"Did you get much sleep?"
"Not much, I feel exhausted." I yawn stretching out my arms.
"You look it, my sweet." Hazel smiles at me from the end of the bed but it doesn’t reach her eyes. She sighs taking a long look at me, then decides to sit at the end of the bed.
"I don’t mean to pry Olivia, and tell me if I’m crossing the line here, but... Are you sure you’re Okay?"
I want to tell Hazel, I really do. She’s inviting me to tell her and I don’t want to seem like I’m throwing it back in her face. I don’t want her to feel like I don’t feel connected enough to her to open my heart, but that’s not the case. I know I can tell her anything and I’d feel comfortable in doing so. I just can’t tell her this, it would kill her.
"It’s my step dad Hazel, he’s just not the man I thought he was you know? And that’s hard to deal with."
She looks at me with full empathy in her eyes. I know she’s genuinely worried for me and I love her for that.
"Oh, Olivia that’s a shame. Is it not salvageable?"
I shake my head quickly dismissing that idea. "Definitely not." I scoff. “But Calvin, Hazel, he’s been so good to me. I really don’t know what I’d do if it wasn’t for him. He’s my rock and he has been for a long time. I didn’t think love existed until I met him."
Oh no, I’m going all gooey, but it’s more than the truth and I want to share it with her.
Hazel smiles wide, her eyes crinkling. "Do you know how wonderful that is for me to hear that? I could tell from the moment he brought you here, the first time, that you was the one for my grandson. He loves you dearly and I can’t thank you enough for making him happy." She unexpectedly pulls me in to a tight appreciative embrace. After the shock and gratitude I feel for what she’s just said I hug her back.
"Your family now sweet." She adds delighted as she releases me. I nod wiping a stray happy tear away from my eye.
"But he hurts you again and he’ll have me to deal with. He told me about your split, he was beside himself, but I’m glad you’ve both worked it out. You’re good for him. It takes men a while to realize they need us women sometimes." She winks.
Wow, Calvin told Hazel about our split? Surly he didn’t tell her the real reason why? But the thought of him being beside himself has put me into a contradictory position. I love that he was distraught over me, but I hate it because I hate to think of him being hurt. Having said that, it does confirm to me that he was thinking about me when we were apart. Just like he said he was.
"Now, drink your coffee and come down stairs when you’re ready. Ashton’s here and I know he’s dying to see you."
My brows crease. "Really?" Ashton wants to see me? Surly she has that mixed up.
"Why do you seem so shocked?" she laughs, closing the door behind her calling for Gerald. Why does Ashton want to see me? To have a go at me maybe? To tell me how much he hates me, how much he hates that Calvin is with me? Whatever it is, I’ll just have to grin and bear it.
I climb out of bed feeling like I’ve been run over by a truck. Where the hell has Calvin got to?
I hear, "The sun don’t sun without you" and realize my cell is ringing Tyler’s ring tone.
Calvin has gotten a charger for my cell? Shit. Tyler! I find my cell with a charger plunged into a socket and pull it off the wire to answer, but he ends the call before I have chance. I'm about to call him back when my cell bleeps continuously, three missed calls from Madison, eleven from Mayra and one from Macy. I will call them all back after Tyler.
He answers on the first ring.
"Olivia Pearl Fahoney. What the fuck is going on?"
Oh, I’ve forgot to keep Tyler informed, or anyone informed for that matter. My mind is all over the place. Now I’m going to have the Spanish inquisition.
"Oh hello to you and all Ty." I try to lighten the mood, but he stays flat and angry.
"Shut up. This isn’t time for jokes, what the hell has been happening? I haven’t been in contact with you for a few days and all hells breaking loose back home. As per."
"Who have you spoken to Tyler?"
He hesitates before he answers me. "Madison."
I know from the way his voice came out his face looks like he’s just sucked on a sour lemon saying her name.
"What did she say exactly?" I no Tyler doesn’t no anything really, otherwise he’d be appalled and want to phone the police immediately. I’m glad that he doesn’t no. I couldn’t put my mom in jeopardy at the moment and I wouldn’t want anyone else to either.
