Survival

Chapter 40 Justified

Edward most certainly did not expect a knock on his door the following week at 8:00 pm. The six raps told him all he needed to know. He ignored the first set in hopes that they'd vanish. The second set was far more panicked. He groaned.

Why did he have a conscience again?

She stood outside the door in the same tight red shirt and cargo pants she had worn the first day they met. He held the door in one hand and the frame in the other.

"Officer, how can I help you?"

She bowed her head and refused to meet his eyes. "Can I come in?"

"As long as you're civil."

Olivia nodded and stepped inside with a small smile. Edward eyed the outfit. After a nearly a month, he knew didn't fit with her personality one bit. Olivia was too modest to show off her midriff, despite how well she maintained her abs. He noticed a dark blue and yellow tinge on her left side larger than his hand.

"Come here for a minute," he said. He got her to turn by gently guiding her shoulders to confirm that the tinge continued up her back past the hem of her top. "Olivia, what happened?"

She flinched as soon as his fingers made contact with the bruised skin. He applied virtually no pressure, but the memory was probably still there.

She kept her head low. "I was distracted during a combat exercise."

"Olivia, bruises like that don't come from an exercise. Whoever they were, they should have stopped. This much bruising is assault."

Her nostrils flared. "Don't pretend you know what goes on in other parts of this colony. You have no idea what it's like outside of your perfect world of computer repair."

He placed a hand on her shoulder. Her immediate reaction to a challenge of her ideals had only been anger lately. Edward began to realize he shouldn't take it too personally. "Then explain it to me."

"Ask your co-worker about the inner workings of the colony," she said as he threw his hand off her shoulder.

"Nate is involved in this?"

Her eyes grew like pancakes over a hot skillet. "No, there's no connection. I'm just frustrated with everything and taking it out on you." Her breaths slowed at this point and her shoulders relaxed. "I only came by tonight to see where our agreement stands. We never had any formal discussion about terminating it. I do honor my commitments. Are we continuing our arrangement?"

"Do you want to?"

Olivia nodded slowly with slumped shoulders.

"The only way I'll agree is if you'll be open with me, no more lying your way out of things. If you can do that, I'm game."

Her eyes widened and she smoothed her hands on her pant legs. "Will you be open with me?"

"Whatever you want to know is yours."

Olivia studied his face for a good thirty seconds before she bit her lip and sighed. "Okay, I will try."

"Here, sit down and I'll be right back." He handed her a blanket and offered her the couch. In a couple minutes, a kettle started whistling. Edward walked back over with a couple cups of apple cider.

"Where did you get this?"

"Alfonzo has a poker group that I've been cleaning up on. I won a couple packs awhile back. It's not much, but when I used to come home from school and kids had been beating me up or calling me 'fat-ass' or 'retard', my mom always could sense it. She always had a blanket and a cup of cider ready for me." Edward's chest weighed heavy with the memory. For years he'd blocked them out, but now it felt so far removed from the present situation.