Never 'Til Now

Chapter 6

Olivia scrolled up and down Pinterest on her MacBook, looking at DIY ideas for projects she wanted to do around her home. The board she created now had over 200 ideas saved for her kitchen, flooring, new doors she wanted to install, a complete bathroom make over and a bookcase that would hopefully cover one whole wall of her living room. And that was just the start of it.

This house had always been a dream of hers and she wanted it to be the embodiment of everything she imagined when she was kid growing up on the south side Chicago.

Olivia had been exposed to unimaginable things growing up in the worst ghetto in the US. Her dad did his best to shield her from what he could but nevertheless there were things a child should never see.

Signing the papers and being handed the keys to her first home made Olivia proud to be accomplishing a dream of hers.

Olivia's eyes drifted away from the screen of her computer and to Sam's business card that was sitting on the kitchen island counter, tempting her to pick it up and dial the number. It had been there for the past two weeks, now stained with a half ring from a coffee cup. She had thought about dialing the number more than a couple of times in the past couple of weeks but each time had decided against it.

Apart of her wanted to know more about Sam, more than just a friend. But each time her mind would start to drift off and daydream, she felt pangs of betrayal creeping in because of her past.

Olivia chewed on the side of her lip as she reached over and grabbed her phone. She unlocked the screen and took her time typing in each number. Her thumb hovered over the call button before she pulled the trigger to finally dial. She brought it up to her ear. Each ring felt like an eternity. At the same time, she heard it click over, the lock on her door turned. She panicked and ended the call.

Ashley came through the door with a brown bag of take out and wine she was carrying by the neck. "Francesca's didn't have the bruschetta, but I was able to score 2 extra cannolis."

"Oh ok. Cool." Olivia quickly acknowledged, not wanting to cause her friend to ask questions. She left her seat to grab plates, wine glasses and silverware for the both of them. When she sat everything down, her phone lit up with a phone call. She hit the side button to silence it.

"Why didn't you answer it?" Ashley asked curiously as she started taking the containers out and opening them. Her eyebrows were scrunched together as she noticed that Olivia seemed like she was hiding something.

"Oh, I'll call whoever it is later. How's the new song coming along?" Olivia moved the conversation along as she worked on uncorking the bottle.

"It's turning out ok. Jack and I have been in the studio a lot this week doing tweaks. I think in the next couple of days it'll go up for auction." Ashley gave an update while she divided out portions.

"If you had to pick, who would you want to choose the song?" Olivia questioned. She thought it was so cool that her best friend worked in the music industry.

"Oooh good question." Ashley took a moment to think who she felt the lyrics fit the best. "I would love it if Beebe Rexha had the final bid."

"That's exciting. It would be cool to hear it mixed with maybe a chain smoker sound." Olivia encouraged her best friend who in her opinion rivaled T swift in the song writing department. "Dare I say it even has Grammy potential."

Ashley playfully rolled her eyes at the compliment. She had won her fair share of small awards across the city and had even gotten the chance to work with producers anyone would dream of working with, but the Grammys still felt a few miles off. "You're just saying that because you want to sit in the same crowd as Beyoncé."