Olivia’s POV
The mont Maxwell picked up the call, I cleared my throat hard, forcing out Oliver’s voice.
"Hello," I said in Oliver’s masculine tone, trying to keep it steady despite the panic coursing through my veins.
"Oliver?" Maxwell’s voice ca through. There was surprise in it too - like he hadn’t expected to see my na on his caller ID. "Why are you calling at this ti of night? Shouldn’t you be resting after what happened?"
Yeah, like you actually care.
"I have horrible news," I said, unable to keep the emotion from my voice.
"What?" His tone beca alert. "What happened? Are you alright? Did sothing..."
"Mitchell’s missing."
Silence.
I could hear my own breathing, Kira’s quiet presence beside , the distant sound of a car passing on the street. But from Maxwell?
Nothing.
"Mr. Wellington?" I prompted, my voice cracking slightly around the edges. "Did you hear ? Mitchell is..."
"I’m going to choose not to believe that," Maxwell said finally, his voice oddly calm, controlled. Too controlled. "It’s quite late, Oliver. And considering what you went through earlier with the electrocution, I think perhaps the incident is ssing with your head. You should go back to the hospital, get checked out..."
"I’m not lying," I interrupted, desperation bleeding into my voice. "Sir, I swear I’m not making this up. Mitchell is gone. I ca ho and she wasn’t here and I’ve been searching everywhere for hours and I can’t find her and..."
Click.
The line went dead.
I stared at my phone in disbelief. "He hung up on ."
"What?" Kira leaned over to look at my phone. "He just... hung up?"
"He didn’t believe . He thinks the electrocution scrambled my brain or sothing." I let my arm drop, the phone hanging limply in my hand. "This is so much worse than I thought."
"What do you an?"
"If Maxwell is in such denial about his missing cat..." I looked up at Kira, feeling the weight of this reality settling over . "That ans he’s going to completely lose it when he realizes it’s true. This is going to be so much worse than if he’d just gotten angry right away."
Kira was quiet for a mont, then she put her hand on my shoulder. "Co on. Let’s go ho. You need to rest."
"But Mitchell..."
"We’ve searched everywhere, Liv. Multiple tis. We’re exhausted, you’re barely standing, and honestly, we’re not going to find her like this." Her voice was gentle. "Let’s go ho, get so sleep, and tomorrow morning we’ll print out posters with her picture. We’ll put them up all over the neighborhood - soone must have seen her. It’ll help."
I wanted to argue, wanted to keep searching, but my body was screaming at to stop. My legs felt like jelly, my feet throbbed in my sneakers, and there was a deep, bone-tired exhaustion settling into every muscle.
"Okay," I whispered, filled with defeat. "Tomorrow."
We walked up the to our apartnt building, each step so tiring and exhausting. The stairs to our floor might as well have been Mount Everest. By the ti we reached our door, I was practically leaning on Kira for support.
Inside, our apartnt felt emptier than ever. Mitchell’s things were still scattered around - all waiting for a cat who wasn’t there.
"I’m too tired to shower," Kira announced, kicking off her shoes and heading straight for her bedroom. "I’m literally about to pass out."
"Sa," I mumbled, shuffling toward my own room.
I didn’t even bother changing out of my sweatpants and hoodie. I just face-planted onto my bed, pulled a pillow under my head, and let the exhaustion drag under like a riptide.
When I woke up the next morning - or rather, when consciousness rudely dragged back to reality - everything hurt.
And I an everything.
My legs were stiff and sore from all the walking. My back ached. My throat was raw from calling Mitchell’s na for hours. Even my eyelids felt heavy and swollen from all the crying.
The doctor’s warnings echoed in my head: Don’t stress yourself. Your body needs ti to heal from the electrical shock. Take it easy for at least a week.
Yeah. I’d really taken that advice to heart, hadn’t I? Gone clubbing, walked half of New York, and had multiple emotional breakdowns all in one night.
My body was now sending a very clear ssage: You’re an idiot, and you’re going to pay for this.
