Wishing Pearl Page 27

“Oh no. Why didn’t I act sooner? I was getting worried about her.” Ju-Ju shook her head. “I can’t believe I waited too long to do something.”

  “Don’t talk like that.” Olivia knelt on the floor and gathered Tricia into her arms like a little girl clutching a rag doll. “Shh. It’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay.” She recited the promise for her own sake as much as Tricia’s.

  A siren blared throughout the building. Help would come. But would it be too late?

  “What’s going on? Who pulled the alarm? Is everyone okay?” Ben’s worried voice thundered down the hallway.

  “In here,” Skye shouted out their door and grabbed the comforter off of her bed and threw it over Tricia.

  Ben shot into the room. He took one look at the scene and punched three numbers into his cell phone. “Yes. It’s a real emergency. There’s no fire, but we’re in need of an ambulance right away.”

  Olivia looked at Ju-Ju and whispered, “Pray.”

  Tammy whisked Ju-Ju and Olivia out of the bathroom as soon as the EMTs arrived. “Come on, girls, let’s get back so they can do what they need to do to help Tricia.” She leaned her back against the wall, slid down to the floor near the window, and patted the area around her for the three girls to join her. “This is a good time for praying. Don’t you think?”

  The four huddled there together until they heard the ambulance driver say, “Okay, she’s stable enough to move. Let’s get her out of here before her blood pressure drops again.”

  He spoke into his radio: “I’ve got a seventeen-year-old malnourished female, approximately 105 pounds. She appears to have fainted. Possible head injury. BP 110/60, which is up from the first reading of 80/55. We’re moving now.”

  The other EMT pushed the gurney from the bathroom and into the hallway.

  Ben followed, his face ashen as he looked at Tammy. “How did we miss this?”

  Tammy shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  Olivia rose from the floor. “Can I go with her to the hospital?” Please. Never mind the vomit in her damp hair. She had to go be with Tricia.

  “Alicia and I are going. You need to stay here for now. We’ll have someone bring you girls later this afternoon, once we know what’s happening.” Ben turned and left without another word.

  “I can’t believe this happened.” Olivia searched Ju-Ju’s eyes for answers.

  “Has she been eating normally lately?” Tammy asked softly, with no accusation evident in her voice.

  “I think so. I mean, she’s always talking about needing to lose weight. But I’ve never noticed anything unusual. She eats pie and stuff, too. Complains about it, but eats it. Sometimes a lot of it.”

  “And then what?” Ju-Ju’s shoulders slumped. Skye stood up from the floor. “What do you mean, then what?”

  “T might eat like a pig sometimes. But then what does she do?”

  Realization hit Olivia’s stomach like a lump of clay.

  “Bathroom. She always goes to the bathroom after she eats.” The mall! “Oh man, you guys, I’ve heard her vomit before. She said it was just something she ate.”

  “Yeah. It was something she ate all right.” Ju-Ju slumped on the chair. “Why didn’t I do something sooner? I knew something was up.”

  “If this is your fault, then we’re all to blame.” Tammy smiled softly. “You girls love her. You’d do anything to protect her. She was good at hiding it. This is not your fault. Tell me you know that.”

  Olivia nodded. “I know it’s not our fault.”

  Easier to say than to believe.

  “Hey, T.” Ju-Ju pushed the door to the hospital room open and held it back for Olivia and Skye to enter.

  Tricia’s head wavered as she lifted it off the pillow, the dark circles under her eyes in stark contrast with the bleached white sheets. “Are you guys mad at me?”

  “Mad at you? Are you kidding? We’re just so glad you’re okay.” Skye sat down on the edge of the bed and gave Tricia a side hug and a kiss on her pale forehead.

  Why? Olivia wanted to ask, but stuck with a safer question. “What can we do to help?”

  Tricia shrugged. “I have to have more counseling for a while. I’m not sure what happens from here. Ben says I’m not going to be leaving Diamond Estates for a while—that I need some more help.” Tears filled her eyes. “I guess he’s right, but with this setback, there’s no way I’ll graduate from the program with you guys in a couple of months.”

  “Well, you know that Ju-Ju and I aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.” Skye rubbed Tricia’s forearm.

