Drawn To Each Horizon
Seventeen
Zack POV:
I went back to the couch with Jack. This has been a crazy day for all of us. And to think, this happened over a Christmas tree. Okay maybe it wasn’t just that but for someone who was viewing from the outside, that’s how it would seem. I felt so bad for her, like we should’ve been there to stop it or do something at least. I just want Olivia to feel safe; she’s like a younger sister to me now. Sure I used to like her but we all did. It seemed sill to me now, considering that we were like brothers and sister now. I heard Alex and Olivia coming back down the stairs. She had a bandage on her neck and an icepack on her eye. Poor girl.
“Go ahead and get comfy,” Alex set her down in the armchair and placed a fuzzy blanket on her lap. He kissed her head before going into the kitchen. He started to make hot chocolate or something for her. I looked over at the poor broken girl, she looked shattered. Jack got off the couch to go say something to Alex. I followed him into the kitchen so it wouldn’t be awkward around me and Olivia.
“I just think you should get a restraining order or something.” I heard Jack trying to convince Alex. I don’t think he was going to let this go.
“Dude, it hasn’t gotten that bad yet.” Alex whispered back, not wanting Olivia to hear him. She was in such a fragile state right now I feel like saying anything could make her cry again. I walked in behind them and got a beer out of the fridge. I sat back down on the couch and took a deep sip.
“Want some?” I offered to Olivia. She nodded and took a long drink. It was almost half my beer but oh well, I can always get another. I leaned my head back into the couch and heard the front door open. Rian went into the kitchen and set two bottles of wine down before turning around and seeing Olivia’s eye. His eyes flickered over to Alex who was walking into the living room with the mug in his hand. Rian stormed over to Alex and pinned his back against the wall with his arm nearly on his throat.
“The fuck did you do?” Rian’s voice echoed off the walls. Alex was starting to tremble underneath Rian’s grip. You could almost sense his panic attack coming on.
“It wasn’t him!” Jack pushed Rian off of Alex and helped him over to the couch.
“Well then what the fuck happened?” Rian spat again, not calming down any time soon. Olivia’s eyes welled with tears and she sprinted up the stairs. Cassadee ran after her to go comfort her.
“They ran into Lisa at the tree farm.” Jack tried the best to calm him down.
“And?” Rian questioned again. If people actually had smoke coming out of their ears, it would be happening right now.
“Lisa punched and scratched Liv.” Jack explained.
“And you didn’t fucking do anything?” Rian almost yelled again. I couldn’t stand seeing Alex have a panic attack, I never could. But seeing him have an attack and it being caused by one of us? I can’t let this continue. I reached for Jack’s water, since there was no ice, and splashed it in Rian’s face. I couldn’t think of anything else to do to calm him down. He wiped the water off his eyes and looked at me.
“What was that for?” He asked. It threw him off guard so he was already calm, you could even see the anger out of his eyes.
“It calmed you down, didn’t it?” I answered his question with a question and filled Jack’s cup with some more water. I set it back down in the cup holder and Alex was already starting to look better. Once Alex was calm he explained what happened in detail so Rian understood. I know Alex already felt terrible for not being able to protect Olivia in the first place, so Rian bringing that up didn’t make him feel any better. I heard the doorbell ring so I got up to answer it, everyone else was busy. I opened the door and a woman about my age smiled and handed me the bags of food. She told me the total but I just handed her a fifty and closed the door, knowing it was more than the price already.
“Food’s here.” I yelled so everybody could hear, although it was still quiet. Olivia came sniveling down the stairs with Cassadee’s arms around her shoulders. I went into the kitchen and set the bag down on the counter so I could unload all the food. Jack came in and waited patiently so he could get his food. Alex came in and got plates since it was obvious that Jack wasn’t going to help. Olivia laughed at Jack’s childlike behavior. We all looked up at her and she blushed, it was the first happy thing that’s happened this evening. I made sure everyone else got their food before I served myself. I closed all the containers and then sat down with the group. We avoided conversation during dinner, not wanting to touch any delicate topics that might upset Olivia.
