Chapter 3

The next morning came with a lung-crushing heaviness in Olivia's chest that made it hard to breath. The kind of heaviness in the air that, at times, could crush anything it surrounded. Olivia fought to stay in bed, where she felt safe. She knew she couldn't face everyone at school…not today. It was still too soon.

But she needed to go back. She'd already missed two days. Lord knows what could happen if she missed anymore.

Olivia heaved a loud sigh, and pulled herself upright in bed. She leaned forward, placing her head in her hands.

"What am I getting myself into?" She muttered to herself. "I can't do this…maybe I should go back tomorrow…or next week."

Olivia jumped in surprise when she heard a soft knocking at her door.

"Olive," it was her mother. She knocked once more, and opened the door slightly, leaning on the frame as she held it open.

"Olive, honey, are you sure you're up to this?" She asked. "You can stay home another day, if you need."

"No, I should go."

"You're sure?"

Olivia lifted her head, and started getting out of bed. "I can't hide forever, Mom. I'm fine, really."

Lisa sighed. "Okay. If you need anything today, just call me or your father, alright?"

"Yes, Mom." Olivia sighed, pulling clothes out of her closet. "Whatever you say."

xXx

Olivia sat in her car for a few minutes after she got to Garfield. She turned off the car's engine, and put the keys in her purse. She put her arms around the wheel and buried her head in her forearms. She wanted nothing more than to be at home in her bed, but she knew she needed to be at school.

A tap at her window made her jump, and her heart race. Looking towards the sound, she saw Matt outside, looking worried.

"Are you okay?" Matt asked when Olivia rolled the window down. "I'm worried about you, Olive."

"Fine." Olivia turned from Matt, putting her things in her bag, getting ready to get out of the car. She put the window up, and got out. Matt followed behind her as she walked through the parking lot.

"Really?" Matt questioned. "Olive, please. I want to help you.

"I'm fine, Matt." Olivia kept her eyes locked ahead of her as the two walked into the building. "I don't need your help. I can deal with it on my own."

"Olive," Zandaya smiled, walking up to the two. "I'm glad to see your back."

"Thanks, Zani," Olivia smiled gratefully as the subject would be changed. "I'm glad to be back, too."

"Things are going to get back to normal soon," Zandaya smiled. "Just wait and see."

"Yeah." Olivia looked down at her feet. "Normal."

Matt thought about his conversation with Olivia on his way to gym. He still felt uneasy about Olivia's answers. Fine? She was nowhere near 'fine'. She was hurting. He wanted nothing more than to help her get through what happened, but how could he if she kept insisting on the lie?

I'm fine. There's nothing wrong. Leave me alone.

She's not fine. She was raped.

The image of Olivia trying to fight a greasy-looking rapist filled his mind, and anger filled his being. He yearned to find the creep who raped her. He lusted for his blood on his hands. Anger flowed through his throbbing veins with each beat of his heart.

Everything felt like a blur to Matt. It seemed as if his anger controlled every move he made without his conscious thought. He quickly changed into his gym clothes, plugged into his music, and ran into the gym. He exhorted much of his energy as he ran. He could feel the adrenaline and anger coursing through his veins, powering him. He ran faster, faster, faster, until he collapsed against a wall, breathing heavily, a waterfall of sweat cascading down his face. He rested a fist against the wall, taking in deep gulps of air. Closing his eyes, he could see clearer images of Olivia's struggle, and felt rage course through his body, his muscles tense. He pushed himself from the wall, and jogged into the weight room, where a weighted punching bag hung from the ceiling. Over and over again, images flashed through his head. With each punch, Matt imagined another way he could kill the man. He prayed the cops would find him. He prayed that they would find that son of a bitch who had hurt Olivia.

Matt punched the bag until he felt like collapsing. He fell against the floor, his hands curled into fists on his forehead, his knees lifted. He breathed heavily, his chest rising and falling dramatically. His mouth was dry, his tongue like desert sand. He took large, gasping breaths. It almost hurt him to breathe like that, but it was the only way he felt like he was getting any air.

