1.1 | When In Rome ✓

08 | truth

0 8

t r u t h

Olivia was still completely and utterly stunned by what she just read.

After crying her eyes out about how much Jackson planned everything out and then staring blankly at the wall, she reread the letter, again and again, trying to process why. What she couldn't understand is how he knew, and if he did know, why didn't he try to avoid it.

Suddenly, questions were filling her head, and she wondered just how much of the accident he knew about. So, the drunk driver wasn't drunk, Jackson wasn't as surprised by what happened, and he thought that she would live. How on earth did he know all of this?

So, Olivia called Anita, to ask if she knew anything. Anita picked up on the second ring.

"Hey, Olivia. What's going on in your pretty head today?" She asked jokingly, sounding kind of distracted.

"What are you working on?" Olivia asked, trying to ease Anita into the question.

"Well, for the France trip, it turns out that we have a whole exhibit to ourselves. And I'm trying to plan out what to take photos of for it, and what to draw, and how to organize it." Anita said, sounding absolutely ecstatic about it. Olivia was never an artist, so she never liked art, but Anita was.

"Is now not a good time?" Olivia asked, not wanting to disturb her friend any more than she was already.

"Oh no, it's all good. Ask away!" Anita said, already knowing that her best friend was curious about something.

"Do you know what happened before the car crash?" Olivia blurted out. "Like, did Jackson tell you anything about it?"

Anita didn't talk for a second, racking her brain. "No, not really. He was just acting more happy than usual like he was putting an effort into making it a good day. You might want to check with his parents."

Olivia's stomach sank at the thought of having to talk to the Richmonds. While they were his boyfriend's parents and the nicest people she'd ever met, she'd seen Jackson's father get mad. It wasn't pretty. And Olivia never wanted to be on the receiving end of that. But, she wanted to know what happened. She wanted the truth.

So, with shaky fingers, she dialed Marie Richmond's number and waited for her to pick up. Mrs. Richmond was like a second mother to her, and she loved her almost as much as her own mother.

"Hello, darling! How's Rome treating you?" Marie asked, trying to sound happy to talk to Olivia.

"Hi, Mrs. Marie! Rome's great so far. So, this might sound a bit weird, but did Jackson ever tell you about what was going to happen the night before the crash?" Olivia blurted out, asking her question in one breath. She wasn't pulling any punches.

Marie Richmond paused for a moment, but unlike Anita, she wasn't racking her brain for an answer. She had an answer. She just didn't know how to articulate it, and wasn't sure if her voice would work once she started talking.

"What do you know?" She asked, sounding sad, and almost close to tears.

"Well, I found this letter that Jackson wrote to me..." Olivia started, but, she could hear Mrs. Richmond's silent sobs on the other end.

"It's true," Marie said, her voice watery, thinking of her son. "Jackson decided to help a friend out of a bit of trouble. The people his friend was in trouble with were very bad people. And, Jackson crossed them. So, Jackson knew it was going to happen, but as long as his friend stayed safe, he was okay with it. We tried so hard to convince him to leave his friend to fend for himself, to save his own skin for once instead of being the bigger person. He said no. He refused to leave someone to fend for themselves if they were in trouble."

Olivia smiled sadly at the mention of her boyfriend's spirit. "That's the Jackson I know."

Marie smiled at the other end. "He made me promise that you'd get over it. He doesn't want you to be stuck on him, he wants you to move on and live your life. It should be in your letter. It was Jackson's last wish, Olivia. He really wanted you to be happy. Jackson loved you, and seeing you sad was the worst thing that could happen to him. So, just fulfill his last wish. Please? For him?"

Olivia's eyes brimmed with tears. "Of course."