Between Friends and Lovers

(30) Oliver

Stepping into the house, I took off my sneakers and held closely the bag with Alex’s bracelet in it. I had spent the rest of my afternoon at the mall with Cooper, trying to find the right bracelet. And when we finally found it, the biggest challenge then became what charms we wanted to put on it. Cooper and I stood there for thirty minutes before he decided to text Maverick and ask him. It didn’t take long for Maverick to answer.

He told us to get four charms. One, a star since Alex had the things for stars, according to him, she saw them as God’s painting. Two, a heart since Alex was a romantic. Three, an ice skate since she loved ice skating. And lastly, an infinity charm. He didn’t explain why we had to choose the last one.

After that whole thing was over and done with, I felt a pang on my chest. When I looked at the bracelet and all the charms Maverick suggested, I realised that I wouldn’t have picked them if I were given the chance. They didn’t scream Alexandria Almeida to me. And for me, that meant I either didn’t know Alex that well or Maverick picked the wrong charms. The answer to that, though, was going to arrive on Wednesday. Alex would be the one to give me peace about all of that.

However, there was a nagging thought that I pushed to the very back of my mind. What if I didn’t know Alex that well? The problem with all of this was that I fell in love with a version of Alex that existed two years ago, and I wasn’t sure if she was still that person. I mean, there could be a chance that if I fell in love with that version of her, I could potentially fall for this new one as well, but I doubted it.

Change made people unrecognisable to themselves and those who once knew them.

“Oliver,” my mother called from the kitchen just as I was walking past. “Come here.”

I placed the bag on top of the cabinet next to the stairs and my backpack next to it. Taking a deep breath, I walked into the kitchen to see my mother with her hands placed on her waist. She didn’t look happy.

“How long were you going to hide it from me?” she asked before I could say anything. “How long were you planning to lie to me, Oliver?”

This was probably the right time to ask her what I hid from her. She could be talking about the doctor’s appointment, which would mean that Miles betrayed me. Or she could be talking about the fact that I’ve been stealing the keys to the Arena so that I could ice skate. However, I did feel like it didn’t matter which one it was since both would be a major betrayal in my mother’s eyes.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said and instantly regretted it when she glared at me.

“You think I wouldn’t find out that you’ve been back on the ice?”

I sighed and made my way to the fridge. “It’s not a big deal.”

Except it was. It was a very big deal. But I didn’t have any other option. I could either admit to my mother that I know that it was a big deal, which would lead to an argument, or I could lie, which would also lead to an argument... actually, there was no way out of this.

She scoffed. “Don’t make me angry.”

“You’re already angry,” I pointed out before grabbing a bottle of water.

“How do you expect me to react, Oliver?” she exclaimed. “The reason your father agreed to let you come back was because he knew that I’d keep an eye on you and make sure that you step back into the ice.”

“I didn’t know that,” I told her, not hiding how annoyed I was. “I thought that you agreed to let me come back because I was your son and you wanted me home.”

She sighed. “That’s also true but—”

“Is it?” I snorted. “I came here because I was sick and tired of Maxwell trying to get me back into playing. I didn’t know that you also wanted the same thing.”

“Don’t be childish about this, Oliver.” She shook her head.

“I’m not being childish.” I nearly exclaimed, but I knew that she wouldn’t be happy about that. “Mom, I trusted you. I told you about what was happening between me and Dad, and you said I could come here and get away from all of that.”

Or maybe I was being childish, but I trusted my mother with something that bothered me at the time. Healing from a heart surgery was hard enough on its own. I didn’t need my dad to be on my case as well. So when I got fed up, and Miles proved to be no help at all, I turned to my mother. She promised me that I could come back, and all I had to focus on was my health and college, but I guess she lied just like her ex-husband. Must be one of the few things they had in common.

“Oliver, that wasn’t possible, and you know that. Your dad wouldn’t have allowed you to come here if I didn’t promise him to get you playing,” she said. “So I need you to help me keep my promise.”

I scoffed. “I doubt that. You two have a habit of letting each other down and breaking your promises. I doubt this would be any different.”

“You’re hard to talk to when you get like this.” She grabbed her phone and walked out of the kitchen, but before she could disappear, she said, “Maybe Miles could talk some sense into you.”

“So you’re going to call him?” I asked, scoffing. “Funny how you only call him when you need his help.”

