35. Olivia #2
I ignore his comment about the impending storm.
Or try, at least. He’s correct. It rarely rains here, but we survive.
And thunderstorms? They happen, but I’m always so glad they aren’t a regular occurrence.
Not like Tornado Alley. They get storms all the time.
Fuck. I’d die if I lived in those areas and had to endure storm after storm that could kill me.
It’s bad enough when it sweeps through our area, bringing thunder and lightning.
It always takes me back to the time my father forced me outside to stand in the pouring rain.
Mud clung to my bare feet, and thunder rumbled above my head, practically shaking my bones.
Sweat breaks out on my neck as Simon continues to chatter away. He’s none the wiser to my mental freak-out, spiraling me down the drain of despair.
Get your shit together, Olivia. I internally mumble to myself.
I need to pull everything together. I need to stop unraveling at the slightest things.
I should be over thunderstorms by now. I should be over my ex-boyfriend’s betrayals.
Or not so betrayal. Fuck. A headache forms in my skull, pounding away the more I fall apart.
I’m an agent of Veritas. I’ve spent the last five years training and taking down the bad guys. Buck up, girl. You got this. It’s only a little rain.
“Oh my God, look at this place!” he practically squeals, showing me pictures Daniel sent him of the hotel suite they’ll be staying in, which is fancier than anything I’ve seen.
“You guys are going to have a lot of fun,” I hum, flipping through the pictures as we make our way down the hall toward Wade’s room, goosebumps erupting all over my flesh, and shivers running down my spine.
My breath stalls in my chest at the familiarity of this place.
It may not be this floor, but this hospital.
Its aura has memories slamming through my mind on repeat.
“Sir, I strongly advise you not to move her. Olivia needs to stay! She is absolutely not stable. Her burns are at critical risk for infection; she needs daily wound debridement, and her lungs are still compromised from smoke inhalation. Moving her now could kill her!” A loud, emotion-filled whisper rings through my ears as I lie on my hospital bed with my eyes squeezed closed.
The oxygen mask on my face sticks to me as my breathing increases and my heart rate monitor beeps like a companion beside me.
I’ve been here since the fire, since they decimated my world and left me to die in my own blood and flames.
Five long days of wondering if this is what they had always planned.
Jonathan seems to think so. He’s been by my side since my eyes cracked open and he explained my new world to me.
I’m dead. No one. Not Olivia Viotto anymore.
A ghost to the world who has a funeral tomorrow in honor of her life.
“There’s better care waiting for her,” Uncle Jonathan snaps with a growl.
“I need her stable enough to move her. She can’t stay here.
It’s unsafe to be in the open like this,” he growls.
“Make her comfortable enough to walk out of here. Give her all the pain meds you can muster. Change the dressings on her wounds. But make no mistake, she is leaving here tomorrow with or without your consent.”
I imagine him raising his brows and giving the doctor a pointed, determined look.
I’ve only known him for five days now. Well, as an adult, at least. I remember him from when I was a kid. He was around, but not always. It’s a miracle he showed up when I truly needed him. None of my other uncles did. No family came to my aid.
“Sir,” the doctor sighs heavily, almost in defeat.
“Your niece has severe burns on her shoulders, neck, face, and scalp. Not to mention the slash across her throat that required surgery to mend. Respectfully, if you move your niece, you risk re-opening every stitch and introducing infection into her wounds. All her wounds. I do not advise it. She’s not out of the woods yet.
She could choke on her own blood before you reach the parking lot!
” Her voice rises with every word she says, until she clears her throat in the silent room and begins to speak again.
“I’m strongly suggesting you keep her here for another few weeks to ensure she’s stable enough to move from this hospital.
Then, you can seek private care.” A sternness enters the woman’s voice as she faces off with Jonathan.
It’s a battle I don’t think she’ll win. Although I haven’t seen my uncle in so many years, I don’t know what he’s like anymore.
“You have no say in what I do with her. She is leaving this hospital. And she is leaving tomorrow. Prepare the best pain medications you can manage, Doctor, because my niece has a very important place she wants to be. I will not break that promise.”
“Sir,” she pleads again. “You’re going to kill her.”
