Chapter 31 OLIVIA #2
I reach for it, digging through my bag in the front seat and when I look at it, that magnetic pull manifests again; the universe working in mysterious ways.
My heart lurches as I open the text, knowing that it’s been a while. But I’m greeted with an address and I don’t even hesitate. I turn the ignition, plug the address into the GPS, and then I drive.
I pull up to a driveway about an hour later, feeling the buzz of familiarity caress me as I take in my surroundings. The snow layers the ground beautifully, the sun glistening on top of it. But the driveway is plowed down making it easier for my little bug to navigate as I turn in.
It doesn’t take more than a second for me to realize where I am. My cheeks heat at the reminder and my stomach churns with butterflies as I park the car.
He didn’t.
I stare out at the cabin, my eyes go wide with wonder and appreciation.
The last time I saw it, it looked like it was ready to crumble, riddled with abandonment and decaying even as we made love in it.
And now, now it’s restored; looks nearly brand new.
Life breathing into the wood and the windows adorned with beautiful white curtains.
The chimney breathes smoke and the porch is decorated with a cozy swing.
I get out of the car and immediately, Iris by the Goo Goo dolls flits through my ears, causing my heart to pinch.
Accompanying the song is the sounds of tools whirring in the background.
I walk up the rest of the drive to see that the garage is open and as I feel my heart pound in my throat, I brace myself for what it will feel like to see him again.
It’s been two months. Two months since the night he re-entered my life, wreaking havoc and evoking my true feelings from me; forcing me to surrender and to stop hiding.
Tormenting me in the most blissful way. Creating a beautiful chaos to light inside me, reminding me of who I am and who I was always meant to be.
And who I belong to.
That night wrecked me. It wrecked me and pieced me back together just to incinerate me again. I didn’t know if I’d ever see him again. Didn’t know if he even survived.
That night, I can vaguely recall the red and blue emergency lights that illuminated the crimson colored stains in the snow, Banks yanking me further into the forest while Evrin held Alli and Sage.
All I could do was scream for Trace until my voice gave out, and the next thing I remember was being put into an ambulance and dragged off to the hospital. We all were.
Alli and Sage both survived their gunshot wounds. Alli’s in her stomach, and Sage’s in his shoulder. But other than that, I didn’t know anything else. I didn’t know if Trace was alive.
But the day I was released from hospital, he showed up at my door. It was heaven and hell seeing him again. I was racked with every single emotion one can feel and I felt like I was going to explode as he wrapped me up in his arms.
But from that moment on, things haven’t always been the same. I was terrified to lose him again, especially after all we’d just been through, after all he did for me.
But I know now that dealing with something like what we had, it was a lot.
It still is. Trace had to figure out how to forgive someone who was really only trying to act as a hero for his sister.
I was still trying to figure out how to cope with my new memories and the realization of everything, and in between it all . . . there is us.
Trace reminded me that he will always find me. We’ll always come back to each other. So we agreed on time and space. Though it broke me even more, I knew we had to do it.
Now, I approach the cabin, eager to finally see him again as anticipation dances around my chest. Hoping that this time, it’s for good and that we never have to run from each other again.
I walk into the garage and immediately stop in my tracks.
My eyes start to water when I realize what I’m looking at. My heart bursts at the sight of gleaming teal paint and a memory that I had to force myself to give up on.
Trace emerges from somewhere in the background. A daydream cloaked by darkness. That’s what he personifies. Even though the air dances with a cold December air, he still decides to remain shirtless, leaving his beautiful tatted body on display for my wandering eyes.
But then I can see the evidence of his sacrifice, the burn scars that caress his upper arm, right above the barbed wire tattoo. And on both of his hands, distorting the look of his skeleton tattoos.
My chest feels like it’ll sink if I think about how fucking brave he was that night. Deciding to use Jensen’s intended downfall for us all and risk his life to save the rest of us. I’ll never know who to repay him for that, but more importantly, I’m grateful he made it out alive.
A smile cracks on his face when we look at each other, bringing me back to the present, and my body buzzes with nerves that send me into a frenzy. It’s been two months but it feels like years ago all while seeming like yesterday.