  “No. But you’ll be through with the program even if you still live in the house for a while. It’ll be different.”

  “It’ll be better.” Skye smiled.

  Did anyone actually believe that? Olivia gazed out the window. Someone needed to say something funny to break the ice.

  “Why, T?” Ju-Ju grabbed her hand. “Why did you want to be so skinny even to the point of risking your life?”

  Not quite what Olivia had in mind.

  Tricia shrugged. “Look. You have to understand. I’m not tough like you. And I don’t have brains like you.” She nodded at Olivia. “And I’m not sweet and lovable like Skye. All I have going for me are my looks. It’s why I always wanted attention from boys. It was like confirming that I was worth something.”

  “But you are beautiful—inside and out. What made you think a few pounds one way or another would change that?”

  “Oh, in my world—the world of modeling—it can make you or break you. Everything can rest on those few pounds.”

  “Then why be a part of that world? That’s ridiculous. You’re worth so much more than that.” Ju-Ju shook her head. “I don’t get it.”

  “You wouldn’t get it. You’re tough enough—strong enough—not to cave under pressure like that. I guess I’m not. And then when Kira …”

  “Kira has done a lot of things to hurt a bunch of people. She only wanted to get to you. She was jealous. But she’s coming around.” Olivia crouched down to be at eye level with Tricia. “We need you, Tricia. You’re important to so many people. Please don’t hurt yourself in order to match up to someone else’s ridiculous ideal. Just be yourself. We love you just like you are.”

  “I’ll try.”

  “Good.” Olivia nodded. “They say you’re coming home tomorrow. Tell us how we can help you.”

  “You know, the thing I’m most afraid of is that everyone will treat me weird. I mean, watch what I eat and what I don’t eat, follow me into the bathroom, offer me treats …” Her shoulders slumped. “I just want things to be normal.”

  Ju-Ju gave a resolute nod. “You know what, T? I think we can handle all of that. You’ll get enough focus on this stuff in counseling. Between the four of us, we’ll try to keep everything the same. Right?” She looked at Skye and Olivia.

  “Yeah, I agree.” Skye nodded.

  “Sure. As long as you let me measure your food and count your calories.” Olivia winked. “I’m totally kidding. I think you make a fair point, and I’m on board with keeping things normal—whatever that is.”

  “Thanks, you guys.” Tricia yawned. “Now, I’m kind of tired. I think I need to take a nap.”

  Olivia, Ju-Ju, and Skye let the heavy door close softly as they left the room. Olivia slumped against it and looked at Ju-Ju and Skye. “We have lots of work to do with her.”

  “Hey. I’m back.” A very tired-looking Tricia tiptoed into the room and heaved her duffel bag onto her bunk.

  “Welcome home, girlfriend.” Ju-Ju jumped from the desk chair where she sat. “How are you?”

  Tricia laughed. “Oh, I’m fine. My head still hurts a little from my fall, but that’s about it.”

  Olivia gave her a hug.

  “Glad to have you back, Trish.”

  “Thank you, Skye.” Tricia’s smile quickly faded. “Now I have to do something difficult.”

  “Can we help?” Olivia stepped closer.

  Tricia moved to
her bedside. “I wish. First of all, I need to apologize to you three. I, um, have something in here that isn’t allowed—that’s actually illegal.” She lifted her mattress and felt around underneath it. When she pulled her hand out, she had a baggie full of little blue pills.

  Olivia gasped. “What are those?”

  Ju-Ju nodded. “Speed. Diet pills, huh, T?”

  Skye shook her head. “I can’t believe you had those in here and none of us ever noticed.”

  “I didn’t realize it, but I’ve been living a lie. I mean, I thought my weight and diet issues were private and no one’s business—I thought they had nothing to do with my program here. I realized when I was in the hospital, though, that anything that has to be hidden from your loved ones isn’t right. My family, my friends, Ben and Alicia, Tammy—they all want the best for me. So if I have to hide something, it can’t be good. You know?”

  The three girls nodded.

  Olivia tipped her head at the bag. “What now?”

  “I’ve got to turn myself in. It’s the first step toward real recovery.”

  “I’m proud of you, T.”

  “Me, too.” Skye hugged her.

