Silent Lies - Chapter 19: Chapter 19

I ignore my leg bouncing up and down when I pull in front of Olivia's house. It's Monday. I picked her up for school today, along with Danny and Ashton as usual, not missing how nervous she seemed.
I know why she was nervous, now. I know she was more than likely scared of her dad seeing. I know I probably shouldn't have insisted on picking her up, but I know she's in no condition to keep walking to school. Especially with it getting cold outside.
And now I've driven her home again. The car is completely silent, shockingly. Ashton knows about Olivia, and not because I told him, I'd never just tell someone's business like that. Especially not that kind. But he's been figuring it all out himself, he knows the signs after what I went through.
Danny though? He's still catching on. He's constantly oblivious to everything and everyone around him so it's expected. But I can tell he's worrying.
I told Olivia about the dude mom used to be with. My ex step dad. I still can't believe I did, even if I had mentioned him at the cliff that day. Even Ashton was shocked when I told him I told her about him.
I just needed her to trust me more. I still do.
"Happy Halloween, Liv." Ashton smiles at her as she gets out of the car and she waves back at the two, I get out of the car also.
We all forgot it was Halloween. With it being a Monday and too busy with school, of course we did. Plus, the holidays don't even feel like holidays anymore.
I see Ashton's worried look towards Olivia as she turns towards the house. I think he thinks of her as a little sister. And I know that that'll mean he's very protective of her, especially after her...
"Hey," I catch Olivia's attention. "Are...Are you going to be okay?"
I've asked her this a million times since Saturday, I know I'm more than likely annoying her. But I can't help it.
Especially not today.
Something's telling me to not let her step foot in that house. Yesterday I felt the same, but today? It was unbearable.
Always trust your gut instincts.
She nodded but she seemed to refuse to meet my gaze. I frown. "What about you come hang out with us?"
She gives me a look that just screams 'You know damn well I can't do that.' At me.
"I can't just let you go," I admit and now she's the one frowning. "Please..." She shakes her head as usual. "Please just let me take you away from here, Liv."
I step closer to her, but she still shakes her head. I know I can't force her to come with me. I know she's doing what she thinks is best for her for now, so she doesn't get taken into care. But something tells me to force her to come with me.
"Liv-" She just shakes her head, not letting me try anymore. I blow out a breath and accept it, knowing something's telling me I shouldn't. "You text me the second it-" She nods quickly already knowing what I was going to say.
I want to pull her into a hug, I always want her in my arms anymore, but the look she's giving me tells me not to. And not because she doesn't want a hug, but because her dad's car is in the driveway.
Shit.
Go in there and confront him yourself.
Fucking beat the shit out of him like he's done to his own daughter.
I try to push those thoughts away, but it's really what I want to do. What urges someone to hurt their own child?
"I'll see you tomorrow," I finally get myself to say. She nods, smiles at me sadly, does her usual wave to the two in the back then me, and walks away.
Don't let her walk through that door.
I shut the car door the second she shuts the front door to the house. My chest feels heavy as I start the drive to Danny's house. We usually hang out at Ashton's, but Danny's mom wants him home and Ashton's parents are back in town for now.
It'll just be me and Ashton at my house today.
"Is Olivia okay?" Danny blurts out. I sigh, knowing he's putting all the pieces together finally. I don't give an answer, knowing she's not but not wanting to spill her business anymore than I already have.
Ashton moves to the front seat when Danny gets out of the car, waving to us. It's still quiet as I drive home.
We go up to my room and Ashton goes right over to grab the Xbox controllers. I shake my head, taking all my homework for today out and grabbing Ashton's bag knowing if he doesn't do it now, it won't get done ever.
Just as I'm about to start the dumb worksheet for Ashton's math class homework, his phone dings and he's smiling.
I already know who it is, but I still ask, "Who are you smiling at?"
His face flushes and he turns his attention to the Tv, where he's not even trying to get away from the cops on GTA now. "Divine."
