𝐜𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 || 𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐨 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

CHAPTER 116 - compromise

a/n - please vote

2 days later
i poke at the rice as olivia talks. "so..." olivia starts, sighing after. this can't be good. "dan and i think that it's a good idea to spend every day at the studio," olivia says. "what? how could th- wouldn't that be draining?" i ask, knowing olivia spends more than twelve hours at the studio normally. "no, we just feel like we're at a good spot where we can use our creative minds to an advantage," olivia says. "let me guess, it's the one in new york," i assume. "it's actually not," olivia says, "just the one in la, like, an hour and a half away. plus i... he's already booked it for a few months... and a hotel." "so you kinda have no choice," i say. "i didn't- he surprised me with it," olivia explains, "it was recently renovated, and dan and i have been talking about it." "okay," i answer, "have fun." "don't be like this," olivia sighs. "like what?" i ask, "i'm saying to just 'have fun'." "your tone's so patronizing," olivia says. "yeah well, after, like, a year of you going back and forth from here to new york, i just... kinda thought that i'd have a few months with you. call me selfish, but at least i'm not lying," i say, staring at my food. 

olivia sighs, and i stand up. "i can... call it off, if that's what you want," olivia says. "don't do that," i say, "don't make me seem like the bad girlfriend here." "you aren't." "i feel like it," i say, "just go. i don't wanna hold you back." i pick up my plate, and olivia watches. "where are you going?" she asks. "i'm not hungry," i whisper, walking to the kitchen. "but you didn't touch your fo-" "i know, olivia," i cut her off, "trust me. i know."

i walk upstairs, hearing olivia's chair squeak. i close the bedroom door behind me, and i pace around the room, taking my ring on and off repeatedly. seconds later, the door opens. "y/n, talk to me," olivia says, "if you don't want me going, then i won't go. i'm not trying to make you seem like the bad girlfriend, because you're not. i'm just trying to compromise." "olivia, i already told you that i'm not gonna hold you back from your career, and that's exactly what i'd do if i made you stay back here," i say, "please, just go. i'd feel so guilty if you don't go. it'll make us both feel better."

11pm
olivia and i lay in bed, a bit of distance between us as we both scroll on our phones, just the bedside lamp on. i sigh, the silence between us getting louder by the second. i sit up, getting out of bed.

i put on my suit, pulling my mask on. i walk out of the wardrobe, moving my eyes to olivia without moving my head, continuing to walk. i see her look up from my phone, watching me. she swallows, looking back down.

i take my headphones from the desk, putting them on and walking out to the balcony.

olivia's pov
as soon as y/n jumps off the balcony, i let out a huge groan, facetiming iris. "hey," iris smiles. "hey," i say, "i feel like y/n and i are gonna break up... that she's gonna break up with me." "what?!" iris yells. "i told her about the studio thing dan and i were doing, and she wasn't particularly happy," i say. "what? why?!" "she said that she thought that she had more than a few months with me since i came back from new york," i say, "she said she wanted me to go, and she'd be a bad girlfriend if she made me not go. i know she doesn't want me to go, but dan spent a lot of money on it, and i don't think you can get refunds for reservations." "i get where y/n's coming from," iris says, "what happened then?" "we were laying in bed, both on our own pillows. we both just scrolled on tiktok for what seemed like forever, then y/n got up and put on her suit and went for a swing without saying anything." "did you say something?" iris asks. "nope." "wait, so you're going to the studio?" "i kinda have to," olivia says, "and i'd have to stay for long periods a day, because it's kind of far away. i don't wanna drive there just to spend, like, two hours there or else there's no point."

iris and i spend the next hour talking about it, before i see y/n land back on the balcony. "um, i gotta go, iris," i say, "she's back." "okay," iris says, "see you. good luck!"

y/n walks in, and i watch her pull off her mask, taking a sigh as she walks past the bed. even if it was weird between us, there's no denying how hot y/n was in her suit. 

