Everything will trend better.
But that suffocating feeling came back.
Heavier.
More suffocating.
Chapter Nine
Olivia
The curtains stayed drawn.
It had been six months.
I couldn't remember when I'd stopped pulling them open. Mornings, I'd wake up to a thin sliver of light sneaking through the edge. I'd stare at it, watch it shift from white to yellow to dim, watch it vanish, watch the room sink back into darkness.
Whole days slipped by like that.
I'd tried getting up. Yeah, tried. Sat up, feet hitting the floor, then just sat there, no clue what to do next, where to go, how to fill the damn day.
So I'd lie back down.
Where was Juliet?
That thought nailed me right in the chest. Not deep, but constant, pricking with every breath. I knew she was in this house, down a couple of hallways, behind a door I'd been blocked from three times already. I knew she was here.
But I couldn't get to her.
My phone sat on the nightstand. Over these six months, it had rung a ton. Ella's name popping up, Sophie's too. Most times, Iignored it. When I picked up, I'd just say, "I'm fine," "Nothing's wrong," "Busy."
They didn't buy it.
But they were in another city, staring at screens, powerless.
The phone rang.
I grabbed it, glanced—Ella.
I hit answer.
"Olivia!"
Her voice burst out, same old loud-ass energy.
"Guess where I am? Milan! On a business trip! Flying to New York tomorrow! Want me to grab you something? Designer bag? Italian goodies? You're a fancy lady now, gotta match the vibe."
I laughed.
It was faint, so faint I barely felt it.
"No need," I said. "Just do your thing."
"Do my thing? It's no big deal. Seriously, what do you want? Perfume? Jewelry? Or—"
"Ella."
I cut her off.
