Chapter 40

Everyone was surprised yet ecstatic to find Olivia downstairs. None of them knew how Caleb managed to do the deed, but they were glad because, whatever he did, it had some positive effect on Olivia. Even though their goddaughter didn't say much, it was a step forward.

Olivia was smiling a bit more. It was not a full-fledged smile, but nonetheless, it was a smile. She stopped being cooped up in her room, although she still refused to talk to anyone other than her godparents and Caleb. But she did talk to Carson and Claudia a bit as they were both staying back at the Knight's mansion again until Claudia gave birth to her child.

During these two days, Olivia had settled into the Knights' home. She missed her friends, especially James, but she was terrified of meeting him. She feared him disappearing again. It was easier to stay away, but she knew that she would have to face him at some time or another.

But what she didn't realize was that it would be so soon.

Olivia was in her peaceful slumber until Caleb tried to wake her up. Sleeping with Caleb has become a strange habit for her. He helps her calm down. And, surprisingly, David and Ella were both fine with their son's new sleeping habit. Olivia even told Caleb that she would be fine on her own, but he refused to listen to her as he also knew that she would feel safe with him around.

“Olivia, wake up.” He was shaking her.

“I don't want to.” She buried her face in a pillow.

“Olivia, get up, or else we will be late for school.”

With the mention of school, her eyes became wide. “I am not going to school.”

“Yes, you are. You can't stay here forever.” He told her sternly yet in a soft voice.

“Yes, I can.” Olivia was shaking her head vigorously and covered her face with the blanket.

“Olivia, you need to start getting out of the house. And I will be there with you every second. And if it becomes too much for you, we will leave right away.”

Olivia was silent for a few minutes before she mustered up some courage to speak the next few words, which were no less than music to Caleb’s ears.

“You promise?”

“Cross my heart and hope to die.” Caleb kissed Olivia’s cheeks, which made her blush.

Before leaving for school, both Ella and David gave a long talk to Caleb about taking care of Olivia, which made her giggle. It was all new for Caleb to listen to Olivia’s giggle. It was refreshing, and he was glad that he could finally have a taste of a bit of the old Olivia.

“Olivia, take care, okay? If there is any problem, call David or me, and we will be there in a jiffy.” Ella hugged her tight and kissed her forehead.

When Olivia and Caleb finally reached school, Olivia was having second thoughts. She refused to leave the car.

“Olivia, stop being a baby and come out of the car.”

“No, I am fine here.” She shook her head stubbornly.

“Jesus Christ, so Sia and Mason were right about your stubbornness.” This caused Olivia to narrow her eyes at Caleb.

Caleb chuckled, “Come on, Olivia. Don’t you want to meet everyone? James will be elated to see you here. He misses you terribly.”

“Does he? He won’t leave me again, right?” Her innocent eyes were begging Caleb to remove all the doubts she was having.

“Of course not. Who could leave such a cutie like you? Not me, at least. Come on, Olivia. You can do it.” Caleb offered his hand to her, which she took hesitantly.

He gripped her hand tightly and led her into the school. Olivia was tense beside him, but Caleb was rubbing her knuckles, which made her a bit calm.

Her fellow mates were giving her curious looks, which were not helping her situation. Everyone knew about her. It’s difficult to hide things in Rosewood because it’s a small town, but Caleb’s soothing words helped her forget about other people’s opinions about her past.

Both of them walked towards her locker to find their entire group there talking with each other.

“Hey there, guys.” Caleb greeted them happily.

All of them were shocked to see Olivia in front of them and couldn’t resist hugging her. James was the one who withheld himself. He was still scared of his twin, as the last time he came near her, she got a panic attack.

After James temporarily shifted to Stella’s place, he got a call from David explaining to him how his little sister was scared of him not being real.

“Don’t worry, Olivia; I will give you all the space that you need. But remember that I am here for real.” With a sad smile, James went to his class.

Surprisingly, things went smoothly with Olivia until the break, when Jenna came up in front of Olivia.

“Don't you dare start a scene, Jenna,” Caleb warned her.

“I am not here to cause a scene.” She told him.

“Jenna, leave Olivia alone. Everyone is tired of you creating havoc.” It was James who spoke this time.

“Actually, I came to say that it's good to have you both back. Although I hate to admit it, I would have to say that I miss having you two around. You two better get back to your old selves so we can resume our horrible relationship.” With that, Jenna left, surprising everyone there.

“What the hell just happened?” Caleb asked in astonishment.

“Might be another attempt to get hands-on, my brother,” Olivia said in a disgusted tone.

“Her words seemed sincere,” James stated, amused at Olivia's words.

“Do you want me to disown you?” She glared at him.

“Well, we couldn't have that now, could we, little sis?” He patted her head and ruffled her hair a bit, as he used to do when they were kids.

“You're only two minutes older than I am.” Olivia crossed her arm stubbornly.

“Whether it's two minutes or two hours, I'm still older than you.” James rolled his eyes at this.

Caleb was amused to see the playful banter between the siblings, whereas Stella, Zack, Gabriella, Sia, and Mason were concerned; they were glad to see a bit of the old Olivia back.

“Because you cheated.” Olivia accused her brother.

“Olivia, are you crazy? I did not cheat.”

“Yes, you did; if you didn't push me, then I would have been born first. But, like usual, you couldn't help yourself with your cheating tactics.”

“No, I didn't. I won fair and square by coming out first.”

The twins' faces were close to each other, and then they suddenly started laughing, but it was short-lived as James rushed past them, with Stella following him.

Caleb signalled for the rest of them to go with James.

“I really missed him,” Olivia told him.

“Then tell him that.” Caleb encouraged her to follow James.

After a few seconds, Olivia grabbed his hand. This was enough for Caleb to know Olivia’s decision. James was in the school garden, where he was pouring his heart out.

“I really miss Olivia around, guys. I just wish that things could go back to normal. I know it won’t be the same without my parents, but I only have Olivia, who is my own blood. I also want to meet Cameron. But I won’t be able to do without Olivia. I need my twin in my life to keep going.”

Listening to James’ words, Olivia’s heart cracked slightly. She hesitantly kept her own hand on his shoulder, which caused him to turn around. Before she could back out, Olivia took a step forward and hugged her twin for the first time in so many years. James hugged her tight, letting his tears flow. He pressed his face against her shoulder.

Everyone had happy tears, as they all knew both had suffered enough to last their lifetime. James mouthed between their hugs, thank you to Caleb, to which he gave him a smile with a thumbs up.

Somewhere along the line, James understood Caleb’s feelings for his twin and approved of that. How could he not? After all, he was the one who had a major role to play in getting his sister back to him.

It’s just a matter of time when everything will start going smoothly, and Olivia will return Caleb’s feelings.