Once they stepped in through the front door, Sophia unclipped Teddy’s leash, and he ran toward his water bowl. She took Olive into the living room, draped a blanket over her lap, and went into the kitchen. In silence, she placed the kettle under the faucet, and while she waited for it to fill up, she sent her sister a message. Then she carried two mugs of hot chamomile over to where Olive sat and handed one to her with a small smile.
Olive sipped on her drink quietly, a gaunt look on her face.
By the time Lily and Ben arrived, Olive was sound asleep. Ben stepped in first, grim-faced and unable to meet Sophia’s gaze. Olive stirred awake once her brother crouched in front of her. Lily gave Sophia a quick, distracted hug and joined them in the living room while Sophia paced in the kitchen, unable to keep herself from eavesdropping.
“I thought I told you to be careful,” Ben whispered before tucking Olive’s hair behind her ears. “You know how dangerous Zeke is.”
Olive nodded. “I know, but he told me that he found out who killed my baby, and I…I just wanted to know the truth.”
Lily took both of Olive’s hands in hers and squeezed. “No one can blame you for wanting to know, Ol, but you shouldn’t believeanything he tells you. You know he’ll say anything to get you back.”
“I’m just so glad Sophia showed up when she did,” Olive murmured with a quick look in Sophia’s direction.
Sophia blushed and awkwardly looked away, pretending to rummage through the cutlery drawer as she did. When she lifted her gaze back up, Ben and Lily were sitting on either side of Olive and patting her back. After exchanging a quick look, Lily stood up and wandered over to where Sophia stood, pretending to examine the spice rack.
“Thanks for letting me know she was here.”
Sophia set down the knife and fork she was holding. “Yeah, of course. Her ex looked like a piece of work, honestly, and he gave me the creeps. But Teddy is the one who scared him off.”
Lily glanced over at the dog dozing in his bed by the fireplace. “Remind me to bring him a big steak as a thank you.”
Sophia took a step closer to Lily and lowered her voice. “Is Olive going to be okay?”
“We’re going to take her home and take it from there.” Lily’s hand darted out, and she squeezed Sophia’s. “Thank you for bringing her here.”
Sophia gave her a small smile. “Of course. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”
On their way out, Olive stopped to draw Sophia into a long, drawn-out hug. Then she bent down to give Teddy a kiss on his forehead. He kept wagging his tail until they disappeared down the driveway and into Ben’s car. Once they rounded the corner, Sophia stepped back and slammed the door shut.
For the rest of the night, she kept reliving the entire incident, everything from Olive’s tear-stained face to the man’s cruel sneer. She kept checking in on Lily till she was sure they made it back to Provincetown. Then she went back into her ownapartment, threw herself onto the mattress, and stared up at the ceiling.
Poor Olive.
It was bad enough that she’d lost her kid to a hit-and-run. Now, she was stuck with an unstable and volatile ex who clearly wasn’t happy about her moving on with her life. Not only that, but he was willing to lie and manipulate her in order to get what he wanted.
And to what end?
The two of them needed to heal and find their way back from the darkness. Using trickery and deception wasn’t going to do either of them any good.
With a sigh, Sophia sat up, changed into her pajamas, and crawled into bed. Through the walls, she listened for the sound of her dad’s footsteps. Once she heard his familiar low timber talking to someone on the phone, she smiled.
Teddy curled up next to her side of the bed and placed his head between his paws. Absentmindedly, she stroked the top of his head and stared at the wall. Once she heard her father’s TV, garbled through the thin walls, she squeezed her eyes shut.
Before she drifted off to sleep, she thought of Olive Vasquez again and sent up a quick prayer.
In the morning, a soft rapping on the door jolted her awake. She scrambled for her phone, peered at the time, and waited for the security camera app to upload. As soon as she spotted Zoe’s familiar face, her daughter in a knee-length floral dress and carrying two brown bags with Emily’s familiar logo, Sophia’s stomach grumbled.
Teddy raced to the door and sat down in front of it.
Sophia threw the covers off, stuffed her feet into a pair of slippers, and reached for her robe. After securing the sash, she threw the door open and pulled Zoe in for a hug. Zoe patted her mom’s back and drew back a short while later.
Zoe chuckled and gave her mom a bemused look. “Good morning to you, too. Everything okay?”
Sophia nodded and stepped to the side, allowing Zoe to brush past her and make a beeline for the kitchen. “I’m just really glad to see you.”
“You don’t seem surprised that I’m here. Did I mention it already? I meant to surprise you.”
Zoe set the bags down on the counter and began to take food out, starting with cream cheese bagels, then cheese croissants, and ending with blueberry muffins.
