Page 20 of Always Been You

Josh:Don’t forget that you are amazing. Don’t let that douchebag make you feel bad about yourself, Olivia. Please let me know if you need anything.

Liv:Thanks Josh, you’re a good friend.

I decide to spend the rest of the night by taking a bath with candles and with Netflix queued up on my laptop. Relaxing in the water, I close my eyes and my mind goes over my entire relationship with Drew, trying to figure out where I went wrong. What could I have done differently?

I shake my head before pinching my nose and plunging myself under the water. I am not going to go down that road. It’s not my fault that Drew cheated on me. That’s his shortcoming, not mine. Drew was distant in our relationship; he didn’t prioritize us. I am not going to put any energy into that man anymore.

I am going to put all my time and energy into me, now. I’m going to spend tomorrow with my family. I am going to power through the remainder of the school year and then I am going to take my summer and enjoy nature; I am going to read my books; I am going to find myself a nice place, and I’m going to have fun.

I drain the bathtub and start the shower, washing my hair and body quickly before settling into my bed. With this new motivation, I wrap myself in my blankets and fall asleep.

Istare at mycomputer, trying to focus on the report that my assistant Kate forwarded me from our financial department. I run my hand through my hair in frustration. I’ve had a hard time concentrating on anything since Saturday night. After Matt and I left Olivia’s place, we went back to mine, and we drank, ordered Chinese food, and watched an old fight on TV.

Both Matt and I were pissed. Liv was hurt, and we couldn’t do anything about it. When Drew showed up at her place, I wanted to punch him in the face. It took everything in me not to. I got the pleasure of seeing his face drain of all colour when I had him up against the hallway wall. I told him how I would do more than shove him against a wall if he contacted or visited Liv again, and if he enjoyed his ability to walk; he needed to leave right then. Hopefully, he knows how serious I was about that.

My office door opens, and I look up to see Matt stroll in and take a seat across from me.Kate can see my schedule and if I’m not in a meeting, she will usually send him straight into my office.

“Hey man, what’s up?” I ask him once he’s settled. He runs both his hands down his face as he takes a deep breath.

“I’m trying not to go beat the shit out of my sister’s dick of an ex and I haven’t found a place for her to move. It’s so close to the end of her lease, I don’t think we can find anything before she has to move. The girls and I have all offered her our couches, but that’s temporary. I want to get her out of her place as soon as possible to prevent any run-ins with Drew. I don’t know what to do.” He leans forward and places his elbows on his knees. “We had dinner at Mom and Dad’s this weekend, and she seemed to be in a much better place, like something clicked in her, but I am worried about her. I feel like I failed to protect her.” Torment floats in his eyes as he looks at me.

“Man, you know Olivia doesn’t blame you for anything. She is an adult, and you were there for her on Saturday when she needed you.” I lean back in my chair and run a hand down my face as I take a deep breath.

I have spare rooms at my place. I’ve got plenty of space and could offer one to Olivia until she gets on her feet. Could I really live with her, though? Could I spend months seeing her every day and not want to take our relationship to another level? She’s just getting out of a terrible relationship. She just found out that her boyfriend was cheating on her. She’s in a vulnerable place right now.

Am I really going to do this? Am I going to put myself in a position that may make this worse? Yup, I’m going to do this because I would do anything for Olivia. I take a deep breath before I say, “If she needs a place to stay, I have a spare room, and we can rent a storage unit for her furniture. Thespare room is completely furnished, and she would have her privacy,” I say.

He whips his head up. “You’d do that? You’d let her stay with you?” he asks, a mix of relief and something else plays across his face.

I lean forward, placing my arms on the edge of my desk. “Matt, I would do anything for you and Olivia. Yeah, if she needs a place, she can take one of my spare rooms. It’s not like I am using it.”

Genuine relief washes over Matt’s face. He runs his hands down his face again as he leans back in his chair and his chest deflates as he lets out a huge breath.

“Man, you have no idea how much that means to me. I know she’ll be safe there. Let me take you to lunch.”

“Of course, man, you want to hit the pub down the block again?”

He pats his hands on his knees and rises from his chair. “Yeah, sounds good.” I stand and grab my jacket from the back of my chair. It’s not like I am making any progress on these reports, might as well take a break and get some food and fresh air. Walking out of my office, I tell Kate to hold my calls and that I’ll be back later.

Matt and I head down the block to the pub we frequent when he visits me at the office. We grab a seat at the bar and order a burger with fries and a beer each. Matt and I have been friends for years, we don’t need to say much when we spend time together, we can just watch a game or grab a bite, but I’m still worried about Olivia and I’m hoping that he might have some more information.

The bartender drops off our beers and I take a sip of mine. “So, have you heard more about how Olivia is doing?” I ask him.

He runs his fingers through the condensation on his beer. “I called Zoey yesterday to try and get an update. I don’t want to bug Liv. Zo said that she thinks Liv is handling this better than she would. Said that Liv isn’t letting it get her down. She has come up with this list of things that she wants to do this summer once school is done. No more crying, I guess, but I don’t know. I’m not sure if this is her ignoring it and not processing it, or if she really is fine. You’ll let me know if you notice anything, right?” he asks as he turns and faces me on his bar stool.

“Yeah, of course, I’ll make sure she’s all good,” he nods at me, and our food is delivered. We eat in silence as we watch the sports highlights on the TVs in the bar. When I finish my food and beer, I pull out my wallet and put some bills on the bar before grasping Matt’s shoulder. “I’ve got to get back to the office. I’ll see you later.”

“See you later, man.” He nods at me and hands the money back to me. “This is on me, man, please.” I pocket the money and nod before I head out the front door and back to my office. I manage to make it through a few more hours of work before I grab my coat and head out of the office at 5 p.m. Kate is still sitting at her desk when I walk out of my office. “Head home, enjoy the rest of your night,” I say as I leave.

I decide to grab dinner and head to Olivia’s to talk to her about staying at my place when she moves out. Grabbing Chinese food from one of my favourite places near my office, I head to her apartment. This isn’t an emergency, so I use the buzzer system instead of the backup set of keys Matt gave me in case of emergencies.

The buzzer rings and Olivia answers, “Hello?” her voice travels through the system.

“Olivia, it’s me. I brought dinner. Wanna buzz me up?”

“Ummm…” I can hear the confusion in her voice. “Sure Josh.”

The system buzzes, and the gate opens, allowing me into the parkade of her building. Grabbing the food and heading to the lobby entrance, I buzz her again and the door unlocks for me. Taking the elevator up to her floor, I knock on her apartment door.

---