Olivia (48 page)

“
Hi,” I say back to him.

“
I have something for you. Wait
here.”

“
I’m not going anywhere,” I assure
him. He goes over to his messenger bag and pulls out a
cream-colored t-shirt.

“
Now, this will only be good for a
week, but I thought you might like it.”

“
How can a t-shirt only be good for
a week? Is it biode... dis... biodisposable?” I know that’s not
right, but I can’t think of the word.

He holds it up to his chest so I can read it,
laughing at my new word.

Someone in Utah loves me.

“
Awww,” I say, taking it in my left
hand and pulling it to my chest. “That’s so sweet!”

“
Max sent it to me. Obviously they
all think I still have the body of a pre-pubescent
thirteen-year-old boy.”

“
Do
I
?” I
ask him.

He laughs and looks around the room to make sure
we’re alone. “No, but I have a feeling it will be tight in all the
right places.”

“
So all the hot Wyoming boys can
check me out?”

“
Obviously, I didn’t think this
through,” he says, pretending to attempt to take the shirt back. He
laughs and lets go of it, grinning at me. “Wear it every night?” he
suggests.

“
I can do that. It’s really soft.
Thank you.”

“
You’re welcome, love.”

“
I have something for you, too,” I
tell him. “Come here.” He leans in, expecting me to tell him what
his gift is, but instead, I put my good hand on the back of his
neck and pull his face to mine, kissing him sweetly before I take
his bottom lip into my mouth, nibbling on it gently. He moans
quietly, then pulls away quickly, probably feeling the same thing I
am: turned on, and completely aware that we’re not
alone.

Of course, we aren’t alone. Here, we are
never
alone.

“
Sorry,” my Dad says, his jaw taut.
“Jon, did you need anything? Something to drink?”

“
Sure, yeah,” Jon says, hopping up.
“I’ll get it.” Dad nods and goes back into the kitchen. Jon waits
until he’s gone, then kneels back down next to me and kisses me
again quickly.

“
I wanted to give you a lot more
tonight,” I whisper to him. His stare is brief, but intense, making
my heart flutter in my chest. He stands up to go into the
kitchen.

Everyone eats dinner in the living room, keeping me
company as I lie on the couch, still feeling a little weak. I don’t
contribute much to the conversation, but enjoy listening to Jon and
my parents getting along better than they have in a long time. Trey
begs him to play some catch with him and my father after they eat,
and Jon agrees.

“
Do you want to move to the media
room?” my mom asks. “There’s not much to do up here. You’ve got to
be a little bored.”

“
Yeah, I guess so. You’re okay with
that?”

“
Should I not be?” she asks,
helping me off the couch.

“
No, you should be,” I answer. “We
won’t go in my room. He’ll leave at midnight. We know you can
appear at a moment’s notice. Nothing’s going to happen.”

“
Okay.”

“
Plus,” I say, grabbing on to my
mom’s shoulder, “moving makes me woozy, so this probably all works
in your favor... and I’m tired.”

“
Well, I don’t want you to feel
sick,” she says as she helps me downstairs, carrying the pillows. I
stop by the bathroom on the way, brushing my hair and putting on a
little powder. I sit down on the large leather sofa, leaving plenty
of room for Jon, waiting patiently for him to join me.

Still on pain medication the next day, I lounge on
the couch in my grandparent’s house, where most of my family has
congregated as the central gathering point on their land.

“
Welcome to the compound,” my
cousin Jackie says to Steven, Kaydra, Stevie, Daniel, Finn and his
little sister, Gabby. I wasn’t sure Finn would be coming. We hadn’t
really spoken more than pleasantries in the hallways of school
since he had cheated on Camille. I was loyal to her, regardless of
Finn’s ties to my family. Since I wasn’t really related to him, it
was easy to choose my friendship with my best friend.

My uncle comes over and attempts to shake my hand,
clearly poking fun at my injury. “Jacks told me. You okay, Little
Liv?”

