Lies We Tell ✔

The Thirty-ninth Dance

Eighteen hours after she'd been admitted to the hospital, Olivia was finally allowed to have visitors—but only from family. Her condition was still unstable.

I didn't feel even slightly guilty skipping Modern Movement to go see my cousin in the hospital. The only thing that did make me feel guilty was being forced to leave behind Nigel when he practically begged to come along.

"I'll let her know you send her best regards," I told him with a helpless shrug.

"Ew. That sounds so formal. Tell her I sent my best memes," he corrected, cracking a small smile despite the pain reflected in his eyes.

"You are just too romantic."

When I arrived at the hospital, the nurse led me down gleaming white walls into Olivia's room. She let me in with a solid warning that Olivia was still in critical condition, and would have to have surgery again later, so I wasn't allowed to do or say anything that would alarm her.

Lying in a bed of white pillows and sheets was a sickly, pale, tube-covered version of my cousin. Her cheeks were sunken. Limbs skeletal. I was looking at a malnourished shadow of Olivia.

My cousin was awake, and managed to give me a weak smile upon seeing me.

I rushed over to the chair beside the bed and clutched her hand in mine. "Olivia! Mingmei. Ni hai hao ma?"

"A...melia," Olivia murmured. There were bandages covering her forehead and cheeks, leaving small patches for her nose, mouth, and eyes. Tubes, IVs, and other strange medical equipment that I couldn't identify were sticking out all over her body.

I leaned in, aware that every word out of my cousin's mouth was precious.

"That...the dumbest...thing..I ever hear," she managed to spit out. "Of course...I am not...okay."

"Oh."

Olivia coughed. "Your pronunciation awful, too."

It was a mark of how worried I'd been about Olivia that her insults brought me joy. She was talking. She was alive. "What did Robert do to you?" I whispered, my eyes travelling down the length of the bed. The sheets were pulled up over my cousin's body, so I couldn't see any other physical injuries. The nurse at the front desk had informed me that she'd been admitted with numerous cuts and bruises all over her body, though. Just the thought made me wish I could march on down to the police station and deal with Robert myself.

Olivia's half-shut eyes found mine, the look in them full of sorrow. "They say...Robert and Mandy...working together?" When I nodded, her eyes shut, and she let out a long, shaky sigh. "I can't...believe it. Mandy? Must be mistake."

"No mistake," I sighed. "She confessed. She attacked me, too."

Her eyes flew open, alarmed and concerned. "Attack? Are you okay?"

I waved a hand through the air. "It was nothing compared to what you went through." I didn't press for the details.

Olivia's eyes were wide and shining with the threat of tears, her lower lip trembling. She shook her head and burrowed back into the safety of her blankets. "Robert," she said, her expression pained. "Robert. Robert."

"I know."

"I am not...surprised, actually." She paused, her eyes squinting. "I had...suspicion."

I blinked at my cousin. "You knew he was involved?"

"He say strange...thing, sometime. 'Caucasian blood superior'. Or... 'white race...better.'" Olivia shuddered and gulped. "He was not...nice."

"You should've said something to me," I cried. "All that time, I thought it was Jennifer. And look at the dangerous mess you got yourself into!"

The nurse flashed me a warning look, and I sat back down in my seat, trying to keep my thoughts—and volume—under control.

"I didn't want anyone else...hurt," Olivia said softly. "Too many...hurt...already. And I thought...Robert really did...like me."

I squeezed her hand. "There was another, better boy who liked you all along."

"Nigel?" Olivia whispered, a soft smile on her face.

"Yep. And he sends you his best memes," I said, remembering.

"What is...meme?"

"Um." I paused. "Something you send to somebody very—special."

"Tell Nigel...I send him...my meme, too."

"I will."

Olivia's smile faded, and it took me only a few seconds—plus a loud snort from her—to realize that she'd fallen asleep. The nurse coughed and jerked her head toward the door. Guess that meant it was time for me to get lost.

I returned that night to the silent and dark place that had become my dorm room. After mumbling replies to everyone who asked if I was okay, I shut myself up in my room and fell into a light, restless sleep.

*****

A/N - Yikes, so this chapter is shorter than I realized when I split up my book, BUT I'll be updating very soon, within a couple of days. So no worries!! and yay for Amelia and Olivia being reunited <3

Also thank you so much for your kind words of support on my all-caps screaming announcement last chapter lmao. I'm still in a daze and I'm a big baby so after the initial shock wore off after a few days, I totally cried. I've been trying to find an agent since I wrote Heroes Deep Within 4 years ago (though I took a 3 year break in between lmao so it's really only been maybe a year of effort) but it's still crazy that it finally happened. Thank you all for believing in my writing even when I thought no one, not even my own parents, ever would. It truly means the world. <3

Please comment/vote if you enjoyed, and I'll have the next (longer) update up soon!! Stay tuned and thanks a million for your support!