Only If You Know

Chapter 8

“What exactly did you do?” Caleb's mother inquired. She was enraged that her son had done

something to cause the poor girl to flee.

“I um... I,” Caleb sighed after taking a deep breath. He couldn't bring himself to respond to the question.

Olivia has been missing because of him for God knows how long.

He didn't have any choice but to tell them the truth. So he told them everything.

“Caleb, for the love of God, stop assuming things. I am highly disappointed with you. I never imagined

a day when you, of all people, would let me down.” With that, his mother stormed out of the room. But

his father sat beside him.

“Caleb, not everyone on this planet is like your brother. Yes, indeed! He did unacceptable things. But in

the end, he is not a bad person. I'd just say he chose the wrong path. And somewhere along the way,

our upbringing was flawed.” With that, he, too, left.

Caleb went downstairs after a few moments to find his mother pacing in the living room and his father

on the phone, trying to locate Olivia. He approached them after the phone call ended.

“I am sorry, mom and dad.” Caleb was feeling far guiltier than he had expected.

“We will talk about it once we find Olivia.” His mother said firmly.

“If you don't mind, could I make a suggestion?” He asked cautiously.

“Caleb, I think you have done enough damage...” However, his father interrupts his mother.

“Of course, son. What do you have in mind?”

“Is Olivia familiar with anyone here who she could have gone to? I mean, there has to be a place where

she might have run off too.” He told them.

His mother came to a halt and looked at his father with wide eyes. “Could she?”

“She definitely could...” And with that, they both dashed towards the car.

“Can I come along with you, Mom and Dad? I know what I did was wrong, but please forgive me. I want

to make this right.” He told them sincerely.

They both nodded and drove off to the location. Caleb did not know where they were going, but he did

know that he needed to make things right. He certainly went a little too far this time.

The car came to a halt in front of the house he had seen the day before while passing by. Why would

she come here? As mentioned before, this place has been closed for the past three years. He had not

seen a single person in that house other than the caretaker.

All three of them rushed towards the house. Caleb’s father turned the knob and pushed open the door.

They went inside and found Olivia dead to the world on the floor. Caleb ran up to her and grabbed her

face. He sat it on his lap. His parents approached him and assisted him in placing Olivia on the couch

nearby.

Except for the ceilings, the room was spotless. When Caleb saw the stool and the cleaning supplies, he

assumed Olivia had cleaned the house. When he heard someone cough, his thoughts were

interrupted.

Livy was gradually waking up, but she wasn’t fully awake.

“We have to get her back home.” His father stated.

Caleb carried her into the car and placed her in the back seat. Her head was resting on his lap. He had

one hand intertwined with her and the other stroking her hair the entire journey back home.

In no time, they reached home and brought Livy back to her room. His father, who is a doctor, was

examining her. Then, he injected her and told them she’d be awake in two to three hours.

But, after a few moments, he had to return to work because he needed to attend an emergency

operation. So Caleb and his mother sat next to her until she had to leave to take a call.

Olivia was sound asleep on the bed. She looked very different here. She appeared to be at ease.

Perhaps he made too many assumptions about her.

After three long hours, she woke up.

“Where am I?”