Chapter Twenty-Two #2
“Olivia has been dating a criminal. Head of an organization called The Unseen that specializes in beating people up so they hand them their money, selling drugs illegally, and now, apparently, forcing any competition to his girlfriend’s business into hiding.
“The name of this man, the ‘Masked Man’ as Olivia has dubbed him, is Austin Black.
“We’ve had multiple people come to verify this information to us at great personal risk to themselves. Austin is dangerous and terrifying to work with, we've been told. He’s ruthless and will stop at nothing to get his way. And Olivia allows this to happen.
“We’re trying to rebuild our businesses. Any support and love you can show us would be greatly appreciated.”
The video cuts out, and new streams of tears track down my cheeks.
This can’t be happening.
Has Austin seen this?
What will happen to him?
Will his father find out?
Is this why Danny got hurt?
I check the video's upload time: fourteen hours ago. Fourteen hours ago, I was lying on the couch with Austin, asking him to be my boyfriend. His laughing and telling me he’d been calling me his girlfriend for weeks was the happiest I’ve felt in years. He really does love me. I know he does.
I bring up Austin’s contact and press call. It rings only for a few seconds, and then it cuts to voicemail. I huff out a breath. As if, after everything, he’s going to reject my call.
Me: Seriously? Too chicken to answer your phone?
He reads it immediately, but no reply comes through.
Maybe I really have pushed him too far this time.
◆◆◆
It’s been two days. Two days since I’ve pushed Austin away. My brother has had his surgery, and when he’s come out of his coma, we’ve talked about what happened. Eventually, Luca also visits and speaks privately with Danny. I’ve been hoping Austin would turn up, too, but he hasn’t.
Danny knows about the video, which means he’s found out about Austin and me. I can’t say that hasn't been the most awkward conversation of my life.
So here I am at the brink of potentially losing my business, losing the man I love, and now losing my brother. He’s not outright said how pissed off he is, but I can tell. Either he’s furious or his pain meds aren’t working nearly as well as they should be.
So this has led me to Dr. Alfie Freaking Adams’s couch. His real one, not his psychologist one.
I’m curled up with a hot tea, my legs tucked under me as I flip through a book on trauma. Yeah, Dr. Alfie doesn’t do light reading. I certainly can’t imagine him reading werewolf smut.
“How are you feeling?” he asks, leaning back into his armchair.
Probably the most awkward part of this situation is feeling like I’m constantly in a therapy session. How much should I say? How much should I ask? This man knows Austin better than anyone alive. He holds all my answers.
“I’m angry.”
He nods. “Understandable.”
We’re silent for a few minutes until I can’t bear it any longer.
“Have you heard from him?”
“He checks in daily.”
Daily?
He must see my expression because he decides to throw me a bone.
“Books like that one”—he points at the huge hardback on my lap—“they can only teach you so much. Some things are only learned by experience, and there’s no way, as a therapist or as a partner, that we’ll be able to understand someone completely or why they do the things they do.
Trauma alters our DNA; it alters our brain chemistry.
Undoing that damage takes years, and even then, another traumatic event can slip us right back into those unhealthy coping mechanisms. Austin has almost had two lives.
He’s killed off one life, or at least, he’s tried to.
So his new life began two years ago. Would you expect a two-year-old to have the emotional maturity of someone who was thirty-two?
“No, of course not.”
He shrugs. “Austin has had to learn how to be human. Honestly, if you think of him as a bit of an alien, in the kindest way possible, it’s like he’s come to a new planet. Experiencing new things and, importantly, new emotions.
“Austin is well aware of how he wants to treat people. In fact, that's one of the easiest parts of treating him. He’s always known how he wants to treat others. Or maybe I should say he knows how he doesn’t want to treat people.
He works in negatives. He’ll see a situation and tell me what he doesn’t want to do rather than what he does.
But when it comes to his own treatment, how he treats himself, how others treat him.
..he can’t fathom being loved or cared for.
His previous life was stripped of all affection.
There was only competition and brutality.
Not just his job. His relationship with his father and his brother are equally problematic.
It’s only his friendship with Luca where Austin has seen any true loyalty. ”
I nod. “I just want to help him.”
“I know, and you have. You’ve helped him far more than I have in the last month alone.”
I shake my head, hugging the book to my chest.
