Paralysis

Chapter Nine

Olive sensed Franky approaching her, looking over to view her harboring a distressed expression. The last thing Olive wanted was a pity party, but Franky simply wished to help her. Even still, Olive didn't want Franky to see that she was falling apart the way that she was.
"I'm fine, really. I just think that was something I needed to get out after holding it in so long." Olive mustered up an excuse, causing Franky to stare at Olive with puckered brows.
"Don't ever apologize for experiencing a normal human emotion, Olive. Why did you suddenly start crying? Was it what I said?" Franky asked. Olive looked up at her, her eyes averting away.
"I thought you were going to get pissed and have me fired or some shit. Then when you responded like you did, it freaked me out even more." Olive admitted her feelings on the matter, laughing at herself once she said it aloud.
"Why would you ever think I would do that?" Franky was startled to hear that Olive honestly thought that Franky would do that to her. Sure, Franky knew that she and Olive weren't as close as best friend would be, but she cared for Olive like a little sister.
"I don't know, it's something I expect when I overthink." Olive explained, sniffling a little. Franky ran her fingertips up and down the side of her arm, nervously.
"I already said that I understand why you do it. I don't want you to get busted or have someone breathing down your neck over it, so I'll talk to some people I know to see if they can help you out. It's nothing shady and it sure as shit isn't anything illegal, so cross your fingers. I want nothing more than to make sure you're happy too. It's fine to think of others, but this way of dealing with your hardships all on your own isn't healthy." Franky informed sternly. Olive suddenly looked down at the floor, not wanting to say anything. She was still so disappointed in herself. Franky decided to continue speaking in hopes it would raise Olive's spirits.
"You'll end up screwing yourself over and then everything you ever worked for would've been for nothing. I know you mean well and want what's best for your family, but carrying this overwhelming responsibility around on your shoulders all the time is gonna end up biting you in the ass." Franky shared with Olive just how much she cared about her. Olive understood better than most that there were people out there that weren't out for blood, but of course she would always remain wary. Olive revealed a tiny smile, allowing herself to calm down. Franky noticed that Olive was slowly relaxing.
"I'm serious. No more of this pickpocket shit, you hear me?" Franky stated in a motherly tone. Olive laughed wholeheartedly.
"Jesus, you really are my mother." Olive joked, implicating that she had returned back to her original self. Franky was content to see that Olive felt even a little better. It was obvious that this conversation with Franky made Olive's chest feel much less heavy.
"I won't do it anymore. Even with my mom's new job, she'll be pulling in good money again like she used to." Olive shrugged, laughing nervously. Franky grabbed Olive by the forearm to pull her against her. Franky held Olive closely. Olive figured it would be like watching paint dry in order to feel truly happy; but after the exerting mental shakiness she endured, Olive felt like it would be worth the wait.
"Don't be stupid, come to people for help when you need it." Franky insisted to Olive. Olive wrapped her arms around Franky and nodded at a fast pace.
"After today, your advice will definitely hit me hard for once." Olive smirked playfully at Franky, convincing her that their conversation really meant a lot to her. Olive took a deep breath to calm herself some more; it had been quite some time since Olive cried. She always forced herself to remain neutral and keep her emotions sunk down below everything else. Sorrow and sensitive emotions were never something Olive welcomed with open arms when it came to herself. Olive and Franky walked back out to the front, returning to their stations.
Franky immediately walked over to the table that seated her three customers again to let them know the wait on their food wouldn't be too much longer. She walked back with their cups to fill them up with water again. Olive watched as Franky did so before pulling out her phone to check if she had any missed calls or messages. She had received a text message from Damian. Olive sighed, still too aggravated to deal with him in any way.
"What's up?" Franky asked as she walked back behind the counter, noticing that Olive was suddenly bent over with her arms crossed; resting her head in the middle of them. Franky chuckled with amusement. Olive turned her head and tittered out of aggravation against her arm. She peered up at Franky, then stood up straight again.
"Damian texted me." Olive informed with a high pitched voice, then rolling her eyes intensely. Franky was about to speak up when Olive spotted Dean coming with the plates of food for her three customers. She shifted her body towards his direction. Instead of placing them in the server station, Dean wished to approach Olive and Franky with the plates directly. Franky could tell it was in order to check up on Olive's well being.
"Ready." Dean spoke softly as he handed the dishes to Franky. Olive and Franky smiled awkwardly at him. Franky grabbed the plates, placing two in both hands and the third plate secured on her right forearm. She brought them over to the three customer's table.
  "You doing alright?" Dean wondered. Olive shot her head over at him. Her shoulders dropping along with her expression. She was embarrassed.
  "She told you?"
  "No, she just mentioned you were dealing with something right now. I just wanted to be sure you were okay." Dean quickly dispelled any overreaction Olive may have had. Olive averted her eyes for a few seconds.