"Holloway, quit pushing yourself so hard, kid," Mr. Dow said, jogging into the weight room. "You're going to hurt yourself."

He helped his student up, and patted him on the back. "Go take a breather. Get some water and walk around with your hands on your head. Come back when you feel ready."

Matt nodded, and did as he was told. He took large drinks from the fountain outside of the gym, and paced the hall with his hands clasped behind his head. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Olivia out of his mind.

xXx

Olivia's day had been absolutely horrible. She felt everyone's eyes on her, and heard their whispers. She knew it was all in her head…that no one knew about what happened, but that didn't stop the feeling of paranoia that followed her the entire day. She wanted nothing more than to go home and bury herself under an endless amount of blankets.

"Olive, you're shaking," Zandaya commented when she sat at the lunch table with her friend. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Olivia said blankly. "Just…cold." It was almost in the 70s in the large cafeteria and she was wearing her sweatshirt.

Zandaya eyed her friend, but didn't say anything. She knew that Olivia didn't want to talk about what happened, and maybe it was a good thing that she didn't say anything on the topic.

"So, I heard that Henderson's planning on a quiz today,"

"Just what I needed," Olivia rolled her eyes.

"Maybe you'll be excused…it's probably on the stuff that you missed."

Olivia nodded. "Yeah…"

Silence filled the surrounding area, and the girls turned to their food, dragging their forks across the Styrofoam plates.

"Olive, maybe it's time to just…move on. Forget about it."

That earned a glare from Olivia. "Don't you think I'm trying?" She hissed. "It's hard to forget if people keep bringing it up."

"Sorry…" Zandaya quickly looked down, placing her fork down on the table.

Olivia moved her glare from her friend to the full plate of food before her. "Whatever."

Zandaya cast a worried glance at her friend, but said nothing as she returned it to her plate. It seemed as if there was nothing she could do to comfort her friend. But she had to do something. She couldn't just sit there.

"Olive, please listen to me. I don't care if you don't want me talking about it, that's fine, but I need to talk to you. You need to talk to me. Please, Olive, we're worried sick about you. We want to help you…"

"Zani, forget it!" Olivia yelled, before remembering where she was. There was a clatter of plastic forks and spoons, and everyone within hearing distance turned to look. Red, Olivia looked down, hoping that they would look away. When they did, she took a deep breath, and looked at her friend.

"Please, Zani. I know you want to help, and that's really sweet. But I don't want it. I don't want your help, I don't want Matt's. I'll be fine. After everything settles down, it'll be just like normal."

Normal. What is normal?

"What are we supposed to do then, Olive?" Zandaya felt the hot sting of tears behind her eyes. "I can't just sit here and watch you do this to yourself.

Olivia shook her head. "Class starts in five minutes. I have to get going to Lipinski's now or I'll be late." She pushed back her chair while pulling her bag over her shoulder. Without even so much as a wave, she left her friend sitting at an empty lunch table.

xXx

"Olivia," Mr. Lipinski said, looking over his students as he placed the phone back in its holder. "Your mother's in the office. Take your things with you; it looks like you won't be coming back anytime soon."

"Yes, Mr. L," Olivia nodded, sighing internally. What was so important she has to pull me out of school on my first day back?

She collected her bag, received a pass from Mr. Lipinski, and left the classroom. The halls were empty, and the squeak of her sneakers echoed in the silence. Olivia kept her head down, looking up only occasionally, to see if anyone followed behind her. As she rounded the corner, she noticed her mother standing outside the main office. She clutched her purse in her arm, and looked nearly white. Yet, she appeared to be almost…happy.

"Mom?" Olivia furrowed her eyebrows, walking towards her mother. "What's going on?"

"Detective Black just called," Lisa said matter-of-factly. Olivia felt her stomach drop.

"They think they found him."