“But this isn’t your responsibility, Olivia. You have your own life and no doubt your own problems, as we saw from that video.”
Yes, the video. Which is why I’m here. Dr. Alfie has agreed to house me for my own protection.
The deal is that we would be seen together publicly to curb any belief that the “Masked Man” was Austin.
We would stand close together, snap a few selfies, and hope that the media would do the rest. Dr. Alfie is enough of a household name that my face would get out there as a potential girlfriend.
Luckily for me, it’s not often that he’s photographed with a woman, so this kind of seems like a bigger deal than it is.
It does mean the comments on my videos have been going wild. Speculation of Dr. Alfie as the “Masked Man” has tripled in the last two days. Comments on my videos and the one posted by Millie and Travis have gone, frankly, nuts.
I’ve not responded at all, which seems to have incensed Millie and Travis further. They’ve posted another video, backtracking that they were given the information from a credible source and that it’s not their fault that they didn’t know the truth.
The fact that the School of Agriculture at Elwood University has announced its collaboration with Austin’s vertical farming company “The Unseen” has only discredited their video further.
The university’s marketing team has really jumped on the hype, too, posting a video of those at the underground farm looking positively confused, dressed as cartoon-like robbers—trying to steal a load of plants. It is pretty genius.
“Are you sure you’re meant to tell me this? Don’t you have doctor-patient confidentiality?”
“Austin drew up a contract, alleviating me of doctor-patient confidentiality when it comes to you.”
“Really? Why?”
“I can’t answer that. It would be pure speculation.”
His phone rings, and he excuses himself from the room.
I sit for a moment, thinking over what Dr. Alfie has told me.
Austin has always been playful and wonderful with his treatment of me, almost hesitant at times.
Is that when he stops himself to think about how he really wants to behave?
I have so many questions, but how can I ask him if he won’t talk to me?
“Your brother is coming over.” Alfie’s voice interrupts my thoughts. I turn to face him, and I can tell it’s bad.
“Should he be out of the hospital yet?” I say, checking my phone. Why wouldn’t he have just called me directly?
“That remains to be seen.”
“That was Austin, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. ”
Dr. Alfie is kind of cold; he has a tough exterior, but I like that he never hesitates to tell the truth.
“Is he coming too?”
“No,” he replies neutrally, taking his seat back on the armchair.
I huff in annoyance, but it’s quickly replaced with a sharp stinging in my chest. I hold myself tighter and close my eyes for a moment. Before I know it, the soft throw pillows have lulled me to sleep.
I wake up to the sound of knocking.
A blanket has been placed over me, and I let it fall down as I stand.
My muscles ache from the uncomfortable position I took my nap in, but my heart races at the prospect of seeing my brother.
I haven’t seen him since they told me it was too unsafe for me to stay in the hospital.
Apparently, they’re still trying to work out what happened to Danny.
Dr. Alfie opens the door and mutters something quietly. I peek over his shoulder and see a short blonde, the nurse from the hospital. No Austin. My brother grimaces when he sees me.
“Hi, Olivia.” The nurse smiles softly.
I nod, stepping forward to help Danny through the threshold.
The purple bruises are still so vibrant across his cheek that I have to bite my lip so I don’t cry. The swelling has reduced dramatically, so at least it actually looks like him. He sits back into the chair that Luca has lifted over the step into the house and sighs when he’s off his foot.
“How are you, Danny?” I ask, wheeling him into the living room. “Do you want to sit on the couch, or are you happy in the chair? Do you need a drink?”
“Livvy, please fucking chill. You’re giving me a headache.”
I press my lips together tight enough to stop my chin from wobbling. The tears threaten to fall, but I have to keep it together for him.
“What the fuck happened between you and my boss?” he asks.
I dart my eyes toward the hallway, and I can still hear the nurse and Alfie talking.
“I’m not sure I should give you the details.”
“Gross, Livvy. Austin? He’s old.”
I flinch at the sound of his name.
“He’s not old. He’s thirty-two.”
“Right, and you’re twenty-four.”
“It doesn’t matter now, does it? He’s ended it.”
“Seems like it was the other way around to me,” he snides.
“How exactly would you know that?”
He doesn’t say anything. Just tuts like he’s disappointed.
I lean my elbows on my knees and cover my eyes with the heels of my palms. Fuck, this is a disaster.