CHAPTER 9—Jake

Olivia is crying.

For the first time she lets me open the door for her and she sits quietly, leaning towards the door. Anything to be away from me.

I wish I knew the things going on in her head. She sniffs back a time and wipes her face which only makes me feel worse.

Swerving out of the parking lot I put on the radio at the highest volume possible but still no reaction from her.

I half expect her to at least reach over and turn it off. She doesn’t. I put off the radio, letting us drown in silence.

It was hard dealing with Olivia; she wasn’t like the other girls that threw themselves at me. Every other person wanted me with them but with her it was hard because she wasn’t trying to impress me. If anything she was only with me now because of money.

My hands clutch the steering wheel tighter. I needed to get back on her good side because this is awful.

“Look I’m sorry about what I said, I shouldn’t have…it was not in my place” I say but she doesn’t even turn to me.

“There is nothing wrong with what you said. If anything it is the truth, I don’t have parents that I can pretend in front of.” her voice is like steel, using my words to pierce my own heart.

“Still, I apologize for it. It was insensitive of me”

“Just drop it Jake, it’s not a big deal” her voice is final, so I don’t push it.

Instead of taking her home I make a stop at the grocery store. I know just one thing that will fix her sour mood.

She waits until I open the door and then quietly she follows me into the store. I hate that she’s walking a few steps behind me instead of beside me, but I say nothing about it.

I go straight to the freezers and pick out a tub of ice cream. “Do you like this one?” I ask her.

She regards me with a bored look before walking off. It’s my turn to follow as she heads straight to the liquor isle and pulls out a bottle.

After examining the label she gives it to me “Pay for it, it’s the least you can do.”

I take it. When I take a peek at the label as I move to the counter I almost gasp. Even I couldn’t handle this amount of alcohol and I was man.

I remind myself that Olivia is not like other girls.

By the time we get home she doesn’t look like she wants to bite my head off. She just goes straight to her room with the bottle and slams the door.

Picking up the tube of ice cream I head to my room. I strip out of my clothes before flinging myself on the bed and putting a call through to Kyle.

He doesn’t pick up which makes me groan. My eyes stray to Olivia’s door when I hear a strange sound.

I want to go in and know if she’s safe but that would probably be the worst idea in history.

Or maybe not.

I jump up from bed and head to the kitchen, picking out left over pizza I march to her room with the ice cream and knock.

She won’t be able to turn down pizza.

When the door opens suddenly I don’t know what to say. My mouth suddenly goes dry as I open and close it without words coming out.

“What?”

Her irritated voice snaps me out of it, “I brought you pizza just in case you were hungry.” I hold out the pizza and Ice cream “I’m not sure which flavor you like but I got vanilla and strawberry.”

I know I’m mumbling now and cringe inwards. What was it about her that made me nervous. I have a feeling it isn’t just because I feel bad for what I said about her parents. It had to be something more.

Her hand takes the pizza from me before the door is slammed in my face. Maybe she doesn’t like ice cream.

I take the white tub with me back to my room. I open it and scoop the delicious cold substance into my mouth and moan at the pleasure.

I’m not going to think about the girl in the room opposite mine or even about my parents that wanted my life to be a living hell.

Why did life even have to be this complicated? All my father had to do was transfer his properties to my name. Why the big fuss about me getting married?

I put another spoon of ice cream into my mouth.

I love women, women love me, why can’t we all be happy that way. Getting married and being stuck to one person for the rest of your life was a myth I couldn’t comprehend.

Take my father for example. Anyone miles away could tell my father didn’t love my mother, at least not in the truest sense of the world.

While mother was still sticking with him was way beyond me. He didn’t even treat her right, at least I respect my women and make sure they have a good time just like I do.

My phone buzzing distracts my thoughts. I smile when I see it’s Kyle.

“How did it go?” he asks when I connect the call.

“A disaster but it could have been worse, father hasn’t called yet to gloat” I answer.

“We need it to be perfect Jake, not better than worse. Let’s just follow my plan and get someone else to do this, I have a bad feeling about her.”

“She’s not going anywhere” I say, growing defensive. “She just needs practice that is all.” Kyle hums and I have a feeling he still thinks otherwise.

“Look I’m not about to send her back into the streets, she needs my help and I need hers. We’ll just work with it” I insist.

“Why then do you keep involving me if you’re just going to do it your way?” Kyle asks.

“Because you’re the only one I trust” I answer truthfully.

He is my best friend, the only one I had beside me that wasn’t a girl I was trying to get down with.

We’ve know each other since our college days, and he has been with me every step of the way when it came to my parents.

It was difficult not to trust him or have him involved whenever I had no idea what I was doing which turned out to be all the time.

“A week Jake, if she doesn’t improve she’s out”

“What if I still want her around?” I ask.

“Then count me out” he hangs up after that.

I release a deep breath. It feels like Kyle is asking me to choose between both of them. I only hope Olivia does very well and it doesn’t come to that.

I feel responsible for Olivia and I’m going to blame it on the fact that I knocked her down and injured her.

I groan when my phone buzzes again and Amelia flashes in front of my screen. I don’t pick the call.

Amelia was my pleasure partner last week before this entire incident, but she was finding it hard to let go.

A second round with any lady wasn’t something I did, the last thing I wanted was someone clinging onto me because they were bound to catch feelings.

Me, girls, and feelings were not a good mix.

The one time I tried being in a relationship ended with the girl becoming obsessed with me. Literally. She even threatened my parents when I called it off with her.

I think her name was something that started with an E, or maybe it was an S.

I’m not about to put myself in those shoes again for whatever reason, not even for a girl as beautiful as Amelia.

When I hear a loud thud from across the hall followed by a scream I jumped up from bed.

The first thing I see when I open the door was Olivia groaning on the floor. She must have fallen from the bed.

“Are you alright?” I ask her and she shakes her head.

When I help her up I easily smelt the liquor on her breath, she has been drinking. Sitting quietly on the bed now, her eyes are red like she has been crying for a while.

“Hey” I touch her cheek “What’s wrong?” she doesn’t push away my hand that’s still lingering on her.

“Nothing” she breathes.

I sit down beside her “Is it what I said? You have to know I didn’t mean it” I say quietly.

I made Olivia cry. The girl that had punched me square in the face and seemed unbeatable just cried the entire day because of me.

This was just a new level of scum.

“You can tell me Olivia” I hesitate before my palm finds her back and rubs in soothing circles.

“I…” she trails off, no doubt asking herself if I could be trusted.

“My parents are not dead” she said after a couple seconds.

My hand on her back pauses “But you said they were, that was what you told my parents.”

She sniffs and bows her head, “I know, it’s just…I never knew my parents so I can’t say if they’re actually dead.”

“I still don’t get it” I say.

She turns to me, letting the tears stream from her eyes. “They didn’t want me. Someone found me dumped in front of an orphanage.”

It wasn’t hard to see the little child that had once been abandoned. I wasn’t sure which was worse, knowing that her parents might be dead or knowing that they might very much be alive but didn’t want anything to do with her.

“I’m sorry” I whisper.

Before I could think it through and probably mess it up, I pull her to me and wrap my arms around her.

“Your parents don’t want me too. Maybe I am the problem” she says into my shoulder, and I stiffen.

That she thought that way.

“What my parents think of you does not matter, they barely know you” I tell her.

“But it’s my job for them to want me, to make sure everything works out for you” she counters.

I don’t know what to say because she’s right.

I hold her tighter, “We’ll figure it out together, we still have two weeks to convince them you’re the perfect girl for me.”

She clutches my shirt “And if they don’t approve?”

I don’t have the answer to that.