"She just said that she’s been trying to call you and no answer, she called at your house, no answer. She knew people were inside but they didn’t answer to her either. So I called your mom and got nothing, Sophia, the same thing."
Oh my god that made my stomach churn. Why aren’t they answering at home? Mauricio wouldn’t stay indoors, so that means he’s keeping my mom inside.
"Tyler, is that all you’ve heard?" I ask quickly. I need to speak to Calvin. I want to know my family are safe.
"Uh, yeah that’s all, but what else is there Olivia? Don’t keep me in the dark anymore, tell me. And I’ve had to come back to New York without saying goodbye to you, again. Why didn’t you come down the weekend you said you would?" Oh, not that. I do feel bad. I didn’t even explain myself but I wish he wouldn’t make me feel anymore guilty than I already do. Lying to my best friend is torture. I hate doing it but I have to. I need to protect my loved ones.
"Tyler, I’m sorry for not calling down, I...got back with Calvin.”
“You what?” He roars as expected and begins to tell me how stupid I am and what an asshole Calvin is but I cut him off. “Tyler, I will explain everything, but right now I can’t tell you what's been happening, but please listen to me...” The line goes dead before I finish my sentence.
"Tyler?"
He hung up! Oh for fuck sake. My anger gets the better of me and I launch my cell across the bedroom causing it to break into pieces from the impact of the wall.
"NO!" I scream rushing over to it to try and salvage it quickly.
"I’m such a fucking idiot." I curse at myself for my foolish behavior.
I cry in frustration trying to fix the pieces back together and ignore the knock on the bedroom door. My manners fly out of the window as I’m too pissed to think. "What?" I yell.
The door opens and Ashton’s bright blue eyes peer around the door and lock onto mine. I sigh as soon as I see him, closing my eyes getting ready for a row. I leave my cell in pieces on the floor and sit back on to my heels. Can this moment get any worse?
"Ashton, I’m really not in the mood to get an ear full off you, please leave me alone. I really don’t need it." He looks a tiny bit confused and set back at me darting at him already. But then his lips turn into a small smile.
"And there’s me thinking we could have a polite conversation."
My head snaps back up to look at him. "What?" I blink exasperated. Is he actually being nice to me?
He steps in to the room looking cool as ever. He has on a red and white striped t-shirt with a small pocket and a beige pair of chinos. His hair is shorter than Calvin’s and styled to perfection and he’s clean shaven.
"I wanted to see how you were, but you don’t look good, should I leave?"
God I wish people would stop saying that. Do I look that shit?
He looks from me, down to the pieces of the floor. "How did you do that?"
“I threw it in temper." I murmur embarrassed.
Ashton tries his best not to smirk, knowing better. "Okay, can I sit? Or you gunna bite my head off?" He points to the stool by the dresser. I shrug, nodding the go ahead. Why is he asking my permission?
I suddenly realize I’m still dressed in only my t-shirt. Fuck. He seems totally oblivious to this but I pull it down over my knees anyway.
“Are we really going to speak? Like really?” I frown puzzled by his sudden mood change.
Ashton laughs, throwing his head back. A familiar one to Calvin’
s but not as sexy.
“Yeah, were going to talk. Calvin tells me you didn’t take the news too well?" Oh he is being nice. Having him near me like this makes me a little uncomfortable. Maybe it’s just the effect the Blake brothers have on us women. Or because he seems a completely different person.
"Who would? I mean, being told the person I called dad for so long is a murderer. It makes me feel physically sick!" I tell him still a little grumpy.
"How do you think it made us feel?"
I look up at him quickly feeling guilty. “Oh no, I didn’t mean...”
"It’s Okay, I know you didn’t. I’m really sorry for the way I’ve treated you," he looks down into his lap, making me realize that he really is sorry for acting that way towards me. I can’t believe this is happening. He seems miles away from the spiteful asshole who use to ignore me and hated my guts, but can I blame him for acting that way?
I’ve never seen him look so calm, and he’s actually talking to me. I feel privileged.
