Olive

Chapter 4

Cat

"Where do we start?" Auden asks me finally, tearing his gaze away from the hospital doors and to my face. 

Embarassed to be caught without an answer, I bide my time by crossing to the other side of the car and getting in. I take a deep breath and look at Auden.

"You have no idea, do you?" He asks me, a touch of irony in his voice.

"Nope."

"Well that's okay," he smiles coyly, "becuase I do."

_____

I look over at Auden as we cruise down the highway. I have no idea where we're going, but he seems pretty set in his ways. It dawns on me how much he's matured in the past few weeks. He's gone from being a smoking, alcoholic pot-head to a grown-up smoking, alcholic pot-head. There are lines on his face where lines never existed before the accident, and his eyes shone with a hardness that only comes with years of expierience on this Earth. 

I sigh, he was so much cuter when he was four. 

The trees and houses are racing past as we turn off the highway and into a residential area. The houses are slightly familiar, which is puzzling to me.

"Where are we?" I ask, confused.

"This is where Jacob lives." He's turning into a driveway now, and the memories hit me. The breath wooshes out of my body as I realize Auden's intentions.

"Oh. Him."

Auden's eyes are flashing and I know he's remembering the last time he was here. He's remembering the baseball bat, the sirens...

"Let's go," he squares his shoulders and we walk up porch steps, and ring the doorbell.

Jacob

I'm playing video games when the doorbell rings.

Groaning, I check the clock. It's not early enough for Dad to be coming home, and not late enough for Mom to awake. Pausing my game, I adjust my pyjama bottoms, consider putting on a shirt, and walk to the front room. 

Opening the heavy oak doors, I stop in my tracks.My eyes widen as I take in who's standing on the other side. A tall, lanky teenage boy with dark hair and eyes stands on my doorstep, next to a small, college-age girl with short blonde hair, and a skinny frame.  

 My eyes narrow, "What are you doing here?"

The boy gives me a malicious grin, "Miss me?"

"Not in the slightest," I cross my arms looking around, "Do I need to call the police again? I don't see your bat..."

Auden holds his hands up in mock defense, "I'm here purely for the sake of my younger sister. No violence."

"That's what you said last time."

"I was angry last time."

"I'm angry now."

"Guys," the woman steps between us, eyes flashing. She has an heir of importance around her, and I see Auden immediately step down, "We're not here to fight. What's happened in the past has happened, but right now we need your help Jacob."

I shrug and she continues, "There's some stuff that we need to understand about Olive, and we were wondering if you could help us?"

I give her a searching look then step back, allowing them to come into my house, "I'll talk to you, but if that dickwad smashes up my car again, I'm calling the cops."

The girl smiles and sails past me into the cold interior of the building. Auden follows her slowly, giving me a scathing look as he passes.

Ten minutes later, we're all seated in my living room, and my head is reeling from the information they've bestowed upon me.