Chapter 9 #2
Amanda grabbed Olivia’s wrist and dragged her out of the break room and down the hall, heading toward a conference room. She pulled Olivia into a room and shut the door behind them.
Released, Olivia rubbed the wrist Amanda had gripped too harshly. “Jesus Christ, you could have told me back there.”
“No, I couldn’t.” Amanda tugged at her hair, further mussing up her already haphazard bun, and paced the small meeting room.
“If you don’t get to the point, I’m leaving,” Olivia said.
“Don’t leave, okay? I need a minute. I’m freaking out.”
Olivia let Amanda pace for what felt like hours before throwing her hands up and reaching for the doorknob.
Amanda said, “No, wait. Please. I need a favor.”
Olivia snorted. This bitch had better be joking. Where the fuck did she get the audacity to come to Olivia for a favor? “Yeah, no.”
She opened the door, but Amanda slammed it shut again. “It’s important. I swear I wouldn’t ask if I had any other option.”
Trapped, Olivia stared at the nurse. “Fucking ask then,” she said, losing her patience.
Amanda nodded, eyes wide with worry. She took a deep breath and rushed her words. “I need you to tell Lance it’s really over between you two.”
Olivia blinked, confused. “I have told him it’s over.”
“He seems to think you’re getting back together. Says it’s only a matter of time.”
Of course, he thought she’d come running back. Motherfucker. “I don’t see how I could have been any clearer. I don’t fuck with cheaters. You and Lance are cheaters.”
Amanda looked like she’d been slapped, but quickly recovered. “I know, and I’m sorry. But if you could do this for me, I’d be so grateful.”
“Why do you care?”
“Lance won’t commit to me while he thinks you’re still an option.” Amanda’s voice broke.
Some of the tension seeped from Olivia’s shoulders. Amanda was a manipulative bitch, but Olivia knew how impossible getting his approval could feel. Knew how controlling he could be. She wouldn’t wish that on her worst enemy.
“You can do so much better than him. He’s not worth all this.”
“You’re probably right, but I need him.” Amanda’s shoulders slumped, and she sniffled, rubbing her eyes.
“Why?”
“I’m pregnant.” The words were whispered, barely audible. But Amanda could have screamed them for how they echoed through Olivia’s head.
A thousand emotions rolled through her, none of them good.
She fell into an empty chair, clutching the side of the conference table for support.
All she’d ever wanted was a baby. A family she could dote on.
And Amanda was going to have one with the man Olivia had spent years of her life planning around.
It wasn’t fucking fair.
In hindsight, Olivia realized Lance wouldn’t be a suitable father. Amanda would have to make that decision for herself.
Olivia stood, nodding. She squeezed Amanda’s fingers and opened the door. “I’ll tell him again. I’m not going to tell you what to do, but don’t let him control you like he tried to control me.”
“Thank you,” Amanda said, and Olivia left her in the meeting room so she could go find somewhere to cry.
She needed to quit her fucking job. It might have been feasible to keep it in the short term, but she’d never be okay watching her ex build a family without her, even if he was the worst.
During her lunch break she wrote her resignation on a fast-food receipt she found in The Reaper. Starting over had to be her top priority, or she would have a mental health crisis sooner than later.
Olivia handed in her resignation and left at five o’clock sharp, no notice given
When she got back to Connor’s, relief flooded her at the sight of Valentine’s obnoxious red car in the driveway.
Her mood lifted. Any ounce of awkwardness between Olivia and Valentine had disappeared while they waited for news about Connor’s surgery together.
Olivia didn’t think anyone on earth could love Connor as much as she did, but then Valentine burst through the waiting room doors, still sweaty and disheveled from the game.
The shared trauma of watching their best friend go down bonded them fast. He’d paced for hours, yapping her ear off about how upset Connor would be if he couldn’t play and the list of tasks they needed to do to make sure Connor recovered quickly (a man after her own heart, she loved a to-do list).
When they’d exhausted those topics, he shifted to asking Olivia about all the shenanigans she got into with Connor as kids.
Despite her horrid day, she hopped out of her car and rushed into the house to greet him.
She found the boys curled up on the couch, Connor taking over the chaise with his injured leg, Valentine tucked into his side in the spot Olivia considered her own.
Not for the first time, she wondered if their friendship was more than it seemed.
Connor was notoriously touchy with his friends, so physical intimacy didn’t mean much, but he was different with Valentine.
Attentive. Loving. Her heart ached at the sight of them.
She couldn’t decide if it was the cutest thing she had ever seen, or if she should wedge herself between them.
Deciding to keep her crush in check, but still wanting affection, she dropped her bag of items from her work locker on the floor and flopped onto the couch next to Valentine. She snuggled into him, making a cuddle chain, and wrapped an arm around his waist.
“I’m glad you’re back,” she said.
He raised his arm to encourage her closer and wrapped it around her shoulder.
“I’m glad to be home. How are you?”
Connor reached across Valentine’s lap to pat her arm in welcome, then returned his attention to his show.
“Ugh, terrible,” Olivia said. “I quit my job.” She thought she’d cycled through all the stages of grief on the way home, but panic bubbled up again as she said the words aloud.
Connor’s head snapped in her direction.
“You did?” he asked. “Thank God. Fuck those people. Are you going to let me pay you for your services then?”
Tears leaked from her eyes, and she wiped them away with the back of her hand.
“Yeah. You’re stuck with me for a while.”
“You can stay in my house and on my payroll for as long as you need.”
Olivia nodded as she surppressed her sobs. Her shoulders shook, and her nose ran. She sniffled.
Valentine unraveled himself from them and stood, urging Olivia to scoot closer to Connor. When Olivia curled into Connor, Valentine sat on her other side.
“I didn’t mean to steal your spot,” Olivia said.
Valentine rested his arm across the back of the couch and propped his feet on the coffee table.
“It was never mine for you to steal,” he said.
Olivia frowned, but with the boys surrounding her, the tension leaked out of her neck and shoulders. She didn’t have the energy to dig into his nonsense.
They spent the evening eating takeout and watching another reality show Connor and Valentine were far too obsessed with. And while Olivia was upset and terrified for her future, she also hadn’t felt so safe and loved in years.