"I don’t blame you for acting that way Ashton. It couldn’t have been easy seeing me all the time...”
"Reminding me of what happened?" he nods finishing off my sentence.
"Exactly." I agree.
He stays quiet for a moment but I feel confident enough to speak to him further.
"I knew you hated me, I just didn’t know what for and it bugged the hell out of me. I just put it down to you being a genuine asshole."
"An asshole? I can live with that,” he smirks. “And, I didn’t hate you, Olivia. Okay, maybe I did a little bit," he teases chuckling and, oh, he has the same beautiful smile as Calvin. He should do it more often.
"At first I thought all your family new how Fahoney was, including you. I thought you all must have known what he was capable of, what he did, what he does to people. How could you not no?"
I wince when he throws that logical term out there. Exactly. How could we not know? It disgusts me.
"And you, I couldn’t believe how naive were. Even when Calvin swore blind you didn’t no. He was convinced by it. I still wasn’t convinced. I thought he was just trying to pull the wool over my eyes because he was falling in love with you and that wasn’t part of the plan."
I frown remember I was part of a plan, at the beginning. I try to push the thought to the back of my mind. I’m still trying to get my head around that one, and it’s not the most pleasant to think about.
Ashton sighs before saying his next sentence, studying me with caution.
"I made Calvin finish with you, Olivia. He didn’t want to hurt you, he didn’t want to do it believe me. It killed him when you told him you’d fallen in love with him. I knew then, that he felt the same. We had an argument. I told him he was going to fuck this up for us. I gained a black eye from him for saying it but when he calmed down, he knew that leaving was the right thing to do. Just so he could have some distance from you. He was heartbroken when we left, he shut himself away emotionally. He wouldn’t speak to anyone. I’ve never seen him like that before."
I glance down into my lap and exhale shakily. That makes both of us. He notes the pain that all of us have been through as a result of this and the way he looks at me is different. It’s nice to see his eyes absent from anymore hate. Now that hatred look has been replaced with tender empathy.
I’m upset for us breaking up and I’m upset that he hurt me. I’m even more upset that I was part of a plan, but most of all I hate what has happened to this family all because of one man.
"Sorry, Olivia, I know it must be hard for you to hear all of this."
I sit fidgeting with my shirt. "It does hurt to know I was a part of your plan to get revenge on my family. Yes. And it killed me when Calvin left me. I loved him and he was so cruel. And, I thought Mauricio just hated Calvin because he doesn’t take well to men around his girls. I thought that’s what drove him insane. But all along, it was because he thought Calvin was hatching some plan against him. I just hate that...” I compose myself before going on. "That one cruel, heartless human being can cause so much devastation to a family, all because he was worried about his reputation. I don’t understand how his mind works."
I feel myself getting enraged every time I think about it but I continue. “Anyway, if he’s so great and powerful how didn’t he find out about you two sooner? If he had his doubts about Calvin, why didn’t he act on it?" I’m glad he didn’t but I don’t understand.
Ashton laughs with a hint a pride, showing me how beautiful he is just like Calvin. Not as gorgeous, but still comparably handsome. He has the same bright blue eyes and he holds a breath-taking smile. They both do.
"He didn’t think Calvin was hatching a plan, Olivia. All he knew was that he was losing control over you and Calvin was to blame. It just so happened, it was the same time someone was fucking things up for him. But, yeah, we did a good job of it. It won’t take him long to find out it was us now of course. But we’ll be waiting."
Oh, I don’t like the sound of that. Calvin said he would stay away from Mauricio. He promised this wouldn’t come between us.
Ashton's excitement when he starts speaking about what they’ve done to Mauricio is uneasy for me. It’s obviously something they’re proud of.
"Calvin found out some good shit from around your house and I did it from behind the scenes, mainly in New York ..."
He stops telling me all about his ‘master plan’ as Calvin comes into view, clearing his throat, his eyes stabbing into Ashton.
"Ashton, stop telling Olivia thing she doesn’t need to hear.” It’s like a hidden demand not to tell me things. Their dark things.
