In Case of Rejection

CHAPTER NINE

"What?" Matthew asked, still standing in the doorway, unmoving from his spot. His mind was running through all of the possible explanations, all bad.

He thought of the empty streets, the curfew alarm blaring, and suddenly he felt very afraid for Olive. Her blank expression didn't seem align with the urgency of her words, and Matthew's heart started to beat harder in his chest.

"She didn't come home last night, and she wasn't there when I got up this morning either," Olive's tone was steady but bleak.

"You don't think..." Matthew trailed off. He didn't want to give up or entertain any optimism. In fact, it was hard to find anything to say at all.

"I don't know. I'm trying to think of why they would take her," Olive said, completely calm against the direness of the situation. Matthew stirred, turning back to the open doorway.

"Give me one second, I'll come up with you," Matthew said over his shoulder. He ran into the apartment, turning left straight towards his bedroom. He flung his backpack onto his bed in one swing, and returned to Olive. She was still standing there, her skin pale and colorless. They continued up to the sixth floor landing, walking side by side up the stairs.

Olive stopped at her front door, staring at the red wood intently. She fidgeted some more, squeezing her hands together in a way that made her look cold.

"I don't want to go in," she said, almost pleading. Matthew's chest was tightening by the minute -- he couldn't say he wanted to either.

"Because what if she's not there? What then?" Olive asked, turning to her friend. Matthew looked down at her, searching his mind for the appropriate response. He only stopped to breathe when he realized there wasn't one. There was no proper way to spin the situation, and it was like the both of them knew what was coming. Fate had already been decided, they only had to accept it.

"It's okay. The first step is going in," he said as calmly as he could. If they had taken her, at least Matthew knew what that was like. He could try to help Olive cope. Maybe they could go down to Nerve Center together. He reached out for the doorknob when she stopped him.

She put her hand out instead, and put it squarely on the knob. She fiddled with the top lock with her own set of keys, then pushed the thin door open. Hesitantly, but quickly enough that there was no turning back.

The two of them hovered there in the doorway, now staring into the apartment. It was entirely quiet, unbothered by the world around them.

"Mom?" Olive called out into the room. Footsteps padded on one of the floors above them, and Matthew's heart soared for a moment, then plummeted when he realized it wasn't from Olive's apartment.

Olive took the first cautious step inside. Standing in the doorway, she took a few more steps towards the kitchen. Her footsteps hastened and she took small steps, covering ground quickly. She passed straight through the empty living room and disappeared down the corridor in the direction of her room.

Matthew stepped inward from his spot in the doorway, teetering on his heels as he stood. He could hear Olive moving somewhere out of view. His nerves were skyrocketing, sending little shocks through his wrists to the tips of his fingers. He shook his hands out.

"Mom!" Olive called out again, from somewhere inside. Matthew was trying so hard to make sense of it.

"Maybe she's still at work!" Matthew yelled out into the room. Olive reappeared from the left, advancing fast upon Matthew, scorn burning through her visage.

"Honestly? Is that what you think? That she's at work?" She asked, her tone bitter and unrelenting in her resentment. He looked to the floor, then to the kitchen at his left. He thought about how empty it looked in Fran's absence.