  “Want me to go with you?”

  “Thanks, Liv. But no. I need to do this on my own.” Tricia’s smile faltered. “You could all pray for me while I’m gone, though. I think I’m going to need it.”

  Chapter 31

  Olivia sat on her hands to keep them from shaking, which only made her teeth chatter. “Okay, Liv. I’ve got your mom on Skype and webcam.” Tammy pushed a button to amplify the call.

  “Mrs. Whitford, it’s me, Tammy, with Olivia and Ben on the call.”

  “Good afternoon, everyone.” Mom’s jaw tightened.

  “Ben, would you like to take it from here?” Tammy gestured to the computer.

  He nodded and adjusted his tweed blazer. “I understand things didn’t go very well when Tammy delivered some difficult news to you. Have you had a chance to process the information, Mrs. Whitford?”

  “I wouldn’t exactly call it information, Mr. Ben. It’s more like unfounded accusations dropped out of nowhere.” Mom crossed her arms. “What kind of ideas are you people putting into my daughter’s head anyway?”

  Here we go again. Olivia’s stomach retched. She put her head in her hands and breathed deeply.

  “Mrs. Whitford, it was very difficult for Olivia to open up about this.” Ben used an even tone. “She said she tried to talk to you about this many times.”

  Mom leaned forward and glared at the webcam. “Oh? Name one time.”

  “After your trip to Chicago. After Charles ripped the lock off my door. After the funeral.” Olivia spoke into the camera in an emotionless, monotone voice. “Those times were all this year. I have other examples if you want them.”

  Mom’s eye twitched, and her shell seemed to crack a teeny bit when Olivia spoke. “I don’t know, Liv. It’s just so hard for me to believe.”

  “Mom, respectfully, I find that hard to believe.” Olivia spoke in almost a whisper. “You’ve shown me many times you don’t trust Charles’s reactions, and you’ve stepped between us sometimes.”

  “You noticed that?” Her shoulders sagged ever so slightly.

  “Of course. I used to think you stepped in front of Charles so I’d be forced to look his direction—which made me so mad because I could always see him. Then I realized you were trying to get between us.” Olivia locked eyes with her mom on the computer screen.

  “Remember the day Officer Stapleton brought me home? What happened that night, Mom? I mean, you don’t have to tell me, but the last thing you said to me on the driveway was that I was to go to my room, lock the door, and not come out. That tells me you knew what he was capable of, and you expected it.” Olivia gripped her armrests until her fingers cramped. “Did you not notice that Charles was nowhere to be found when you went back into the house? Did it never occur to you he might have been waiting for me in my room?”

  Mom gasped and covered her mouth with a tissue.

  Olivia looked at Ben and Tammy, who both nodded encouragingly. She’d never meant to say this much, but now that she’d started, she had to finish. “Mom—if you want to know what I think—I think that somewhere in the recesses of your mind, you knew this was going on, but you didn’t know how to deal with it and wanted to pretend it wasn’t happening.”

  Mom openly sobbed.

  “What about the night before I left to come here? Did you honestly not have any idea that I snuck out of the house on the rope ladder to get away from Charles? He came home drunk that night, crashed his car into the garage wall, and was coming after me!”

  “What do you mean? You said you went for a walk in the morning.” Mom shook her head and tears flew in every direction.

  “Mom. I don’t believe you.” Olivia tried to remain calm. “I don’t believe for one second you never wondered about that night.”

  Ben leaned in closer to the camera. “Mrs. Whitford, is it possible that you’ve protected your husband all these years because you didn’t want to believe the truth about what was going on?”

  Mom gulped back her sobs and lifted her head. She nodded. “You’re right about all of it. It’s all true.” Her body trembled, and her face drained of all color as her eyes lifted to the space above her computer.

  Charles’s face came into view of the webcam, and he leaned in until they could see the blood vessels in his eyes. The sneer on his face was pure evil. “I heard every word.”

  The screen went black.

  “Oh God, please.” Olivia reached out and clutched the laptop screen. “No. No!” she screamed.

  Tammy put her arms around Olivia while Ben pulled out his cell phone. He scrolled through the contacts and punched a button—a lifeline.

