After pushing a reluctant Olive into my car, I rounded it and got in as she was mumbling something about killing someone.
Amused, I asked, “Are we going on a killing spree?”
I still couldn’t believe my eyes, that she was actually there.
Frowning, she looked at me, her hand jerkily pulling on the seatbelt. “What?”
“Easy there killer.” I smiled and leaned over her to take care of her little dilemma.
My nose was almost touching her cheek. Mmm. She smelled like apples, fresh and sweet.
I felt her stiffen.
My little Olive.
Securing her, I leaned back and my eyes zeroed in on her parted lips. “There you go.”
“Thank you,” she mumbled, looking anywhere but me. I looked away, too.
“So, you were muttering about killing someone?”
“Lucy. My friend.”
“What did she do to deserve such a gruesome death?”
Starting the car, I discreetly glanced at her.
The little girl who had always given me the biggest smiles was long gone. While it looked like she hadn’t changed at all, I knew everything had changed. It looked like I wasn’t the receiver of any smiles any more.
“I can’t be that bad of company, can I?” I asked before she could reply about her friend.
She gave me a small smile. Not one of her beautiful ones that used to light up her eyes and flush her cheeks, but still a sincere one nonetheless.
“No, you are not that bad. You can drop me off at USC, I’ll find my friends.”
“You go there?”
“Yes.”
“Come on, Olive. Don’t be like that. Tell me more about what you’ve been up to. I still can’t believe we found each other here out of all the other places in LA.”
“A coffee shop or something like that would’ve been more like it, wouldn’it?”
“Exactly. A studio exec’s office? No way in hell.”
She chuckled. “It is a little weird, isn’t it?”
“Weird? I don’t know, probably. You never were an ordinary girl, though.”
Stopping at the red light, I faced her. She was looking out the window, her hands resting on her lap in tight little fists. I tugged at a strand of her strawberry blonde hair—which looked much lighter than it had years before—and she looked at me. I smiled and said, “Hi.”
She bit on her lower lip and smiled back shyly. “Hi back.”
“I missed you, little one. I didn’t even know how much until I saw you.” Her smile faltered a bit, but she managed to turn it into a lopsided smile, which looked strangely attractive on her.
The light turned green and I had to give my attention to the road, special cargo and all that. Several minutes passed by with neither one of us saying anything, then we both spoke at the same time.
“Did you—”
“Can I—”
I chuckled. “You go first.”
“I just wanted to ask why you stopped calling Dylan. For a while there, he used to get touchy if someone mentioned you. I think he didn’t want to show how upset he was. I know it’s none of my business and you certainly don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but I’ve always wondered.”
When the car in front of me stopped due to traffic, I changed lanes and slowed down. Rubbing the back of my neck, I let out a deep breath.
“You don’t have to answer,” she repeated before I could form an answer in my mind. I didn’t have a good enough reason to give to her.
“No, it’s okay, little one. I know it was a shitty thing to do after everything your family had done for me. To be honest, the first few weeks were really hard. Maybe you remember,” I said, glancing at her. “My father and I were never close, and my mother’s death didn’t change anything on that front. The day I left you guys, he didn’t even speak one word to me the entire ride here. When we finally made it, he showed me to an empty room in a big house and went back to his clients. Just like that. I barely saw him, and he certainly didn’t care what I was doing. Unfortunately, it only got worse after that. I didn’t want to be that kid who only called to complain. And, don’t tell your mom, but I think if I had talked to Emily about how I was doing, I would’ve broken down and cried like a baby when I heard her call me sweetheart in that tone of hers. Lying to Dylan was surprisingly easier.” When she didn’t say anything, I continued. “And in time, with school and then the movie stuff…”
It sounded lame even to my own ears.
“I’m sorry you had a rough time when you first got here, but you must be so happy now. I’m glad things turned out for the better. When we watched your first movie, I think I saw Mom wipe away tears more than a few times.”
“She cried for an action movie?”
“You were shot, and well, I think she cried because she was proud of you.”
An arrow straight to my chest. When my mother had passed out from her daily drinking, consequently locking me out for the night, Emily had taken me in. After that night, I’d stayed at their house more than I had at my own. She’d been a better mom to me than my own could ever be. Dylan was my brother and Olive…well, Olive had been my friend, too. They were the only family I’d known. It was as simple as that.
“You really didn’t miss me?” I asked, trying to diffuse the heavy quiet in the car. “Didn’t wait by the phone for my call? Come on, don’t be shy. You can tell me.” I watched her out of the corner of my eye.
She laughed. It was beautiful to watch.
“I definitely didn’t wait by the phone.”
“But you admit to missing me, don’t you?”
“Maybe,” she said so quietly that I wasn’t even sure if I’d heard her right.
When her phone rang, she gave me an apologetic look and answered it.
“Where are you? No. Okay. Yes, the meeting is over, I’m on my way back. Ok, I’ll be home soon. No! No, wait inside. Lucy, I swear to god, if I find you outside—Hello? Lucy? Damn you!”
“Something wrong?” I asked, amused.
“No, it’s okay. Well, good news for you, you don’t have to drive me all the way to USC. We’re closer to the house.”
“Lucy is your roommate?”
“One of them.”
“How many roommates do you have?”
“With Lucy, three.”
“Is it hard?”
“Not really. I mean, we’re all friends, so I guess it’s easier than it would be if they were complete strangers.”
After she gave me the address, we were quiet for the rest of the ride. Fuck, but I couldn’t stop glancing at her. She had the same little nose, that same spark in her eyes, yet she was so different than when I had last seen her. The worst part? She had boobs—boobs big enough that they’d cushioned my arm when I had accidentally encountered them as I secured her in.
Fuck me, but my little Olive—the same little girl I had protected from shitty bullies—was not so little any more.
“Is this the right street?” I asked when I took a right turn.
“Yes. You can stop here. I took enough of your time already.”
“Don’t be like that. Tell me which building it is.”
“Maybe I don’t want you to know where I live.”
I gave her an exasperated look, and she gave me an annoyed one, which only made me laugh.
She huffed and pointed to an old building. “Do you see those three people waiting there?”
“That old building?”
“Yeah that one.”
Coming to a stop in front of the building she had pointed out, I turned off the engine.
“Is this place safe?” I asked, leaning toward her to glance at the building through her window.
“Safe enough.” With a quickness I wasn’t expecting, she opened the door and got out. Leaning down to look at me through the open door, she said, “Thank you for dropping me off, Jason. It was really nice to see you again. I’m glad we did this. Don’t read the book because it kinda sucks if you ask me. Have a nice life. Bye.”
She shut the door on my smiling face. Ah. She was acting as if she could get away that easily now that I’d found her.
Chuckling to myself, I reached for my Ray-Bans and stepped out of the car. Following her, I watched a girl separate from the other two and run straight into Olive’s arms, all screaming and jumping.
The other girl had an equally big smile on her face when she finally reached the jumping duo. The guy? He didn’t look that happy at all.
“Start from the beginning, you have to tell us everything. Do they want the movie rights? Did you say yes? How much did they offer? Who will play Isaac?” I heard her friend ask rapidly. I couldn’t hear Olive’s answers, but I was aware that she was trying to herd them back toward the building.
And she hadn’t noticed me—yet.
“Olive,” I said next to her ear when her friend focused on the other two and was looking over her shoulder.
“Jesus!” she screamed turning around.
