Glow Heart

Chapter Nine- Olivia's POV

Of all people, it was Blake Collins. Blake Collins was the one I had been dreaming about since I was a little girl. Blake Collins was the one I had been waiting for. Blake Collins. Blake freaking Collins. I glanced over at him, watching him out of the corner of my eye as he drove. His hand moved towards me, and I flinched. He pulled it away roughly.

"I'm sorry. I was going to grab the bottle of water from the center console. I figured you would be thirsty. I didn't think about-"

"It's fine. It's not a reflex I got from you. I had that before I met you. It's easy to forget that I do that." I rubbed the back of my neck.

"You know that I regret all of that, right? I would never do anything to you ever again." His jaw clenched, and he gripped the steering wheel. "I can't believe I ever- and that your mother-" He took a deep breath. "You can feel safe around me. Just know that." He pulled into his long driveway, going around the car and helping me out. We walked into his home.

"Blake? What are you doing home?" His mother looked up at us from her book.

Blake grabbed my hand. "Mom, dad, I found my soulmate. She's the daughter of the people from yesterday. Our chests just-" He took another breath, looking at me lovingly.

I waved to his parents. "Hi um... I'm Olivia." His mom rushed me, wrapping me in a sincere hug. My brows furrowed and I stood there, shocked and confused. She pulled away.

"Are you okay? You look like you've never been hugged before." She laughed.

"Twice. My butler, William, is the only one that does."

"Don't your parents ever hug you?" His father looked down at me. I shook my head, dropping it to stare at the carpet as I kicked the ground, tears springing to my eyes. "Do they ever...?"

I nodded as the tears began to fall. Blake put his arms around me. "I've got you, Olivia. I'll keep you safe. I promise."

"They can't know that I told you. They'll-" I choked, "They'll fire William." His mother pat my shoulder.

"It's alright darling. We've got you now. They can't hurt you here. If they ever fire William, bring him to us. Anyone that makes our son's soulmate happy is good in our books. We'll hire him in a heartbeat. Okay?" I nodded. "Go upstairs and take a breather. You're always welcome here if you need anything."

Blake brought me upstairs and into his room. It was odd to be in a place so personalized. He had pictures of his friends plastered all over. Team pictures and action shots lined the walls. Trophies covered a shelf above his desk, and guitars hung above his television.

I walked over to them, running my fingers over the strings. "Do you play?"

He put his hand on my waist. "No, my friend Todd did though." I turned to him, puzzled. "They were left in his will. He died in combat. He was a scout sniper, a good one, for the marines. Still bit it though, I guess." He shrugged. "He didn't have any family, but he listed us, so they brought the flag here. He was a good guy, played guitar at my birthday parties when I was a kid, always said he would teach me whenever I learned to sit still." He smiled, tears falling from his eyes. I wiped them away.

"He sounds like a good person. I don't think he would like you crying. Chin up. Let me see that smile, Blake." I gave a cheesy grin, and he laughed at my pulling on his face to make him smile.

"Alright, alright, you made your point. What do you want to do?" We sat on his bed.

"I don't know, 20 questions?" I pulled one of his pillows to my chest, hugging it. "Do you have any recurring dreams?"

"There's one where I'm in Todd's place out there. It's every few weeks or less though, not very frequent. If it weren't so easy to tell who your soulmate was, what would you look for in a long-term boyfriend?"

I thought about this for a moment. "Someone who knows me and can listen when I tell them things. Someone who can give me security and not hurt me. Someone who I'm really in love with and who loves me in return. What about you?"

"I don't know, I've never really thought about it. I always relied on the soulmate thing. I guess just someone who makes me happy and puts up with me when I'm being stupid." He laughed.

"So all of the time?" I smiled at him.

"Pretty much, yeah. Was that your question?"

"Well, that was yours," I smirked at him. "We skipped one of your turns. You can go." I swept out my hand.

He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "What's more important: truth or happiness?"

"Obviously truth. Without truth, the happiness is based on lies that would eventually crumble. How often do you respond to emails right away?"

"Never. I haven't even checked my email for three years. I really should get around to it. If you could, would you go back and change your life? Like, different family, different environment, different life."

"I'm torn between the classic "it made me who I am" and the logical "hell yes, they treated me like dirt." If I could without changing anything else, if I could just make them better or give better people their lives, of course I would, but I don't want to upset the balance of everything else. I don't have any hope for a better life for myself, I'm always going to have the scars, mental and physical, but if I- if we- ever have a kid, I want to give them a good life."

"This got rougher than I had hoped. Do you want to continue the game?" He had his hand on my shoulder and was looking deep into my eyes.

"I'm pretty bored actually but don't you dare treat me with kid gloves, Blake. I don't want your pity. I don't have any use for it."

"Have you ever thought about us having kids? You mentioned it." He laid back on the bed.

"I mean, it was before I knew who my soulmate was but, yeah. Pretty frequently actually." I laid across his torso so we made a cross with our bodies.

"I hope they have your hair color. Red hair is stunning." He brushed his fingers through my locks.

"I hope they have your eyes." I smiled, thinking about his gorgeous hazel eyes.

"Good thing it's a dominant gene."

"Don't pretend you pay attention in class." I hit his chest lightly, "I know the truth, mister."

"Was I your first kiss?" He sat up slightly so he could see me better.

"Yeah. Don't worry about me not being yours, though. I get it."

"I was just trying to make you jealous, Olivia. Like I said, I've liked you for a long time but I could never get your attention in any way but a negative one. I was trying to make you jealous so you would hopefully realize you had feelings for me and then we could live happily ever after."

"You could have just told me that you liked me. I wouldn't have disowned you or rejected you or whatever."

"What was I supposed to do? Tell you that I like you while I'm hurting you?"

"Well, I appreciate you telling me now." I pushed his shoulders so he was back on the bed again. "I'm pretty sure I like you too, Blake." I crawled on top of him and kissed him roughly.