Alison ran down the stairs to open the door. She once again began to unlock the door, and opened it to once again see the smiling face of Olivia, yet again concealing her underlying pain. 'Hello, how are you today?'
'I'm fine, I'm fine, come in' Alison said and stepped back to allow her friend in. Olivia walked into the front room and Alison followed. 'I had a phone call this morning'
'Who from?'
'A woman called Julia, she wants me to go and see if I can contact her son, he passed a while ago.'
'Are you going?'
'Yes of course' Alison looked at the floor and began to play with the beads around her neck. It was stupid all she had to do was ask Olivia to go with her, but she didn't know what to say. 'Alison, are you alright?'
'Yes.' She looked up at Olivia, 'It's just that Robert used to come with me.'
'Do you want me to go with you?'
'Well if it's no trouble'
'Of course it's no trouble, shall we go now?' Olivia picked her coat up.
'Now?'
'Yeah, I'm dying to see something like this, well shall we?'
'I'll go get my coat' Alison went into the hallway, picked her coat up as Olivia opened the door, smiling excitedly. Alison locked her front door as Olivia bounded down the steps and opened the passenger door for Alison. Alison got into the car and settled into the seat, it was much more comfortable than Roberts car. Olivia settled into the drivers seat and started the engine. Music blared out from the speakers. It was a beautiful song. 'Sorry about that' Olivia apologised as she turned the radio off. 'What song was that?' Alison inquired. 'Snow Patrol, run'
'It was nice' Alison replied.
'It was Craig's favourite song, mine too. It was played at his funeral. So where are we headed?'
'I've got directions hereā¦' Alison pulled a piece of paper with directions out of her coat pocket and handed it to Olivia. 'Lets go then.' Olivia pulled out from the kerb and began the drive to Julia Lyman's house.
As they got closer to the house Olivia began to feel nauseous. She didn't know what it could be. She had been fine all day. Why now? Why did she need to feel ill now?
'Nearly there now Olivia' Alison was smiling. Olivia began to panic. It was so sudden, just panic and a awful thought filled her head, a voice in her head kept repeating, 'If you go in you won't ever come out again' It was chanting in her head.
'Here's the house coming up' Alison interrupted. Reluctantly, Olivia indicated and turned through the iron gates and up the drive.
Olivia parked and they both got out of the car. Alison turned to Olivia, 'Are you alright, you look pale'
'I'm fine' Olivia lied. They walked up to the door and Alison knocked. Olivia could feel the dread rising in the pit of her stomach as the door opened. 'Hello I'm Alison Mundy, and this is Olivia. We talked on the phone earlier.'
'Of course come in, come in.' Alison and Olivia entered the house. 'Brian, Alison's here! Just this way.' Alison followed her, but Olivia was rooted to the spot. 'Hello' Olivia jumped. Brian was stood smiling behind her. He was around 45 with thinning her and a spare tire. He wore a suit and it was obvious he was just in from work, he seemed kind enough but for some reason she was terrified of him. He motioned for her to move and she did so. Alison was sat in the living room with Julia; she stood as Brian entered the room, Olivia behind him.
'Tell me about Adam?' Alison asked kindly.
'He was 17 when he died. Top student in school' Julia added proudly. 'He went swimming and he drowned.' Olivia couldn't hold it any longer. 'Can I use the bathroom?' She asked. Julia nodded. Olivia sprinted out of the room. She flew up the stairs and into the toilet. She vomited violently in the toilet. She struggled to breathe. It was like she was drowning. 'Olivia?' Alison was stood behind her, 'are you OK?'
'No I need to go'
'Now?'
'Yes now.' Olivia snapped as she clutched her throat. She wiped her mouth. She ran down the stairs and out the front door to the comfort of her car. She started the engine and looked out of the wing mirror. She could see Alison apologising to the couple that were looking confused. Brian looked at her and she filled with fear again. She honked the horn. Alison ran towards the car, and before she had time to close the door, Olivia had driven off.
'What the hell was that about?' Alison shouted.
'I don't bloody know! I felt fine 'til we were a few roads away, then I felt bloody awful, bad enough to throw up, then feel like I was drowning.' Olivia took a deep breath. 'Alison, there's something bad about them, especially Brian.'
