Changing Him

Chapter 9

"What are you doing out here?" He put his hands in his sweatpants pockets.

"I needed fresh air." I was growing sleepy and I didn't have the energy to argue.

"Do you mind if I.." He pointed to the floor next to me.

Everyone bone in my body was telling me to say no but I did the opposite. "Sure."

Marcus sat down next to me, stretching his legs out in the empty hallway.

SWITCH TO MARCUS POV
Sitting down next to her, there was an awkward silence for a couple minutes. I spent the past two weeks trying to rebuild my guard around her, and I believe it worked. Something about Olivia made my guard easy to drop. Weirdly, I felt at ease around her. Did I have a soft spot for her? No.

SWITCH BACK TO OLIVIA POV
"Are you-" "Do you-" We both interrupted eachother, chuckling.

"You go first." He signaled for me to speak.

"Why are you out here?" My eyes started to weigh down as I felt myself becoming sleepier.

"Couldn't sleep." He let out a little laugh before scratching the back of his neck.

"Mhm." I rubbed my eyes.

"Can I ask my question now?" He turned to face me.

"I guess it's only fair." Shrugging my shoulders.

"Are you okay?" After he asked me, I could tell he regretted it.

I was taken aback by his question, wondering why in the world he would ask.

"What?" I turned my body slightly towards him.

"Like...are you okay? I don't know. You just look tired all the time and you barely eat. I know it's probably personal but-" He started to look around to avoid eye contact.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I cut him off. I could feel my eyes start to water. At this point in time, he seemed like the only person to care enough. Care enough to notice I wasn't doing okay. I placed my hands on my head, trying to cover my eyes from Marcus.

"You sure?" He moved his head lower, trying to see my eyes.

I felt a tear drop fall down my face as I stayed silent.
"Olivia...?" The way my name rolled off of Marcus' tongue made my heart flutter. I hated that he made me feel like this. To him, I was just another one of those toys. I hated how he had power over me, knowing I had none over him.

I could tell he wasn't good at comforting people. He moved my hands from my face to reveal my tears. He sat and stared, saying nothing. I felt my head start to slant, moving towards his shoulder. Soon enough, my head had made contact with his shoulder. I left it there as tear swelled out from my eyes. He awkwardly patted my head, making it obvious he's never done this before. To my surprise, he didn't move me off.

We sat in silence as the last tear left my eye. I lifted my head from his shoulder, noticing his t-shirt was covered in tears. "I'm so sorry." I started to brush his shoulder, hoping to fix it.

"It's fine." He shot me a weak smile. Was he mad that I leaned on him? I knew I shouldn't have.

I sniffed, rubbing my nose with my hand. "Can I ask you something?"

"I guess." Marcus started with the cold tone again, knowing he was nervous for what I was about to say.

"Why did you start to ignore me after the dinner?" The tears on my face had dried.

He groaned, pushing his hands against the floor, standing up. "I'm getting pretty tired." He started to walk towards his hotel door.

"Oh, god." I muttered to myself.

"What?" Marcus turned around.

"That's your answer? I'm pretty tired?" I mocked him.

"What do you want me to say?" He scoffed.

"The truth. Why did you ignore me?" I started to raise my voice, quickly lowering it.

He stayed silent for a few seconds before answering. "I just didn't want you to get the wrong idea, ok?" He opened the door to his room, slowly shutting it behind him before I could speak.

Another tear fell from my cheek as I stood up and walked back into my hotel room. Laying down on the bed, I pulled the covers back over me.

SWITCH TO MARCUS POV
I shut the hotel door, leaning my back on it, sighing. I could tell she was hurt after that. I didn't want to say it, but I desperately needed to stop myself from becoming attached. It's like she had a hold over me already. I had to do what I do best. When I get back home, I have to sleep with someone.