Drunk in Love 2: An Original Love Story (3 page)

“You heard me.” Olivia responded, taking in a deep breath as she fanned her face with her hand.

The news hit Zoe like a bolt of lightning. She was definitely surprised. “MARK SLEPT WITH FELISHA???!!” She was beyond shocked. Olivia cried just hearing it again. “How did that happen? Sis, calm down.” She said, hearing the heartache in her voice.

“It doesn’t matter how it happened. It happened,” Olivia responded, with a disappointed shake of her head.

“Damn, that’s fucked up.” Zoe commented. She didn’t know what to make out of that situation. It was the last thing she expected to call and hear. “Well, where are you headed in this condition? You know you don’t need to be driving.”

“I’m headed to the airport.” Olivia said, and then blew her nose on a Kleenex.

“Where are you going? Do you even know?” Zoe asked.

“I-I don’t kno-ow.” She continued to cry.

“You need to get it together. I’m way in Atlanta so I can’t get to you, but you need to compose yourself so you can get to where you need to go.” Olivia was quiet, trying to regain her composure as she wiped her eyes, followed by more tears, then she’d wipe them again. “Sis, where are you trying to go?” Zoe asked again. Being unable to physically reach out while hearing her sister cry was making her feel even worse.

“Out of the country,” she said. “I ne-ed time to—”

Zoe cut in. “Don’t worry, I got this.” She assured her. “Get yourself together and I’ll make reservations for you to get out of the country. I think you need about two weeks to clear your mind. Don’t go making any hasty decisions. If Mom didn’t teach us anything else, she definitely wanted us to take heed to that one.”

“I know,” Olivia said between sniffs.

“We’ll talk more about this when you calm down. Right now, you need to dry your eyes so you can make it to the airport. I’ll have your reservations already set. I’m not sure where at yet, but I’ll know once I start looking at the flight times. Now hang up, say a prayer, wipe those tears, and make your way SAFELY to the airport.”

“Okay.” Olivia said. “And, Zoe—”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell Mom or Dad.”

“Please don’t, because I also burned down the ho-use.” She said then thought back, “With Ma-rk still in it.”

Zoe gasped for air. “YOU DID WHAT?” She quickly asked. The situation had definitely taken a life of its own. “Did he get out? Is he okay? IS THE MAN DEAD?!” She asked just as her phone beeped.

“I don’t kn-ow. He was in the shower.”

“In the shower? Lord, help this poor child,” Zoe said, shaking her head as she looked at her Caller ID, but she didn’t recognize the number. “My God, Sis. The man could be dead.” She said in a serious tone as the phone beeped a second time. “Hold on.”

__________

“Hello,” Zoe answered, feeling frustrated since she didn’t want to put her sister on hold.

“Zoe, this is Mark.” He said calling from a neighbor’s cell phone. “You heard from your sister?”

The bastard is still living.
Zoe thought with a roll of the eyes, but feeling relieved at the same time. “Nope, why?” she asked. “Is everything okay?”

“Oh, I was just asking. She had left the house and hadn’t said anything. So, I was just making sure that she was okay.” He partially told the truth.

“Why haven’t you called her phone and is this your new number or something?” Zoe asked with a jerk of the neck, just waiting for his reply.

“Uh, I lost my phone this morning and her phone is going to voicemail.” He lied. He hadn’t even attempted to call Olivia, because he didn’t know what kind of state of mind she was in after trying to kill him.

“Oh well, I haven’t heard from her, but if I do before you I’ll tell her that you’re looking for her.” Zoe said with a frown. Even saying that to him sounded funny to her.

“Okay,” Mark said, and then ended their call.

__________

Zoe clicked back over to her sister. “You still there?”

“Yeah,” Olivia responded.

“Well, that was Mark.” She informed her.

“Hm… He lived.” Olivia said like she was disappointed, but she really wasn’t trying to kill him. She knew that he would jump his ass out of that bathroom window first before he’d burn to death.

“He’s worried about you,” Zoe said.

“Let him worry.” Olivia commented.

Zoe sat quiet for a moment. “I feel you, cheating bastard.” She chimed in. “Get it together and I’m about to make your reservations now. Call me before you take off.”

