love came calling, twice // olly murs

5.

The song on the CD switched, a soft, low melancholy tune filling the room. Amelia's eyes locked with Olly's and he held her gaze for a moment, trying desperately to communicate that she wasn't supposed to know this for her own benefit. Suddenly exhausted, he cast a hand over his face and rubbed his eyes.

Amelia opened her mouth to speak, feeling her heart shatter. "W-what?"

Olly sighed heavily. "Tom wasn't faithful to you. Her name's Shannon. He met her on the trip we made to LA a year and a half ago."

Her heart breaking, Amelia's fingertips went numb and the photo fluttered to the ground, floating on the surface of puddle of beer that was pooling across the floor, soaking her feet.

"And grace the game with a blindfold on, the cheaters came out to play," whispered the song as the liquid ran over the photo and distorted the image. Amelia bit her lip, staring at Olly, waiting for him to continue.

Even though she knew it was going to kill her.

"What are you talking about, Olly?" Adam said slowly, breaking the silence. Four pairs of eyes were fixed on the man standing against the counter, his blue eyes shining and his face pale. "Tom cheated on Amelia?"

Olly nodded, bringing a hand to his temple. "Don't use that word. It sounds cheap."

Jason guffawed. 'That's cause it is cheap. What he did was cheap. What the fuck, Olly? How do you know all about this and none of the rest of us do?"

Dragging his hand down his face, Olly sighed. "What he did, Jason, was a lot more than just cheat. He was unfaithful." He glanced at Amelia, trying to gauge her reaction. This was going to crush her and how he chose his words would determine a lot of things. He didn't want to break her, oh god...that was the last thing he wanted. There were so many nitty, gritty details of this tale that he would never tell her, just because it would be one more wound that she would have to heal.

Pressing his fingers to his lips, he took a deep breath; ready to unravel the quilt It's a long story. "Um, Amelia...you might want to sit down for this."

"Don't shrink me, Murs," she said feebly, her eyes glassy and lip trembling. "Just tell me what you know."

Her heart was beating so wildly in her chest she was certain it might fly out of her chest. Everything was happening so fast. One minute she was desperately in love with a man, planning her wedding, the next he was dead. Seconds passed and she tried to heal and how she was discovering that he had been unfaithful to her.

She felt like she was going to vomit all over the floor. She felt like her legs were going to give out from underneath her. She looked up at Olly and wanted him to laugh and say it had all been a joke and that he was just getting back at her. Looking up at his hunched posture and the anxious way he was running his hands through his hair, she realized that any chance of that happening was slim to none.

Could she handle this? Did she want to hear this? She didn't need to know the details, did she? No, she knew he was unfaithful and she could take this information and try to heal with it. She didn't need to know.

As she watched Olly wring his hands together, though, she knew this wasn't the case. The one person she had hated for so many years was suddenly her source of information. He suddenly held all the answered. She cringed and urged him to meet her gaze.

"Tell me, Olly."

At her plea, Olly let out a deep breath and looked at the floor. "A year and a half ago, Tom and I went to L.A. He had some big accounts to settle and I figured I'd come along for the ride. It was all expenses paid through his company and I thought it was a chance for free booze, cheap shows and I could get in some shots that I could use for freelance work in the future."