Chapter 7

Olivia quietly packed all of her belongings. It had only been fifteen minutes since Caleb expressed his views about her. She gathered all of her thoughts and packed her bags. Because she only had two bags, it didn't take her long.

It was one in the morning, and it was the perfect time for her to leave this house. She will be eternally grateful to the Knights for allowing her to stay in this house for so long. She greatly admires them for it.

Olivia walked downstairs silently with her two bags, making no noises. Finally, she closed the door shut and exited their home for good.

Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined herself returning to this house. Not anytime soon, but it is the only place she can truly call her own. It was only a ten-minute walk from Knight's house.

Olivia had kept the key with her all along. She entered her house after unlocking the door. Yes, indeed! After three long years, she finally entered her home. Tears welled up in her eyes almost immediately. Every moment was playing out in front of her like a play. It was as if she was watching a re-enactment of her family's interactions with her.

The place was exactly the same as when they had left. Except for the dust that had accumulated on the white cloth that had been draped over the furniture, floors, walls, and ceiling, nothing had changed.

On the paternal side, Olivia's grandma and grandpa gave this house to her parents as a wedding gift. So her mother and father didn't have the heart to sell this home that was given to them with so much love and affection, and this home holds many happy memories for them.

Olivia proceeded to turn on the light. Then she removed all the white clothes from the hall furniture. There was a lot of dust on it, which made her cough. She took the napkin from her pocket and draped it over her mouth. She then went to her house's storeroom and removed every appliance required to clean this place. Her dad had hired a housekeeper who had taken care of their home, and perhaps he heard about the tragedy with her parents and figured Olivia would gradually return to this place. Hence, he stocked the entire house with necessary items.

She carried everything into the living room and began cleaning it. She started it at two o'clock in the morning. She wasn't tired at all, and since she wouldn't be able to sleep without nightmares, she chose to start cleaning the living room.

Olivia began with the flooring and then moved on to the walls. Her house was not small; in fact, for a middle-class person, it was quite large. But her grandparents were quite wealthy, so you could say that is why she has such a large house, though it is not as large as a Knight's mansion. Nevertheless, her home is large enough for a family of average size.

It was already six o'clock in the evening when she finished cleaning the floor, walls, and some furniture. She hardly took a break in between, implying that she was completely exhausted.

She worked for four hours straight, which was nothing out of the ordinary for her. She used to work for six to seven hours a day, sometimes more, at the old house where they moved three years ago. As a result, she had to work multiple jobs in addition to going to school.

Her parents were strict there. So as a punishment, she was made to clean the entire storage room, which took her an entire day to complete. Not to mention that the storage room eventually became her room.

She grabbed the stool and climbed it up to clean the above section of the walls and ceiling after an hour's break. She should have cleaned it first, but she dislikes walking on dusty floors, so she cleaned the floor first. Yes, she will have to clean it again, but that is fine with her. She had learned not to be afraid of hard work over the course of four years.

Olivia was cleaning the mint green-colored walls, which had been fading. Then she suddenly felt her eyes burning from dust. She tried to ignore it and got back to work. After a short while, the burning was followed by coughing. She considered taking a break and decided to get off the stool. But before she could do so, blackness overtook her, and she felt pain in her back before drifting off into the world of darkness.

Caleb awoke at eleven o'clock in the morning. The whole night, Olivia was there in his mind and the words that he had told her. He should not have been so harsh with her. After a while, Caleb decided to take a bath and go for a walk outside his house. Walking gives him plenty of time to think. He drove by a house that was ten minutes away from his house. It had always been closed. He moved to Rosewood three years ago and has never seen anyone since. He was curious as to who owned it.

He returned to his apartment after a short time. He cooked lunch for himself and ate it. Unlike the other guys, he knows how to cook. Strangely, he was expecting Olivia to come down, but not once he had seen her. Maybe she was still upset with him and went outside, or she had urged to take drugs.

Yeah! It might be the latter. Caleb didn't pay any attention and engrossed himself in video games. Both his best friends were busy, so he was all alone here unless Livy was in her room. It was getting late, so he ordered takeout. He had a strong craving for a pizza.

He even went out of his way to get some for her. He isn't that cold-hearted. He finished his supper, and it was nine o'clock, but Olivia still hadn't come down.

Strange!

So Caleb took her meal upstairs and placed it near her door, then knocked twice and said, “I ordered some pizza and have kept it outside your room.”

Unlike previous occasions, he told her politely and then exited the area of her room.

Caleb returned to his room because he was exhausted. He had an uneasy feeling that prompted him to check on Livy. He had the impression that something was wrong. But, once again, he ignored it and drifted off to sleep. But he was tossing and turning all night.

He went downstairs at seven o’clock in the morning. The house felt deserted. He was missing Olivia’s presence, which he didn’t find comforting. When he went downstairs, he noticed his mother and father sipping their coffee in the living room.

Caleb was surprised to see them because they weren’t supposed to be here for another day, but he soon discovered that both of their journeys had been cut short. He was relieved that they had returned early. His mother asked him to wake Olivia up because she was eager to meet her.

So he went upstairs, reluctantly, to wake her up. But there was something odd about it. In front of the gate, he noticed the same untouched pizza box that he had left for her to eat. The first thing that came to mind was that she wasn’t even grateful for him bringing her dinner. But based on his observations of her, even if she didn’t want to eat it, she would have kept it in the fridge. Instead, the box was still lying down in the exact spot he had kept it.

Caleb carefully opened the door and entered the room, but it was empty. His eyes were wide open, and he was scanning the room for any sign of Olivia. He searched the cupboard, drawer, and bathroom but found no trace of her belongings.

He was concerned. He walked over to a note on the table. There were two notes instead of one. One was for him, and the other was for his parents.

Caleb read the note that had been addressed to him first.

Caleb,

I know you despise me from the moment I walked into your house, or perhaps even before that when you were informed of my arrival. My intentions, on the other hand, were not bad. I never intended to intrude and disrupt your life. I apologize for everything. You were correct in everything you told me. You are a nice person. Anyway, thank you for putting up with my presence for so long.

From Olivia

Caleb was not able to believe that Olivia was gone. She took his words to heart and left. He immediately took the other letter she had written to his mother and father.

He opened it and began to read it.

Ella and David,

I don’t know where to start. So, first and foremost, thank you for everything you have done for me. I owe you guys a lot. I am not sure when I will be able to repay you. I am aware that I haven't been on my best behaviour, and none of my excuses are acceptable. But thank you so much for always being there for me and taking me under your wing when I needed it the most.

I know you are worried about my sudden disappearance. But don't be, because I am fine. I didn't want to bother you both with myself, so it's best for everyone if I leave now.

Thank you so much for everything.

From Olivia.

Caleb was enraged and cursing himself. He sat on the bed's edge, his head in both of his hands. His parents had been worried about his disappearance for a long time, so they went upstairs and found him in this position. He was terrified and had a blank expression on his face when he handed them the letter. Which they carefully read.

Olivia had been missing from this place since yesterday; perhaps she left the same night. How the hell did he not notice this? Maybe he did but chose to ignore it. He had a feeling something wasn't right, but he didn't listen to himself.

Heck! He wanted her to go away. Then why was he grieving?

Caleb finally looked up and found that his mom and dad were sending him glares. He guessed they figured out that her escape had everything to do with him. At that very moment, he knew that he was in deep shit. And he has no one to blame but himself.

He definitely had some explaining to do.