“Maybe I should call your dad!” she exclaimed.

We both knew that wasn’t going to happen.

                                  ******

My mother’s words swirled in my mind an hour after our conversation. I stared at the TV, but I wasn’t paying attention to the movie playing. When did my life become so complicated? My brother used to say that I was a magnet for drama. I didn’t know if that was true, but there were times that I found myself in the thick of drama, and it would be mainly my fault.

My phone vibrated, and my attention moved to it. I grabbed it.

“What?” I greeted without reading the caller ID.

“Oliver?” A feminine voice came through. “Did I get the wrong number?”

“No.” I sat up straight. “Who’s this?”

“It’s Rosa,” she answered with a laugh. “Are you busy?”

I didn’t think that Rosa would call this soon. We had only exchanged numbers after our lunch at the cafeteria. The whole time she recited her number, I was thinking when it would be appropriate to call or if I was going to call. I guess she beat me to it.

“No, why?”

“I know this great eating place, and I wanted to take you there,” she said. “But we have to do something before that.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Ice skate.”


                                   ******

After looking for my mother around the house to no avail, I wondered if she left and why she didn’t say anything. Her car not being in the driveway or the garage was proof enough that she decided to get away from the house. And since that has never happened between my mother and me, I was left feeling guilty about what I said to her.

With the need for something to take my mind off everything, I got in my car and drove to Maitland Road. I was silently saying a prayer, hoping that my mother didn’t go back to the arena; if she saw me skating, she’d make her threat a reality and call my dad to tell him the news.

My parents rarely talked since all their conversations ended with an argument, so they decided a long time ago that they would talk if it was necessary or if it pertained to me and Miles. However, I knew that my ice skating again would make my mother want to call Dad. The conversation I had with my mother told me that they were both anticipating when I decided to not only skate but play hockey again. But I wasn’t.

Whatever was blocking me from being able to get onto the ice was more than physical. And I didn’t have the right words to explain it to my mother or Miles, so I was going to stick with not telling them about it.

I finally got to the Neil Hockey Arena. I heaved a sigh of relief when I didn’t see my mother’s black Audi Q2. Even though the arena closed at 10 pm, my mother’s last class of the day was usually at 7 pm, but some days, she liked to stay behind. But that raised a question of if my mom wasn’t here, there where was she?

I parked the car and walked inside. I didn’t see any cars in the parking lot, so I was assuming that the place was empty. I didn’t even see Rosa’s car, and I wasn’t sure if that meant I was early or that she walked there.

“Hi, Oliver!” One of my mother’s assistants greeted me with a smile. “Your mom left hours ago if you were looking for her.”

“Uh, not exactly.” I glanced at the skates behind her on the shelves. “I was hoping to have some time on the ice.”

“Of course.” She frowned. “Your mother is going to be very happy that you’re now skating again.”

“I’m not—I mean I am—” I paused and then cleared my throat. “Listen...”

“Emily,” she provided.

“Right, Emily.” I nodded, committing her name to memory. “I don’t want my mother to know that I was here, so can we keep this between us, I don’t want to tell her and get her hopes up for nothing.”

With a grin, Emily agreed before helping me find the right skates. As I slowly made my way towards the benches to put on my skates, I could hear someone already skating, but it didn’t sound like a lot of people, so I relaxed a bit.

With my skates on, I hobbled my way to the ice. Once in view, I could see the person ice skating, and it wasn’t just anyone it was Rosa.

I stood there and just stared at her as she moved gracefully. Her hair was in a ponytail, and it followed her around. She seemed in the zone and focused on every move she made. Her concentration brought a cute expression on her face, where a line appeared between her brows, and her forehead creased. I couldn’t see her eyes clearly, but I knew that the hazel must be intense, the same way it always was when she stared at something intently with her mind whirling.

Not wanting to appear as a creep, I clapped, wanting her to know that I was there. And as intended, she stopped and turned to look at me.

“Oliver.” She smiled.

“Hey,” I greeted lamely. “Sorry to interrupt.”

“I’ll forgive you.” She held up a finger. “Just this once.”

I entered the ice but my eyes didn’t move from her. “Well, thank you for your kindness.”

She shook her head. “I’m known for my kindness.” She held out her hand. “Join me.”

I grabbed her hand, and we slowly began skating around the rink. Silence blanketed us, and as someone who didn’t like the silence, I didn’t know what to make of it. Was I supposed to say something, or did she like it?