  "I wish I could say I was fine but I can't really answer that right now. It's just a hiccup, I'm sure I'll be fine after a good night's sleep." Olive replied, unsure. Dean's expression lightened, showing acknowledgment with Olive's honesty.
  "You know I'm always here to talk." Dean muttered. Olive forced a smile.
  "Yeah." Olive answered with a quick nod. Dean excused himself, returning to his station. Olive watched on at Franky making conversation with her patrons.
"I hope I'm not being nosy, but what brings you three here? I'm guessing you're not from around here since it's a fairly small town. We also don't have very many professional businesses here either." Franky asked, trying not to seem rude or intrusive. The female looked up and smiled at Franky. The two males followed suit.
"We're from the Chicago area. It isn't too far from home; plus, we came for business reasons." The female interpreted. Franky nodded with understanding.
"That's about a three hour drive, isn't it?" Franky asked, curious. The female nodded, interested in talking with Franky. Franky fed off that energy and smiled in response.
"I grew up in Chicago, but I needed a change from the big city." Franky added, making small talk. Olive overheard the conversation and rolled her eyes, chuckling with an amused smile. Olive could tell that the female customer liked Franky a lot. She wasn't too positive on whether that likeness was romantic, but nonetheless, Olive was happy for Franky.
"I think that's what we all need as well. It gets a little overcrowded, but it's home after all. We do what we can, though." The female customer mentioned to Franky. Franky grinned back at the woman, allowing her cheeks to flush a bit. The two male customers sitting across from their counterpart clearly noticed what was happening. It became awkward for everyone, extremely quickly. Franky laughed nervously. The female customer continued to smile at Franky, fully aware that she suddenly became tense.
"Well, I hope you enjoy your stay in town while you're here. I'll leave you to enjoy your meals." Franky quickly dug herself out of the metaphorical hole she had fallen in and safely made it out before embarrassing herself any further. Olive snickered, then covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing at Franky as she approached Olive. Franky clicked her tongue, blushing even more. Franky crossed her arms and scowled at Olive, leaning against the counter.
"Sorry, but that was just amazing." Olive laughed against her hand while speaking. Franky averted her eyes, annoyed with the situation. She still found a way to laugh it off, however.
"Seriously, I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it." Olive took a few deep breaths, placing her right hand over her chest. Franky shook her head slowly.
"My god, that was a good laugh. I can barely breathe right now." Olive stated. Franky pursed her lips out of frustration.
"What did that Damian guy text you?" Franky asked, desperately trying to change the subject.
"I didn't check. Let me see. It's probably something stupid like always." Olive unlocked her phone to view Damian's message. Olive's expression changed drastically after seeing what the message had said. Franky became even more curious, yet worried, due to Olive's demeanor.
"What is it?" Franky asked, troubled. Olive furrowed her eyebrows angrily, her nostrils flaring a little. Franky anticipated that the message was likely antagonistic if it had the power to anger Olive that much.
"He sent a photo." Olive said softly, letting go of her anger. Olive stared at her phone, not revealing what the photo was right away.
"Of what? His dick?" Franky asked, whispering. Olive practically choked on the sudden laugh that escaped from her throat.
  "You're fucking vile." Olive told between chuckled she forced herself to stifle. After studying the photo further, Olive went silent. The saturnine spiral haired girl shook her head, then turned her phone to show Franky.
"What's the context to that?" Franky asked, looking at a photo of a key in his hand. Olive immediately became vexed. Olive put her phone back in her pocket. Franky was awaiting an explanation. Olive was hesitant, but she then realized that Franky pretty much knew everything at that point.
"It's the key to the music room at school. Only a certain number of people are supposed to know about it. It's hidden in a special spot, so if anyone involved with music wants to have alone time, they can unlock the music room when no one is around. The music program was cut way back at school, so there's only a few periods dedicated to music related classes." Olive began to explain, staring at the photo on her phone. She sneered.
"Damian found out about it by accident. He overheard me with my cello after school and barged in on me. He's such a fuckhead." Olive stopped, thinking over whether or not she should tell Franky about Damian blackmailing her. She clicked her tongue, her breath shaky.
"Do you want to go get it from him? You told him to wait outside earlier, right? How much you wanna bet he's still out there?" Franky brought up in a calm manner, lightly tittering over the thought. Olive scoffed, thinking that Damian would be pathetic enough to actually wait outside for her as long as it took until her shift was over.
"He's blackmailing me because he knows that I'm a pickpocket." Olive revealed to Franky, subconsciously ripping the bandaid off. Franky lifted her head up in understanding. She then realized as to why Damian was following her around so much.
"What does he have you doing?" Franky asked, wanting Olive to explain everything, in the emergency that she would need a reason to do something about it. Olive felt her body shiver just at being asked a simple question. Franky was very uneasy over Olive's reaction. She wanted to do everything she could to help.
