Here Lies Olive by Kate Anderson

Author:Kate Anderson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Paranormal, Occult & Supernatural YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Romance / LGBTQ+ YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Romance / Paranormal
Publisher: North Star Editions
Published: 2023-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

game Over

turns out, we’re not the only ones who figured out what really happened at the Silver Screen. By the next morning, #whatdidyouhear is trending, and everyone in White Haven is using an anonymous app to share what they’re most afraid of:

The thud of a body hitting my car and the squeal of the tires as I drive away.

My boyfriend telling me he never loved me.

The crackle of flames engulfing my house and my family screaming for me to come back and help them escape.

I’m sitting under the apple tree in the backyard, scrolling through the feed, when Davis comes outside. He’s still wearing his clothes from last night, and his face has a grayish tinge that makes me think he got less sleep than I did.

I swallow, blinking and looking away. Last night was so raw and unsettling. I’ve never let Davis—or anyone—see me so afraid or unnerved. It almost feels like he saw me naked. Half of me wants to pretend I don’t notice him, to stare at my phone until he gives up and goes back inside. But the other half wonders what he heard. Was it his father?

Was it me?

Before I can haul myself to my feet and retreat inside, he kicks a few rotting apples out of the way and sits down next to me. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

“So last night . . . pretty scary shit.”

I grunt, closing my eyes.

Mrs. H’s voice still bores into my skull, ringing with the echoes of what I heard last night.

It’s dark, and I’m alone.

The world is vast and empty, and even with Davis right by my side, I’m alone. I’ve been alone for two years now, and last night was just a reminder of how utterly meaningless all of this is.

Davis’s presence next to me sends sharp, static electricity racing across my skin. There’s a stitch in my side when I breathe in, like I’ve been running for years. Running from the Nothing, running from Davis, running from anything that could hurt me.

All that running has left me exhausted.

Davis taps at his phone screen, fingers battering like raindrops against a window. He’s adding his own #whatdidyouhear confession. He shifts to the side, holding the phone between us so I can read the screen as he types.

My father telling me I’m dead to him. It’s what I’ve always been most afraid of. That if my life doesn’t go exactly as he planned it, he’ll just drop me and want nothing to do with me.

His thumbs hover over the keyboard, and then he adds one more line, slowly and deliberately, like my dad carving names into stone meant to mark the dead.

Just like Olive did.

At first I think I misread it. The words don’t make sense. Davis thinks I want nothing to do with him? The complete opposite is true. How could he—

Then he hits submit and the message appears on the screen, just as permanent as the headstones in the cemetery. More, even, because wind and rain and time will fade the headstones, but the internet is forever.

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