Chapter 16 Leo
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Leo
I shouldn’t have been surprised by what Karl did. But I was.
Karl, always the hero in his own eyes, decided to offer Olivia a place to stay, and of course, he didn’t bother to ask me first.
Why would he?
We’ve been living together long enough that he should know how I feel about this.
But no, Karl doesn’t do things by the book. He acts first, thinks later.
I watch them in disdain, Karl with that usual cocky smirk on his face, leading Olivia to his truck, grinning ear to ear. She’s got her head down, looking about as lost as I feel right now.
I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bother me. It does—more than I care to admit.
The thing is, it’s not even that I mind helping her out. The whole fire thing was bad. It was bad enough that I’m not even going to make jokes about it, not when she’s still wide-eyed with shock. She could fall apart at any second.
But Karl’s decision-making process? That’s what’s got me on edge.
I throw on my jacket and head out, not bothering with pleasantries.
I’m pissed, and I need to get this off my chest before it festers into something worse. I catch up to them in the driveway, my boots crunching against the gravel, and I’m already half ready to tell Karl off.
“Hey!” I call out harshly. Maybe a little too harshly.
They both stop, and Olivia looks at me fearfully. Yeah, I don’t intend to call her any names here, but Karl… well, he’s a different story.
“What’s going on?” I ask, the words leaving my mouth sharper than I intended.
Karl gives me that shit eating grin of his, totally unfazed. “What’s the problem, Leo? She needs a place to crash, and I’ve got the space.”
I’m not buying it. Not even a little.
“Yeah? And you didn’t think to check with me first?” I bite out, my patience running thin. “You know, I live here too, Karl.”
Olivia looks back and forth between us, clearly uncomfortable. I’ve got my issues with her, yeah, but this is all Karl’s fault.
If I’m being honest with myself, I don’t even know what my problem with her is. She’s a lot of things: complex, sarcastic, and unpredictable, but she doesn’t deserve to be dragged into this mess.
Karl shrugs, unfazed, as usual. “I don’t see the problem. She’s staying for one night, Leo. No big deal.”
I’m not happy with the way this is unfolding. It feels wrong. Μy hands start to clench as my frustration grows. Karl just doesn’t get it. It’s not about one night. It’s about respect, about communication, about thinking before you act.
“Seriously?” I snap, stepping forward. “You can’t just bring her into this house without talking to me first. It’s my space too.”
Olivia shifts on her feet, her eyes avoiding mine. I can tell I’ve made her feel small, and she’s probably internally blaming herself.
I want to tell her to stop, to tell her it’s not her fault, but I can’t quite get the words out.
“I didn’t mean to make it awkward,” she half-whispers. “If it’s a problem, I’ll find somewhere else.”
I stop myself before I say something I’ll regret. It’s not about her. It’s about the fact that Karl did this without a second thought, as if it’s his house, as if I don’t get a say.
“No,” I say, trying to rein it in. “Stay. It’s just… it’s just this whole thing, Karl, you can’t just do stuff like that.”
Karl looks at me as if I’m overreacting, his eyes flicking to Olivia, then back to me. “She’s not a problem, Leo. Relax.”
I exhale, rubbing my forehead. This is going to be a nightmare, but I’m not about to tell Olivia to leave. Not now, not after everything that’s happened.
But still, I can’t shake the unease sitting in my chest. I don’t want to live under the same roof as Karl and Olivia at the moment.
It’s awkward as hell, and I can feel the tension already building between the three of us. And then there's this weird knot in my stomach every time I look at Olivia. I’m caught between two sides I didn’t sign up for.
“Fine,” I mutter, throwing my hands up in defeat. “Whatever.”
Karl nods, already distracted. Olivia, on the other hand, glances at me for the first time since we started talking, her eyes flickering with rage.
She opens her mouth as if she’s about to say something, but then closes it again. Probably deciding she shouldn’t. My relationship with her doesn’t exactly have a great track record when it comes to communication.
Great. Now I’m really confused.
I don’t say anything else, hoping I’m not making a bigger mess of this than I already have.
I turn away, heading back inside, needing space to think. And then I hear it.
A kiss.
I stop in my tracks.
I don’t know if it’s just a light peck or something more profound, but I hear the unmistakable sound of lips meeting skin, the kind of kiss that makes your stomach flip.
When I turn back toward the door, I see Karl cupping Olivia’s face, his lips pressed firmly against hers.
My stomach lurches.
This is what it’s all been leading to. This isn’t just some friendly thing, some temporary arrangement. They’re dating.
And for a second, the air’s knocked out of me. It’s not jealousy. It’s… discomfort. This whole damn situation is uncomfortable.
“Great,” I mutter to myself, barely able to keep the bitterness out of my voice.
What a fucking mess.
NOVEMBER 22ND
The quiet in the house is almost suffocating.
It’s the evening, and Karl’s gone to work. I can feel the strain of the day settling in, and it’s not the kind of stress you can shake off easily.
Olivia and I have been avoiding each other for most of the day, and the tension is stagnant.
Neither of us has said much, which is fine by me. I don’t really want to talk to her, and I can’t imagine she’s thrilled to see me either.
But it does seem she’s staying for yet another night.
Brilliant.