I'm surprised he's just admitted it. But he also knows I don't have a big mouth, like our other friend. Not that Danny hasn't surprisingly caught on to the two of them.
"What's going on between you two?" I try to resist grabbing my phone to text Olivia, knowing the question will only annoy her more.
You shouldn't have let her walk inside that house.
"I don't know..."
"You don't know? Literally everyone knows at this point, including Danny."
"Whatever." He still smiles as he texts her.
He stops playing the game, sitting on my bed with me and to my surprise, he takes his homework from me and does it himself.
"You like Olivia, so what about you two?" He asks and I roll my eyes, not even denying it because it's true.
I do like her.
Maybe more than like. Like seems to be an understatement. Love seems to be way too strong of a word for my feelings though too, for now. I can't place it, I've never even had these feelings about another person.
But I definitely enjoy them.
"I like her...but I don't know about her feelings for me." Especially now. I can hardly read her, until everything with her piece of shit so called dad. I can't tell how she feels about anything else.
He's quiet, not knowing what to say. Until he finally asks, "Have you texted her...if she's okay?"
"I've asked her that a million times, she's definitely annoyed with it."
"With what's happening it's okay though, right?" I nod. "Divine knows. Or not knows, Olivia still denies it to her, but she said she does know. We all do. Too many signs, and you've got it confirmed. We've gotta help her."
"Divine's her best friend, so...I wanna help her, but I can't force her to do anything. I want to, but I know how hard it is. She's so scared..." I look down at my homework, remembering the party.
"Thank god you've been curious about this girl and finally got the balls to talk to her. She needs to get out of there, fast too. God...why does shit like this happen?" he asks no one in particular.
"Me, and her. Two kids who've been abused, or are, in just one school. How many other people is this happening to?" I sigh, giving up on my homework for the night.
"Too many."
My phone dings then, I immediately check it.
Can u plz come pick me up?
Olivia<3, 6:57pm
Just that text makes my heart drop. Sure, she could potentially just wanna hang out. But the way she typed this message tells me otherwise. Olivia always types out full words, not 'u' or 'plz' never.
"What's wrong?" Ashton asks as I stand, throwing my shoes on and grabbing my car keys.
"Olivia wants me to pick her up, but I have a horrible feeling." He's up immediately too, throwing his shoes on.
You shouldn't have let her leave your sight.
I'm thankful Olivia doesn't live far, but I still go a bit over the speed limit. The second I pull in front of Olivia's house, my heart drops into my ass I swear.
"Shit," Ashton mumbles as we get out of the car, seeing the sight of Olivia.
She's sitting on the porch steps, leaning against the railing while holding her hand to her chest. She's crying, but she tries to stop when she sees us. Her makeup is completely gone now, revealing now two fresh black eyes and once again bruised jaw.
God only knows what else has happened under her hoodie and jeans.
"Hey, hey, it's okay." I coax her, getting on my knees in front of her, pushing the hair out of her face.
She hiccups back sobs, glancing between me and Ashton. I know she probably doesn't want him here, but here he is. Looking pissed, might I add.
"Where the fuck is he?" He hisses and I shush him, Olivia looking so confused on why he knows who's done this to her is he.
"He's figured it out on his own I promise I wouldn't just tell," I assure her quickly. I look at the face, seeing the nose bleed she's had.
Before I can say anything else to her, Ashton gets to it. "Fucking coward, really left?" I look and see the car no longer parked in the driveway.
I shush him, turning my attention back to Olivia. She's looking right in my eyes and my heart breaks, seeing her eyes full of tears and just pure sadness, nothing else. Not one bit of happiness anymore, even before when she was around us there was a tiny bit.
"Let me see." I pull her hand from her chest gently, pulling up her sleeve.
It's fucking broken-her hand.
"Oh god." I don't touch it anymore, not wanting to cause her any more pain than I just have as she whimpers. "Okay, we're taking you to the hospital."
