Chapter Four
Olivia
I shut the car door and look at the cabin. I hear laughter coming from inside, along with power tools. It's dark outside, but they have every light on in that cabin. “What the fuck are they doing?” I ask Kate.
“You gave Luke a task and left him alone,” Kate laughs.
“Oh God,” I laugh as we walk onto the porch.
I open the front door and find three shirtless men standing in the kitchen.
The cabin has an open floor plan, so there isn’t much separating the living room and kitchen area.
Luke and Rhett have a beer, but Bodhi is drinking water.
There’s nothing wrong with that, but I find it interesting.
I don’t realize how long I’ve been staring at Bodhi until he turns and catches me. “Hi,” he says with a smirk.
“What the fuck are y’all doing?” I ask.
“It’s Luke’s fault,” Rhett laughs.
“It’s always Luke’s fault,” Kate says as she grabs a beer from Luke.
“Beer?” Luke asks me.
“I don’t drink, but thank you,” I say, tilting my head as I notice my back door. “Guys… where the fuck is the back door?”
“Oh. The frame is damaged, so it wasn’t actually latching,” Luke says. “Bodhi had wood from another project, so we fixed it. Just have to put the door back on.”
“Ah,” I say, looking at Rhett.
“Yes, Olivia?” he asks.
“Can we talk?” I ask. “About Jason…”
“Is this because I’m a cop?” he asks, setting his beer down on the counter.
“Uh. Yeah,” I say. “I don’t want to, but my parents are right. My safety is more important than my pride. I left for a reason, and I don’t want to… I just need to be smart about this.”
“Yeah,” he says softly. “Let’s get this door back on, and we can sit down and talk.”
“I’m going to change clothes while y'all do that,” I say.
I turn and go to the bedroom, pushing the door closed behind me. All I did was set my bags on the bed because there’s a lot I still need to get. I took a lot of fucking money from that bank account, but I spent a lot of it on the car, motels, and things I needed to survive.
I find pajama pants and a simple tank top before stepping out of my shoes. I pull my shirt off, and I’m standing in just my bra when the bedroom door opens. I give Luke a deadpan expression when he grins at me. “Sorry,” he says. “Do you want pizza?”
“That’s fine,” I say, unbuttoning my jeans. He slaps his hand over his eyes, and I laugh as I change into pajama bottoms and pull on the tank top. “I’m good.”
“Oh, good. I was having prom flashbacks,” Luke says, laughing when I frown at him.
We leave the bedroom, and the door is back on.
I watch as Rhett steps onto the deck and Bodhi shuts it behind him, flipping the lock.
Bodhi watches as Rhett tries to get inside, but then unlocks the door and opens it.
“That’s better,” Bodhi says. “We will need to stain the wood, but I can do that later on.”
“It looks good,” I say. Bodhi spins around and looks shocked. “Thank you for helping to fix that.”
“Uh. You’re welcome. I’ll get the tools out of your way. Just give me a…”
“You can stay, Bodhi,” I say. “At some point, you and I need to sit down and talk. I’m in a place in my life where I desperately need peace, and I’d really like for that to begin with you. Kate says you’ve changed, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, and we can talk. Okay?”
“Oh… Uh… Yeah. Sure. I mean, definitely. I’d love that. If you’re okay with it. I don’t want to…” he starts to ramble, but stops abruptly. His nervousness is very evident.
“Maybe sooner rather than later,” I laugh.
“So whatcha…” Rhett says, nudging my shoulder. I flinch hard, and he immediately hugs me. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I sigh. “I’m just jumpy. It’ll take me some time to get used to being around people.”
“What does that mean?” Luke asks.
“Let’s go sit,” I suggest. He nods, and we all go to the back deck. Luke and Kate sit on one couch, while Rhett takes the armchair. That leaves me on the other loveseat. Bodhi hesitantly sits next to me, and Rhett sits back to look at me.
“What’s up?” Rhett asks me.
“So… Jason… He was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, and domestic battery,” I say. “They were trying to get him for… uh… they were trying to get him for human trafficking.”
“Mhmm,” Rhett says. He is calm, so I just focus on him.
“I didn’t show up to court, so all the charges were dropped,” I tell him. “I don’t have a restraining order because it will give away my address. I also took money from our joint account, so… there is a good chance he will come for me… the night I left, he was so damn angry…”
“What happened with the trafficking?” he asks.
“Oh. He would… I didn’t say no or anything, but…”
“Stop,” Rhett says. “Don’t even say that, Liv. I don’t care if you say yes or no because we all know you didn’t have a choice if you wanted to live.”
“Yeah,” I say tearfully. “He would just use me to close deals and let men pay to use me.”
“What the fuck?!” Bodhi growls.
“He doesn’t know where I went, but he will look for me,” I say. “I don’t know what to do, but I do know I don’t want to find out.”
