HURT FOR ME

Chapter Four - Fear

"Fear is excitement without breath."

‒ Robert Heller

Olivia Bennett

The sound of the door swinging open frightens me out of my sleep and I jump from the bed to find my mother standing in the doorway.

"Jesus, momma!" I exclaim. "A warning or a knock would be nice next time." I put my hand over my chest, trying to catch my breath.

"Why are you still in bed?" She raises an eyebrow at me and crosses her arms over her chest waiting for a response.

I glance at the loud ticking clock on the wall, "Maybe because it's only 8:00 A.M."

"You're finally getting out of this place, sweetie. You should be excited." I let out a sigh of relief and sit down on the edge of the bed.

"I am excited," I run a hand over my face. "I've wanted to go home since I got here." Her cheery expression drops as the words leave my mouth. "What's wrong?" I question.

She takes a seat next to me glancing at her hands which are held together in her lap. I could tell something was wrong but she was taking far too long to spit it out.

"Tell me." I rushed.

"Hon, we gave up the apartment," Her words hit me like a boulder. I felt like I had just been slammed to the ground and I don't think I was ever going to get up again.

How could they sell my apartment? What about all of my stuff? My books, my clothes, everything. Surely they didn't spend any of their precious time putting it into storage, they'd never be that considerate to me.

I stood from the bed, pacing back and forth. "What about all of my stuff?"

She couldn't even look at me. Her head just shook as she stared at her lap.

"Are you kidding me?!" I shouted. Her eyes snapped to mine and she stood up from the bed far more quickly than I did.

She waved an authoritative finger in my face, "What did you want us to do, Olivia?"

"Not sell my place with my belongings." I scoffed.

"Do you think it was cheap?" Her tone was much more serious now.

I rested my hand on my forehead, trying to find my calmness before this turned into something stormy. A few breaths and that serenity was restored.

"It's okay," I tried my best to be understanding. "Don't worry about it."

"I wasn't apologizing." Her lips were pursed as she stared at me.

Fucking bitch.

I swallowed and closed my eyes, thinking before I responded, "Please leave." I said coolly.

She grabbed her purse from the bed and her jacket from the hook beside the door before swiftly exiting the room, closing it behind her. She didn't care to be here. She just needed to make sure she dropped this news on me so I couldn't blame them for the reason I'm homeless.

My legs began to cave as I sank to the floor, dropping my head to my knees. The tears that were building behind my eyes were streaming down my cheeks now and there was no stopping them. It was as though someone opened the floodgates and my eyelids were a dam waiting to be destroyed and washed away. Somehow, allowing these tears to fall brought me more comfort than anything else has this past week.

After a few minutes, I began to wipe away the wetness from my eyes, patting the knuckles of my fingers in the corners. What was I going to do? I had nowhere to go. No home. Everything was beginning to feel utterly hopeless.

A couple more quiet sobs escaped me before I pulled myself off the floor, trying to retrieve my confidence. I didn't need her or my father's pity money, not that they were offering it to me but that was beside the point.

As I recollected myself, my eyes landed on the iPhone box and piece of paper Aaron left before leaving last night. He told me I had until tonight to make a decision otherwise his offer was no longer good. If I observed anything other than his entrancing looks the night before, it was that he was quite the impatient man.

I gently opened the box, displaying a white phone. Just by a quick glimpse, I could see it was much more upgraded than the one I had before I was put into a two-year coma. I flipped it around and held the power button, turning it on. I was glad to see it had already been set up and Aaron's number was already programmed into it.

The little piece of paper was crinkled in my hand, I hadn't noticed I was fidgeting with it but when I restored it, the writing had been smudged. The ink was smeared against the palm of my hand but the words were still legible.

Call me if you decide to change your mind.

I felt uncomfortably intimidated by those words. Although I was just face-to-face with him last night, calling him felt plenty more frightening. I tapped my foot against the cold tile as I debated on calling or texting. I settled on texting.

▸ I got your note.

Three grey bubbles popped up for a moment.

▹ What did you decide?

I bit my lip as I thought of my two choices. I could block his number and keep the cell phone, I'm sure he wouldn't mind. Or I could take this opportunity to get my life back on track. After all, I had nowhere to go and no one to go to, maybe he was meant to be my savior.

▸I'll sign the paper.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying to remind myself my plan was well thought out.

▹I told you to call, Olivia.

Once more, three grey bubbles popped up but disappeared after.

▸ And I texted, so what?

▹So, I wanted to hear that pretty voice again.

My heart skipped a beat when I read his message. He wanted to hear my voice? My pretty voice. My finger lingered over the call button for a few seconds but I shook my head, saving myself the embarrassment. What would I even say when he picked up? 'Oh hi Aaron, here's the pretty voice you wanted to hear. What's up?' I cringed at the thought.

▹ Hello?

Scratch what I said earlier, he was the most impatient man in the world.

▸ When will I need to sign the marriage certificate?

▹Now.

I felt my breath catch in my throat as his text popped up. More bubbles and another message.

▹And Olivia?

I swallowed and began typing.

▸Yes Aaron?

The air was smothered in anticipation as I waited for another ding.

▹Don't fucking ignore my message again.

I could no longer breathe reading that message. I was equal parts afraid and excited about what he'd do when he walked through that door. I wasn't sure if I wanted to find out what he did when a girl ignored his message but I was certain it was exhilarating being under the hand of consequences by Aaron Adair.