Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Rhett
I can’t stop thinking about Olivia and the way we left things. My heart practically fell out of my chest when I saw tears in her eyes. I wanted to pull her to me and apologize. I was supposed to help her see the error in her ways, not attack her. I don’t understand what has gotten into me. I’m normally much more even-keel, but I guess when it comes to the Parkers, some of the few people left on earth that I know care about me, I will always fight hard to defend them. Even so, I messed up.
I sit down on the chair with a huff. I need to find a way to fix this. After a whole two minutes of coming up with nothing, I pull my phone out to look up @Dog_Central_ . I saw the Instagram page on Olivia’s phone before we left for dinner earlier, and I’m curious.
As I scroll through her feed, I’m instantly hooked. The page is a gold mine for dog lovers. I’ve never considered myself one. Not that I don’t like dogs, but I don’t love them. After looking at Olivia’s page, I’m starting to think maybe I’m becoming a dog lover. How could you look at these videos, displaying their sweet faces and goofy personalities, and not fall in love?
What’s really shaken my world though is not only the time and effort put into the page, but the care. Olivia blatantly lied to me when she said it was nothing. She has been doing affiliate marketing for different dog products on her page, so she advertises for a type of dog food or a dog bed and gets a portion of the sales whenever someone buys a product with her link. According to her page, all the proceeds she’s made go straight to the Humane Society and other local shelters in San Francisco. Turns out the ice queen does have a heart, a big one at that, especially for dogs. An idea begins to bloom in my mind, but I hardly have a chance to flesh it out before there’s a pounding on my door.
I swing the front door open to reveal Olivia, sopping wet from head to toe. There’s tears and panic in her eyes.
“What happened?”
Her lip quivers before she finally opens her mouth. “A pipe burst in the cottage. Everything is flooded. I’m so sorry.”
Without thinking, I pull her into me to calm her down. I rub a gentle hand on her back for a moment until my shirt starts to soak through, and I realize what I’m doing. I draw back, going into problem-solving mode.
“Let’s go take a look.”
She leads the way, and as soon as the door of the cottage is opened, I know there’s no way she will be able to stay here anymore. The damage will take weeks to fix, maybe even a couple of months in a place as laid back as Roots.
She silently helps me clean up the water, and when we are finally done, I turn to her. “You can stay in my guest bedroom until we get this sorted out, but it’s going to be a while.”
The look of horror on her face makes it more than clear this situation is going to be extremely uncomfortable unless I can fix what I did tonight.
* * *
When I get home from work, Olivia is in her bedroom with the door closed, so I knock gently.
The door cracks open, and her auburn eyes peer out. “What’s up?”
“I wanted to apologize again for last night.”
“Me too. I’ll pay to fix the damages.”
“I’m not talking about that. Don’t worry about the cottage. It’s as old as Roots. I’m talking about the way I spoke to you.”
She flushes. “Me too. I guess we need to be a little nicer to one another if I’m going to be here for a little while, huh?”“I guess so. I want to make it up to you. I have a surprise.”
“What is it?”
“Can you just trust me?”
“Why would I?” Okay, that’s fair. “Rhett, I appreciate you coming to apologize and trying to surprise me with something, but I’m not really sure what to make of you. I just moved into a new town where I’m supposed to stay for three whole months. I currently have no income. My relationship with my parents is on the rocks, and to be honest, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing with my life right now, so I’m sorry, but I don’t have the energy for another rocky relationship that’s going to constantly keep me on my toes.”
“I’m not trying to be another rocky relationship. I’m trying to be an ally. I actually want to listen to your side of the story and try to understand. If you’re going to live in my house and stay in this town for three months, then we should at least be able to tolerate one another, maybe even learn to be friends.”
“Let me get this straight. Yesterday, you were fuming with me and calling me clueless. Now, you want to be my friend?”
“That about sums it up.”
She purses her lips, but after a beat, she asks, “What should I wear for this surprise?”
“You don’t need to dress up. Just wear some comfy clothes you don’t mind getting a little dirty.”
“Give me thirty seconds.”
When she comes out of her room, her hair is thrown into a bun. She’s got on a USF t-shirt that’s way too big for her, and a pair of athletic shorts. I lead her to my truck, opening the door for her, and ask, “Have you spoken with your parents at all since our dinner last night?”
“Yeah, I went over this morning. We talked things out a little bit, and they helped me find a counselor. I’m supposed to start seeing her in about three weeks.”
I try to hide my smug smile. I can’t help but think maybe I had something to do with that. “What made you change your mind?”
“I was thinking about what you said last night, that I need to be better. I really want to be better for my parents, and if I want to get back to work at the end of my three months, I don’t have time to mess around with different solutions. I think seeing someone who knows what they’re doing will help me a lot. My dad knows a counselor in the area who specializes in anxiety and panic attacks. I agreed to give her a shot.”
“What about your bad experience?”
“I trust my dad. Plus, if I don’t like her, my parents agreed to stop pressing me about going again.” She gives me a satisfied smile. I can’t help but note the way she looks just a little bit lighter than when she first came into town. Is it possible for that to happen so quickly?
“I don’t have anything to lose at this point. I’ve already hit rock bottom. It made my parents happy that I’m going to try therapy again, and if it does work, then I’m making myself less of a burden to them.”
I nod, trying not to push too far, despite all the questions swirling in my mind. I understand that her parents had to go through a lot to finally have a child, but I don’t understand exactly why Olivia thinks she’s such a burden to her parents.
I don’t get to ask her about it because we’ve already gone three miles down the road. I flip my blinker on, announcing, “We’re here.”