Chapter 3. Old Crush

“Sarah, is that you? You’re not in any trouble, are you? I’ve been trying to look for you everywhere! Where have you been?” Matthew said worriedly. Matthew Sullivan was Sarah’s high school best friend and her crush, but she decided to avoid him because of her insecurities. She didn’t want to put him in trouble because Antony Russo would bother anyone related to her, and she knew she would never deserve him because they came from different family backgrounds.

“Yes, Matt! It’s me! I’m fine. It’s just that I need your legal assistance,” Sarah spoke carefully.

“Legal assistance? If you’re not in trouble, why do you need that?” Matthew raved. There was suspicion in his tone.

“It’s a very long story! Can you fly to LA anytime soon? I’ll pay for all the accommodation, I promise!” Sarah said, crossing her fingers. If Victoria paid her, of course.

“Sarah, you’re not kidding, are you? You’re in LA now?”

“No, I’m serious! If you’re free, I hope you can come before Sunday so I can start my work immediately,” she said while glancing at Victoria, who didn’t react.

“Okay, I’ll check the schedule with my secretary and get back to you as soon as possible, but you and your Granny are okay, right?”

Sarah smiled. She couldn’t hide her happiness at hearing Matthew so worried about her. “We’re fine, thanks for asking,” she said shyly. She could hear Victoria snorting beside her.

“You heard it, right? I already have a lawyer! I’ll stick to the plan and do everything legally,” Sarah mumbled after she and Matthew ended the conversation.

“Whatever. When will your lawyer come?” Vivian asked dryly.

“He’ll get back to me as soon as possible, but I’m sure he’ll be here before Sunday!” She said it very confidently.

Victoria removed her glasses, which she didn’t need to do because it made Sarah feel uncomfortable. “You see that thick document? That’s everything about me that I’ve put together. You should read it all before we move on to the next stage. Make sure your lawyer arrives before Sunday! In two weeks, the police will probably change my status from missing to dead. If you don’t appear before my husband soon, things will fall apart,” Victoria said. She put her sunglasses back on and stood up.

“I’m leaving. Let me know when you’re ready to sign with your lawyer,” she said before walking away, leaving Sarah, who stared at her in silence.

After Victoria left, Sarah tidied up the documents and took them to the park she frequently visited recently. She bought a can of beer and then sat on the comfortable grass in the corner of the park. She started to open the document about Victoria, who wrote everything about her and Benjamin Abbot in such detail that sometimes Sarah felt embarrassed to read it. But over time, she enjoyed what she was reading, as if she were getting into Victoria’s character before she started the play.

Many things made her and Victoria very different. One of the most striking was that Victoria was a heavy smoker. Well, she did smoke, but only occasionally. Victoria was a vegetarian, but she was an eater of any kind. Victoria was a bright woman who graduated from Stanford Law School with a commendation, but she didn’t even go to college.

She inhaled deeply, put the bundle of documents on her lap, then took her beer and sipped it slowly.

She looked at the dimly visible reflection in someone’s car window that was parked next to her, and she asked, ‘Could a weak woman like me turn into somebody bold and dominant like Victoria?’

And again, when she was in doubt, the picture of her dream house and farm in the countryside danced before her eyes—teased her not to give up, no matter what, for her and her beloved grandmother.

Sarah chose not to tell her grandmother in detail what she would do. She said Matthew might come over to help her with some legal stuff. But until the next day, she had not received any news from him. Had he changed his mind? Maybe she was overconfident to think she might be significant enough to him.

That morning, with an uncertain feeling, she packed her suitcase because she and Granny would soon move to a new apartment provided by Victoria. “Are you done?” asked Granny, who had just come out of the bathroom.

“Yeah, I just need to finish this one. Are you okay? You look so pale,” she asked, looking at her grandmother’s face with a frown.

“I’m fine, just a little diarrhea. Maybe I shouldn’t have eaten the Asian food you brought yesterday,” said Granny as she sat on the bed with sweaty skin.

Sarah was worried about her grandmother. She touched her forehead. “You’re not doing well at all! We have to go see the doctor now!” she said firmly.

“I’m fine! Oh God, my stomach hurts again!” Granny scrambled out of bed. Sarah followed her and immediately carried her to the bathroom.

“Listen! I’m just going to the minimarket to buy diapers. Just don’t go to the bathroom alone, okay? I don’t care if you poop on the bed. I don’t want you to pass out in the bathroom! After that, we will go to the hospital!” babbled Sarah quickly while her grandmother nodded slowly and held her stomach.

Sarah hurried down the stairs of her motel to the minimarket, which was about half a mile away.

After buying diapers, she returned to the motel as fast as possible. With sweat dripping down her face, she put the diaper on for her grandmother to use.

“Let’s go! Get on my back! We’ll look for a taxi downstairs. There is something wrong with my online taxi app,” she murmured as she gave her back to her grandmother.

“I can walk!” said Granny as she got up, but her legs shook so much that she finally sat back down.

Sarah took a deep breath. “What did I say? Come on up!” she snapped impatiently. She was afraid that something would happen to her grandmother. Finally, Granny gave up and climbed onto Sarah’s thin back.

With a limp, Sarah walked out of the motel room and slowly down the steep stairs. Sweat dripped down her forehead, and she hoped a taxi would pass so they could get to the hospital as soon as possible. “Put me down, I’m fine!” Granny whispered weakly.

Sarah shook her head. “Just lay your head down and don’t think about it. Did you forget that your granddaughter is so strong?” Sarah chirped as she looked down at her trembling legs.

A taxi pulled up not long after, and she sighed in relief. She waited for the taxi passenger to leave and walked over with trembling steps, bearing the heavy weight on her back. “Sarah! What happened?” shouted the man who got out of the taxi. She looked up in surprise. She froze momentarily before finally saying, “Matt?” almost in a whisper.