“Yes, of course. I thought you were still visiting your in-laws...”

“I was, but when Simon didn’t answer his phone or respond to my texts, I started to get worried. I drove home this afternoon.”

Olivia’s stomach freefell towards her toes. Oh no. Oh no... “Worried...” she whispered, barely managing to get the one word out. “What... Why?”

Bella sighed heavily, raking a hand through her hair the same way Simon so often did. “You don’t...you don’t know about Simon, do you?”

“Know what?” Olivia asked numbly. She was getting really tired of people knowing more about Simon than she did. She wanted to know him completely. She wanted to be given the chance. “I know about how he got fired from his teaching job in London...” she began, trailing off uncertainly. She knew about his brother dying, and the effect it had had on him. She knew he was funny and sweet and sometimes a little bit sad. She knew a lot, and yet right now she had a feeling there was something she didn’t know. Something big.

“Simon suffers from depression,” Bella said quietly. “Quite serious depression. He’s struggled with it off and on since his teens, but it got worse after Andrew died. He was hospitalised for a short while, about a year and a half ago.”

“Oh.” Olivia’s mind whirled emptily. She tried to organise her thoughts coherently, but her mind felt buzzing and blank. She hadn’t expected something like this, and yet now she wondered if she should have. Was there any way she could have known?

“He doesn’t like talking about it,” Bella continued, “doesn’t like people knowing, because he feels like it colours their perception of him. I wouldn’t normally tell you, but I know how much he’s come to care about you, and I think it’s wrong that he’s hiding this from you...considering.” She let out a long, low breath. “He’s had a relapse over the last few days. I found him at Willoughby Close, lying in bed, practically comatose, not speaking, eating, anything. It’s how he gets sometimes. I’ve brought him back to my home, and he’s doing a bit better. He’s showered, at least.” She tried for a wry smile like Simon’s but her eyes were full of sorrow—and fear. “I don’t know what to do. He’s been on medication but he stopped it recently, and he says he doesn’t want to take it again. He won’t talk to me, and I don’t even know what set him off, if anything set him off. Sometimes it just happens.”

Bella blinked back tears. “I’m not trying to rat him out, honestly. I’m trying to help him, and this is the only way I know how. I thought maybe if he saw you...if you talked to him...”

Olivia’s mind suddenly sprung into gear. She still had a lot to think about and process, but if Simon needed her help, any help, then she was ready to give it. More than ready.

“Shall I come with you now?”