19: While Happiness Lasts

“Are you sure it’s safe?”

The sun was still brightly shining from above which meant that it was not exactly a good idea to do anything illegal—unless one is brave enough to do it with the ability to not get caught or with the intention to get caught.

Olivia had no idea what they were going to do when the Spade siblings pulled them out of the ice cream parlor as soon as they were done eating their ice cream to hang out. She literally did not expect stealing a car to be a part of their hanging out.

“Everything we do is safe as long as we don’t murder a person.” Leo tittered as he casually leaned on the car with his arms crossed across his chest, not making it obvious that he was actually hiding her sister from picking the car door lock.

“Don’t worry. If we get caught, we run.” Dakota placed her arm around Olivia’s shoulders as she gave her a smile of reassurance.

“But what if—”

“And it is time to go.”

The blonde turned to Lia who stood back up properly and flashed a proud smile on her face while opening the door to the driver’s seat. She was surprised at how quick the raven was in picking the lock with just the use of bobby pins. Though she had to snap back to reality when they quickly got in the car without wasting a second with her girlfriend pulling her in the backseat.

“I know you’re always impressed of me, Olivia. But gotta move quick to not get caught, you know?” Lia spoke as she started to take the cords and connecting them, causing sparks.

She did it a few times until the engine started running, which made them cheer in joy. Lia then turned to them with a grin on her face as she started to drive the car.

“All right. I guess I can’t deny that I am impressed,” Olivia said as she let out a chuckle.

“I know.”

“Damn. My man really got a breakdown. I kinda feel bad for stealing his car now,” Leo said as he stared at the side-view mirror.

While they were already heading far away from the parking lot, the owner of the car had just left the supermarket. And he did have a breakdown, falling down on his knees with his groceries, as he watched his car slowly disappear from his sight. The man did not even try to chase it.

“We can return it on the parking lot when we come back home,” Lia said.

They laughed.

“So, where are we going?” Dakota asked as she leaned forward.

“Wherever this car takes us.” Leo turned around just to give her a wink.

“As long as you don’t drive us off a cliff.” Dakota leaned back as she looked at the blonde.

She gave her a smile in which the latter followed.

Leo turned the car stereo on as he switched through different radio channels until he stopped at a channel that was playing a pop song that everyone must know in that year.

“And now, old’s not young!” Leo sang in a high voice, trying to reach the high note—only to end up cracking his voice, which also cracked them up.

“We will set the house on fire, again and again!” Lia joined.

Dakota turned to her girlfriend and saw her laughing, which made her feel relieved that she seemed to be feeling better. Olivia did not look gloomy unlike earlier, and Dakota was glad that Lia and Leo decided to come and help her in making the blonde feel better even without knowing the reason why she was sad.

“And let’s burn the world on fire, keeping on!” Dakota sang along while looking at the blonde with a grin on her face.

Olivia turned to her with a surprised look at her face. She did not expect Dakota to actually join them knowing that she was always the calm type. She then continued to sing along with Leo and Lia, making Olivia shake her head in disbelief.

“On fire, on fire!” the blonde sang from the top of her lungs, joining them.

The car was loud with their voices being mostly heard over the music from the car stereo though they did not care. That was the point. They did not care about anything else as they just wanted to have fun.

***

Eggsea. It may sound funny but there really was a city with that name. It was a city known for having plenty of beaches, so people who love the water would prefer to live there over any other city. Not even Flyve City.

“Wow. The beach is really nice here,” Leo said in awe as he looked around the place.

“It’s also your first time to be in this city, right Dakota?” Lia asked.

“Yeah.” Dakota turned to the blonde. “How about you?”

“My first time too,” Olivia lied. It was her sixth time to be in that city.

“Well, what are you girls doing? Let’s go have some fun!” Leo excitedly shouted as he took his shoes off and ran across the sand toward the sea.

Dakota grabbed Olivia’s hand as she smiled at her before following their friends to the sea.