She’s out on the porch, leaning against the railing, staring into the distance. It’s remarkable how someone so small can occupy so much space in a room.
I thought I was good at ignoring things, but with her in the house…it's a whole different story. The way she breathes, the way she moves… everything about her feels too much.
The smell of coffee lingers in the air, and I realize I’m probably just looking for something to distract myself from the fact that, deep down, I’m kind of… hoping she’s doing okay.
I should have checked in with her earlier. But that would’ve been weird, right?
I shake my head and grab a beer from the fridge. I need to stop thinking about this shit. I’m not trying to care or anything. But as soon as I take the first swig, I hear the creak of the door, and I look up to find Olivia standing in the doorway, her hands tucked into the pockets of her hoodie.
She looks… tired. Not the exhausted, overworked kind of tired, but the tired that comes from being too in your head for too long. She gives me this quick, awkward smile, then walks over to the kitchen, pulling out a mug.
“You, uh… need something?” I ask, trying to sound casual. As if all is just fine, thank you very much.
She looks over her shoulder at me, brow furrowing. “I was just… thinking I’d make another cup of coffee.”
Right. Of course. I watch her for a second. There’s that familiar awkwardness hanging in the air. The space between us is just… too far. It’s hard to believe we’ve ever been anything more than enemies.
“Listen, about the whole… bumping into one another thing,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck. I can’t believe I’m going to apologize. “I was an asshole. I shouldn’t have said what I did. I know I can be a dick sometimes. But calling you a bitch? That was way out of line. I’m sorry.”
She freezes, holding the mug halfway to the counter, and when she turns around, I can see that her lips are pressed tight. She’s trying to keep a lid on whatever’s bubbling inside her.
“I… okay,” she shoots back. “Thanks for saying that. But I don’t need your apology, Leo. Honestly, I don’t. I’m here, and…”
“Here for a while, right?”
Her eyes snap to the floor. “Karl said it would be okay.”
I can feel my temper stirring, but I clamp down on it, knowing this is going nowhere fast if we start bickering now. “Without consulting me, again.”
She shakes her head, her eyes narrowing slightly. “You know, you’re good at pretending you’re the victim here. You’ve got this whole ‘I’m just misunderstood’ thing down. But let’s be real… you don’t like me, Leo. And I don’t like you.”
The words hit me harder than I expected, but I can’t let her see that. I take another drink from my beer, trying to keep calm.
“If I don’t like you, then why am I okay with letting you be here?”
Her eyes flash with what might be anger, or frustration, or both. “Karl said it would be fine, and I didn’t know he hadn’t cleared it with you.”
“You didn’t know…?” I repeat, my own frustration creeping in. “Cool, well that’s just fine then.”
She looks at me for a long beat, and I can feel the air between us crackling with some tension that neither of us can seem to shake. She crosses her arms over her chest, her gaze never leaving mine.
“I thought I could stay here without you turning this into some kind of issue,” she snaps. “But I guess I was wrong.”
“Look, Olivia,” I say, pinching the bridge of my nose, trying to push down the irritation that’s rising in my chest. “Again, I’m not mad that you’re here. I’m pissed that Karl thought he could make decisions for both of us without even talking to me. That’s the problem.”
She gives a small laugh. Bitter, but not entirely mocking. “That’s the problem? Really? You’re mad about him helping me out after everything that happened? You do know that I didn’t ask for any of this, right?”
I scoff. “Yeah, well, I didn’t ask for this either. But here we are.”
I run a hand through my hair, my mind racing, and I can’t tell if I’m angry at her, Karl, or myself. Probably all three.
“You’re really good at making everything about you,” she snaps icily.
“I’m good at that?” I shoot back, my patience starting to fray. “You don’t know me at all.”
She takes a step toward me, and for a second, the space between us feels smaller, too small. Her eyes flash, but there’s no real venom there—just… frustration.
“You know, I didn’t want to come here. I didn’t want to stay in this house.
I didn’t want to be stuck with you. But things have gotten out of hand.
And you? You’re just making everything more complicated than it needs to be.
” She shakes her head. “I’m just trying to get through this day without making it worse. But you don’t make it easy, Leo.”
I stare at her for a long moment, feeling that knot tighten in my chest again. She’s right. I’m not making it easy. And I hate that I care.
“You don’t make it easy either,” I mutter under my breath, regretting the words as soon as they leave my mouth.
She looks at me, her expression unreadable, and for a moment, I think she’s about to say something biting. But instead, she lets out a long, frustrated sigh.
“I know you think I’m some problem, Leo. But I’m not here to make your life harder. I’m not here to make this situation harder.”
“You are,” I blurt out, unable to stop myself. “You are making it harder.”
For a split second, we stand there, breathing the same air, both of us frustrated beyond belief.
I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. I don’t know what’s wrong with me that I can’t just… leave her alone, let her stay for one damn night without turning it into a fight. But this? This doesn’t feel right.
Olivia shakes her head, her lips tight, before speaking again. “I get it, okay? I get that this is uncomfortable. But I’ll be out of here as soon as I can be. I swear it.”
And just like that, she’s gone.
And I’m left standing there, with my beer in my hand, trying to figure out exactly what just happened.