“I’ll talk to Dad and see what we can do as far as patrols,” Rhett says. “You’ll have Bodhi next to you, and I’m just down the road. Really, you’ll have plenty of people around if he shows up. We can get some cameras up, too.”
“What led to his charges?” Rhett asks. I explain to him what I had told my parents, from the coffee to nearly dying, but I go into more detail than I spared my parents.
“I was in the hospital for a bit,” I say. “They were afraid he broke something in my throat. I don’t remember what, but it was hard to breathe for a few days. They had me on oxygen to help while the swelling went down.”
“Do you have pictures?” Rhett asks.
“Yeah, but it’s on my old phone. I’m afraid to turn it on because he tracked me. If I turn it on, it will tell him exactly where I am,” I explain.
“Shit,” Rhett says. “If you don’t mind, I can take the phone with me and give it to Dad. He might be able to get it to someone with the state. If trafficking charges might come up, he’s already on the state police radar anyhow. You were still in the state, right?”
“Yeah. Dallas,” I say. “I left, probably… four months ago. I’m sure they are looking for me.”
“Well…” Rhett sighs. “Let’s find out.”
I nod, and Rhett pulls his phone out. He taps around before the call rings through the speakerphone. “Hey, son,” Sheriff Dan McDonald says.
“Hey, Dad,” Rhett says. “I’m sitting here with Olivia Monroe…”
“Aw, hell,” Dan sighs. “The state just called me about her yesterday.”
“Fuck,” I sigh.
“Fuck, is right,” Dan says. “They’re trying to subpoena you to testify in court.”
“I thought they dropped the charges?” I ask.
“They dropped the domestic battery, but the state picked up the rest. He was given bail and an ankle monitor. He’s on house arrest until they can get you into court. The last chance before it’s dropped is next week,” Dan says. “Hun, I have to tell him I’ve spoken to you.”
“Is it Jeramy Garcia?” I ask.
“Yeah,” he answers.
“Yeah. I’ve spoken to him before. I definitely cussed him out when I was in the hospital because he was trying to get me to write a statement when I was on pain medication,” I say. “He said other people's lives are at stake, and I kinda lost my shit.”
“I don’t blame you. The fuck?” Kate scoffs.
“I’ll call him, and we can set up a meeting at the station,” Dan says. “Do you want to file a restraining order?”
“It would give him my address,” I say. “I don’t want him knowing where I am.”
“The state will have to disclose where you were found, and they will absolutely ask in court, so he will find out you’re in Willow Creek soon enough,” Dan tells me.
“Just put Bodhi’s address,” Rhett laughs.
“I’m not dragging anyone into my bullshit,” I say.
“Our porches touch, Liv,” Bodhi says. “You think he won’t make assumptions when he finds out how close you live to me?”
“Fuck,” I sigh.
“Do you want to do that?” Dan asks.
“I’m not putting anyone else in danger,” I say. “Just put the cabin.”
“Alright,” Dan says. “I’ll let him know.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Rhett says.
“You’re welcome, son.”
When the call ends, I put my elbows on my knees and drop my face into my hands. “What are you thinking?” Luke asks.
“That I’m going to die,” I mutter. “I don’t know what the fuck I did to deserve the bullshit I’ve been through.”
“It was never your fault,” Bodhi says vaguely. I huff out a laugh and sit up to look at him.
“Then why does it feel like it’s my fault?” I ask.
“Because abusers know how to hit someone where it hurts the most,” he says. “They know what buttons to press and how far they can push you before you snap. They know when to gaslight you and backpedal to keep you feeling crazy.”
“You’d know all about that, huh?” I ask with a snarky tone. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that…”
“No, you’re right,” he says. “Olivia…”
“We don’t have to right now,” I say.
“No, we should,” he says. “Everyone here was around when I tormented you for years. It’s only fair they get to hear me out, too.”
“Alright,” I say. I turn on the wicker couch to face him with my feet tucked under me. He turns to face me more, and he looks nervous.
When Kate stands, I glare at her. “We are going to grab the pizza while you two talk,” Kate says.
“You don’t have to go, Kate,” I say.
“I know, and as much as I do want to hear an explanation, I think you will be more willing to talk to him if we aren’t here.”
“What happened to pizza?” I ask.
“Oh, I never ordered it,” she laughs.
“Just go,” I sigh.
“I love you,” she says sweetly.
“Love you, too, Kate,” I say as she leans down and hugs me. Luke does the same, but Rhett just grins at me like an idiot. “Do you want a hug, too, Rhett?” I ask, and he nods happily.
When he leans down to hug me, he laughs when I push him away. “You need a shower, my guy,” I laugh.
“Don’t like my natural cologne?” he asks.
“Gross. Go away,” I laugh. “Thank you, Rhett.”
“Anytime, Liv,” he says.
When they leave, I finally look back at Bodhi. “Bodhi,” I say.
“Olivia,” he says with a smirk.