Seven
OLIVIA
By the time I pull it together and leave, Caleb’s car is long gone.
I want to go after him. Finding him wouldn’t be hard in this town. I know all the places he goes to hide out depending on his mood.
We need to hash this out until we’re back to being us.
Will we ever be us again?
I swipe at the tears leaking out of my eyes. I haven’t cried in years. It’s part of what makes me good in the ER. I’m not cold, but tears are messy and make my eyes look like I’ve gone a round or twelve with Jose Cuervo.
But it appears I’m making up for lost time because I can’t make the waterworks stop.
I stop at my parents’ house, needing to be held by them. Have my mom push food on me and my dad rub my shoulder and tell me he’s proud of me. Guilt swamps me thinking about how I’ve been in town for twenty-four hours and I haven’t seen them yet.
It’s been an eventful twenty-four hours.
But they aren’t home, so I head back through town and end up at Darcy’s house.
She opens the door with a smile that falls as soon as she sees me. “Liv? What’s wrong?”
Panic laces her voice, and she wraps an arm around my shoulders.
I burst into tears because that’s all I’ve been able to do since Caleb left.
She brings me inside and settles me in her cozy living room, Grease playing on her TV. She brings me hot tea and lets me cry on her shoulder without a word.
When I finally feel like my eyes have run dry, I sniffle and sit back against the cushions.
She mutes the TV and shifts onto one hip, leaning her hand against the side of her face, watching me. When the silence stretches out, she sighs. “Okay, time to tell me why you showed up at my door in tears when I haven’t seen you cry in years.”
I run my thumb around the edge of the mug and swallow against the ball of emotion stuck in my throat. She brushes my hair off my shoulder, and I look over at her.
“Talk to me, Liv.”
“Caleb told me he’s in love with me.”
Her eyes widen for a moment and she bites her lip. “How did this come about?”
I blow out a breath and start at the beginning. I tell her about what happened with my job, how Samuel dumped me, and how in the moment I thought I was heartbroken but now I know I was more in shock than anything else.
She replies with some colorful language and creative ideas about what she is going to do with Samuel’s dick if she ever crosses paths with him.
Once she calms down, I continue with how I got the call from Derek telling me about Caleb’s accident and the horrible fear I felt thinking I’d lost him.
How I drove all night to get here and see him to make sure he was okay.
About going to the Red Parrot, and how jealous I was seeing him with those girls.
Finally, I tell her how we ended up kissing in the alley, and everything else, all the way to this morning.
How he told me all the things I’ve always wanted to hear but gave up on a long time ago. And now I’m scared to believe him.
Her smile is soft. “This isn’t exactly breaking news to me.”
My eyes snap to hers. “What are you talking about? It’s news to me.”
“Well, then you haven’t been paying attention.”
I sputter. “I’ve paid attention. There’s no way he’s been in love with me for two decades. I’ve seen all the girls he’s dated since he moved here in high school. He dated half the Homecoming court our junior and senior year.”
My eyes close and my heart hurts. “Not to mention, he was famous and dated supermodels and actresses when he played baseball.”
“Sure, and did you notice what the girls looked like when he did?”
I fold my arms over my chest and frown. “All blondes. What’s your point?”
Darcy rolls her eyes with a sigh. “For someone so smart, sometimes you’re not very bright.”
“Gee, thanks. Why don’t you just kick me while I’m down?”
“They were blonde, silly, and shallow. The exact opposite of you.”
“And…?”
“My guess is he did that because he didn’t want to be reminded of what he couldn’t have. Like a defense mechanism.”
I sit with that for a moment, thinking back over the years we’ve been friends.
He’s always had a girl on his arm or in his bed. But now that I look back with clearer vision, I can’t recall a time when he ditched me for one of them. Even yesterday morning, he kicked a hot, half-dressed chick out of his house when I showed up unannounced.
We never went on a double date with other people. We even went to prom together as friends.
At least that’s what we told each other and everyone else.
“Liv, if you knew that you wouldn’t lose your friendship with Caleb and fear wasn’t a factor, how do you feel about him? And don’t think—just answer.”
“I’m in love with him,” I say without hesitation.
And once I start, I can’t stop. “I’ve always had feelings for him, been drawn to him.
I think to begin with it was because he was the cute new guy in town.
Then we started to hang out, and I loved his sense of humor, his protectiveness, and the way he always made everything fun.
I always know I’ll be safe with him. But I always figured I wasn’t his type, not as girlfriend material.
So, I let go of the idea that he’d ever see me as more than a friend. But I love him. I’ve always loved him.”
My eyes widen and I clap a hand over my mouth.
Darcy laughs and takes the hand in my lap, squeezing it. “It’s okay,” she says. “It was only a matter of time before you guys figured this out. We’ve been making bets for years.”
“Who’s been making bets for years?” I ask, horrified.
She shrugs a shoulder. “The whole town. Let’s see…” She narrows her eyes in thought. “I think Derek may have won this bet. Damn it!”
My mouth drops open. “Derek was in on this?”
“Please, my brother started the pot. He’s always liked Caleb, but he knows how you are. Never letting the vulnerability show.”
She squeezes my hand. “But seriously, Liv, if you love him, tell him. Guys like that don’t come around often. Don’t let him slip through your fingers. Because if you don’t tell him, it isn’t fair to expect him to never move on. Tell him or let him go.”
I narrow my eyes at my cousin, who became a badass while I was gone. “When did you get so smart?”
She just laughs and stands, holding out her hands. “Come on. I’ll make waffles, and we’ll talk strategy for Operation Get Caleb Back.”
As we walk through the living room, the scene where Sandy is singing about being hopelessly devoted is playing on the screen and an idea hits me.
“I think I know what to do.”