“Hello?”
“Hey Jake, it’s Jade and Nadia. Is Olivia home?” She marveled at how Jade sounded perfectly normal on the speaker with Jake.
“Yeah, come on up.” A buzzer sounded and the doors to the elevator opened.
“See you soon.” Nadia grabbed the door and held it open for Jade. Together they rode in silence to Jake and Olivia’s floor. It had been a while, but they’d been here before when Jake had hosted game night, before Olivia moved in. This was a remarkable upgrade in comparison to their place, with pristine tile floors and clean, white walls. Stopping at their friends’ door, each took a deep breath as Nadia knocked.
“Hey, ladies. What brings you by?” Jake opened the door and gestured them inside.
“Olivia hasn’t been answering her phone, and we need to talk to her.” Jade’s explanation was smooth and level.
Jake ran a hand through his brown hair. “She’s been holed up in her office working on freelance jobs all weekend. She probably turned her phone off. Come on.” He led them down the hallway to the second bedroom in the unit, where he knocked on the door. “Princess, your friends are here.”
“Just a minute!”
Nadia gave him a shark’s smile. “Thanks, Jake. We can take it from here.” The man had the good sense to go back to his television in the living room.
Once he was out of sight, Jade swung the door open. Olivia jumped when it smacked against the wall, sending some files fluttering to the floor. Her blonde hair was messily pulled back in a ponytail, and she was still wearing pajamas. She’d been hunched over her laptop on the desk, next to a cork board hanging on the wall, which was littered with sketches and various proposals.
“Hey! What are you two doing here?” Olivia’s smile faded when she saw Nadia and Jade scowling back at her.Nadia shut the door behind them and crossed her arms, preparing for a fight. “Hadn’t heard from you in a while. Rosie’s been trying to get in touch since last night.”
Olivia shrugged. “I’m not interested in talking to her.”
“Did you even listen to the voicemails?” Jade asked.
Olivia shook her head. “I’ve been busy.”
“Mm-hmm.” Jade’s disappointed look would serve her well if she ever became a parent. “Did you block her in the group chat or something?”
“I … I haven’t been checking the group chat.”
Nadia smelled a lie.
“Haven’t been checking, or muted us entirely?”
“Well, I … uh…”
Nadia pinched the bridge of her nose. “Look, Olivia, we gave you time to cool off, but this has gone on long enough.”
Olivia’s face turned red. “What the hell? I thought you were my friends!”
“Weareyour friends, but we’re Rosie’s, too. And quite frankly, my dear, you’re being an asshole.”
If this had been a cartoon, steam would be coming out of Olivia’s ears. “Matt and I made a deal back in high school that he wouldn’t date any more of my friends. He broke that promise. Both he and Rosie should have known better.”
Right. They were all familiar with Olivia’s protective streak over her little brother.
Vibrating with anger, Jade slapped her phone down on the desk, open to the message from Rosie that was directed at Olivia. Her dark finger shook as she pointed at the device.
“Well,Rosietook yourprecious baby brotherto thehospitallast night, with what sounded to me like a goddamn heart attack! Now, I don’t know what medical history she’s talking about, but I bet youdo. So, you should know how fucking serious it is. She wastryingto get a hold of you last night to tell you so you could call your parents. At this point I’d have just called from Matt’s phone. But you’re the only family he has in town, and they’re four hours away. If you weren’t so busy being mad at them for beinghappytogether, youcouldhave been there for him.”
The color faded from Olivia’s face as she picked up Jade’s phone to read the messages.
“When Caleb called Roger to tell him I’d been kidnapped, Roger dropped everything, despite hating Caleb’s guts for what happened at Armageddon. You couldn’t even be bothered to listen to avoicemail. You’re actingexactlylike my overprotective brothers didmy entire lifebefore Caleb. It may be for different reasons, butit’s the same goddamn thing; trying to control your brother’s love life when it’s none of your business.Don’t do that to Matt.Ididn’t deserve it. Neither doeshe.”
“And I know all about how controlling family usually ends.” Jade continued her tirade. “Rosie offered to stop coming to game nights after you skipped out. Because she feels it’s not fair to the rest of us. But we’re not taking sides, and we’re sure ashellnot dealing with this division for one second longer. Matt told Mia he’d had a crush on Rosie since high school. She makes himhappy. And who better to trust with your brother’s heart than one of us? She’s already saved it once.”
Olivia kept scrolling through the group chat she’d muted. Then handed the phone back to Jade. Nadia read over her shoulder where she had stopped reading before they drove over.
