Eliza Starts a Rumor(68)

“Is Ashley Smith even on the bulletin board?” Amanda asked Eliza, after hearing what was going on.

“Yes. She joined the morning after my first post. She probably checks the comments all the time—I would, if I were her.”

They all nodded in agreement.

“What are you hoping to achieve with this post?” Amanda came right out and asked Olivia, adding, “From the two minutes I’ve known you, I know you’re not going to really get her.”

“Maybe I am,” Olivia said, unconvincingly. They could all see she was barely able to eat her muffin, let alone go next door and pummel Ashley Smith.

“Alison could defend me. Temporary insanity.”

“One can only hope it’s temporary,” Eliza added, thinking more about herself than Olivia.

“I know you all want me to be strategic and wait this out, but I’m done. Every day I feel more damaged. I can’t take care of Lily like this. I feel like she senses it.” She looked around Eliza’s suburban kitchen and continued. “I thought I was going to have all of this.” She pulled a family photo from a high school lacrosse game off the fridge. “I came here for this storyline.”

It threw Eliza. This pretty young girl wanted to be her. She wanted to have her seemingly perfect life. She felt like a fraud.

“It’s not all rainbows and butterflies, Olivia.”

“I know that—I was prepared for storms and termites, but not this. This is too much.”

Alison steered the conversation away from sentiment and toward reality. “Just let me call Andie Rand to see where you stand with the proof you have right now. Please?”

“Fine. But it doesn’t mean I’ll listen. I can’t lie next to this man anymore. I need to confront him.”

Alison called Andie, who, she reported, was in a meeting.

“Let’s wait for her to call back. You’ve waited this long.”

Olivia stood so dramatically that it almost made them laugh.

“I’m done with this! Eliza, please post my post!”

Eliza looked to Alison for direction. Alison threw out, “Let’s at least make sure Ashley is home.”

“She’s not. I saw her drive off about an hour ago.”

“Why does that even matter?” Olivia protested.

“Because maybe this post will smoke them out. Put yourself in her shoes. What would you do if you were home and read it?”

“I’d get the hell out,” Mandy interjected.

Eliza agreed, but added, “Me too, but I would probably call Spencer first.”

Olivia began to get her mojo back. “And Spencer will probably call me to suss out what’s going on.”

“Exactly! So, if that happens, you won’t answer your phone, and then, hopefully he will come here to save Ashley or to calm Ashley.”

“Or to fuck Ashley.” As the words rolled off Olivia’s tongue, they left a bitter taste.

“On the bright side, that would make for the best photograph!” Eliza pointed out, adding, “Let’s sit by the window in the living room and wait for her to come home. Then I will post it.” She realized that it was best for Olivia to be in control. “Does that sound smart to you?”

“OK. I’ve waited this long,” she agreed. Olivia popped a muffin in her mouth, and the women smiled at her newfound strength.

They fed and burped the babies, a wonderful distraction, with Eliza and Mandy begging to take a turn, and Alison and Olivia happily relinquishing control. Sitting among this newly formed friend group felt inspiring to Eliza: The beauty of women who didn’t know each other very well having one another’s backs simply because of the sisterhood. On one side of her sat Mandy, whose personal life was front-page news, and on the other, Olivia, who may as well have been standing there naked, she had exposed herself to them so fully. It made Eliza feel like a sham. She wanted to come clean and finally release the secret that had been tucked away in the depths of her soul for so long. In the end, she was too afraid, and only admitted to her agoraphobia without divulging its hideous cause.

“I have crippling anxiety. I don’t leave the house,” she blurted out.

Her admission was met by two stares and an encouraging pat on the back from Mandy. She continued. “Since the twins’ graduation, I’ve been consumed with fear whenever I try to go out. I’ve gained weight and I hardly bother showering. I barely recognize myself.” It wasn’t entirely true. She did recognize herself: She was the same girl from those four awful months of high school.

They all looked at her sympathetically. Mandy with tears in her eyes.

“Did something trigger it?” Alison asked. She was very familiar with agoraphobia; she had used it as a defense in a murder case. Eliza panicked. She should have realized that these women would want to get to the bottom of her problems. Luckily for her, Ashley Smith provided a diversion.

“Ashley is home!” Mandy shouted.

They took off to Eliza’s desk, babies in tow. Olivia sat on the floor with the babies while the others gathered by the window.

Everyone but Olivia watched as Ashley Smith entered her house, walked into the kitchen, and poured herself a cup of coffee. Eliza bent down in front of Olivia.

“Are you sure you want me to post it? We can still wait for Alison’s detective friend to call back.”