by London Casey
The Princess… was falling hard for The Mechanic.
I stretched my arms out in the bed. I had to admit, it wasn’t quite as comfortable as my bed. But there was something about it that made it feel better. Being in Gavin’s house, in his room, in his bed. Forgetting everything that was important in my life for one night.
I turned my head and looked at the window. The curtains were wide open. The sun was coming up. It was hitting my face, my body, the bed, lighting up the room. I smiled big, finally feeling what it was like to wake up to the sun. No alarms. No timers set to let me see the new day. No phone going crazy.
Just me.
Just the sun.
Just the bed.
I sat up and saw something stuck to the window.
As I sat up and grabbed the covers, I realized I was still naked. The night before played in my head and my body tingled head to toe. I smiled, feeling a warmth spread through me that I never felt before.
At the end of the bed were clothes.
Had Gavin put them there for me?
I grabbed for the clothes, took the t-shirt first and then a flannel. I put both on after I got out of the bed. Both pieces of clothing went down past my knees. The clothes smelled of Gavin and it turned me on.
I walked to the window and saw that there was a note taped to the window.
A folded up piece of paper with my name on it.
To Olivia.
I grabbed the paper and opened it.
Hope the sun did its job for you, darling. Breakfast is waiting whenever you’re ready. You looked too beautiful to wake up this morning.
For the record, I was afraid of storms too as a kid. I just had to hide it. Thanks for being there last night with that storm. I forgot what it’s like to stand in the rain and count the seconds until the thunder.
I hope we get to do it again.
- Gavin
I bit my lip as I folded the note and put it to my chest.
I looked out the window and saw Gavin standing in the front yard with Jesse. Gavin held a coffee mug in his hand while Jesse sat next to him.
This life seemed so simple. Maybe not easy, but simple.
I walked downstairs and went into the kitchen. I poured myself a cup of coffee.
I heard the front door open and shut.
Jesse was the first one to greet me. When the dog saw me, he let out a deep bark as his tail started to wag like crazy.
“Good morning, Jesse,” I said. “No jumping today, right?”
He came rushing forward and I patted his head.
Gavin then appeared. He quickly put his coffee cup down on the table.
“There you are,” he said. “How’d you sleep? How was the sun?”
“Bright,” I said with a grin.
There was just… this connection with Gavin. I felt my heart fluttering like my stomach.
He walked to me, slipped his hands along my sides and put me right up on the counter. I was still holding my coffee and purposely put it between us to take a drink.
“At what point do you need to tell me you have to go?” he asked.
“Why would you say that?” I asked.
“Because your phone has been beeping like crazy for the last hour.”
“Shit.”
Gavin frowned and backed up. I put the coffee down and jumped off the counter. I grabbed my phone and saw that I had lots of messages. From Andy. From Whitney. From David. My emails weren’t any better. Taking a night to myself was going to really come back and bite me in the ass.
My thumbs instantly went to work, my mind shifting back to work.
I wasn’t sure how long I stood there, head down, answering emails and texts. Making decisions. Pulling excuses out of my butt. Doing anything to keep the status quo and to keep attention away from me the best I could. The worst part of it all was that I continually said I was working something for my father.
That wasn’t true but if word got back to my father that I was back in this town, it would be good enough to make him think I was getting more information for what he wanted to do.
“Is it always like this?” Gavin asked.
I stopped and turned. I blinked. My eyes were burning. “What?”
“Your phone.”
“Always,” I said. “I should have checked things last night and early this morning.”
“But you rested instead. You enjoyed yourself. That’s important, right?”
“Of course it is.”
Gavin nodded. “Maybe I should be doing that, huh? With the garage? So that way I won’t be forced into losing everything, right?”
“Who said you were being forced…”
Gavin shook his head. “I can make you something to eat, Liv. Before you go.”
“Gavin, I never said I had to-”
“I get it,” Gavin said.
“Wait a second,” I said. I tossed my phone to the table. “Don’t turn on me.”
“I’m not, darling.”
I walked to him and grabbed his shirt. “I have Abigail’s memorial tomorrow. I want you to come.”
“What?”
“I’m nervous, Gavin. Those texts and emails? They were about my speech. Everything is usually written for me. But not this time. I’m not accepting it. I’m going to do what I want. Say what I want. No matter the trouble it gets me into. So I could use someone there on my side. I want you there.”
“I don’t know, Liv. I don’t fit in…”
“This isn’t about being rich, Gavin. This is for a little girl who fought so hard against cancer. And I want everyone to hear what I have to say. That includes you.”
I saw the way he stared down at me.
That connection we had was there, but I sensed distrust.
“I like this, Gavin. I like being here. Waking up like this. Taking this in.”
“It’s different,” Gavin said. “That’s why. It’s so opposite of what you know. It’s a novelty, Liv. It’ll wear off soon.”
“What are you saying?”
There was a hesitation in Gavin.
Then came a knock at the front door. It opened and in came Ava. Followed by Nikki.
Gavin gritted his teeth and turned his head. “You know, you used to text me when you were coming here.”
