And once more, my phone rang out.
“What?” I asked as I picked up the phone.
“Well, yikes. You don’t have to be such a bitch about it.”
“Brittany? What are you doing calling me so early?” I asked.
“Wow. You don’t think something could be wrong?” she asked.
“With you? There’s always something wrong. Are you okay?”
“Doesn’t really sound like you care much anyway.”
“Why are you calling. It’s not even seven o’clock in the morning on a Sunday.”
“I wanted to call and let you know that I think Olivia is hiding something from you.”
I groaned. “Really? We’re doing this again?”
“No, Brett. I’m serious. There was something off about her when you brought her over for lunch, and I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind.”
“Well, I appreciate the concern. But I’m not going down this road with you again,” I said.
“You don’t even want to hear about how I ran into Katie?” she asked.
My eyes narrowed as I stopped in the middle of the steps. “Did you say Katie?”
“Yeah. I ran into her last night at the grocery store. Mom and Dad wanted ice cream, so I went to go get them some.”
“Uh-huh. I’m sure. So, what did Katie have to say about me this time?” I asked.
“She wasn’t talking about you, asshole. She was talking about Olivia. How she’s been acting weird lately.”
“And why would she talk with you about this?”
“Because she knows you and Olivia have been spending a lot of time together. Obviously. I guess Olivia’s ditching her friends or whatever for you,” she said.
“Then how does Katie know she’s acting weird if they aren’t spending time together?”
“Look, I’m just relaying what Katie told me. She said that Olivia’s been dodging her and acting weird, and she’s worried about her. That’s it. And it made me worry about you.”
“Because you really make a habit of that,” I said sarcastically.
“Look, you can believe me or not. But with the way Katie was talking to me, it seemed as if she knew Olivia was hiding something. Some sort of big secret or whatever.”
I eyes peered up to the top of the second floor of my home. “What big secret?”
“I don’t know. Katie wouldn’t tell me. Said that even though Olivia kept dodging her, she wouldn’t say anything unless Olivia did. But I didn’t like the sound of that, either. It kept me up last night. Woke me up this morning. So, I figured I’d call. I don’t give a shit what you do with the information, but I did my part.”
“Yeah. Thanks,” I said flatly.
“Bye.”
“Goodbye, Brittany.”
I hung up the phone faster than I ever felt possible, but something in my gut kept nagging at me. My eyes flickered back up to the door of my room, and I saw it was almost closed. I hadn’t closed it before I left. Which meant Olivia had gotten up and closed it herself. I narrowed my eyes and slowly made my way up the steps, hoping and praying my sister wasn’t right this time.
And I heard her voice wafting from the crack in the door as she spoke.
“Why can’t I bring him, though? I don’t get that. I know you guys didn’t get off on the right foot but— No, I don’t have any issues meeting up with you again. Yes, I kind of like it as well. I mean, it’s weird. But— Why don’t you want Brett there? I don’t get it. Yes, Daniel. Yeah. I’m free. Until Thursday, at least. Why do you care what’s happening? I’m sorry. Yes. I know. I’m sorry. I know you’re trying. If you don’t want Brett there, I won’t bring him. Okay? Yeah. Whenever you want. So long as it’s before Wednesday night. Yes, I said Thursday. Would you just— Yes. Daniel. It’s fine. I’m just tired. No, I’m not sick. Just tired.”
Not sick. I furrowed my brow at that statement. So many things ran through my head, but the main thing it settled on was my uneasiness with the conversation taking place. Was that man pressuring her into doing something? It was clear he didn’t want me there. He viewed me as a threat, a negative influence regarding his actions toward Olivia. I didn’t like that. I didn’t like how easily she was giving in to him, and I didn’t like how manipulative he was getting. I stood at the door, holding the ice-cold glass of water and wondering if I should interject. If I should throw the door open and tell her exactly what I thought about Daniel right there with him on the phone.
But my gut kept churning with the conversation I’d just had with my sister, and I didn’t even know where to begin.
“Yeah. We’ll talk later today. I promise. Uh-huh. I’ll get some sleep. Yep. Bye, Daniel. Thanks for calling,” Olivia said.