Chapter 73
DEMI
"She called you to say that?" Eliana asks in astonishment. We are at her dainty apartment downtown which she shares with her boyfriend, Taylor. While we huddle up on the couch, he steps out to go walk their golden retriever, Cash.
Eliana clucks her tongue. "She can’t mean that. I don’t know what is going on with her but it smells fishy to me. I didn’t misread the situation. It’s like you said. I am grown and I can tell when a woman is feeling suffocated or trapped in a relationship."
"What was she like before she met this person?"
"A wild bird. Olivia clubbed like it was her second home. She was so much fun, very vocal and confident. Whenever she walks into a room, everyone would know her within two minutes. It wasn’t just about her beauty and fashion sense; she was very sociable with a beautiful laugh. She makes friends pretty easily."
Adjusting her reading glasses, Eliana’s demeanor drops. "I always hung out with her. The day she invited me to the club where she met her boyfriend, I was sick so I declined. That was the last time I saw Olivia for at least eight months. Whenever I called her phone, it was switched off. Her family weren’t saying anything meaningful too. Once, her dad told me she travelled to further her studies and the very same day, Maddie told me Olivia went out of town for a job. That’s when I knew something was off."
I sip my juice and drop it ceremoniously on the small table.
"Has she called you since you spoke to her in the car? Have you two spoken again?"
"No. I think I am blocked for now. She must be pissed at me for surprising her like that with you on the phone. She’ll probably reach out again when she’s at her lowest or when he pesters her to sift information from me, whichever happens first." She bites down on her lower lip. "Are you still going to try and help her? You know she only said those things because he probably told her to, right?"
"I don’t know how to help a person who doesn’t want to be helped, Eli. Besides, Olivia is the only one who can tell me how I can help her out. She knows this guy by name and face. We’ve got nothing. I’m not sure how I can be of any help."
The doorbell chimes and I wonder how Taylor is back so soon and why he would be using the doorbell in his own house when he’s got his keys.