road trip ↠ lrh

one

//Olivia//

Small. By definition, it means a size that is less than normal, or usual. It also means insignificant or unimportant. But nothing described small better than the good old town of Riley, California, population 692.

Olivia Saunders had lived in Riley her whole life and lived the typical small town life. When there was less than 700 people in the town, it was no exaggeration to say that she literally knew everyone. Her doctor was also her aunt who was married to her teacher who was best friends with the town butcher. The list went on and on for hours. Everyone knew everyone.

Olivia never understood why people yearned for the small town life; it was way too sheltered for her liking. She grew up believing that the city held monsters in the sewers and aliens roaming the streets in business suits. She whole heartedly believed that if she were to leave Riley, she would be torn to shreds.

In all sense of the word, she was naïve.

But then she turned 18, and when she did, she decided she wanted to travel. All the way across the country, stopping at every major city this country had to offer.

"Are you sure you have to leave?" Her closest childhood friend whined, watching as Olivia slammed the trunk of her beat up SUV. Olivia just turned to her former best friend and narrowed her eyes and Holly groaned. "What, you're not still mad about what happened right?"

"Yeah, my best friend hooked up with my boyfriend, why would I be mad? You're fucking right I'm pissed." Olivia rolled her eyes and got into her car. For a moment, she thought she was being childish about this - running away from the two people that broke her heart into a million pieces - but then she realized she was doing this for herself and nobody else. She knew she needed to leave, and if she happened to leave some people behind in the process, well, she wasn't too broken up about it.

"Listen, I said I was sorry. I don't know what else you want me to do." Holly leaned up against the truck, turning her blue eyes to Olivia. "Alright, I guess just, uh, drive safe." She tapped the car twice and Olivia pulled out of the driveway so fast that the tires squealed, making a hideous screech that reverberated through her whole street.

Looking into her rearview mirror as her house got smaller and smaller, she saw her ex-boyfriend approach Holly and gingerly putting his arm around, giving her a small kiss on the head. Olivia couldn't stop the tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

How could they do this?

How could they possibly believe it was ok for them to betray her like that? How could they possibly believe that she would be all fine and dandy with all they had done?

Olivia was glad she was leaving this town. She was glad to leave this town, and all the scumbag teenagers it held, in her dust.

//

She had never felt more free in her life. For the first time in forever, she felt like she could breathe, like she wasn't being held captive by a town that wasn't even on the map.

She could blast her music without getting a ticket from the one police officer for "disturbing this towns wonderful peace, young lady". She rolled her eyes just thinking about it.

Olivia never realized just how much she hated Riley until she left. She hated the values it held and how the towns favorite pass times was to gossip. It wasn't like there was anything else to do there. But was it really a surprise when she went to the grocery store one day only to find out from her grocer, no less that her best friend and her boyfriend were quite a thing now.

Surprising? Not really. But it still felt like a punch in the gut.

She dated him for two years. Two fucking years. Her mother had started to pick out wedding dresses and her father gave him a blessing. She loved him so much and he never loved her back and that sucked.