“I will and thanks.”

“That’s what sisters are for. Love you and be careful.”

“Okaaay,” Olivia said. “Love you too.”

__________

Thirty-minutes later, Olivia was walking inside of the Airport. She’d sat in her car a good ten minutes just waiting for the rain to ease up. Once inside the airport she headed over to the Ticket Counter Check-in desk and provided the nice woman with her name, passport, and identification.

“I have a flight out that my sister should’ve booked for me not long ago. I don’t even know where just yet.” Olivia said, in between sniffs. She was feeling antsy and ready to leave Georgia.

The customer agent looked at her sadly. She didn’t know exactly what it was, but something clearly had broken this woman’s heart. She looked at Olivia’s ID. “Olivia Johnson?”

“That’s me,” she said with a slight smile on her face. “Where is my destination going to be?”

“It seems you’re headed to Montego Bay, Jamaica.”

Olivia smiled, but she wasn’t really happy. “Montego Bay,” she repeated. “Only Zoe. Okay, when does my flight leave?”

“Your flight leaves in twenty-minutes. It will take you to the Hartsfield - Jackson Airport in Atlanta. There will be about a two and a half hour layover, and then from Hartsfield you’ll go straight to Montego Bay. There, you will be taking a dragon boat that will transport you to the Sandals Royal Caribbean and Private Islands resort.” Olivia just simply smiled. She didn’t expect her sister to send her somewhere so expensive being that she was going alone and under such crazy circumstances. “Your sister must really love you.” The woman said with a smile.

“Yeah, I guess she does.” Olivia said as the woman handed her a ticket, along with a pamphlet and her identification information back. 

“Thanks,” Olivia said. She walked over to an empty seat to sit down for a few minutes to clear her mind before boarding her flight. So much had taken place in so little time. She’d just been with Zay the prior night at a crazy ass
Mask Your Pleasures
Party, only to break things off with him earlier that morning to be with her husband. Strange turn of events occurred leading her to find out that Zay was fucking around with her receptionist, Patrice and according to her they were in a blooming relationship. She didn’t know what to think, but with Patrice and Felisha being cousins it was no telling what was going on.

Olivia shook her head with a long drawn out sigh. “This shit is unreal.” She said, thinking that she wasn’t the only one being sneaky in her affairs. Her husband had something extra going on and so did Zay. She was planning on leaving one for the other, only to have her thoughts going back and forth between the two. “Hell, I don’t see where I can be with neither one of them now.” She said, just above a whisper as her phone buzzed in her hand. She looked down at it to see a text message from Mark.

Baby, this is your husband. Please, call me back on this number. We need to talk.

Olivia took in a deep breath as her body miserably slouched down in the seat. She looked around the small, quaint airport. It was quiet and the people coming in or out were making their way to where they were going. Another message came through.

Did you really try to kill me or were you just trying to scare me?

Olivia nodded her head with disgust. “Will he just leave me alone, already?” She whispered. ‘I got something for this.” She pressed the power button, but before the phone could shut off, another message came through from
Kandi
.

The phone shut off.

Damn,
she immediately thought. Her stomach was feeling uneasy as she sat there knowing that Kandi was the name Zay’s number was saved under. Just seeing it appear in her phone always caused her heart to flutter.
Do I even want to know what he has to say?
She pondered as her thoughts reflected to his strong arms being wrapped around her, giving her that comfort that she needed.

She hesitated, going back and forth with herself about not turning the phone back on. “Fuck it,” she whispered, and then quickly hit the power button on the phone. Her anxious finger tapped lightly on the screen of her IPhone awaiting the moment to open the message from Kandi. No sooner than she could open it, she read…

Whatever that crazy girl told you was a lie. Well, I did sleep with her, but it’s not what you think. Please, call me back. Hear me out, baby.

Olivia took in a deep breath then let it out.
So, he did sleep with her,
she thought with a disappointed shake of the head. “Zay, I don’t need this right now.” She whispered, and then looked around to make sure that no one was looking at her with thoughts that she was crazy. She contemplated sending him a text message back then went against it as another message came through.

Quit ignoring me, call me back. I was willing to fight for you. That should tell you that I don’t want anybody else and I’ll still fight for you. Just let me in.