Alex POV:
Everyone was gone now and it was just me and Olivia. I showered while everybody was here so I wouldn’t have to leave Olivia by herself. Yeah I know she’s a big girl but shut the fuck up, I’m just worried that she might do something if she’s alone. No I don’t mean self-harm, I know she wouldn’t. She’s in so much pain now and she only has a black eye and a scratch. I don’t think she’d want to add any more damage to what’s already been done. But what I do mean is that she might get upset and break something and accidentally hurt herself in the process. She curled up into my chest and breathed lightly. I was thankful that she was getting some sleep, she needed it. I tried drifting off, but it just wasn’t happening. I was still so mad at Lisa for doing this shit in the first place. I was happy about not seeing her since she came and got her shit out of my house so it had been months and I was doing just fine. But not now.
Maybe Jack was right, I should get a restraining order against her. But was this enough to get one? I’d have to look into it tomorrow and find out. My thumbs were twitching. It wouldn’t hurt to go find out now. I got up without disturbing Liv and made my way to my office. I searched online for a while and I found out some details. I could get one since I was her partner sexually for over 90 days this year. Olivia on the other hand couldn’t because she had nothing to do with Lisa and she wasn’t a “vulnerable adult” according to their standards. I felt a pair of hands rub my shoulders and make their way down to my chest.
“Whatcha reading?” Liv set her chin on my shoulder.
“I’m trying to see if we can get a restraining order.” I rubbed her hands.
“Sweetie, don’t worry about it.” She kissed my ear. “Now come to bed, I’m lonely.”
“Alright baby,” I kissed her hands and exited out of the window. I walked out of the room with Liv dragging me down the dark hallway and into our bed. I lay down and she curled back up into my chest where she belonged.
“I love you.” She leaned up to kiss my cheek.
“And I love you more than you could ever know.” I kissed her with as much love and passion that I could possibly muster this time at night. She smiled against my lips and went back down to my chest. Her breathing fell to soft breaths and I shortly followed her into a peaceful sleep.
I went back to the couch with Jack. This has been a crazy day for all of us. And to think, this happened over a Christmas tree. Okay maybe it wasn’t just that but for someone who was viewing from the outside, that’s how it would seem. I felt so bad for her, like we should’ve been there to stop it or do something at least. I just want Olivia to feel safe; she’s like a younger sister to me now. Sure I used to like her but we all did. It seemed sill to me now, considering that we were like brothers and sister now. I heard Alex and Olivia coming back down the stairs. She had a bandage on her neck and an icepack on her eye. Poor girl.
“Go ahead and get comfy,” Alex set her down in the armchair and placed a fuzzy blanket on her lap. He kissed her head before going into the kitchen. He started to make hot chocolate or something for her. I looked over at the poor broken girl, she looked shattered. Jack got off the couch to go say something to Alex. I followed him into the kitchen so it wouldn’t be awkward around me and Olivia.
“I just think you should get a restraining order or something.” I heard Jack trying to convince Alex. I don’t think he was going to let this go.
“Dude, it hasn’t gotten that bad yet.” Alex whispered back, not wanting Olivia to hear him. She was in such a fragile state right now I feel like saying anything could make her cry again. I walked in behind them and got a beer out of the fridge. I sat back down on the couch and took a deep sip.
“Want some?” I offered to Olivia. She nodded and took a long drink. It was almost half my beer but oh well, I can always get another. I leaned my head back into the couch and heard the front door open. Rian went into the kitchen and set two bottles of wine down before turning around and seeing Olivia’s eye. His eyes flickered over to Alex who was walking into the living room with the mug in his hand. Rian stormed over to Alex and pinned his back against the wall with his arm nearly on his throat.
“The fuck did you do?” Rian’s voice echoed off the walls. Alex was starting to tremble underneath Rian’s grip. You could almost sense his panic attack coming on.
“It wasn’t him!” Jack pushed Rian off of Alex and helped him over to the couch.
“Well then what the fuck happened?” Rian spat again, not calming down any time soon. Olivia’s eyes welled with tears and she sprinted up the stairs. Cassadee ran after her to go comfort her.
“They ran into Lisa at the tree farm.” Jack tried the best to calm him down.