She shakes her head as more tears stream down her face. I want to pull her into my arms but I'm too scared to, she's slumped against the railing still. I don't wanna risk hurting her more.
"Liv...your hand is broken. You can skip going to the hospital for broken ribs maybe." But you shouldn't. "But this? No. You're going, okay? I'm sorry."
"Broken ribs?" Ashton shakes his head, walking away. He's more pissed than I am, mostly because all I care about currently is getting her help.
With her good hand, she rapidly points to her face and all, trying to tell me something but I can't catch on. I finally realize she's saying they'll ask about everything else. She's too scared to go.
"Liv, it'll be okay." She shakes her head, holding back but failing as another sob escapes her lips. I cup the sides of her face, she tenses but just seconds later melts into the touch. I'm careful of her eyes as I wipe away the tears. "You've gotta go. You can't just sleep this off, not now with a broken hand." I don't list everything else off.
Ashton finally comes back over, softly asking her, "Do you have any first aid shit or something inside?"
She shrugs, attempting to say some, Ashton asking each room to figure out where to go and find it. It's just us as he walks into the house. I move my hands, pushing her hair away again.
"It's gonna be okay," I keep telling her.
Because it will be.
No way in hell am I ever letting her go back in that house.
I'm not a violent kind of person, but I want to fucking murder her so called dad.
Who in the hell breaks their own daughter's hand?
Who does any of this in the first place?
Questions I'd really enjoy the answers to. What the fuck is wrong with people.
Ashton walks back out finally, holding her bag and hoodie too with a few bandages that won't do much, some tissues. She did say just some.
"Thought you'd want these." He sets her bag on the ground. He grabbed another hoodie because of the blood on her current one, I assume. "I promise I didn't snoop, they were on your bed." She nods, not even caring if he was.
I take the tissues, wiping the blood from her nose gently. It doesn't do much, just smears but it's better than before. I already know what the bandages are for-her ribs.
She knows what I know they're for too, slowly lifting her hoodie as her good hand shakes. I hold back from cursing, the state of her rib cage and just entire stomach in general even worse than at the party as if that was possible.
It was apparently.
As I wrap the bandage around her, as gently as possible, I ask Ashton, "Your brothers in med school. Does he know anyone at the hospital who can mind their own business?"
"I can see." He pulls out his phone, walking towards my car still in the middle of the street as he calls Chase.
Olivia's head rests on the railing as I pull her hoodie back down, her eyes barely staying open. "Hey, hey, stay awake okay? Please."
She barely nods as Ashton walks back over. "He knows this one dude, but at the hospital a city over." I nod, not caring as I know how much it worries Olivia if she gets reported.
I help Olivia stand, pulling one of her arms over my shoulder not even caring about my back hurting with how I'm bending to help her walk. I open the front passenger seat, helping her sit in the car. Ashton sets her bag on the floor, putting the hoodie over her lap as she's shivering.
Ashton sits in the back, me running over to the drivers side and quickly starting the car. The drives completely silent apart from me and Ashton continuously making sure she stays awake, not knowing what'll happen once she falls asleep. Not with the condition she's in.
Once we've gotten to the hospital where this dude is that Chase knows, I help Olivia in the same way again. She whimpers and another tear rolls down her cheek, I curse under my breath, not wanting her to hurt anymore than she already is. I slide my arm around her waist, leaning most of her weight on me now.
We ignore the looks from others in the waiting room, Ashton walking right over to the desk thankful that there's no line.
"Is Dr. Daniels in?" Ashton asks the lady as she eyes Olivia, worrying it seems.
"Yes he is," is all she replies, picking up the phone.
Just a few minutes later thankfully this Daniels comes out, motioning for us to follow. I run my fingers through Olivia's hair, getting her attention back from where her head is on my chest, arms wrapped around my waist holding herself up.
"Chase said to be expecting someone." We follow him down the hallway as I resist just picking Olivia up and carrying her. He seems to be in his early 30s, with blonde hair and slightly shorter than me. "What's happened?"