  “Mark? I need a favor, and right away. It’s an emergency. Are you in your cruiser?” Ben nodded. “Great. Turn your siren on and head to the Whitfords’ place, stat. I’ll explain while you drive. And you might want to call for backup. This is a matter of life and death.”

  Chapter 32

  Olivia dropped to her knees and pressed her forehead into the carpet. “God, You told me You loved me. You told me You were with me and that You would protect me. I believed You—I still do. But would You please forget about me right now? Please, God, please protect my mom.” Olivia rose on her knees and clasped her hands together. She rocked back and forth as sobs tore through her body. “She’s … she’s … a–all I’ve g–g–got.”

  “Yes, Father.” Tammy grasped Olivia’s hands. “Please place Your angels around Olivia’s mom and protect her from evil. We trust You and will give You the glory for this.”

  “You’ve arrived at the Whitford house, Mark?” Ben stood and paced the room while he talked into his phone.

  Tammy dropped her volume to a whisper.

  “Uh-huh.” Ben ran his fingers through his unruly hair and turned away. “No one? You don’t see anyone? You should probably wait for backup before going in. We don’t want you to—” He stepped from the office into the hallway and lowered his voice.

  Olivia gasped and covered her mouth with a trembling hand. “She’s dead—I just know it. Everyone I love dies.” She collapsed on the floor in a heap, her entire body shaking. She stared straight ahead with empty eyes. Will Jake be next?

  Tammy put her hands on Olivia’s upper arms, squeezed gently, and prayed.

  Ben’s usually tan face looked ghostlike and frozen when he stepped back into his office. He looked from Tammy to Olivia then squeezed his eyes shut and slipped his phone in his pocket.

  Olivia jumped to her feet from where she’d been kneeling. She rushed to Ben, scraping her thigh on the corner of his desk before she grabbed the lapel of his jacket. “Why did you hang up your phone? Why aren’t you talking to my mom? She’s dead, isn’t she?” Olivia’s voice turned shrill. “Isn’t she?”

  Ben gently peeled her hands from his jacket and helped her to a seat. “I don’t know. They hav
en’t found her yet.”

  Olivia put her head in her hands, but not before she caught the look Ben gave Tammy over her head. Not good. So this is what it feels like to be alone in the world? Empty. Had Mom suffered? Of course she had. Charles wouldn’t have had it any other way. Olivia never got to say good-bye. She never got to tell her mom that she’d been right about a few things. Never …

  Oh God, You promised.

  Tammy moved to the chair beside Olivia and put an arm around her shoulders while they waited in silence.

  Olivia traced a crack in the wall with her eyes. Up and down. Jagged like her scar. The ticking minutes thundered from the clock on the wall, mocking Olivia’s helplessness with every passing moment.

  “Oh-livia. Where are you?”

  Olivia cowered in the corner, behind her heavy window drapes. Why wouldn’t Charles leave her alone? She gripped the curtains like a shield around her shaking body. Please, God. Please don’t let him find me.

  “Oh-livia?”

  She heard banging and rustling as he searched for her. Olivia knew he’d find her soon. He always did when Mom wasn’t home. At first, he just talked to her and said nice things—he told her it was their special time. He talked to her about her favorite books and what she wanted to be when she grew up. She even kind of liked him … then.

  “Isn’t twelve a little old to be playing hide-and-seek?”

  Yeah, that’s right. I’m just playing a game, you creep. Please just go away. Please, God.

  Olivia longed for the days of playing and chatting. Those ended when Charles started getting weirder and weirder. Last time—Olivia shuddered at the memory—Charles had … touched her. What would he do this time?

  “Ah, there you are.” Charles pulled back the curtain and exposed a trembling Olivia. “What’s wrong? You cold? Come here. I’ll warm you up.” He took her hand and led her—

  Ben’s phone rang, startling Olivia. It was all she could do to stop herself from grabbing it out of his hands while he answered it. She swiped the tears off her cheek while she listened.

  He turned away and listened to the caller. “Okay. I’ll pass that along. Please keep us informed, Mark.” Ben looked at Olivia. His eyes were kind, sad, scared, and wise—all at the same time. “I need you to be calm, Olivia.” He crouched down and looked into her eyes.