“And?” Rian questioned again. If people actually had smoke coming out of their ears, it would be happening right now.
“Lisa punched and scratched Liv.” Jack explained.
“And you didn’t fucking do anything?” Rian almost yelled again. I couldn’t stand seeing Alex have a panic attack, I never could. But seeing him have an attack and it being caused by one of us? I can’t let this continue. I reached for Jack’s water, since there was no ice, and splashed it in Rian’s face. I couldn’t think of anything else to do to calm him down. He wiped the water off his eyes and looked at me.
“What was that for?” He asked. It threw him off guard so he was already calm, you could even see the anger out of his eyes.
“It calmed you down, didn’t it?” I answered his question with a question and filled Jack’s cup with some more water. I set it back down in the cup holder and Alex was already starting to look better. Once Alex was calm he explained what happened in detail so Rian understood. I know Alex already felt terrible for not being able to protect Olivia in the first place, so Rian bringing that up didn’t make him feel any better. I heard the doorbell ring so I got up to answer it, everyone else was busy. I opened the door and a woman about my age smiled and handed me the bags of food. She told me the total but I just handed her a fifty and closed the door, knowing it was more than the price already.
“Food’s here.” I yelled so everybody could hear, although it was still quiet. Olivia came sniveling down the stairs with Cassadee’s arms around her shoulders. I went into the kitchen and set the bag down on the counter so I could unload all the food. Jack came in and waited patiently so he could get his food. Alex came in and got plates since it was obvious that Jack wasn’t going to help. Olivia laughed at Jack’s childlike behavior. We all looked up at her and she blushed, it was the first happy thing that’s happened this evening. I made sure everyone else got their food before I served myself. I closed all the containers and then sat down with the group. We avoided conversation during dinner, not wanting to touch any delicate topics that might upset Olivia.
Alex POV:
Everyone was gone now and it was just me and Olivia. I showered while everybody was here so I wouldn’t have to leave Olivia by herself. Yeah I know she’s a big girl but shut the fuck up, I’m just worried that she might do something if she’s alone. No I don’t mean self-harm, I know she wouldn’t. She’s in so much pain now and she only has a black eye and a scratch. I don’t think she’d want to add any more damage to what’s already been done. But what I do mean is that she might get upset and break something and accidentally hurt herself in the process. She curled up into my chest and breathed lightly. I was thankful that she was getting some sleep, she needed it. I tried drifting off, but it just wasn’t happening. I was still so mad at Lisa for doing this shit in the first place. I was happy about not seeing her since she came and got her shit out of my house so it had been months and I was doing just fine. But not now.
Maybe Jack was right, I should get a restraining order against her. But was this enough to get one? I’d have to look into it tomorrow and find out. My thumbs were twitching. It wouldn’t hurt to go find out now. I got up without disturbing Liv and made my way to my office. I searched online for a while and I found out some details. I could get one since I was her partner sexually for over 90 days this year. Olivia on the other hand couldn’t because she had nothing to do with Lisa and she wasn’t a “vulnerable adult” according to their standards. I felt a pair of hands rub my shoulders and make their way down to my chest.
“Whatcha reading?” Liv set her chin on my shoulder.
“I’m trying to see if we can get a restraining order.” I rubbed her hands.
“Sweetie, don’t worry about it.” She kissed my ear. “Now come to bed, I’m lonely.”
“Alright baby,” I kissed her hands and exited out of the window. I walked out of the room with Liv dragging me down the dark hallway and into our bed. I lay down and she curled back up into my chest where she belonged.
“I love you.” She leaned up to kiss my cheek.
“And I love you more than you could ever know.” I kissed her with as much love and passion that I could possibly muster this time at night. She smiled against my lips and went back down to my chest. Her breathing fell to soft breaths and I shortly followed her into a peaceful sleep.
Notes
I kind of like throwing some drama into this... But I'm also happy that the Lisa thing is over... Or is it?P.S. Guys, I really miss your comments :( I want to know if you like what I'm doing, plus I just like hearing what you have to say. Please speak up! xoxo
@BringMeBarakat
That's so sweet! Fun fact: writing the ending actually made me cry.
1/3/14