38. Chapter 38 #2
“Again, I’m not bragging! Please don’t think I am,” she points out, waving her hands around in an animated way.
But it isn’t needed, I didn’t really know Diamond apart from the few things Oliver had told me but as much as I want to hate her for being one of the eleven women in Oliver’s life before me, I could tell she wasn’t coming from a bad place and if there’s one thing I did understand, it was being misunderstood for being the way I am.
It wasn’t my intention to come here and listen to this, nor was it to open any of Oliver’s emails.
The plan was to get over him. But as his weekly updates kept showing up, I realised that I don’t know him and that maybe I had to get to know him, to get over him and help myself heal, so I keep listening.
“Anyway, what I’m trying to say is, you get a pretty good understanding of who Oliver is as a person when you’ve been around him like I have.
One of the things I’ve noticed is that Oliver only runs away when things are going great, or at least because he wants them to be.
” She continues, “This probably comes from the way he was raised, not having the best childhood, I mean, most of us didn’t, Am I right? ”
“However, I can tell you that Oliver is one of the sweetest guys I’ve ever met. I mean, sure, he resembles a-” she pauses, trying to find the right analogy to describe Oliver, and I, of course, have the perfect one.
“A Surly Bastard?” I suggest, cracking the first real smile I’ve made today. When the entire cafe turns to look at Diamond, who bursts into laughter that’s smoother than fresh silk.
She laughs like Julia Roberts in that one scene from ‘Pretty Woman’, loud, but pleasing to the ears, while still managing to be adorable - everyone in this cafe seems to think so too. My laugh resembles a hyena with asthma and is one snort away from becoming Peppa Pig.
“Yes! It’s exactly how I would have put it.
” Diamond giggles, climbing down from her laughter as she uses a napkin from the table to wipe her eyes.
She does it with such skill that not even a touch of her makeup smudges, but me?
In addition to my homeless attire, I’ve spent my days without makeup, helping care for a newborn.
Add insomnia-coded bags under my eyes, while Diamond looks like a model on the front cover of a magazine; I look like I’m on drugs.
“Wait, where was I? Oh, yeah. So he might resemble a Surly Bastard, but I honestly think there is a baby cub in there somewhere who hasn’t learned to venture out of his cave just yet,” she continues, taking a sip of the strawberry liquid.
“Oliver seems well put together. Deep down, he’s a broken man.”
I knew this.
From the moment I met Oliver, I could tell there was more to him than his grumpy facade. I saw it when we first slept together, something raw that I thought I could get to the bottom of, but unlike how I felt back then, you can’t fix what doesn’t want to be fixed.
“As broken as he is, it’s not my job to fix Oliver, nor is it for me to be his source of avoidance until he is ready to fix himself,” I recite back to her, but it was more for me to hear.
A needed reminder that I did still feel for Oliver, but there was nothing more I could have done.
Whether he comes back or not, I have to protect myself, prepare…
for when he’ll leave again, since that’s the only dynamic Oliver and I seem to have.
“There’s a rumour he’s coming back, so I’m sure you’ll be able to see him again soon. The two of you seem a lot closer than the others.” I add with a genuine smile.
“I don’t think so,” she shakes her head.
“I’m no longer under contract, so I’m unsure of what I can and can’t say, but none of the calendar girls sees Oliver, although it does state that after the contract is terminated, we’re allowed to greet each other as acquaintances and offer small talk.
No other form of contact is prohibited.” She adds, with a small smile.
…All the contracts were terminated?
When??
I-I’m sorry? What did you just say?” I ask, putting my frappe down, trying to act like my whole world hadn’t been flipped over.
“Which part?” she asks.
“The part about us not being able to contact him?” I shake my head. “The part about the contract being terminated?” She tries again.
I nod this time.
“You didn’t know?!” she blurted in disbelief. A few people around the room turn to look at us. I again shake my head.
“Oh my god! That’s why you were looking at me like that when we met earlier,” she backtracks with realisation, pushing her bangs back over her forehead, but they just effortlessly fell back into place.
