Dreams Of Fame
1.9 - Summer's Jealousy
“You need to explain this, Zoe,” Summer said. “Do you have any idea how wrong it is to lock a woman in your basement?”
“Or anywhere, for that matter,” Liberty added.
Zoe gave the three of them a panicked look. How could she explain this? She’d acted rashly, and now, she was facing the consequences. She should have listened to that architect, Sergio... Relocating Giovanna clearly would have been the smart option, yet she'd been dumb enough to convince herself that curtains were going to do the trick. Zoe knew that what she’d done wasn’t okay, but she wasn’t about to admit that to her new roommates. Or even to herself. That’s just the way she was.
“I’m fine,” Giovanna said, saving Zoe from a response.. “Fine… just fine!”
Liberty, Summer, and Travis all shared a look.
“You three don’t need to worry about me,” Giovanna went on.
“Giovanna… are you okay?” Liberty asked, reaching out a comforting hand. “You can tell us, Zoe can’t take out all of us.”
“I love painting,” Giovanna smiled. "Painting makes me happy!"
Summer gestured at Liberty and Travis, and the three stepped back from Giovanna and Zoe.
“If she’s happy, what do we do?” Summer whispered urgently. “I don’t know Giovanna that well, maybe she's into the whole being kidnapped thing, I don’t know, just, help me figure things out guys!”
“Maybe we should just leave her alone…” Travis muttered.
“How about Stockholm Syndrome, guys? We need to report this,” Liberty insisted.
“I don’t want to call the police!" Summer exclaimed. "That just seems… a little insane? I’m sure they have more to deal with than a woman locked in a basement."
“Um… how about we don’t call the police, and Liberty, you tell Jo and have her take steps from there?” Travis suggested. “She's older, and I'm sure she'd have more of an idea of what to do than any of us do.”
Liberty nodded slowly. “Okay… I can get on board with that.”
The three walked back over to Giovanna and Zoe.
“We’re not going to report you, Zoe,” Liberty sighed.
Zoe stood for a moment in stunned silence. Then, she collapsed onto Giovanna's bed. She hadn’t been expecting this in the slightest.
“Oh, thank goodness. Everything is still okay, my book series will be fine, I'll still have roommates to help me pay the rent...” Zoe muttered to herself.
Over the next week, Zoe called back the construction crew to add an actual bedroom for Giovanna and one for Summer, who preferred a somewhat larger room in the basement.
“I’m glad to see you figured out the whole… woman in the basement problem,” Sergio told her shortly after completing the bedroom for Summer.
The space that had been Summer’s upstairs was converted into a second bathroom, and, at that point, everything was just starting to settle down. Giovanna had finally changed into new clothes, and stepped out into the sunlight for the first time in ages, and at one point she'd even gone for a swim in Zoe's tiny swimming pool.
Once Sergio left, Zoe headed back inside, and booted up her computer to check her emails. Sitting there was an email from her publisher informing her that her series, A Day In The Life of Granny, was starting to blow up. Zoe had named the series after spitefully telling Giovanna she looked like her grandmother, and well, apparently the name worked. People were actually interested in something she'd written for the first time ever.
Zoe had finally succeeded as an author.
That was when Liberty finally gained the courage to cross the street and knock on Jo’s door.
Jo opened it up, and was surprised to see Liberty. “Liberty, isn’t it?” she asked.
Liberty smiled. Jo opened the door wider to let Liberty in. “Tea?”
Liberty nodded.
She sat at Jo’s dining room table in silence while the tea brewed, the sound of the boiling water the only noise in the room.
Once it was finished, Jo headed over towards the table, carrying two steaming hot cups of tea.
“Careful, it’s hot,” Jo told her, sitting down at the table. “Now tell me, why are you here?”
Liberty took a deep breath. “I don’t really know how to say this. But, um, right after Summer, Travis and I moved in with Zoe, we found Giovanna.”
“Found her?” Jo exclaimed. “Where?”
“Locked in Zoe’s basement. She’s up and wandering the house now, and she insists she’s fine, so none of us want to call the cops. Except me. I think she has Stockholm Syndrome, or she’s just gone completely insane. The other day, I woke up because she decided to imitate a cow in my ear.”
“Well, at least one of you has the sense to want to contact someone who can actually do something about this,” Jo sighed. “I’ll contact the authorities. Don’t you worry.”
Liberty thanked Jo profusely. After another fifteen minutes, Liberty was back at home. She went upstairs, ready to take a long nap.
“Hey Liberty,” Travis smiled. “How’d it go?”
“Really well. Jo’s going to go to the police,” Liberty said.
“I’m really glad to hear that.”
Down the hallway, Summer watched their conversation with bated breath. Travis was paying attention to Liberty. Not her.
“Want to get a drink tomorrow to celebrate?” Travis added.
Summer almost shrieked! She tried so hard to impress Travis, spending day after day doting on him and even getting a job because he always complained that she was home to much, and he payed more attention to, well, her. This wasn’t fair.
“That sounds awesome, Travis,” Liberty smiled.