i look at y/n's knuckles on the hand that was resting on the bed as she held her phone with the other hand. her knuckles were red, with a hint of purple. i reach over and pick up her hand that was on the bed, bringing it closer to my face. i feel my thumb over her knuckles, and she pulls her hand away. i let out an exhale from my nose, picking up my phone again. 

y/n reaches over and turns the bedside lamp off, leaving the room almost in pitch black. i hear y/n shuffles, and i point my phone at her, using the brightness of the tiktok to see her back towards me. this is going terrible.

what do i even say to her? do i even say anything? what do i do? do i cuddle her? do i face my back to her too? how do i even sleep?

i turn my phone off, adjusting the way i was laying. i take a deep breath, moving towards y/n. i put my hand over her waist, silently begging for her to touch me back.

after a few seconds, y/n's hand moves. my heart drops as i get the thought of her moving my hand away as she touches my hand. i smile as she makes my hand go under her shirt, on her stomach. y/n leaves her hand on top of mine. i whisper softly, "i love you." y/n whispers back, "i love you."

y/n's alarm rings, waking me up, but i keep my eyes closed. she gently takes my hand off her stomach, and gets off the bed, the bed already feeling empty. 

as she's done for the last four years that we've lived together, she re-tucks the bed, making sure the blanket was securely and comfortingly around me every time she had to get up early for work.

she spends an hour getting ready, and i hear her walking over to me. i pray for the usual two kisses on the forehead, still keeping my eyes closed. i feel y/n's lips on my forehead, and even though i was trying to pretend to sleep, i couldn't help but smile. she takes her lip off, then pressing them on my forehead again.

i hear a soft chuckle come out of y/n's nose, and i open my eyes. she smiles softly at me, and i keep a smile on my face, my hands going to y/n's jaw. i pull her closer, pressing my lips against hers.

y/n's pov
olivia had been going to the studio a lot these past three weeks, the only time for us available being late at night, or if i was lucky, olivia would come back just in time for dinner. sometimes, olivia would spend the night at the studio, so she brought a suitcase with her. i couldn't be mad at her, it's a hard decision on her part, too. 

a week later , valentines day , 2pm
i hold the bouquet of roses in my hand, smiling at them. 

11:31pm
i keep my phone to my ear, hearing the ringing sounds as i wait for olivia to answer the call on her end. "hey," i smile as she picks up. "hey!" she exclaims. "are you coming home anytime soon?" i ask. "oh, i'm kinda staying at jake's house," olivia says, "remember him?" my heart drops. "yeah."

"no- not like that," olivia says, "it's just really late for me to drive back and he didn't want me driving back. don't worry! he chose to sleep on the couch. it's separate." "oh," i say, "alright." "why?" olivia asks. did she lose track of the date?

i stare at the flowers, along with olivia's presents. "don't worry about it," i say. "have you eaten today?" olivia asks. "a little," i say. "that's good," olivia says. i feel a little disappointed as she didn't ask what i ate, but i can't be picky. a minute goes by without any of us talking. "olivia... we've barely had a full conversation. like, i don't even know what's happening in your life right now." "i- i know," olivia says, "i'm trying." "are you? you... i don't know if you've noticed, but every time you're at the studio, i'm the one to text you first, or i'm the one who calls you," i say. "i'm sorry," olivia says. "listen... you know i love you, right?" "i know," olivia whispers. "i feel like the best thing right now is to focus on ourselves. not like a breakup, but just... a time where we focus on ourselves, but still be together, maybe. i don't know," i say, "i know you need to focus on yourself and your career, and so do i." "i... okay. yeah," olivia says, "i understand. so... not a breakup?" "no," i say, "wait- unless you want to break up." "no! no," olivia quickly says, "i don't." "this'll be okay," i say, "there's nothing personal to it. promise. it's just hard to be there for someone else when you haven't focused on yourself." "yeah, i know," olivia says. "yeah," i whisper. we go into another wave of silence.

i look away from the roses. "okay," olivia whispers, "i think i'm gonna go now." "yeah. me too," i say. "bye, y/n," olivia says. "yeah. bye. happy... valentine's day."