Leo and Lia went straight to the water, not caring even though their pants were getting wet from it. Like they went from 17 to 7, the siblings played with each other on the water while laughing at the other getting hit with water on the face.

The other two duo stopped running before they touched the water when the blonde suddenly slowed down, which made the other look at her with a questioning look which was quickly replaced to a concerned one.

“Hey. You okay? We can just stay away from the water if you don’t want to,” Dakota softly spoke as she caressed her hand with her thumb.

Olivia was actually just worried about her clothes getting wet since she hated being in drenched clothes. She was not comfortable being half naked in a public beach where strangers were around. Plus, her bandaged wound was on her forearm so it would be a bad idea to have it wet. It was a good thing that she was wearing a sweater so they did not have to see it.

When she turned to her girlfriend, the blonde took a deep breath and exhaled as she came up with a decision. “No, it’s fine. Let’s go.”

The smile returned on her girlfriend’s face as she gave her a soft squeeze on her hand before they started to run again toward the sea. Her fresh wound could get wet, and the blonde could not care less at that moment. She needed to unwind for a while after everything that just happened.

The four of them played on the water, splashing on each other as they temporarily forgot about the miseries that the world caused them. Even though they do not tell every specific detail about their lives to each other, they all knew that they were wretched, lost kids in this cruel world.

Time flew quickly as the sun was later already beginning to descend. The people on the beach slowly disappeared, leaving almost only the four them.

From the exhaustion of playing for an hour, the four of them relaxed on the sand without caring about the sand getting on their clothes. They sat on the sand next to each other, watching the sunset together. It was a healing moment for all of them.

“Today was fun.” Leo let out a long sigh of satisfaction while feeling the cold breeze.

“It has only been two hours since we’ve been hanging out but okay,” Lia jested.

The other two girls laughed at the response of his sister.

“So…” Dakota uttered, making the three of them turn to her. “Woah. Why are you all staring at me like that?”

“What do you mean? It’s just polite to look at the person who’s talking.” Olivia chuckled.

“All right, all right.” Dakota grinned while shaking her head before grabbing her hand and turning to the siblings. “Olivia and I are officially dating.”

Lia and Leo looked at each other before looking back at them without displaying any reaction on their faces. Dakota raised her eyebrows, wanting a reaction from them, so Leo immediately flashed a bright grin on his face and started to clap. He definitely should never try acting in his life.

“What’s with that reaction?” the blonde asked in shock.

“I mean, it’s like telling the color of an orange is orange,” Lia replied and shook her head. “What I’m saying is anyone can tell that you two are dating by the way you smile at each other and hold each other’s hand in every chance you get.”

Dakota had her mouth ajar in surprise before a wave of embarrassment came to her as she looked back at the sun setting in front of them. She could not believe she had been letting her guard for the whole time without noticing it.

“It’s fine. We’re happy that you two found happiness in each other.” Leo gave them a grin. “When you two become billionaires, don’t forget to make us your persons of honor on your wedding.”

“No problem.” Dakota gave him a wink and turned to the blonde. “Right?”

Olivia stared at her for a second before smiling as she nodded.

“Right.”

***

“How are your parents?”

It had been more than two hours since Olivia left the mansion. The man that made her run away stood in front of the arch window with a glass of whiskey in his hand. With how he never smiles, it looked like he was glaring at the garden outside the mansion.

“They’re fine, Mr. Jean,” replied the brunet.

“That’s nice.” Anton took a sip on his drink. It was silent for a moment before he continued, “You like Olivia, yes?”

“S-Sir?”

“I know you do. So, I have a job for you.” The older man turned around as he looked at the brunet with a serious face.

“W-What is it, Mr. Jean?”

“Watch her at all times. I don’t care even if that makes you a stalker. Follow her wherever she goes and report it to me,” he said. “Do it if you do like her.”

The brunet became silent, feeling surprised, though he quickly recovered out of pressure from the cold stare by the older man. He then replied, “Yes, Mr. Jean.”

“Good.” Anton turned back to the window and took a sip on his drink. He continued,

“You may go now, Theodore.”