“No!” he shouts in the quiet room. “I’m going to help her keep living. Staying here will kill her.”
With shaky hands and pain roaring through my body, I slowly take the oxygen mask from over my nose and lips.
“I want to leave,” I croak. But it doesn’t sound like me at all.
It sounds like a stranger speaking the words.
Deeper. More contorted. Not Olivia. “I have to…I have to go…” I croak again, feeling a tickle erupt in my throat, and my lungs seize.
“Olivia,” Jonathan says softly, coming to my side and forcing the mask back on my face. “We will. I know you want to see it.”
My funeral. My last goodbye to the cruel people who ended me so selfishly, taking me out with the blade of a knife and the heat of the flames. But it’s not only me I want to say goodbye to. Sophia. My mom. They’re gone too, because of them. Killed in the same way. Only they didn’t make it.
And I did. Somehow.
I still don’t understand how I’m still breathing.
Or how I got here. When I opened my eyes, Jonathan told me who he was, where I was, and promised me a lot of things.
Healing. Taking my power back. Getting stronger.
Revenge. Especially the revenge part. He said he got me out of there in the nick of time.
One more second in that fire and I’d be in a grave like my family.
“Unbelievable. You understand what will happen if you don’t get the care you need?
You will die if those wounds get infected.
If those stitches pop, you will bleed. I strongly advise against this!
” she says with more determination, as if she has any power over me.
“Leaving care now is a damn death sentence!”
“She will,” Jonathan says in a deadly tone.
“You think I’m hauling her away from here to make her suffer?
” He steps away from me, walks toward her, and stands toe-to-toe with the persistent doctor.
I swallow through the pain as he squares his shoulders and looks directly into her eyes.
“Olivia will be going into private care. You’ve heard of Dr. Emma Bennett, correct?
One of the best doctors and surgeons in the nation. ”
The woman’s mouth falls open, and her lips flop several times. “I, well, yes,” she stammers slightly. “She’s world-renowned and…” She trails off, her eyes widening when Jonathan hands her a piece of paper.
Jonathan nods, handing the doctor a wad of cash and a slip of paper.
“Here’s her number. How about you forward all of Olivia’s medical files straight to Dr. Bennett, who will be accompanying us to the funeral in a private medical care vehicle, and then straight to the private care facility.
Now, if you’ll excuse me.” He nods his head toward me, lifting his chin with pride.
“Yes, sir, of course. I will coordinate care with Dr. Bennett and…”
“Use that money to make sure your lips are sealed. More will come if you comply.” Jonathan raises a brow when she nods quickly.
“Good. Then, we will be leaving. We will sign the papers if that’s what you need.
My niece is no longer comfortable here.” With that, he turns his back on her and comes to sit beside me on a chair, whispering words of encouragement.
The doctor doesn’t utter another word as she leaves the room, closing the door behind her with a soft hiss.
“I’m so sorry, Olivia,” Jonathan mutters, taking my hand in his. He gently squeezes with reassurance. “I promise, we’ll get you there. And you’re sure that’s what you want? After what they did?” His brows furrow, worry wrinkles marring his face.
He can worry all he wants. I want to face them. Not head-on, of course. I never want them to see me again. Or come back to this town after this. The fear of seeing their faces again has my heart shattering in my chest. But I know who I’m going to the funeral for.
My family.
“How did I survive?” I whisper, tears pooling in my aching eyes. Everything hurts, and my nerves are fried.
“You’re a strong girl, Olivia. That’s how you survived.” He licks his lips. “You understand what will happen after this, right?”
I nod. Yes. He told me all about the organization he helps run and how, if I wanted to become something great and fight the evils like my family and Franco, he’d take me under his wing and give me a place to call home.
Veritas. But not before I heal from my wounds.
Then I can begin my training and become an agent within his organization.
“I have eyes everywhere. That’s how I got you out,” he says, squeezing my hand.
“Now, you get some rest. Tomorrow will be a very big day for you. I need to arrange our ride away from here and make sure you’re cared for on the way.
You’re sure you want to go through with it?
” he asks again, rising to his feet and pulling out his phone.
“It’ll be painful, Liv. You were so hurt. ”