“And caramel,” I tell her, nodding my head. “My professor spilled her drink down my back. But, hexes aren’t real, so it’s cool.”
She smirks, fighting a laugh. “Did you break a mirror? Walk under a ladder? Open an umbrella inside?”
“Oh, so you believe in bad luck now?”
“I don’t believe in curses.”
“Then riddle me this: every single day, something shitty happens. I went from star running back to having a bum knee and nearly running over cats and ordering fast food at a chicken restaurant and being told they’re out of chicken. This isn’t like minor bad luck. It’s so obvious that it keeps trying to outdo itself. That lady probably has a voodoo doll of me in her house, poking pins in it and spilling bat blood.”
Olivia raises one eyebrow. “Bat blood?”
“That’s what you came out of the story with?”
“It was kind of a pivotal moment since you were accusing someone of cursing you.”
I release a heavy sigh as her smile grows.
“Look, I get it. Sometimes, it feels like the world is dumping on you, and you can’t get anything to go your way. We’ve all been there. But, I think it’s a challenge—a test from the cosmos or something to see if we can focus on the good that is beyond all the bad.”
I shake my head as I glance at my knee, the skin peeking through is still a gruesome shade of dark purple due to the frequent swelling. “I don’t know.”
Olivia glances at my information. “It looks like you have Dr. P again today. I’ll let her know you’re ready.” She starts to turn.
“How’s Elton?”
Olivia twists her head around, a small smile teasing her lips. “He destroyed a pair of Rose’s sandals.”
I wince. “That sucks.”
Olivia lifts a shoulder. “She used it as an excuse to go shopping.”
“Did you guys hang the posters?”
“Yeah, but no one’s called yet. Rose mentioned you posted to social media asking if anyone lost a cat, too, right?”
I nod. “Nothing, yet.”
“Hopefully, we find its home before Rose gets too attached.”
“I think she sent me a hundred photos yesterday.”
She laughs. “Same, and I was home with her. Anyways, I’ll see you around.” She disappears behind the curtain and pulls it closed.
I lean back and close my eyes. I haven’t been able to sleep for shit since my injury, unable to sleep on my stomach or sides because they both make my knee hurt. I’m stuck to lying on my back with a pillow propped beneath my knee, and it’s never comfortable. Around me, gym equipment clinks and sighs, and voices quietly murmur, the overhead air vents masking all of them as I realize for the first time how loud it is, and joining it is the twenty-year-old pop music pouring through the speakers. I’m staring at the speaker overhead, recognizing the song as something I’ve heard Raegan and Paxton’s mom singing along to when the light overhead pops and flickers and breaks. The whole place goes black. I can no longer see the ceiling or my purple knee or even my hand.
The rings from the curtain slide with a quick burst of sound, and then a light blinds me.
“Sorry,” Olivia says, lowering her phone she has turned on as a flashlight. “Are you okay?”
I brush the debris off my shorts. “Could you help me find the positive in this situation? Because I’m struggling a little.”
I see the faint outline of her wiping a hand across her brow. “Okay. Where did you run into this lady? Let’s go see if we can find her.”
“Now?”
“It’s either that or I’m going to have to file a restraining order against you, considering I’ve inherited a cat, and you’ve now put me out of work for the foreseeable future.” She blinds me again as she passes me my crutches. “But for the record, I still don’t believe in curses.”
8
Olivia
It takes thirty minutes to help get everyone out of the office. Another five to reach my step-mom, Whitney, and explain to her what happened, and another ten for her to show up to meet the firefighters to ensure there are no plausible risks of an electrical fire.
A light mist descends as we stop at my white Prius. “Raincheck on you driving.” He shakes his head and using his crutches, hops away.
“Pearl is a great car. Get in.” I remain beside my car, watching him.
He turns, pointing a crutch at my car. “Getting in and out of your car with my knee in its current