Tears of a Clown

27

A month.

That was all the time it took for Olivia to process that it was really over between herself and Gunna.

Sure, she had her moments where thoughts of him would plague her mind and she'd shed a tear or two, but things were looking up for the most part.

Liv was back on schedule with her meds, seeing her therapist weekly, and she had just earned her first degree. No matter what anyone thought, Olivia was proud of herself. After everything she had been through even she didn't think she would make it.

"Ready?" Banks asked, cutting into Olivia's thoughts. He was taking her out to dinner to celebrate her graduation.

The two were still just friends and hadn't crossed any lines. Banks was a far better friend than boyfriend anyhow. Anytime Olivia needed him, he was there and vice versa. Their bond was steadily growing, but Olivia was sure to express that she would never do the relationship thing with him again and Banks respected her decision.

Liv's phone rang and she held up a finger once she saw Lai's contact flashing across her screen.

"Hey Lai, everything alright?"

Olivia heard shuffling before Lai finally spoke. "Sorry, I was giving Silas a sponge bath. I received a call from a social worker and they think they found the body of Sherrod's mom."

"Oh no," Olivia replied sadly, mouthing to Banks that she'd be right back. He nodded in response and sat in his car. Liv walked over to her porch and took a seat on the step. "So what now?"

"That's the thing. Apparently, there aren't any known family members to identify the body. I know this is asking a lot of you, but Sherrod won't be allowed to. I expressed that I had no clue who she was, so I'm of no use to them either. If no one comes to claim the body the last result for them is cremation. I at least wanted Sherrod to give a proper goodbye."

The last thing Lai wanted was to repeat the same mistakes she and Silas made with Gunna. She wanted Sherrod to acknowledge his mother for what she was, and properly grieve the loss if he needed to.

Olivia sighed while looking up at the sky. Her heart went out to Sherrod. No matter how fucked up his mom was, she was still his mother. She also knew that his tough act was a cover for how hurt he really was.

"Lai, I... I don't think I can handle that right now. I'm just getting to a place where-"

Lai cut her off. "You don't have to explain baby, it was insensitive of me to ask you. I'll figure it out."

Olivia and Laila had gotten closer over time because they were somewhat sharing custody of Sherrod. Liv shared with her the story of how she lost her mom, and she also explained why she was so hurt by Gunna's actions.

"Lai..." Olivia called out before ending the call.

"Yeah?"

"Do you mind if I'm there when you tell him? I think he's going to need the both of us."

"I was hoping you would. I'll keep you posted," Lai stated.

A sadness washed over Olivia once she hung up with Laila. She was emotionally drained and needed something to pull her out of her funk. Sighing lightly she pulled herself up and headed towards Banks' car.

"Everything good?" He asked once she took her seat.

"Not really, but I don't want to talk about it right now."

"Cool, where to?" Banks asked, putting his car in reverse. He promised Olivia that they could do whatever she wanted on his dime, and he was sticking to his word.