“Sorry,” Nikki said. “My phone’s dead. Can’t find my charger.”
“That’s why you’re here?” Gavin asked.
“No,” Nikki said. Then she looked at me and went wide eyed.
She knew who I was.
“Uncle Gavin!” Ava yelled. “Look! I got stitched up!”
Ava pulled up her pink denim skirt and showed off her knee. It was bandaged.
“What?”
“I fell,” Ava said. “I was at the playground and I fell. I started to bleed and had to get some stitches!”
Gavin looked at Nikki. “What?”
“Butterfly stitches,” Nikki said. “She’s fine. But she wanted to show you. Because you get hurt all the time.”
“Why didn’t you call me?” Gavin bellowed.
Nikki stood there and folded her arms. “She’s my daughter. I could handle things, Gavin.”
“Look, Uncle Gavin! Look!” Ava yelled.
Gavin crouched down. “Wow. Check that out. Looks great, kid. You did good.”
“I didn’t cry,” Ava said. “At all.”
“I would have cried,” I said.
“You would?” Ava asked.
“Yeah.”
“Well, that’s because you’re a princess, right?”
“Ava,” Nikki snapped.
“What?” Ava said. “You said she was a princess.”
Gavin started to laugh as he stood up. He put his hand to Ava’s head. “Go into the closet and get some cereal. Okay?”
“Yes,” Ava said and made a fist.
She charged into the kitchen.
I looked at Nikki. I smiled.
“I didn’t mean,” Nikki said. “I mean… what she…”
“It�
��s okay,” I said. “I know how it goes. Kids.”
“It’s not meant to be mean to you,” Nikki said. “I think you’re beautiful. I think what you do…”
“Nik,” Gavin said. “That’s enough for now.”
“Right,” she said.
“Why didn’t you call me?” he asked.
I started to side step but Gavin grabbed my hand.
“I fucked up so much, Gav,” Nikki whispered. “I lean on you so much. My first instinct was to call you. But I said no to myself. Christ, Gavin, you pulled my car out of a ditch. I could have hurt someone by doing that. I could have hurt myself. And then Ava would have no parents at all.”
Nikki gasped and covered her mouth.
“It’s okay,” Gavin said. “She knows. I told her.”
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered to Nikki.
“I never wanted him to go over there,” Nikki said. “But he insisted…”
“Nikki,” Gavin said. “Stay on topic.”
Go over there? What did that mean?
“I took care of it myself, Gavin. Took her over to Dr. Billy. He was open and he took a look at her knee. Better than driving to the ER and waiting. He cleaned and patched it up. He gave her a lollipop while he was doing it and then another for being brave. All she wanted to do was show you. I heard that Olivia was in town again so I waited until now.”
“Who the hell told you that?” Gavin asked.
“This town?” Nikki smiled. “You really have to ask?”
I laughed. “Welcome to my life, Gavin. You can’t sneeze without someone knowing.”
“Okay, so for real,” Nikki said. “What’s it like to be rich?”
“That’s where this ends,” Gavin said.
We all laughed.
Ava cleared her throat behind all of us.
We looked at her.
“Is someone going to pour me some milk or what?” she asked.
Gavin hurried to help her, leaving my hand hanging behind.
I looked at Nikki and smiled. “I don’t think I’m the princess around this house, huh?”
“Oh, no,” Nikki said. “Sorry. Ava is always number one in his book.”
“That’s a good thing.”
“But, uh, you know, you’re getting right there too.”
“Oh?” I asked.
“He’s going to kill me for this… but he doesn’t do this. He hasn’t had a relationship in years. Last actual girlfriend I can remember was Natasha, and that was just a thing. When Luke…” Nikki swallowed hard.
“It’s okay,” I whispered and slowly put an arm around Nikki. “It’s okay. I’m so sorry.”
Nikki took a shaky breath. “I’m just saying, he really likes you. Spending the night here how many times? Now you’re wearing his clothes?”
“Oh, that’s because-”
“Sure,” Nikki said with a smile. She wiped the corner of her eye. “I hope whatever it is… you both feel the same way. He deserves something real, Olivia. This fucking town can drain a person, make them lose their soul. Sometimes I wish this place would just vanish…”
I didn’t respond to Nikki.
I looked into the kitchen and watched as Gavin had Ava sitting on the counter, pouring milk into her bowl filled with chocolate cereal. She looked at Gavin with big eyes. She loved him. I looked at Gavin the same way but with a different kind of heart.
Nikki’s words echoed in my head… Sometimes I wish this place would just vanish.
The crazy part was that, well…
I had the power to love Gavin, break his heart, and make the town disappear…
Fourteen
The Speech
(Gavin)
I hated to see her go. I hated to see them all go. Olivia was the first to leave, heading back into the city. Taking her fancy car that she actually stole so she could track me down. I had to hand it to her, that was a pretty cool story. Not that she would get in trouble for it. The power of money, huh?
