Barriers Between Love

Chapter Nine: Gladiators Don't Cry

Liv shut her door and grabbed her duffle bag. She walked past her roommates that were on their computers and she went to the bathroom. Liv didn't want to got to this interview but she had to go or everyone would know it was her for sure. She locked the door and put on a white blouse with a black over coat and a black skirt with the shirt tucked into it. She put on some light red lip stick and took her head band out. She looked good and professional but she needed her name tag to get in and that name tag was in the hands of the pissy, drunk, betrayed wife. Liv put her stuff in her bag and took a deep breath. Her phone rang and she picked it up.
"Harrison, what's going on?" Liv asked.
"We just landed, Abby and I thought you'd wanna know. Do you want us to come to the hotel?" Harrison explained.
"Fine just meet us and the building were the interview is taking place and keep an eye on the clock, we have ten minutes till we have to be there and we don't wanna give Sally anymore things to bitch about." Liv said and hung up the phone.
She put her phone away, grabbed her duffle bag, and walked out to the bedroom.
She set her things on the floor and there was a knock on the door and a man said "Time to go Ms. Pope."
Liv opened the door and help up one finger signaling for home to wait a minute. She walked down the hall and knocked on Fitz's door. Mellie answered and she practically dragged Liv inside. Mellie was in jeans and a T-shirt.
"Mellie you need to get ready and get sober because we have to leave right now." Liv said.
Mellie looked at her for a seconds, laughed, and took the last sip out of the jar.
"Well it's what Fitz likes isn't it? T-shirts and jeans? Or maybe I should wear your name tag to get the full effect. What do you think Livvy? I mean you're his type so you must know. Or maybe I need to be younger!" Mellie said grabbing another jar. Liv tried to grab it from her but she jerked it back.
"Mellie! Stop it! I get that you're sad and heartbroken but you need to suck it up and do this interview with a smile on your face and your hand in his. If not for him, do it for your kids. And that's enough drinking, it's only gonna make you hurt more when you're done." Liv said and took the jar away.
"Give it back!! You do realize that even if you fix me, he won't come crawling into your arms. He doesn't even care about you. He said it was just to make us even so you are invisible to me and him, you're just a blimp on our radar and you will be gone when this election is over and when Fitz is president." Mellie said.
Liv hung every word and pushed them into the pit of her stomach.
"Mellie, I know you're angry and you can scream and yell at me, I can take it, but at least drink water and get dressed in the mean time." Liv said.
"No! I'm not going anywhere so get your ass out of my room!" Mellie screamed.
Mellie grabbed the remote on the night and threw it at her. It hit Liv in the arm causing her to drop the jar and it shattered on the ground.
"Leave me the hell alone!!" Mellie screamed.
Liv walked out of the room and slammed the door behind her. Mellie locked the door and sat on the bed.
"Where's Mellie?" Fitz asked.
"She's very sick so the doctor has advised her to stay here. Despite these unfortunate circumstances, the interview is still a go and if we are going to make it, we need to leave now understood?" Liv answered.
The door opened and Mellie threw Liv's name tag at her and slammed the door again and locked it. Fitz picked it up before Liv could.
"Tell me what's really going on and you can get this back. And don't even think about repeating what you just said because I heard banging and there's a shard of glass on your heel." Fitz said holding up Liv's name tag.
Liv nodded her head to the right and everyone turned away to eat dinner since it was 6:00. Fitz followed Liv into a supply closet and she locked the door.
"No one can hear us in here. Hopefully. So anyway, I stole Mellie's jar of happy juice and she threw the remote at my arm so I dropped the jar and a price obviously got stuck in my heel happy? Now goodbye we have to go." Liv said and turned to go.
Liv placed her hand on the door handle but Fitz stopped her from leaving by placing his hand on her's. She turned toward him and he kissed her. She kissed him back and her back was against the wall. He pulled off her overcoat and they kissed again.
She pulled away and said "I can't do this."
She pulled of the tiny shard of glass on her heel and put on her overcoat and pinned her name tag to it.
"Liv wait." Fitz said trying to grab hold of her but she pushed him away.
"If you want to be with me then by all means, go for it. But you don't. According to you in just an option for evening out the score board between you and your wife. I'm not gonna be that girl who waits around for a married man to destroy his family. I told you already, I'm not gonna be a mistress. I'm not gonna be your mistress." Liv said and walked out slamming the door behind her.
It took everything she had not to cry but she held it together because she had a reputation to uphold. She was a gladiator and gladiators don't cry.