“
I’m fine,” I tell him with a
smile. My eyelids feel heavy, and I can tell I’m going to need a
nap soon. Finn taps on the bottom of my feet.

“
What?”

“
Move your feet. I want to sit
down.”

“
There are a million other chairs
in this house. In fact, there are even more chairs in the other
houses on the property. Maybe you should go sit in one of
those.”

“
Livvy,” Mom says, “we aren’t going
to have a week of fighting. You two better find a way to get along
while we’re here.”

“
I’m trying, Mom. I think it’s best
if he stays out of my sight. If I can’t see him, I can’t fight with
him.”

“
I’m sure it’s the Vicodin
talking,” Mom says to Finn. I first glare at her, then at him as I
pull my feet up.

“
Thank you,” he says, plopping
down.

“
It’s not the Vicodin,” I clarify
quietly after Mom leaves the room.

“
Trust me. I’m well aware of your
acute hatred toward me right now.”

“
Do you blame me?”

“
Nope,” he says. “It’s a little
one-sided, but no.”

“
Do you miss her?”

“
Honestly, Liv? No. Contrary to
what fairy-tale land you girls create in your minds, things weren’t
going well with us. It was just sex.”

“
You date for two years, and you
say it’s
just sex
?” I whisper a little
louder than I intend to.

“
C’mon, Finn, Livvy,” Steven says.
“Let’s be respectful and not talk about this in front of my
parents, okay? They’re good, Catholic people. In their world, kids
your age don’t have sex.”

Finn and I both laugh a little. He picks up my legs
and lets me rest my feet in his lap. “Truce? Just for the week.” He
holds his left hand out, taking note of my bandage.

“
Camille can never know,” I tell
him, shaking his hand.

“
Hey, Livvy,” Jackie says to me,
“Madeleine and I are going to go horseback riding. Wanna
come?”

“
I’d love to, but I can’t right
now. I don’t think I could sit up straight on a horse. Maybe
later.”

“
Got any more of that Vicodin?”
Finn whispers. I roll my eyes at him. “What? We can zone out
together. I’ll keep you company.”

“
I do fine on my own, thank you.
I’m about to fall asleep as it is.”

“
Olivia,” my grandmother calls out
across the room. I didn’t realize she’d joined us. “Why don’t you
come lie down in our room? It’s quiet.” I honestly wish my parents
would have offered to drive me to our own cabin, but they’re too
busy catching up with Dad’s siblings.

“
Okay.” I smile at her and try to
get up off the couch. Finn stands quickly, steadying me.

“
What a gentleman,” Grandma says. I
bust out laughing, and Finn lets go just long enough for me to lose
my balance before he catches me.

“
Don’t believe it, Grandma,” I
whisper as we walk by her.

“
It’s the Vicodin talking,” Finn
says to her as an aside. I elbow him in the ribs once we get out of
her eyeshot. “You should be nicer to me, Little Liv,” he says, his
voice obviously mocking my uncle, the way he says my
name.

I reach for the bed and climb on it as best as I can
with one good hand, all of my limbs feeling as if they’ve doubled
in weight. I collapse on my left side, pulling a pillow under my
head. “Why should I be nicer to you?”

“
We truced?”

“
That’s not a word,
Finn.”

“
Well, we shook on it.”

“
You’re right. I’m
sorry.”

“
Okay. Scoot over.”

“
What?”

“
Well, who else am I going to hang
out with?”

“
I don’t know, someone who isn’t
sleeping in their grandparent’s bed, I guess. Your sister? Eli and
Daniel?”

“
They’re idiots,” he says. “Where’s
Andrew?”

“
He should be here soon. Brandon
took him on a beer run.”

“
Andrew’s not old enough to drink,”
Finn says.

“
That never stopped
you.”

“
Think they’ll share?”

“
Probably. Now get out.”

“
All right. Want me to save one for
you? Vicodin and alcohol go well together, huh?”

