JAKEThe water running in the kitchen reminds me that I’m not alone in my worries. Kyle is here and he would know what to do.I look out to the drive way but it’s still empty. Why were the taking so long.Sharlene said it was a friendly date to get to know Olivia better but I knew it was far from the truth.It didn’t also help that she looked at Olivia like she was a toy that she needed to have.It wasn’t hard to tell Sharlene was interested in her to some level but Olivia was mine alone to have and I was going to keep it that way.“Do you think she said something to Olivia and she decided to run away?” I ask Kyle as I walk into the kitchen. My face a mirror of the desperation I felt.“Relax man, she’s not going to just run off into the sunset because of something Sharlene said to her, at least not without confronting you first” Kyle says.He’s not as worried as I am because he has nothing to lose.“If she tells her our entire plan then I’m totally screwed” I run my palm over face.“F
OLIVIAMy sleep is almost peaceful until there’s a sound blaring around the room.I groan, my clothes from yesterday digging into my skin. I guess I slept off in the middle of my pity party.What Sharlene had revealed had quite shaken me up and I needed time to process.The Jake she was talking about couldn’t possibly be the same one that caused butterflies to stir in my stomach.He was a loving soul that cared about me, I mean he likes feeding me so he’s high up in my radar.Taking over his father’s company just to tear it down in a quest for revenge didn’t seem like something he would even think of.It was possible Sharlene was only speaking from her feelings because it was obvious they didn’t have the best relationship.It had to be.Now I feel bad for not opening the door when he knocked, he must have wanted to know why I was in a mood.I’ll apologize to him once he wakes up but first I have to answer my phone that keeps ringing. My hand finally finds it somewhere among the pile t
OLIVIA There’s a lot going on in my head as I make my way to the apartment. I have so much questions that I can’t seem to get the answers to. Just when I thought I had everything figured out with Jake. I’m so deep in thoughts that I don’t notice he is standing at the already open door until he embraces me. I go still at his touch and I know he feels my body shut down too. My arms that was aching to wrap themselves around him remains mute at my sides. “Are you alright? Where did you go?” he sounds worried and I should feel bad for making him weary but I’m not. It’s hard to tell if he’s actually worried about me or he’s worried that I’d find something about him that I wasn’t supposed to know. “I was worried when I woke up and there was no sign of you” he continues despite the lack of reaction from me. “I thought you…” “Ran away” I complete the sentence for him before stepping away and watching his arms fall to his side. “I’m not that easy to get rid of” I say and walk into the ap
JAKEIt’s no denying the girl in front of my is beautiful. Mum wants me to marry her and not Olivia.I didn’t want to get married at all, but if I’m going to see it through for the company then I wouldn’t want it to be anyone other than Olivia. She was the only one that made the idea bearable.When I don’t find her in the apartment again after my shower I panic again. That’s all I seem to be doing these past days.It’s the only reason I’m still looking at the picture mother sent me. If Olivia changes her mind about marrying me then I’ll just go on with whoever this girl was. She seems nice enough.That’s the plan now. I just pray Olivia wants to marry me on her own and not because she signed a contract with me.When she mentioned the contract earlier I was surprised because I’d totally forgotten it existed.It would be unfair of me to use it to make her stay if she changed her mind and decided to leave.There had to be another way to keep her by my side or I’ll just simply have to let
OLIVIAI can’t get all the moans I hear last night out of my head.No matter how hard I try to push them away they’re persistent, creeping into my ears that I tried to cover with a pillow.No even cotton puds in my ear could do the trick. I was left all night listening to those tormenting sounds until they became my nightmare.I cried at some point, hoping that my sob would drown out their voices. I think at some point he heard me because the squeaking of the bed stopped and their was silence.I held my breath, waiting for him to realize what he has done and come back to me after sending those girls away.That didn’t happen. Of course he wasn’t coming back to me, just like my parents left me and never came back.Maybe there was something about me that repelled people and kept them away from me.They kept at it all night long which explains the bags under my eye when morning finally comes.I have to get out of here before this room suffocates what remains of me. I put on my work out at
OLIVIAWe’re still holding hands when we step into the apartment and that’s the first thing Jake notices.His eyes move from me to Sharlene and back again then rest on our joined hands. His eyes twitch, that’s the only reaction from him.There are no signs of the girls from last night, he must have asked them to leave after Sharlene walked in. For that I was grateful, that way Sharlene would not be able to see the humiliation Jake is putting me through.With a final glance at Jake I let my hand slip from Sharlene’s and go to my room. They could stay there and do whatever it is that siblings do.As for me, I was going to treat this wedding like it was a real one because after everything that has happened, I had a feeling that I would never have the courage to get married again. Or at least for real.So I was going this one as much as I could and not even Jake was going to ruin it for me.Just before I shut my door I hear Jake and Sharlene talking, more like arguing because their voice
OLIVIAWe’re still holding hands when we step into the apartment and that’s the first thing Jake notices.His eyes move from me to Sharlene and back again then rest on our joined hands. His eyes twitch, that’s the only reaction from him.There are no signs of the girls from last night, he must have asked them to leave after Sharlene walked in. For that I was grateful, that way Sharlene would not be able to see the humiliation Jake is putting me through.With a final glance at Jake I let my hand slip from Sharlene’s and go to my room. They could stay there and do whatever it is that siblings do.As for me, I was going to treat this wedding like it was a real one because after everything that has happened, I had a feeling that I would never have the courage to get married again. Or at least for real.So I was going this one as much as I could and not even Jake was going to ruin it for me.Just before I shut my door I hear Jake and Sharlene talking, more like arguing because their voice
OLIVIAWe go to random stores after that. We buy jewelry and whatever it is that Sharlene deemed important for a wedding.She even gets us matching necklaces at some point with our initials at the back. I’m not sure how she convinced the jeweller to brand it on the spot but it worked.I would do whatever she asked if she threatened me the way she did the jeweller in her drunken state.Sharlene was right, alcohol brings out all the fun. I could get used to this.I wish Jess was with us, lord knows she could use some fun in her life especially with the entire marriage thing going on.I imagine the desperation she feels being tied down to someone forever. Mine was just going to last three months but it felt like an eternal cage. I had to go back and find a way to help her.“Hey! What are you thinking so much about?” Sharlene asks me as our cab pulls into the parking lot of a bustling bar.“My best friend, her parents are making her get married to someone she does not even know” I whine,