I still suck at hiding my emotions, I see.
“Oh my god, Luna, I’m so sorry! I thought you knew.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have overstepped and forced you for coffee, I-” she stops to take a small breath.
“I’m really sorry and hope I haven’t come off as the biggest bitch of the century, acting like I know Oliver better than you do,” she apologises, chewing on her lip.
The more I talk to this girl, the more I like her, which is why I reach over and squeeze her hand.
“Diamond, don’t refer to yourself as a bitch again, because you’re far from it, and that word feels way too filthy to be coming from someone as sweet as you,” I declare, offering a smile; it isn’t as perfect as hers, but she accepts it, nevertheless.
“I followed you here because I knew you weren’t anything like the other Calendar girl I’ve encountered.”
The memory still ran fresh in my mind.
I met Crystal not long after I started working as Theo’s nanny.
I never told Oliver or anyone else about it, but I knew who she was and why she spoke to me like that that day in the lift; her words reappeared.
“God knows what the hell Oliver must see in you.” I never understood what she meant back then, still under the impression Oliver couldn’t stand me.
But…if he terminated the contract when I think he did…
“Diamond, when did Oliver terminate your contract?” I ask with urgency, and she didn’t fail to deliver.
“Sometime in the beginning of May? I don’t know the exact date, but if you give me your number, I could double-check the contract when I get home and send you a picture,” she replies sweetly, flashing yet another smile that confirms how much I now love this girl.
Honestly, now that she and Oliver can never be a thing again, maybe I can have her?
Was this one of the weirdest ways to form a friendship?
Most definitely, but it was very rare for me to get on with others of the same gender, and Diamond had this aura that just made everyone around her fall in love with her - I was her latest sucker.
After we exchanged numbers, Diamond asked for the 411 on Crystal.
All the girls knew about each other and what they looked like; they had never met, so I don’t blame her for being curious.
In all honesty, I was, too. My curiosity is what always seems to get me in all kinds of trouble, but I was a Schrodinger’s cat at heart and since we already fell into the rabbit hole.
I convinced Diamond to send me a copy of her contract because, unlike my own contract with Oliver, it was the kind I was very interested in reading. I may even go so far as to highlight the parts I’d change or amend.
Does that sound a tad crazy?
Probably, but what could Oliver really do? Have a random stranger knock at my door and say, “Luna Jackson? You’ve been served,” and then I’ll have to stand in front of a court while Oliver Walters sues me for invasion of privacy.
Something I don’t think he’d ever do, but it’s fun to think about, as well as the knowledge I know about Oliver, would make him surrender before the battle had even begun.
After all, Knowledge is power, and I hold the key to sweet revenge, not that I’d ever use it.
Not when I know it involves Theo, but Macy would be proud of me for thinking of it.
Diamond turns up her nose after hearing about Crystal’s behaviour towards me, which earns her another point for becoming my other best friend. When a question pops into my head, the kind that could easily offend her and ruin her interest in becoming friends with me, I ask it anyway.
“H-hey, Diamond, can I ask you a question?” I ask gently.
“…you want to know why I signed a contract with Oliver in the first place?” she suggests with a knowing smile, and I reply with a nod. The room buzzed from all the machines, electronics, and chatter of the afternoon rush, yet it felt like the world had gone silent for several moments.
I watch the young girl retreat into her shell in embarrassment, and suddenly, as much as I wanted an answer, I don’t think it was worth upsetting someone who has treated me with nothing but kindness.
“Diamond L-” “No! I’ll tell you!” We speak at the same time.
“…Are you sure?” I check; after all, this is her private business. Desperate to know or not, I had no right to pry.
“I know, it’s weird. I mean, who in their right mind would sign a contract to only see a guy twice a year?” She cracked a joke to lighten the mood, and it worked - I smiled back at her.
“Like I said earlier, Oliver and I knew each other before, and when he initially told me about this deal, I told him he was crazy. But after taking some time to think it over, I decided to go for it.” She pauses with her hand trembling in my grip, so I give her a reassuring squeeze.