He looks at Olivia, wincing. He shakes his head to say never mind, getting us into a room. I help Olivia sit and right away she collapses back to the pillows.
"Her wrist is broken, for sure," I start. "Also..." Olivia shakes her head at me, not wanting to say more. I frown and she gives up. "Her ribs aren't in good condition, and just, can you check on everything for her."
He nods right away, not asking how any of this happened. Immediately he starts, taking X-rays of her hand and ribs, as she cooperates thankfully. Her hand is fractured in several spots, the X-rays making me and Ashton wince knowing how fucking painful that is. Her ribs are also fractured, but there's not as much that can be done as there is with her hand.
Olivia lays down after he leaves for a few, checking on anyone else he's taking care of right now. She stares down at her hand that's now in a cast. Her tears stopped a while ago, thankfully. It hurts to see her crying, but in her condition it's expected. Ashton sits in the chair on the right side of the hospital bed, me on the left.
He looks at me in worry as I look down at Liv, pushing her hair behind her ear. She looks up at me, pulling out her phone. She types then shows us both-Thank you.
Ashton just nods, asking, "Do you want me to call Divine?"
Not yet. He nods, just as Dr. Daniels walks back in.
"Here you go, kiddo." He tosses Olivia a bottle of ibuprofen and she looks more thankful than ever as he also hands her a water.
After she takes a few of the ibuprofen, me helping her hold the bottle up as her hand still shakes, her good one. He examines her face, with the two now horrible looking black eyes, bruised jaw, and something I hadn't noticed earlier-the bruises around her neck that are worse than the first time.
My blood boils.
He frowns seeing all these bruises on her. There's more under her sleeves we saw when she had them pulled up for the cast. They're everywhere.
"Usually I have to report this, but go on. Get out of here," he tells us and Olivia looks so relieved. "I'll give you my number, check in with me in about 3 weeks, okay?" She nods. "Okay, get out of here before I have to report it."
We don't need to be told twice as we all stand up immediately, or as I help Olivia at least. She takes the backseat this time, sprawling out as she lays down in it. I lay the hoodie over her again, the air even colder now as it's nearing 10pm.
"When's your mom coming home?" Ashton asks just as we're about to get back to my place
"Wednesday, I think." She's out of town a lot, not nearly as much as Ashton's parents but still a lot, as she's the general manager for the company. She always says she's tired of it but continues to work there. She was supposed to be home Sunday, but here we are.
"Your mom should let her stay, I mean she'd understand right?"
"Yeah, she would. But it's about if Olivia will stay." Thankfully, she's fast asleep, snoring softly. She didn't have a concussion or anything so we worry less.
"She can't go back."
"I know."
"Broke her fucking hand." He mutters more, saying how badly he wants to kill her dad.
When we finally get back to my house, I attempt to not wake Olivia up but that fails the second my hands on her shoulder. She jumps up and whimpers, probably with how fast she jumped awake and all.
"It's okay, it's just me. We're back, let's get inside, okay?" I help her out of the car, once again pulling her to my side and helping her in.
I lead her to the living room, letting her lay down again on the couch. I push the hair out of her face, throwing a blanket over her as she clutches one of the pillows. I motion to her shoes and she nods, I untie the laces and take off the sneakers.
"You guys hungry?" I nod right away, Olivia barely forming a nod. I sit next to her, running my hands through her hair. "Is pizza fine?" I nod again as Olivia does too.
"How're you feeling?" I ask Olivia as I turn the Tv on, kicking my own shoes off and flipping to some dumb random sitcom to free us of this horrible silence. I feel her shrug and I frown again, listening to Ashton ordering a pizza.
She scoots closer to me, pushing her pillow into my lap as she lays her head in my lap. I gulp, continuing to run my fingers through her hair anyways as I feel her relaxing more and more.
Ashton sits in the chair by the window, grinning at us as Olivia cuddles up to me. I roll my eyes, mouthing 'Now is not the time.' to him.