I groaned, reaching blindly for my phone on the nightstand. The screen lit up, showing several notifications. My heart jumped - maybe soone had found Mitchell? Maybe...
But no. The ssages were from Maxwell.
Maxwell: Co to my house this morning. I need you to explain what you were trying to say last night.
I blinked at the screen, my brain still fuzzy with sleep. He wanted to co over? Now? When I could barely move?
I typed back slowly: Can’t. Too tired and too sore to move. Doctor said I need rest.
His reply ca almost imdiately.
Maxwell: Then I’ll co to you. It’s the sa apartnt as your cousin Olivia, correct? I’ll be there in an hour.
Panic shot through like electricity...
"No, no, no, no, no," I muttered, sitting up too fast and imdiately regretting it as my head spun.
Maxwell couldn’t co here. Wait... was that why he sent Mitchell to this apartnt? Because he assud Oliver and I stayed in the sa building?
But how? Shit! This is all so confusing.
I typed back imdiately: Not around. Went to the hospital for a check-up. Will text when I’m back.
Before he could reply, I turned off my phone completely.
"Coward," I whispered to myself, staring at the black screen. "You’re such a coward, Olivia."
But what else could I do? I was trapped in a corner of my own making, and every direction I turned led to more lies, more complications, more ways for this whole thing to explode in my face.
I lay back down, pulling the covers over my head like I could hide from my problems.
Mitchell was missing. Maxwell was demanding answers. My stranger was still avoiding . And my body felt like it had been run over by a bulldozer.
"Just five more minutes," I mumbled into my pillow. "Just five more minutes of not dealing with any of this."
Those five minutes turned into hours.
The next ti I woke up, sunlight was streaming through my window. I fumbled for my phone - still off - and turned it back on to check the ti.
12:47 PM.
I’d slept away half the day.
There was a soft knock on my door, and Kira’s head poked in. "Oh good, you’re alive. I was starting to get worried."
"Barely alive," I croaked, my voice rough with sleep. "Everything hurts."
"That’s what happens when you go on a cat hunt the sa day you were electrocuted," she said, but her tone was gentle, sympathetic. She ca in and sat on the edge of my bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Like death."
"Accurate." She studied my face with concern. "You need to eat sothing. And shower. You sll like street and despair."
"Thanks," I said dryly, but she wasn’t wrong. "Give twenty minutes."
It took closer to forty minutes to drag myself out of bed, shower, and make myself presentable. My hair was still damp when I entered the kitchen, but at least I was clean and dressed in fresh sweats.
Kira had made coffee - strong, dark coffee that slled like salvation.
"Bless you," I said, wrapping my hands around the coffee cup.
"Don’t thank yet. We still need to deal with the Mitchell situation. But first, food. You need to eat. I’ll be right back." Then she hurried out of the apartnt.
I managed to make myself so scrambled eggs and toast, forcing down every bite even though my stomach was twisted with anxiety. The food helped though - gave so energy, cleared so of the fog from my brain.
As I was finishing my last piece of toast, the front door opened and Kira walked back in, carrying a thick stack of papers.
"Posters," she announced, spreading them out on the table. "I went to the print shop this morning while you were passed out."
I picked one up, and my heart clenched.
There was Mitchell in full color - her fluffy white fur, her striking green eyes sparkling in the photo. Above her picture, in bold letters: MISSING CAT. Below it, all the details: her na, description, our phone number, and in red text: REWARD FOR SAFE RETURN.
"Kira," I said, my voice filled with emotion. "This is perfect."
"I figured if we’re going to find her, we need to do this properly." She pulled out another stack. "I made two hundred copies. We’re going to paper this entire neighborhood."
I looked at the posters again, at Mitchell’s sweet face staring back at from the page, and felt new energy surge through .
"Let’s do this," I said, standing up despite my protesting muscles. "Let’s bring her ho."
"That’s the spirit!" Kira grabbed half the stack of posters and so tape. "But first - important question."
"What?"
She looked up and down, then gestured at my outfit - the sa oversized hoodie and sweatpants I’d thrown on after my shower.
"Who are you going as? Olivia or Oliver?"
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