Chapter 159
Chapter 159
“No, you did. The point is that love lowers your IQ.”
“Hey! Hey! Keep your mouth shut, I’m still watching.” Czara, the group’s cute mediator, a year older than the rest of them, intervened. But don't be deceived by her petite frame or serene expression. She could easily flip a man twice her size with those delicate arms. Growing up as the only girl among seven siblings hadn’t exactly made her soft.
“Yeah, shut up.” Sloane muttered. Tearing her eyes from the screen seemed impossible as she watched Jack plummeting down the cold oceanic depths.
“Oh, poor Jack,” she wailed.
Czara sighed and handed her a tissue before the tears could start flowing again.
For a miraculous few minutes, everyone stayed quiet, their attention fixed on the movie. The peace lasted only until the end credits began rolling across the massive television screen. Once the story was over, so was the silence.
Then, much to Olivia's dismay, the conversation drifted back to her divorce.
“We're proud of you for making such a difficult decision, Liv,” Czara said, turning to her with genuine admiration. Unfortunately, sympathy had never been her strongest suit. Three seconds later, the corner of her lips curved into a smirk. “Though, if I'm being honest, you probably should've done it years ago.”
Bella shot Czara an offended look. “Easy for you two to say. You've never been in love.”
“And you have?” Czara arched an elegant brow. Reaching into the bowl of snacks, she casually popped a chip into her mouth.
“Excuse me?” Bella sputtered.
“Name one lasting relationship you've had,” Czara challenged.
The silence that followed was so deafening Olivia could practically hear it. Just then, Bella pointed an accusing finger at Czara “For your information, I've had plenty of relationships.”
“None of which survived long enough to qualify for a warranty,” Czara remarked matter-of-factly.
Bella crossed her arms and huffed. “Fine. My relationships may not have lasted, but at least I've experienced love.”
Olivia groaned and buried her face in a pillow. The movie had ended barely a minute ago, and her friends were already bickering. Some things, unfortunately, never changed.
She lifted her head with a sigh, but before she could say a word, Sloane stepped in before the two could turn their squabble into a wrestling match.
“Enough. Time's too precious to waste it arguing.” She grabbed the remote and brought up the menu, revealing an endless selection of movies. “Ladies, prepare the tissues. We're watching Romeo and Juliet.”
Three groans rang out in unison.
“Here we go again,” Olivia muttered, though she settled back against the couch and watched anyway.
—
“Can someone explain why my head is trapped beneath this giant helmet, making me look like an astronaut awaiting launch into space when I was perfectly fine at home binge-watching tragic movies?” Olivia snapped her gaze away from the magazine she'd been pretending to read for the past few minutes and shot her friends a bewildered look.
Bathed in warm golden light, her three friends lounged in plush velvet chairs lined side by side, each looking moments away from drifting off. Around them, beauticians tended to their hair and pedicures while soft music played in the background.
“We want the old Olivia back,” Bella mumbled without opening her eyes. “The same Olivia who doesn't have to dye her hair dark or straighten her hair just to look like a certain someone.”
“And now that you're finally off your adoptive parents' radar, you can be yourself again. You're free now, Olivia. Seize it.” Sloane added.
Then, with all the pomp of an actress delivering her final line, Bella raised a finger and proclaimed, “As the Bard himself said, ‘To thine own self be true.’”
Czara, who had been silent all along, cracked one eye open. “Wow. Did you read that from a book?”
“No,” Bella admitted. “It was on a mug.”
Olivia smiled.
She knew her friends meant well. They knew her adoptive mother's control had never been limited to what she wore or how she behaved. When her naturally dark hair began to lighten to dark brown with puberty, Mrs. Hilton noticed immediately. From then on, she was subscribed to monthly appointments at a salon where her hair was dyed and painstakingly straightened to mirror Caroline's sleek, dark hair.
Looking back now, Olivia wondered how she had managed to endure years under Mrs. Hilton's totalitarian rule.
Bella shifted in her chair. “I’m serious though,” she muttered. “We’re not letting you go back to that… polished doll version of you. That wasn’t you.”
Czara nodded, for once, she agreed with Bella's words. “You didn’t even choose your own hair for years. That’s insane when you think about it.”
“From now on, we'll help you rediscover yourself.” Sloane said softly.
“You three are ridiculous.” Olivia muttered.
“And yet, you're stuck with us,” Bella teased. “For life.”
Her friend burst out laughing. Olivia laughed too. and soon the four of them dissolved into helpless giggles, drawing puzzled glances from the beauticians.
The girls' day out hadn't ended with pampering and new hairstyles.
Much to Olivia's astonishment, her three friends who she could have sworn possessed endless stamina, marched straight from the salon to the shopping district, determined to replace her wardrobe.
Before she knew it, Olivia found herself being dragged from boutique to boutique. Hours later, the four of them were laden with shopping bags.
The sunset had long since bled its last colors across the sky by the time they arrived back at the duplex.
Olivia's exhaustion finally broke through the last thread of endurance she had left and she lay sprawled on the bed.
Yet, stirring inside her was a quiet satisfaction she hadn’t known in years. She felt like a bird released from a gilded cage, seeing the world for the very first time.
“Olivia, the telephone’s ringing. People are asking where you are.” Sloane’s head peeked through the small opening of the door.
“Did you tell them where I am?” Olivia asked. She had turned her phone off, knowing it would be flooded with messages, and yet, somehow, they still found a way to reach her.