Chapter 22
Nick turned off his cell phone in disappointment.
“Not home?” Brian asked, coming over to him.
“I guess not,” Nick replied, shoving the phone back into his bag.
“Oh well, you can try again later. We’ve gotta get back to work anyway,” said
Brian, nodding to Kevin, who was motioning to them from the stage.
“Yeah,” Nick said and followed Brian back onto the stage for more
rehearsal.
***
Olivia was not sure how long she lay there, unable to get up. It seemed like hours. The phone rang several more times, and each
time, she tried to get up, but failed.
Why was she so weak? What had
happened to her?
And as the time passed, she felt weaker and weaker. She grew light-headed and tired. And so, unable to do anything else, she lay
her head down and closed her eyes.
Right away, she drifted off. She
did not even hear the phone start to ring again.
***
“Something’s wrong, Rok,” Nick said, frowning as he shut off his
phone. “She’s not picking up.”
“Maybe she’s still not home,” Brian offered with a shrug. “I mean, come on, do you really think that
all she does is sit at home all day, waiting for you to call? The girl has a life, you know.”
“Yeah, I know…” Nick said, but he had a strange feeling in the pit
of his stomach.
“Or she could be sleeping,” Brian suggested. “You said the radiation she gets makes her
tired.”
“True,” replied Nick. “But
she never sleeps all day. Plus, she has
a phone by her bed. I’m sure it would
wake her up.”
“You’ve been in her bedroom, Frack?” Brian asked, raising an
eyebrow.
Nick rolled his eyes. “Yes,
Frick, I have,” he replied.
“We’re just friends though, and you know it.”
Brian snickered. “Oh, I
see,” he said, sarcastically. “Of course
you’re just friends. That’s why you
kissed her goodbye.”
Nick’s face reddened. “It
didn’t mean anything,” he said defensively.
“We’re just friends.”
“Okay, sure, Nick. Whatever
you say,” Brian replied and walked off, chuckling.
Nick rolled his eyes, but deep down, he wasn’t sure if he even
believed what he had told Brian.
***
That night, after the rehearsal was over, and Nick was back in his
hotel room, he lay awake in bed, unable to sleep.
Something’s wrong with Olivia. The thought ran through his head over and over
again. He had tried calling her several
more times before he had finally gone to bed.
She never answered.
He realized that she could just be sleeping or gone somewhere, but
somehow, he just knew that was not the case.
I’m going to try one more time, he
thought, and if she doesn’t answer, I’m going back to Tampa. He turned on the light and rolled out of bed,
getting his phone from his bag. He
quickly punched in Olivia’s number and waited.
One ring… two rings… three rings….
He let it ring seven times total and hung up.
Nick scribbled a quick note onto the pad of paper that was inside
the night table drawer and ripped it off the pad. He changed out of his pajamas, shoved his
clothes and stuff into his suitcases as quickly as he could, and left the room. He slid the note under the door to Kevin’s
room and hurried down the hall to the elevator.
***
About two hours later, Nick was walking up the steps to Olivia’s
front porch. Feeling a sense of déjà
vu, he reached under her doormat and retrieved the spare front door key.
Testing the doorknob, he found that it was indeed locked. He rang the doorbell three times and waited,
but no one came. And so, he unlocked
the door and stepped inside, shutting it behind him.
“Olivia!” he called.
Nervously, he glanced around.
Then, not even bothering to check the whole downstairs, he went
upstairs. The first place he checked
was Olivia’s room. It was empty, but he
saw that the bathroom door was closed and the light was on.
He knocked lightly on it.
“Liv?
You in there?” he asked, but got no reply. “Okay, I’m coming in,” he said hesitantly,
slowly turning the doorknob.
When he looked into the room, his knees nearly gave out on
him. “Oh, my God, Liv!”
he cried.
Olivia was lying on her side on the floor, her skin deathly pale,
her eyes closed. There was a small pool
of blood beneath her head, and blood trickled from the corners of her mouth as
well.
Nick’s first thought was that she was dead. He began to hyperventilate, his breath
coming in short, frantic gasps. He sank
to his knees, struggling for air, panicking.
His common sense kicking in, he put his head between his knees and tried
to take deep breaths. Finally, his
breathing regulated, and he slowly raised his head.
It was then that he saw she was still breathing. Letting out a small sigh of relief, Nick
jumped to his feet and raced into her bedroom to call 911.
***
