olivia | o.r.

chapter 20: exposed

The drive back from Texas to California was in direct contrast of the previous drive.

Before it had been the both of them. Minnie had been with Olivia, singing along to the aux cord and holding hands throughout the long hours.

Now, it was just Olivia. The car ride was silent and the air smelled of regret. Her eyes were red from the lack of sleep adding onto the puffiness that had amounted due to her crying.

She had sent a total of 97 text messages to Minnie, not to mention the 32 calls that had also gone unanswered. However, after a while of driving, she was met with multiple dead zones that prevented any of her messages from delivering. So, she had given up on that form of contact, as her phone was now dead, somewhere in the backseat, having previously been thrown in a fit of rage.

Olivia was hurting, but she knew Minnie had been hurting for longer.

Olivia felt utterly betrayed, but she didn't know if she had any right to feel that way. In hindsight, Minnie should have told her, right?

And how could she not have picked up on any of this when they were younger? Minnie's house was like a second home to Olivia, and her mom treated her as a mom should. It begs the question... was Minnie's mother as much of a mom to Minnie as she was to Olivia?

She doesn't like to think of it that way, but she can see why the matter wasn't brought up to her sooner. Still, it pains her to think of the signs she could've missed.

Olivia's searching, digging through any possible moment from their childhood where the endured pain of her beloved friend could have been made apparent.

All she could think of was the fact that she never saw much of Minnie's dad. There were little to no instances where she had full conversations with him, despite having been like a second child to Minnie's mother.

Olivia remembers only a few occurrences that Minnie would inform her of, such as the time her father caught her shoplifting a package of Chapstick and she had 'never seen him that mad.' That was when Minnie was in her rebel phase... she had been acting out for reasons that nobody knew. All Olivia can remember was hearing about how mad Minnie's parents had been every day. Surely, Minnie couldn't have been downplaying something much worse?

Now that she thinks about it, Minnie never went into detail about what happened at home after Olivia went home. She never explained why long-sleeves were her primary preference, and she never explained why she always dreamed of moving far away from Texas.

Just you and me, she would say. That way, we'll be happy and alone together.

It's quite funny to think about as Olivia approaches driveway of none other than Dan Nigro's home. In a world that Minnie wanted to have all to herself and Olivia, and the second that bubble of their little world is busted, she must run to someone on the outside. It would be alright though, because it's Dan. Not to mention that it was merely 8 PM when Olivia pulls up, so she knows he'll be awake.

She knocked on the door frantically, ignoring the fact that her body was screaming at her to find the nearest comfy surface and pass out.

The door opened within seconds, a confused Dan looking the girl up and down. After examining her exhausted features, he let her in with wide eyes and no words.

She trudged through the entrance, taking a dramatic seat on his couch as she placed her head in her hands.

"Care to explain?" Dan asked he took the seat next to the girl.

"It's a long story," Olivia sighed as she rubbed her eyes.

"Does it include Min-"

"Don't say it." Olivia stopped him, her arms wrapped around herself as her eyes remain shut.

"How long?" Dan questioned as his eyes narrowed.

"Long enough for me want to obliterate myself."

Dan pursed his lips at the extremity of her remark, "How about you tell me in the morning?"

She looked over at Dan, overly thankful for his offer as she nodded quickly.

"Great. The couch is all yours, Liv."

}

The morning came quicker than Olivia had hoped. She wanted sleep, yes. In fact, she needed it. Did she get as much as she wanted? No. This was due to the epic downside that came in the form of constant plaguing of thoughts that had been set into place by the events of the day before. Not only that, but who knew sleeping alone after having slept by the same body for so long would have such a drastic effect on sleep?

Begrudgingly, she sat up, with the decision that today she would go home and she would talk to Minnie. But first things first, there would be breakfast.

She kept the blanket that Dan had lent her the night before and slowly made her way to his kitchen, desperate for any liquid that could cure the dryness of her throat.

Just as she opened the fridge door and spotted orange juice, she heard a large bang coming from Dan's bedroom.

"Dan?" Her voice rasped.

Dan's head popped through the doorway from the living room to his bedroom. "Liv! You're... awake"

"What was that?" She asked suspiciously as she sensed the obvious nervousness in the man's voice.

"Oh... you know. Just my reaction to the internet's reaction to a photo of you and Minnie macking on each other at some gas station."

Olivia's stomach dropped to the center of the Earth's core.

}

Meanwhile...

Minnie knocked desperately at the front door, having been driving for hours on end. She was rightfully exhausted. She was far from home, and even farther from any reasonable thoughts.

The door opened to reveal exactly who she had been looking for.

"Minnie?"

"Yeah. Hey." Minnie replied dryly, tugging her jacket around her frame snugly at the chilliness of the air.

He examined her head to toe, noting the temperature as he ushered her inside, "What are you doing here?" He was excited to see her, of course. It had just been so long... he hardly thought she remembered him.

"I'm assuming you've seen the photo?"

He shifted awkwardly from where he was standing, nodding shamefully, "...Yeah."

"Good. I need your help."