He doesn’t move, just watches me as I look between him and the car that takes up his garage.
“Trace?” I say his name, my heart flooding with emotion as I take in the scene. He turns around slowly and when his golden eyes reach mine, it’s like coming home. “Trace, you bought the Bronco?”
He smirks, finally closing the distance between us and before him or I can say another word, he scoops me into his arms and presses a soft kiss to my lips. “Of course I did, Livie. I wasn’t going to let you be reckless enough to get rid of it.”
Pride swells in my chest, ecstasy rippling through me. My heart thrums as tension and adrenaline and impatience tangle in my core.
Last month, I realized that I needed to sell the Bronco.
It was a decision I didn’t want to make, and I didn’t make it lightly, but I felt in my heart that it was the barrier between this town and me getting away.
A decision I was still trying to battle, not sure what the right thing to do was.
So I caved, and I put it up for sale and an anonymous buyer came and picked it up.
I didn’t meet the buyer. The money was wired to my account and the car was gone the next day.
Seeing it here, in Trace’s garage, makes me believe that the magnetic pull I’d been feeling was all for this. For him and l. The thread that holds us together through everything.
I don’t even know what to say. I just look into his eyes as he holds me in his arms, his fingers digging into my ass as my fingers scrape gently against his neck.
It’s electric, this moment between us. And I can’t hold it off any longer.
I lean and press my lips to his, needing his kiss like I need my next breath.
“Fuck, Reckless,” he moans into my mouth. Euphoria expands in my chest, filling me with desire and love.
The combination of his embrace and the way he smells, the way he feels, has me desperate for more. But I have to hold my breath while he kisses me, staving off the aches my body craves to have taken care of; his movements causing chaos as he grips and tugs and devours.
“I’ve missed you so fucking much,” I whisper and he smiles against my lips and we kiss for a for a few seconds longer before he pulls away.
“I need you to know why I didn’t say anything to you about everything,” he tells me and I watch the way his eyes bore a sincere and heartfelt need to clarify.
“It’s okay, Trace,” I assure him, knowing that nothing is going to change what happened or alter how I feel, but he sets me down and shakes his head.
“No, it’s not. You struggled for so long and I was the only one who truly knew what you were going through and I had the answers to make it go away, but I didn’t.”
Trace wraps his hand around my face, cradling me. I swallow, somewhat nervous about what he wants to tell me, but I focus my eyes on him and listen.
“I had only followed after you because I realized that I didn’t want you to have to face my sister alone.” He pauses a beat before resting his head on mine, sorrow filling his tone as he continues.
“I saw the whole thing and I didn’t know what to do.
I knew it was an accident and the moment I saw you running away from that cliff, I wanted to go after you.
But then you ran into Jensen and I froze.
I didn’t know it then, what I do know, that he saw the whole thing like I did.
But what I saw was you needing someone and then you kissed him.
I was hurt, so I didn’t stick around. I went to go find Seren’s body but then police showed up and honestly, Olivia, I didn't know what to do. I couldn’t tell them the truth, especially after finding out that more bodies were being found and they were looking for a killer.
I knew the moment they found out about you and Seren, you’d be implicated.
You’d be the prime suspect and with your memories evading you, it was the perfect answer to give them. ”
I reach down to find Trace’s hands holding me at my waist and intertwine my fingers in his, feeling the burn scars that paint them.
I caress his skin gently, wishing I could take the reminders away, wishing I could go back and do things differently.
But what’s done is done, and all that matters right now, is that we still have each other.
“I kept my mouth shut and I left town soon after. I did it to protect you. From the town, from yourself. But if I had known that you’d be okay, if I had known that Jensen was just using you, I would have come back.
I just didn’t want to be the reason why you hated yourself, telling you stories about what I saw when you couldn’t remember them yourself.
I knew you needed to reclaim them on your own. ”
“And you knew how to help,” I say quietly. “You brought me back.”
Trace swipes at a tendril of loose hair on my face, tucking it gently behind my ear.