This was the opposite of what I was hoping to achieve when I agreed to come here. I wanted something to take my mind off things not to spend time with one of the people who lived rent-free in my mind.

“Oliver Castellanos,” she began with a laugh. “I can feel you overthinking. Penny, for your thoughts.”

What was the less creepy way to say ‘you? You are occupying my thoughts.’ Because I highly doubt that she was going to be happy about all of that.

But Rosana Almeida was occupying my mind. Not only because I was holding her hand and skating with her, which seemed a bit romantic if you asked me, but also because of the agreement between me and Alex.

Without my permission, my mind went back to the conversation I had with Cooper at the café. Was asking Alex to be part of this experiment—as Maverick called it—a good idea? I mean, I already had two people warning me. And that made me feel like doing it wasn’t a good idea.

Not to mention that the time I spent with Rosa made me feel like what I was doing was wrong in a way. But maybe I was overthinking it. I was just spending time with an old friend and there was nothing more. But a part of me wanted it to be something more. That was just crazy though. Crazy and messed up.

For all I know, Rosa could be hanging out with me because she pitied me. After all, the first conversation we had was because I looked pathetic while hanging around with friends. So yeah, it was really crazy and messed up.

All this thinking was giving me a headache.

“Oliver?” She stopped making me stop as well. “Are you okay?”

I nodded with a sheepish smile, realising I was caught up in my thoughts and forgot to answer her.

“Yeah.” I tried to smile. “I’m great.”

“Really?” She raised a brow. “Because your smile looks like a grimace.”

Damn it.

Before I could answer her, her phone rang. She let go of my hand and pulled it out. Upon pulling it out and reading the caller ID, she nibbled on her bottom lip before ending the call and putting it back into her pocket.

“Everything okay?” I asked, confused by the worried expression on her face.

“Yeah.” She shrugged.

“You sure? I don’t want to keep you from your plans.” Saying that hurt. Despite the overthinking, I was having fun being around Rosa.

“Plans?” Her eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

I gave a nonchalant shrug. “That you have better things to do with someone else.”

“I don’t,” she said before sighing. “Bentley is the one calling me. We have some unresolved business.”

“Oh, well I—”

“Why would you care, though?” she interrupted, crossing her arms.

“What?” I asked. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut. I had no excuse for blurting out her dating life.

“Why would you care if I have better things to do with someone else?” She glanced behind her. “It’s not like this is a date or anything.”

Her words made me stare at her, not knowing what to say. I wasn’t sure what Rosa was trying to suggest, but it made me wonder if I missed something.

While I was flabbergasted, she turned and began skating towards the entrance.

“I wasn’t insinuating that it is,” I blurted out. Self-control didn’t seem like my thing today.

“I know that, Oliver.” She whirled around to face me. “I mean, why would you go on a date with me with the agreement you have with Alex?”

That shut me up.

“I just never thought you’d want to be with her again,” she said.

Not being able to help myself, I asked, “What makes you think I want to be with her again?”

“Your whole agreement,” she pointed out matter-of-factly. “Are you trying to say that it isn’t a plot for you to get close to her again and finish what you started two years ago?”

“No.” I shook my head. “And I’m starting to get tired of people thinking that it is.”

“Can you blame us?” She scoffed. “You had feelings for her, and I find it hard to believe that you don’t want to know what you two would have become.”

“I did have feelings for her, and I sometimes wonder what would have happened between us if that day played out differently,” I began with a frown. “But Alex and I are different people now. She’s not the same person she was two years ago, and I’m not either. For all I know, this new version of her isn’t compatible with this new version of me. When I asked her to learn how to love with me, it wasn’t because I wanted to get with her. If, for some reason, we do end up together, then it wouldn’t be because I planned it. And if we don’t, then I wouldn’t be broken over it.”

“Okay.” She pursed her mouth. “I’m sorry for assuming.”

“Thanks.”

She was quiet for a minute before saying, “Whatever happens between the two of you. Just know that Alex isn’t a casual relationship kind of girl. She is the type that goes all in. So if you don’t want a serious relationship, please don’t make her think you do.”

Rosa was the third person to warn me with regards to Alex, and I was starting to think that maybe asking Alex to be a part of this wasn’t a good idea.


                                    ••••••

Enjoy!

Stay safe🤍