Nikki and Ava had to take off too. Ava was proud of her wound. Nikki was proud she was able to take care of Ava on her own. I was proud of them both but had this empty feeling that maybe they didn’t need me anymore. It was a fucked up feeling and I hid that shit under the hood of a pickup truck at the garage.
It was just me and Donny for the day so I treated him to a late lunch. We ended the day with a smoke and then I sent his ass home. I ended up crashing at my desk, sifting through all the bills and invoices and paperwork that so desperately needed my attention. Rubbing my jaw I realized I was the worst business owner in the history of the world. Not that I really asked for it all, you know? Gus just sort of left it all to me. And in this town, you had a job and you had to fucking do it or else things would crumble. We all depended on each other.
Which was why there was no way I could give up the garage and the land. Shit, I hated even having that on my mind at all.
I organized everything on my desk for the first time in… ever. The bills were staggering. The invoices were meek. The garage was underwater. But, hey, I was still breathing.
I opened the top drawer of my desk and dug in the back. I found the picture of Luke and put it on my desk. I rubbed my jaw harder as everything played out in my mind. He was going to be the one that got away. He wanted to escape it all. He wanted to become something. Do something. Achieve something. As his big brother, how the fuck could I tell him he was wrong? To me Luke would always be the four year old kid standing in front of the TV wearing nothing but cartoon underwear, watching cartoons, eating a bowl of cereal as milk dribbled down his chin.
“What the fuck happened…” I whispered.
It all happened too fast.
I put my hand over the picture. I looked forward, blinking fast.
I thought about Olivia. I couldn’t believe I trusted her with pieces of the truth. I had given her ammo to come after the town. Talk about trusting someone. And she wanted me to come to her speech. At the memorial for that little girl that passed away. Last time I was at a memorial…
“No,” I said.
I put the picture away and stood up. I cleared my throat.
I wasn’t going to live in the past.
I left the garage, drove home, and dug around in the fridge for something to eat. The food was scarce but the beer was cold. Jesse was my only company and I sat on the couch and tried to get him to put his head on my lap. He refused, turning, putting his head on the other end of the couch, leaving his ass to rest against me.
“Thanks, buddy,” I said.
Jesse let out a little yip and shut his eyes.
He had the right idea.
I finished my drink and shut my eyes too.
I had slept on the couch, in the chair, in my bed… but tonight, I felt alone… wishing Olivia was there with me.
I ran water into my hands and slid my fingers through my hair. I washed my face. I scrubbed my hands until they were raw. I had all of two nice shirts in my closet and that was two too many. I found my best looking jeans and got dressed. A nice button down dress type shirt was not my thing, but for Olivia…
I shook my head as I looked in the mirror.
What the fuck are you doing here, Gavin?
I was going to drive almost an hour north to go to this memorial to hear Olivia give a speech. She texted me the address and the time, that she would have someone waiting for me, and that when it was over we could get a private car and do something.
Suddenly I was going from the cracked pavement of a rundown town washed away in tragedy to the golden streets of the upper class life, complete with some guy that would drive me anywhere I said to go and with everything at my disposal.
I didn’t like it one bit. But I didn’t like not seeing Olivia more.
Plus, she was being vulnerable to me, telling me she was nervous about the speech and that she was going against her father’s wishes by not speaking words that were written for her.
She had me interested. And I wasn’t sure whether that was good
or bad.
When I went downstairs after I finished getting ready there was a knock at the door. I stopped right at the door and ripped it open.
“Um… hello…”
I stood there facing a really beautiful woman. Like supermodel type beauty. The kind where it took hours of makeup, certain foods, and certain clothing to keep the image alive. She was skinny with really striking features. Her lips were a bright red color, her eyes a little bit narrow, a sultry dark color. She put a hand to her hip and jutted it out, showing off a wicked tight body.
“Can I help you?” I asked.
“You’re Gavin. Do you remember me?”
“No. Am I supposed to?”
“I’m friends with Olivia. My name is Whitney.”
“Right,” I said. “You were with her that first night.”
“Exactly.” Whitney reached and touched my shirt. “I love this shirt on you. The light color works against your skin. Not that you need anything to show off your body. You’re really built solid.”
“Right,” I said again. “Um, Liv isn’t here…”
“Liv? You call her that. That’s totally adorable. I’m not here for her. I’m here for you. Can I come in?”
A second later, Jesse appeared next to me and started to bark. His loud, old man bark was ear splitting. I looked down at the dog and he was full on pissed off. His mouth open, saliva collecting, working damn hard to bark that loud. The hair near his ass was standing up too. I couldn’t remember the last time I saw Jesse this… angry.
I stepped forward and shut the door.
The thing was… Whitney didn’t move.
I had to get within an inch of her. Her perfume smell attacked me. It wasn’t the natural smell of Olivia.
“Bad doggy, huh?” Whitney whispered.
“Sorry about that. Jesse never gets like that. Must be a stranger thing.”
“Well, let’s not be strangers then, Gavin,” Whitney said.
Her voice was suddenly a little bit deeper, intention lingering behind that.
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“I know what Olivia has been doing here,” she said. “With her father. I think it’s bullshit, to be honest.”