The Rules They Broke

Chapter 13: Closet Confessions

OLIVIA

Olivia opened her mouth to shriek at the top of her lungs but a warm hand clamped down on her face. "It's just me," someone whispered, standing so close in the cramped closet that he was holding her flat against the wall. "Stay still."

Olivia recognized him. "Milo?" she breathed in his ear.

"Shh."

They stood still in the suffocating darkness, knees and wrists knocking together. There was a huge commotion outside as both men began yelling at each other, their voices slightly muffled and their words lost between the heavy metal door and the janitor's closet. Milo felt for Olivia's hand in the dark and gently held her fingers in his. Olivia squeezed his fingers back.

After a lot of curtain pulling and door slamming and loud cursing, the sound of heavy shoes faded away in the opposite direction.

Olivia pulled away from Milo as much as she could in the small space between the walls. She pulled her phone out and turned on her flashlight. The glow blinded her momentarily before she could see Milo, blinking in the harsh light.

"Milo, what are you doing here?"

He frowned at her like it was obvious, like she should have known. "What do you mean, what am I doing here? You ran out so fast I got really worried. And then when I saw those two guys, I couldn't just wait there!"

She raised her eyebrows. "And you got past them?"

Milo shook his head. "Not when they were in here. I snuck in here when they went to the boys' bathroom."

"But how? This door was locked when I came in here."

"Well..." Milo let out a sheepish laugh. "I didn't always live in district 57, with all its nice houses and flowerbeds and shit. I've lived in plenty of bad neighborhoods."

"Yeah," Olivia agreed, all the things he had left unsaid gently ringing in herself. She could feel the enormity behind his words despite the casualness with which he said them. She, too, knew the pain of trying to put it behind. "Me too."

Olivia turned off the flashlight, and they stood in silence. Olivia thought about her mom, who had grown up the daughter of a rich couple, but who had given everything away for love. Her parents hadn't approved of her fiance, and had cut off all ties long ago. Carrie was forced to move into an impoverished neighborhood after their divorce. By the time she warmed up to the idea of reconciliation, partly because of her divorce, her parents had passed away.

Eventually, Milo shifted his leg a bit, breaking their solemn reverie, and said, "So do you know who those guys were?"

Olivia shook her head. Truthfully, she didn't know who they were. She knew they were bad, and she knew it had something to do with dirty cops, but she had no idea as to their identities.

"Do you know why they're out to get you?"

Because they killed my mom.

Suddenly, there in the dark, it hit her that she would never see her mother's face again. She would never tell her about anything ever again. She wouldn't talk to her about colleges, or boys, or what she wanted to do in life. She had never even thanked her for saving her life that night.

A tear dripped down her cheek. And another, and another, until she had to reach up and wipe them away.

"Olivia? Hey, are you crying?"

"No," she said tearfully, wiping her nose on her shirt in vain.

She felt Milo's warm hand clumsily brush up against her cheek. As he figured out where her face was, his movements became a little more precise. He brushed away the tears slowly, despite the fact that there was no stopping them.