The Lies He Spoke

FOUR

ELIJAH

Elijah slept about two hours the night before it all fell apart.

Every time his eyes would close for a moment, he would see the basement of Madame Cobra's. He would see Logan's throat dark with purple bruises, Blake's wrists scraped raw and bleeding from the handcuffs.

And he would always see the man he had met in that room, and the awful thing he had agreed to.

He woke up with a giant headache and hardly remembered that it was Olivia's birthday until he slowly walked out into the hallway and heard her humming along to some song in her room.

His headache numbed for the moment and he smiled.

With Logan and Blake away at their own apartments with their new roommates, Elijah had been sad to see them go, but the house never felt any less full when Olivia was there. She was always talking to him, hugging him, just wanting to do things with him.

He felt like she was practically trying her best to make up for the nine years they had missed in between.

By the time he had showered, Olivia was sitting on the dining table in their miniscule kitchen, shoving cereal in her mouth. When she heard him come in, she looked up and grinned.

Thank god. For the first time in two weeks, she wasn't even pissed about wearing her school uniform.

"Happy birthday, Olivia," he said.

Olivia dropped her spoon in her bowl and threw her arms around him. "I'm finally fifteen! Elijah, I'm fifteen!" she squealed. "Oh my gosh, will you please take me to the DMV to get my driver's permit? Please? I've been studying for it and I'm going to pass and I can't even wait until Logan comes with the bike and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. No one is getting on any bike," he said.

Her smile dropped. "What? Why not? That's like the coolest thing ever and I've been looking forward to this all my life-"

"Do you know how many people are killed in motorcycle accidents every year? And it's not the car drivers that hit them."

Olivia shook her head adamantly. "I won't crash, I promise, promise, please, Elijah, it's my birthday and - why on earth are you laughing at me?"

Elijah couldn't control his laughter. He pulled her into a hug while she squirmed. "You sound extra Blake-like right now. I don't think I've ever seen you so happy for anything, ever." He kissed her nose. "I'll take you to the DMV tomorrow, yeah?"

"No, no, no, we need to go today so I can drive today and-"

"Baby, Logan and Blake are coming over today for your birthday."

"Okay, but for their birthday present they can wait with me while I get my permit - okay, Elijah, seriously you need to stop laughing because this is so serious and - I seriously don't get what on earth is so funny!"

Her face lit up and she didn't even wait for his reply. "I know! I can skip school and go to the DMV instead, right? Right?"

Elijah finally calmed down his laughter enough to put on his serious face. "I love you, Olivia, but not enough to let you skip school. Come on. We're both going to be late."

Olivia protested and cajoled and tried her best to persuade him to turn around and take her back to the DMV to get her permit the whole way to school, and Elijah had to try his hardest not to turn around and go with her idea.

"I have to get to work," he repeated for the millionth time as he pulled into the school parking lot.

She turned in her seat and put her hands on his shoulders and made him face her. "Okay," she said. "But only because it's my birthday and I'm feeling very generous."