THE AFTERMATH

ch. 22

"Would you like to explain to him, Olivia?" I asked.

"U-Um, sure." Olivia stuttered.

I gestured for her to go ahead. I should've explained how our relationship bloomed but Olivia is better at explaining some certain topics.

"So, we met each other outside of Tommy's house. He was staring at me with the most dumbfounded look on his face. He probably was confused because I'm a girl that delivers newspapers, which is typically a guy's job. I got a bit offended because that was kind of sexist and stereotypical for him to think that. I told him that no matter what gender I am, the only thing that should matter is that his daily newspaper gets delivered to him. He was shocked and surprised by what I said. He then asked me what day the next newspaper comes and I told him every Monday. I bet he was just looking for an excuse to keep talking to me." Olivia crawled.

"Damn Tommy, you have a feisty girlfriend! Olivia, you're amazing!" Alex shrieked, holding up a hand to Olivia. Ah, he was probably asking for a high five. Olivia looked at his hand and slapped his hand away.

"Anyway, we kept seeing each other a lot more after that encounter. I saw him sprawled on the floor outside of a market; he had a hallucination. Wait, can I tell him that?" Olivia questioned, turning to look at me.

"Yeah, it's no problem. He already knows about my hallucinations." I shrugged and looked away. Why was I acting like my hallucinations were no big deal? I should stop thinking about it so I won't have another hallucination.

"I was with this guy I knew. His name is Peter. He told Tommy to get over the war, which was very rude. Tommy ran away after that. I went over to Tommy's house after and apologized for Peter. We kind of bonded that day because we learned more about each other." Olivia sighed and placed her head on my shoulder.

"Tommy consulted in me one day and I was very touched by his story about Dunkirk. I knew that he was a strong person, even if he says that he's weak and worthless. He proved that he was strong even more when he stood up for me. Peter was about to assault me when he saw Tommy and I together. Tommy and Peter already had a physical altercation before but this was way worse. Tommy was about to hit him but I told Tommy to stop. He listened to me, putting his fist down. His willpower was screaming for him to hit Peter but I somehow overruled it. That was one of the best moments I've seen him be emotionally strong." Olivia wiped her eyes and sniffled. I closed my eyes and brought Olivia to my chest.

"We got into a relationship after that previous fight that Tommy and Peter had, not the one when Peter was about to hit me. I saw Tommy bruised up and damaged. He told me that they got into a fight because of me. I ran off and cried really hard. He looked for me and found me. I told him to never be as controlling and vicious as Peter. I then asked Tommy to be with me. He was very hesitant at first but he agreed. I've been trying to help him cope with his flashbacks and his hallucinations. I've been trying to put back the missing puzzle pieces in his life, even if they're bent and damaged. Most of all, I just want Tommy to be truly happy and carefree." Olivia's voice cracked at the end. I felt my heart ache. I opened my eyes and glanced at Alex.

Alex was silent. He then clapped slowly and lunged to us. He gathered us all into a group hug.

"Olivia, you're a gem. I doubted you at first, honestly. But now, I can see that you have a heart of pure gold. Please take care of Tommy for me. He's one of the only people that I love and respect." Alex whispered.

"I'll do my best." Olivia replied.

"What's going on here?" Gibson asked. We all turned to the door. Gibson was standing in front of it, yawning very loudly.

"We were trying to have a moment here." Alex grumbled.

"Ah, you must be that girl Tommy likes." Gibson assumed, looking at Olivia.

"Damn right she is. Olivia is my girlfriend." I said. Gibson burst out laughing, his face turning red.

"Are you serious?" Gibson asked. Alex and Olivia nodded. Gibson sighed and walked closer to us.

"So, why were you guys hugging and crying?" Gibson questioned.

Olivia cleared her throat and explained the whole story again to Gibson. Olivia had to stop talking multiple times since Gibson didn't understand some words that Olivia spoke.

"Wow, now that's true love." Gibson commented.

"I agree. That story was heartbreaking yet beautiful." Alex admitted.

"Thanks. So, now what do we do?" I questioned.

"Uh, we can go eat in the kitchen!" Gibson exclaimed, running out of the room. We followed after him, walking slowly.

We arrived at the kitchen and sat down on some chairs. I wasn't hungry and Olivia wasn't that hungry. The both of us watched as Gibson and Alex prepared their breakfast Their idea of breakfast was an egg and some bread. They settled down at the table after 15 minutes.

We all talked about how our week was going. Everybody said their week was either turning good or turning horrible. Gibson was feeling horrible right now because he wants more food but Alex won't give him it. I shouldn't even be surprised at that.

I whistled to myself and looked around the kitchen. I curled my lip in disgust when I saw the pile of dirty dishes stacked in the sink. Hey, at least it wasn't anything worse.

I felt Olivia's hand slide on top of mine. I looked down at our hands and looked at Olivia. She looked up at me and gave me a smile.

I smiled at her back, feeling warmth spread all over my body. Oh gosh, this feeling is here. Again.

~~~
(a/n)

i'm really sorry that i couldn't upload the chapters on time. again, there's problems with publishing chapters for me.