“Zay PLEEEEEASE,” she mumbled through gritted teeth. “He’d definitely hurt her and she felt just as betrayed, but Mark had certainly pulled an unbelievable stunt that had left her way past speechless. Even if she wanted to respond, she couldn’t. There were no words that she could say to anybody except her sister Zoe and so she quickly decided to call her. 

“Hey Sis,” Olivia spoke.

“Hey Sis, so you’re good?” Zoe asked, feeling relieved to hear from her.

“I’m getting ready to board my flight in less than ten minutes. I appreciate the trip to Montego Bay. The more I think about it the more I feel that this should be good for me. I need this getaway to clear my thoughts and figure out these feelings for my husband and Zay.”

“Well, just know that it’s an early Christmas gift, because that trip wasn’t cheap.”

“You got me staying on a Private Island Resort,” Olivia said with a faint smile. “I already know and I owe you big time.” 

“You just need to unwind and relax. You have a lot on your plate right now. You don’t need to talk to anybody for the next few days. You may say or do something that you’ll regret. You need time to yourself.”

“I believe you,” Olivia said, starting to tear up again. She looked at her phone as it beeped. It was Zay calling. She ignored it. “I’m just so stressed right now.”

“That’s why you need this time alone to think things through.”

Olivia looked at her phone again as another beep was heard. It was Mark calling from the same number he’d messaged her from. She shook her head. If it wasn’t one, it was the other. “You’re right. I need this time alone to fully think about my life and what direction I want it to go in.” She stood up and grabbed her duffle bag and her Coach purse since she was taking them on the flight with her. “Sis, I know mom is going to have questions, but don’t tell them anything.”

“They need to know that you’re okay.”

“I know, so tell them that I’m okay. Nothing else big mouth,” Olivia said.

“I won’t,” Zoe responded with a playful roll of the eyes.

“Oh and I’m trashing this phone.”

“What?” Zoe asked with a frown.

“I’m tossing the phone and I’ll get another one when I get in Atlanta. Think it’s time I get a new number,” she said. “I’ll also need you to do me a favor.” Olivia added.

“Since I’ll be gone, please call Brittany for me to hold down the salon. I’ll call her when I touchdown and get settled. Just let her know that I’ll be gone on a personal leave.” She said, speaking of her Assistant Manager and lead hairstylist at the salon.”

“Okay, I got you.” Zoe responded.

“Thanks and I’ll hit you up with my new contact info.”

“Okay, and be careful.” Zoe said. “I love you.”

“Love you, too.” Olivia said as she headed toward her flight that was now boarding. Once ending her call with Zoe, she quickly wiped out her information, and then tossed the phone in the garbage as she passed it. She looked back only once to see that she was now leaving Augusta and she wasn’t coming back until she was good and ready.

Chapter 3

Mark had been staying in the Double Tree Hotel. After being interrogated by the local detectives and the Chief of the Fire Department, he needed some rest. He was worn out and stressed to the max. The only thing that brought him some comfort was the fact that they had an accidental Fire Insurance policy on the house, and that saved him from having to come out of the pocket with more unnecessary expenses. Olivia had certainly left him in a bind and he had to do whatever he could to make sure that she would never be implicated in that crazy shit. He was the reason why she’d snapped and he had to deal with it even if it meant taking the blame for everything.

He rolled over in the bed, feeling exhausted, hurt, and lonely. His woman was gone, and he hadn’t heard anything from her since the day she left. It had been four days and he was starting to look like a lost puppy. He’d been calling his wife for the past three days straight, every hour on the hour, but the phone would only go straight to voicemail. He had no clue where she was and Zoe wasn’t telling it. He’d thought about calling her parents, but he didn’t want to hear any grief. He knew that they’d seen their house on the daily news as it burned down to the ground. In a way, he was glad he didn’t have his phone, so he had an excuse to get a new number. He wanted to know where Olivia was, but he wasn’t about to find out from her parents, either.

Their salon was being run by Brittany, and she seemed clueless, so Mark did too. He pretended that Olivia needed a relaxing vacation alone since she’d had so much on her plate. That’s all Brittany got from him, but she stepped up and did what she was supposed to do until Olivia returned.