' I thought and I opened the door to the house, it was unlocked. "M-mum?" I called. There was no answer.

Leaving my suitcase by the front door and firmly closing it behind me, I stepped into the kitchen. "Mum?" I called again, my voice echoed through the house and there wasn't a single noise in response. My heart hammered, thinking of every horrible possibility, what if she got in an accident on her way home? What if she was in hospital? What if someone had hurt her?

I took a deep breath, putting my hand on my heart. "Okay, okay," I said to myself. "J-just call her."

I took my phone out and selected her contact, the phone rang a full minute before the usual "leave a message" came up. I sighed, hanging up. 'Where is she?' I thought, I then selected dad's contact and put the phone to my ear. Within the first two rings, he picked up.

"Hey darl, what's up?" He asked and I could faintly hear the familiar whirring of a drill. 'He must be at work,' I realised.

"Dad, do you know where mum is?" I asked. "I just got home and the house is empty."

Dad made a confused sound in the back of his throat and the whirring noise from the drill stopped. "Oh, Valerie went to stay with her parents, her mother called me last night."

"Grandma and Papa?" I questioned. "They live in Mississippi! We never see them."

"Look darl, I don't know what your mother is thinking, alright? Do you need me to come over?"

"No, no," I quickly dismissed, knowing dad he would drop everything to come over, even if he was at work. "I'll be fine, bye dad."

"Bye Ollie."

I hung up and set my phone down on the counter gently, relief washed over me and I leaned on the counter. 'She's in Mississippi, she's fine,' I thought in reassurance. I huffed through my nose and went back to the front door and collected my suitcase, I wheeled it into my room and opened the door. I heaved my suitcase onto my bed and took out my dirty clothes, putting them in my hamper. I sat down on my bed, relishing in the familiar feeling of home.

I looked over at my dresser and my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Everything was knocked off. I stood up off my bed and kneeled down by the scattered objects, a few perfume bottles, some old trinkets, photos and a small amount of makeup. I picked up a few of the objects and held them in my hands. 'Did mum...knock my stuff over?' I thought. I bit my lip anxiously and returned the objects to my dresser. 'I need to get out of the house for a while,' I thought. It was Monday but since I had the competition yesterday, I'm sometimes allowed to stay home to recuperate. 'Maybe I could work some extra hours today? I'm sure Mrs Turner would appreciate some help and it's only 10am,' I thought and I quickly went back down into the kitchen to grab my phone.

I clicked her contact and the phone rang a couple times until she picked up. "Hi Mrs Turner," I greeted and an elderly voice spoke back.

"Oh, my dear Olivia, what can I do for you?"