Forever

I

A month earlier

Olivia was sitting on the backseat of the car, an eerie silence surrounding them. She noticed her parents  on the front seats were exchanging worried glances and upon noticing that, she just tore off her gaze from them to look outside the window, trying to get her mind off of things clouding her way of thinking. The establishments they passed by seemingly flashing right before her eyes because of the fast movement of the car. She was being slowly immersed in the view when she felt her phone buzzing on her pocket.

"Hey there, Sunnyvale!" A cheery voice from the other line exclaimed, making her frozen in her seat. Her mum noticed her sudden change as she looked at her curiously, mouthing 'what's wrong.' She just shook her head slightly.

"Austin," she said in almost a whisper. She can hear some shuffling going on from the other line before a door seemingly slammed shut.

"Hi, Olivia," he said, his background evidently quieter than before. "How are you today?"

Not good, she answered in her mind but refrained herself from saying that out loud. Instead she replied with an, "I'm okay," adding something in her sentence like, "how about you?"

"I'm very, very good," he answered, and she can picture him smiling. There was a brief silence from the other line; Austin's even breathing can be heard as she tried to calm herself down. "I'm going back tomorrow," he informed her, making her eyes widened in surprise. Her mum was observing her all throughout.

There was a pause from her side for about a few seconds or so, her not knowing what to say or maybe she had lost all the words she knows, until Austin laughed from the other line, making her wake up from her trance. "Are you so surprised that I left you speechless?" He joked, making Olivia laughed a nervous one.

"Yes," she finally answered, not knowing if that made any sense. She shifted on her seat uncomfortably, gripping the phone placed against her ear. "Uh, Austin? I'll just see you tomorrow then?" she tried to state flatly as she shut her eyes, although it came out more like a question.

"Oh, um, okay. I'll see you," he answered, hesitance evident in his voice. "Bye."

She nodded although he cannot see her and ended the call. She placed the phone on her lap, running a hand through her hair.

"What's wrong?" Her mother asked, and Olivia looked at her worriedly.

"He's coming back tomorrow, Mum," she murmured, sinking in her seat, seemingly not knowing what to do.

*

Olivia was observing the lake from the bench she was sitting on located within the boundary of the suburb she lives in. It was 7 in the evening; her surroundings obviously have darkened because of the night, with a few lights from the lamp posts and nearby houses hinting a bit of fluorescence. The lake looked so beautiful, the moon shining brightly above making the water seemed to sparkle.

It was a quiet and calm night where she then again spend time alone contemplating on things. In her mind is the struggle of thinking about everything that had been happening in her life, questions dancing in her head, and approaches she was weighing out to find her way elsewhere of the circumstances she was in.

She was deeply immersed in her thoughts that she hadn't realized that someone was sitting beside her, not until she felt heavy stares from her side. She looked to her right only to see Austin smiling at her, making her cry out in sheer surprise and shock as she stood up.

"Oh, my gosh!" she exclaimed, earning a laugh from the whitish blond lad. His blue eyes gleamed as the moon shone brightly above them, amusedly looking at Olivia. "You scared me!"