THE AFTERMATH

ch. 6 (read disclaimer, it's abt olivia)

God, I felt so humiliated yesterday. I felt weak and pathetic lying there on the floor, the crowd of people looking at me warily.

I groaned and rolled over to the other side of my bed. I didn't want to get out of bed today, so I guess I'll be spending my last day of break bedridden. I willed myself to close my eyes , but it's almost like my body is forcing me to be awake. After about 10 minutes of tossing and turning in my bed, I heard a knock on my front door.

I sighed and got up from bed. I rubbed my eyes and yawned as I made my way to my front door. I opened the door and looked up at the person there. To my surprise, Olivia was staring back at me, her cheeks flushed.

"Hey, Tommy. I just wanted to apologize for what Peter said yesterday." Olivia mumbled.

"Wait, how do you even know where I live?" I questioned, feeling a bit suspicious.

"I came to your house last week to deliver your newspaper, remember?" Olivia said, raising her eyebrows.

Oh, right. How could I forget?

"Oh yeah, sorry. Also, it's alright, I'm sure he didn't mean what he said." I croaked weakly.

"I can tell by the tone of your voice that you're hurt, Tommy. You don't have to mask what you feel." Olivia commented, shaking her head a bit.

"It's nice that you care, but aren't you supposed to be with Peter right now?" I questioned, wanting to get out of this uncomfortable conversation.

"Yeah, I am but he's with a couple of his friends right now, so I decided to apologize for him on his behalf." Olivia sighed.

"Oh." I simply said. Is it really that hard for a grown man like Peter to talk to me face to face?

Olivia shivered and brought her jacket closer to her. I felt a wave of pity wash over me, knowing that she probably walked a long way to get here.

"Hey, do you want to come inside to warm up a bit? You look a bit cold." I suggested, opening my front door wider.

Olivia nodded her head and went inside my house. I followed suit, watching her look at some pictures on my table near the kitchen. She stopped and looked at one picture, though.

"Hey, who's this standing next to you? Olivia questioned, looking at a picture of me and my Aunt Kate.

"Oh, that's my aunt." I stated, going closer so I can see the picture better.

Me and my aunt were smiling fondly at the camera, holding each other in a tight embrace. I was about 19 in that picture, and my aunt was 35 at that time. I frowned and took the picture from Olivia and put it back on the table.

"That's a beautiful picture! Where is your aunt now?" Olivia asked, looking at me expectantly for an answer.

"She left me before I was enlisted in Dunkirk. Now, she's on the other side of England, living with her husband." I answered, looking down at the floor.

"If you don't mind me asking, why did she leave you?" Olivia said.

I took a deep breath and looked back up at her. Her eyes held my gaze, staring quite intensely.

"She left me because she couldn't handle the fact that I was going to leave her to go to Dunkirk." I said, trying not to let a tear slip.

"Oh my, that must've been horrible for you." Olivia said, her voice laced with pity.

"Yeah, it was. She was my lifeline before Dunkirk, she cared for me so much." I confessed, my voice quivering.

Olivia looked at me with tears in her eyes. She must be the type to sympathize with everybody, no matter what the situation was. She suddenly went towards me and locked me into a tight embrace. My eyes widened as she rubbed her hands up and down my back in a comforting way.

Giving in, I hugged her back. Olivia kept muttering incoherent sentences in my ear, repeating it over and over. About 10 seconds later, I pushed away from her hug and stepped a foot back.

"W-What's wrong? Did I do something to make you upset?" Olivia stammered, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"No, you did nothing to make me upset. It's just that you have a boyfriend, and it's a bit wrong to be hugging each other." I pointed out, feeling my cheeks heat up.

"You mean Peter? We're not officially together yet, we just met each other three weeks ago." Olivia said, wiping her eyes.

"But you said the word "officially". Does that mean you guys are romantically involved?" I inquired.

"Not really. I mean, we just hang out with each other a lot and go places. The most Peter has done that's even remotely close to being romantic is kissing me on the cheek sometimes." Olivia confessed, chuckling a bit.

"Oh, okay." I said. I felt my spirits lift up a bit at those words Olivia just said.

"Anyway, you said that I would warm up in here, and I'm not really feeling the heat." Olivia said, gesturing to her shivering body.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Lets go inside the kitchen, it's much more warmer in there." I suggested, making my way to the kitchen.

Olivia followed me into the kitchen. I watched her sigh happily as she took off her jacket and placed it on a chair. I tried to not stare as her shirt rode up a bit, exposing her stomach.

"You're right, it's much more warmer in here!" Olivia exclaimed, plopping down not the chair where she put her jacket.

I nodded my head and sat on the chair opposite to her.

"Do you want something to eat or drink?" I asked.

"Oh, a cup of coffee would be great." Olivia answered, fixing her hair.

I got up from my chair and went to go make two cups of coffee. When I was finished, I went back to the table and slid Olivia a cup of coffee. She smiled at me and began to drink her coffee. I drank my coffee as well, feeling much warmer.

Olivia spent the rest of her visit talking to me about her day. She talked about how she almost slipped on a puddle on her way over to my house, making both of us laugh loudly. She then said that before knocking on my door, she saw an elderly man across the street trip over a doorstep. I exploded with even more laughter after she said that, making my stomach erupt in pain from laughing so much.

Before I knew it, it was already dark outside, the sky filled with the colors orange, blue and pink. Olivia looked out the window and sighed.

"Well, I guess I should be heading home now before it gets dark." Olivia stated, putting on her jacket.

"Alright, let me walk you out the front door." I suggested, getting up from my seat.

Olivia and I walked out the kitchen and headed for the front door. I opened the door and let her walk out first. I walked out after her and closed the door.

"Thanks for letting me stay inside your house for a bit." Olivia whispered, tugging on her jacket sleeves.

"No problem. Get home safe." I told her, watching her start to turn around and walk away.

She turned back at me and gave me a wave. I waved back, letting my hand slowly fall as I watched her walk.

I went back inside my house and closed the door. I slumped against my front door and smiled. It's been quite a while since I have genuinely laughed. Little did Olivia know, she helped me finally laugh again, even if it was temporary.