I do want to hear Ashton out, but seeing Calvin abstracts all relevant thoughts. When he walks into a room my pulse enhances. The beating of my heart intensifies but melts at the same time, just by looking at him. He’s impeccably dressed in a gray loose t-shirt and light denim jeans, paired with brown walking boots. His hair styled to the side messily but a little longer where he hasn’t had cut in a while. He hasn’t shaved either but just trimmed and he looks the ultimate sex god. Oh, and he’s mine.
God, I did good.
His eyes quickly find mine and we lock stance. He’s been absent since I woke. I miss every second he's not with me so when I see him, its complete harmony.
"Whoa, you two really no how to make a man feel awkward." Ashton mocks as he sees our eyes locked onto each other’s adoringly, both forgetting he’s in the room.
"That’s your cue to leave brother," Calvin jokes sending Ashton on his way opening the door wider.
"I’m going, I’m going." He chuckles holding his hands up and stands to leave.
"Ashton," I call before he exits. "Thank you, for the talk. I appreciate it. Maybe you’re not an asshole after all.”
He smirks, looking back at me. “Oh, I am, but I can live with it.” He laughs, as Calvin shakes his head at him and shuts the door behind him.
It means a lot to me that Ashton sort of reached out to me. I think that’s what I needed, him giving me an olive branch. I feel tons better on the Ashton side of things. Maybe we’ll become to like each other now? I hope so. Obviously we need more time to heal bad feelings completely, but it’s a good start. I want to get along with Calvin’s brother. I want him to like me, it’ll make things so much easier. Especially when Ashton’s Calvin’s best friend as well as his brother.
"You two getting along?" Calvin asks as he picks up my broken iPhone curiously. I stand from the sitting position on the floor and climb onto the end of the bed.
"Getting there." I agree going a little red again with embarrassment towards my childish outburst.
"And this?" he holds up what’s left of my cell, looking highly intrigued.
"Tyler hung up on me, it got me angry. Calvin I think there’s something wrong at home." He frowns looking away from my cell back to me. "What do you mean?"
"Tyler told me that my family are in the house but they’re not answering the door or anything."
A frown
creeps across his forehead as his eyes squint. "How does he know this?"
"Madison told him." I know he’s concerned from what I’ve just said, his facial expression and body language has changed more acute.
"Calvin?" I ask turning curiously freaked out. Especially when he doesn’t answer me. He’s looking straight at me but his eyes are looking through me deeply engaged in thought.
When he finally answers me after a long pause, he’s absent. "Don’t worry about it you know what Maddie’s like.” Why is he trying to act nonchalance yet I can see him deliberating it. I hate that he feels he has to keep things from me.
I look away from him and sigh disappointed. I hope it’s not going to continue to be like this.
“Hey,” he says softly, walking over to me. He tips my chin up and plants a long hard kiss to my lips. “What’s wrong?”
“Don’t keep things from me. I need to know what you’re thinking. Any thought that comes in to your head, any news, I need you to tell me.”
“Even if it’s a thought about going to the bathroom?” He frowns pretending to be disgusted, suppressing a grin.
I roll my eyes and flop back on to the bed. “Why, do you have to be an asshole? It isn’t a joke.”
“Okay baby, if I know something I’ll tell you. Even if my bladder is full. You’ll be the first to know.”
“Oh shut up.” I scream playfully as he laughs climbing up the bed on top of me.
I look up into his ice blue eyes as he hovers over me, his outstretched arms either side of my head.
“I missed you Olivia. I missed this,” the tip of his nose circles around mine. “I’ve missed us.”
“Me too.” I whisper and bite my bottom lip before I cry.
“I’m sorry.” He breaths already bending down to nuzzle his head into my neck. His deep sigh is remorseful.
He kisses my ear after he’s sucked at the lobe, followed by a chaste kiss to my neck. Then he pulls back to gaze down at me.
“I look like shit.” I sulk, suddenly feeling a conscious from the way his eyes study my face.
“You’re beautiful Olivia, always.” Leaning down, he places his lips over mine ever so gently and kisses me like I’m his delicate rose.
Confessions and Olivia (Olivia #2) Page 20