“
Shut up and go. Please go spend
some time with Gabby, the poor thing has no one here her
age.”

“
Lexi’s good with her. She’s
fine.”

“
All right. Well, go spend time
with someone other than me.” He waves on his way out, shutting the
door behind him.

“
Tessa?” Dad’s voice disrupts a
dream. I was at Yale, drinking with Finn and some kids I didn’t
know.

“
Mmmm?” I blink my eyes open,
surprised to still see bright sunlight out the window. It feels
like I’ve been asleep for hours.

“
How’s it feel?”

“
Okay, I guess.”

“
Do you need another
painkiller?”

“
Nah. I just want to not feel tired
and dizzy.”

“
Okay. Well let me know when the
pain gets too bad. Everyone’s here, we were just about to
eat.”

“
Clara?” I ask.

“
Yes, she’s here. Everyone,” he
reiterates. “Do you feel like eating?”

“
Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute.”
Stretching and yawning, I sit up slowly, expecting to still feel
light-headed, but I actually feel pretty normal.

“
Need help?” Finn asks, barging
into the room.

“
God, no,” I tell him.

“
Livvy!” Clara squeals, pushing
past him. “What’d you do?”

“
I cut myself with a knife. I
wanted to end it all,” I tease her. I realize a second later it was
inappropriate. I’m glad no one else was in here to hear it, but
Finn gives me a reproachful look. “Bad joke,” I tell them
both.

“
You coming?” Clara
asks.

“
On my way.” Finn waits by the
door, making sure I’m stable on my feet. “I’m fine,” I mutter to
him as I pass. I can already smell beer on his breath, and wonder
which parent, if any, is keeping track. Most of us don’t have cars
here anyway, so I guess they figure we can’t get into too much
trouble.

That being said, I know Dad’s monitoring everyone
closely... because that’s what Dad always does.

Grandpa and Uncle Matty have set up five picnic
tables outside, and even though it’s a little cool outside still,
everyone opts to bask in the sunlight while we eat dinner. Some of
the younger kids have to eat on blankets. The family’s just too big
these days.

Lexi stays close to Kaydra, both of their bellies
swollen to about the same size, even though Kaydra’s due a month
before her step-daughter. Already Lexi seems so much older than me
and Clara.

“
Hey, Kayd?” Finn asks his aunt.
She turns around and raises her eyebrows. “What’s the story on the
horses? Can I ride?”

“
I don’t know,” she says, “can
you?” He balls up a napkin and throws it at her. “Finny, don’t
litter here. This part of the country is too beautiful.” Finn rolls
his eyes.

“
Pick it up,” Steven says,
undoubtedly making the demand to keep his ever-helpful wife from
bending over and retrieving the trash in her condition.

“
Finn, you can take out the white
horse or the spotted one,” Dad says. “They’re both gentle. You
know, not that you couldn’t handle one of the more aggressive
ones,” he adds, trying not to offend him. “I’d just feel more
comfortable, with... nevermind.”

“
I get it,” Finn says. “Come on,”
he says, eyeing my plate of half-eaten food.

“
Come on where?”

“
You finished? You wanted to go
riding, didn’t you?”

“
Um, you forget that I can’t
exactly hold the reins... I can’t go.”

“
I’m going to take you. Your dad
said I could. That’s why he only wants the gentlest of
horsies
for his precious daughter,” he says
mockingly.

“
Ohhh... do I trust
you?”

“
You should.” I remember that his
mother is an accomplished equestrian, and that Finn has spent many
summers working at their stables for extra money.

“
Okay, I guess. Clara?”

“
No, way. They stink.”

“
Jackie? Maddie? You coming?” I
ask, clearing my plate.

“
No, I’m sore from
earlier.”

“
Me, too,” Maddie says. “I’ll go
with you tomorrow.”

“
Okay. Guess it’s just me and you,”
I say to Finn.