TAYLOR'S POV
There was something off about the way Olivia avoided eye contact.
She was always quiet and shy before but not like this.
This was fear.
Raw fear.
What was she afraid of?
What else besides Lucien, you dummy.
I had seen a lot of things but this, it just didn't sit right with me.
I hate how we had been taking the way he hits her as normal.
I had gotten so used to seeing bruises on her that I didn't think it was a big deal anymore.
But now there was something else, the way she acted and spoke was different.
There was something going on, something big and I needed to find out what it was.
I was worried about her and now Lucien was making her carry so many things for that woman.
That was so wrong on many levels.
Yes she was his worker but that didn't mean he had to treat her like a slave.
I frowned as I remembered the look on her face, she was on the verge of tears.
I looked beside me, Leon had a scowl on his face.
He hadn't said a word since we left.
He must've also seen how wrong it was,right?
I'd always gone with whatever they said, did what they did but I was beginning to see just how wrong this was.
"Why didn't you say anything back there?" I questioned.
He sucked in a deep breath and he glared at me.
He glared at me for asking a fucking simple question. He always pretended to be all macho, a real ladies man, who helped just to get them in his fucking bed.
"Not now, Taylor." He grumbled.
Not now? Not now, really it's never a good time to tell me anything.
"Are you serious,right now? You saw how Lucien is treating her. Making her carry all those things by herself and all you could say was ar….."
"What did you want me to do, huh?" He yelled.
"Say something, tell him how wrong it is to treat like that. He listens to you better than he listens to me but you just barely said anything and left." I shouted back, gripping the steering wheel.
But how could I shout, I hadn't said anything to help her either.
"Have you forgotten who he is?" He clenched his fists.
I exhaled sharply, my fingers twitching against the wheel.
"I know, I know who he is but," I bit my lip, " he can't keep doing this to that poor girl. She doesn't deserve it."
Leon ran his hands over his face.
"I'm just as frustrated as you are ok but she just stood there, she let him…" he hit the back of head against the head rest.
I took in a sharp breath and continued driving.
Was he blaming her? She was powerless, abused and….she didn't even know that this-this was abuse.
But I knew, Leon knew and we didn't do anything to help her.
Lucien, he pretended like all of this was normal and even Leon every time he saw the bruises on her he would shrug or pretend not to see it.
But I did and I didn't do anything.
"Let's help her." My voice sliced through the silence.
"Do you have a death wish?" Leon questioned.
"Come on, let's try." I begged.
Why was I begging him?
Was it out of guilt, necessity or something else.
"I am not doing anything. Olivia belongs to Lucien anyways, so who are we to step in.." He crossed his arms.
I blinked once. Twice.
No.
That wasn't what he said, right?
"What?" I asked, but the words came out quieter than I meant, like the word had lost its weight halfway.
"Why do you suddenly wanna play hero now? All this time you watched him, hit her, be mean to her and now all of a sudden just because he made her carry a few bags you wanna help her?"
Wasn't he the one saying he was frustrated a few moments ago?
Did I hallucinate all of that?
Was this guy always like this?
No.
He wasn't.
The two of us had been friends longer than we had been friends with Lucien. So I knew him well, or I did before.
Now he sounded just like Lucien.
Cold, detached and heartless.
Yeah he wasn't an angel before but he wasn't this cold either, Lucien had rubbed off on him.
My eyes were glued on his as he stepped out of the car and left without saying goodbye.
I sat in the car, my head against the steering wheel.
I needed to do something.
I couldn't keep this up anymore, ignore this violence and how messed up my friends were.
But will she want my help?
Or will she think that I am just like them, a monster.
Yes that's exactly what they were, monsters preying on a girl who didn't have anyone to protect her.
Was I a monster for just being a bystander too?
My heart clenched.
What if this this was my sister?
Would I have just stood by for this long and watched?
I shook my head. My hands tightened on the steering wheel till my knuckles turned white.
It was time I actually did something instead of asking myself all these questions and wallowing in self pity and hate.
Leon wasn't going to do anything so I needed to pull my big boy pants up and come up with a plan.
I wasn't going to just watch him break her anymore.