Where Are You, Olivia?

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

H O L L Y | twenty-one days after

Dad was early at the Swift's house. I just woke up and standing at the porch, watching around if there was something suspicious. Mom wanted me to go to school but dad was strict not to send me until we figured out everything. He had this inkling that the one who kidnapped Olivia would send a clue to me next so if that happened, dad wanted me to be around him only.

"Mom, do you think Olivia ran away?" I asked while I ate my breakfast.

She looked at me and thought for a while before she leaned in the table and answered, "Even though we live across them, I never had the chance to interact with the Swifts. I can't actually say what kind of daughter she is. Although I can see she's not as nice."

"Not as nice?"

"Yes. I saw her shout at her mom one time but her mother didn't even scold her or anything. If I were her, I would've grounded her already. And they don't know their daughter has a boyfriend? What are they doing in their house?" She shook her head. "Tell me. She isn't close to her parents, right?" I nodded. "I knew it. That's why maybe, she ran away."

I smiled. Mom always tried to be as discreet as possible when dad was handling cases but she also tried to be a detective sometimes.

When dad came home, he had something in his hand—a small box which he placed on the table.

"We found this in her closet," he said.

"What's in there?" I asked. I was about to open the cover but he stopped me. "What's in there?" I asked again, impatient.

"I think this is the end of the clues," he said before finally taking off the cover of the box. There was a piece of paper. Just a piece of paper. All of those efforts to hide those clues and we'd only be lead to a piece of paper?

"Was that a suicide letter?" I asked out of nowhere. Mom gasped while dad's eyes widened. "What? It could be, right?"

Dad took a seat. He pinched the bridge of his nose as if the day had been long and he'd been out for the whole day. "That's not a suicide note. It's just a simple letter leading us to nowhere."

"May I know what's inside? Please?"

"Wear gloves," he told me.

I picked up the gloves he put on the table. Slowly, accessing the box, I lifted the cover. The piece of paper silently sitting inside it, as if it was waiting for so long. When I unfolded it, my brows creased in confusion. I looked back at dad and he only shrugged, like he was tired of it. I looked back at the paper. There's nothing written on it but words I love then there's a blank. What did this mean?

"I asked Mr. and Mrs. Swift what could be the meaning behind it since we found it inside Olivia's room but they didn't know. They didn't even know there's a secret compartment in Olivia's closet if I didn't search deep enough." Dad leaned in forward. "You know what, they didn't even know much about their daughter. All throughout the investigation, I found it confusing. They didn't know their daughter has enemies and has a boyfriend. They didn't know what she likes to do after school or on the weekends. They have to know those things because they are the parents."

Mom rubbed his back. "You're tired. Why don't you take a sleep first and continue with this later? I think you need a lot of rest," she said.

I put the letter back down in the box. "I'll be in my room if you need me."

I had texts from Hope and Shawn. I already gave them the heads up that I would not be coming to school until everything was settled with Olivia's case. Dad had informed the principal regarding this as well. There were also police cars outside the school for the others' protection, specifically Beckett.

Any updates? Hope asked.

I miss you, Shawn said.

I didn't reply to them and just took a seat on the edge of my bed. I looked around my room to know if something was odd or there was something that should not be in there. There's nothing. Olivia could not even get here after middle school. We grew apart so I never invited her home. I stood up and went over to the window. The Swift's house looked like the same, like nothing had gone wrong when inside it, everything was wrong. Her parents should know everything about their daughter but they never tried to connect with her. She's all alone. Maybe that's why she's like what she's like. No one cared enough to know things about her.

Olivia'sbedroom window was closed. It was never closed, but since she was not there anddad wanted to make sure no one would get in there, he closed it himself and lockedit.