Callaghan

39

39

FRIDAY 25TH, OLIVIA

On the way home from school on Friday, I was stopped by a familiar person. He pushed me against a wall and placed his hands either side of my face. Kurtis.

Kurtis was Robbie’s dad. Throughout the whole time I discovered they were back in town, this was the first encounter I had with Kurtis. His presence frightened me and his breathe stank of smoke.

“Well hi there, little Olivia.” Long time, no see.

“What do you want?” I demanded to know.

“Oh look at you; always wanting to jump straight to the point. Why don’t we have a little talk first? How about we have a little talk first? How’ve you been? How’s-”

“What do you want!” I repeated, louder. I cannot explain how scared I was of him. Quite frankly, I couldn’t believe I actually had enough bravery to speak to him. He was the same muscular, powerful man I knew.

“Okay then, bossy. I’ll tell you what I want. I want you to stay away from that Dan guy. He’s pathetic thinking that he can win you over with a posh meal.” That’s when it suddenly came to me. He was the one watching us the night before. Dan mentioned something about that but I thought it was nonsense. “I bet Dan hasn’t told you about when he pushed a girl down the stairs and ran off cowardly, did he?” That was a lie. I didn’t want to believe that was true. “You and I both know you were meant for Robbie. I know you still have feelings for him.” That was, also, a lie.

“That’s ridiculous if you think Dan and I are being too close. And no, I want nothing to do with Robbie nor you. And if you think you can come back, demanding me to follow your orders then that just proves you don’t know me at all.”

“You listen here, little girl. I know you stole some of my money from my garage. So if you want me to keep your dirty secret a secret, I suggest you start paying more attention to Robbie.”

I had no idea how he found out about that. Yes, it was true – a few years back I did do that but I wouldn’t have done it unless it was extremely urgent; I had to pay for Izzy’s medicine and the damage she made in an accident. But that’s not what was important.

“You broke his heart when you said you no longer wanted to be with him. So much, in fact, that he began getting very violent. He was smashing things, shouting constantly, etc. It was like looking in the mirror. At first, I didn’t mind…but then it began to get out of control. And it was your entire fault. So you’re going to pay, madam. You keep my boy happy and I keep your secret safe. Okay?” I didn’t respond so he grasped my throat and squeezed it tight. “Okay?” he repeated. I nodded. Within a flash, he was gone and I was left startled. I felt guilty doing so but I called Dan up to help. I explained everything, telling only the truth.