"He's making me pretend to be his girlfriend. He's such a damn child. He even makes me hold his hand to and from passing periods at school to make people think we're dating just to embarrass the hell out of me. He knows a lot of students don't like me and uses that to his advantage in giving them more fuel to antagonize me with. It's a pain in the ass." Olive explained, becoming agitated just thinking about what occurred at school. Franky sighed, already exhausted upon hearing what Damian had Olive doing in order to keep her secret quiet. She began to overthink the situation.
"Has he made you do anything sexual?" Franky asked in a serious tone, causing Olive to dart her head up at her, astounded.
"No, God no. He made it clear that 'wasn't his style'. But I would've risked him telling the entire town, over having sex with him any day." Olive affirmed, mocking Damian's words. Franky inhaled deeply, clearly relieved that it wasn't as disgusting as she imagined. Franky was still annoyed, however.
"Have you thought of what you're going to do?" Franky questioned. Olive shook her head leisurely, looking away from Franky.
"You can't just sit back and let him do what he wants. You have to think of something. Even if it's in exchange of something just to get him off your back. He'll probably just continue doing this until you're run ragged from his bullshit." Franky sternly told Olive, practically demanding that she do something about it. Olive was a little perturbed.
"What can I do about it? He isn't the type to accept money that I don't even have and he's also not the type to be easily coerced out of something like this when making me suffer is clearly what thrills him." Olive explained so that Franky could understand.
"God dammit, you really have shitty luck. He can't just do this. Just because you've stolen money from people, that doesn't make what he's doing legal either. It's actually more criminal than what you did." Franky explained, making Olive nod quickly in agreement.
"I know that, I just can't risk my school or the police being notified about this. I don't care if I get busted or scolded, but if my mom ever found out it would break her heart. I also don't need my baby brother seeing me as a good-for-nothing thief." Olive continued, explaining her worries.
  "Damian is just doing this stupid shit to get me to talk to him. He just wants to piss me off so he can laugh about it later after he expects me to make a scene over it. His life is clearly filled with nothing, so he uses me as his amusement." Olive voiced quietly, looking over at the three customers for a moment, just to be sure that they couldn't hear anything about the conversation Franky and herself were having.
"I understand that, but something needs to be done. You don't deserve this all because some miserable shit-head can't find entertainment elsewhere." Franky spoke authoritatively. Olive thought for a second. Franky could see that Olive was practically counting down the seconds to her shift being over due to how jittery she was. Franky inhaled deeply before speaking.
"You should go home early. Sort this shit out and think of what you can do. Explore your options." Franky insisted. Olive was stunned that Franky wanted her to leave work early.
"What about my shift?" Olive questioned. Franky shook her head, not leaving room for arguing.
"I'll clock you out when we close, so don't even worry about it. I got you, now go home." Franky declared for Olive to leave so she could relax and have time to think her situation over. Olive looked at her phone again. She wanted to say so much, but her mind wouldn't allow her to choose just one thing. All of her thoughts relating to Damian were scattered around like a thousand pieces of broken glass just floating around in her mind. Olive shut her eyes briefly to help keep herself grounded. She figured that she would allow her anger to spill out on its own once she saw Damian face to face again. Franky gave Olive a warm smile, making a shooing motion with her left hand. Olive laughed and rolled her eyes playfully.
"Okay, okay. I'll go home. Tell the guys I said bye and tell Dean I said thank you." Olive placed her apron on the rack before picking up her belongings where she left them. She threw her backpack over her shoulder, heading toward the front door.
  "I will." Franky responded. Olive turned to look at her coworker once more.
"Thank you for everything today, Franky." Olive gave her colleague a grief-stricken expression. Olive truly felt like she just wanted to disappear, forever being removed of the burden she'd been forced to deal with.
"Hey, everything will be okay, I promise. If you can't figure anything out, I'm sure I'll have some ideas up my sleeve." Franky sincerely wanted Olive to trust her and believe in what she had to say. Franky recognized that Olive deserved so much more happiness than what she had. Olive forced a smile, but didn't respond verbally. She just opened the entrance door, heading outside. Looking around, she didn't see Damian. Olive figured that he truly did get bored and decided to go home. She unlocked her bike from the rack and prepared to get on it. Once she was seated, someone placed their hand on her shoulder. Olive defensively stood up, allowing the bike and her belongings to fall to the ground.
  Olive quickly stepped backwards, furthering herself from the stranger. She finally noticed that it was Damian as soon as she got a clear look at him. She was beyond appalled that he actually did wait outside of the restaurant that entire time. Olive couldn't form any words. She simply glared at Damian, standing still. Even though Olive had remembered how she truly believed that Damian would be annoying enough to wait outside for her, it still made her blood boil to see it actually occurring before her eyes. Even after glancing around and not seeing him, he still made his appearance. Damian was motionless as well, silently gazing at Olive. He gave her a tiny smile.
  "I don't even care to know how you had the resolve to wait here this entire time like some kind of stalker. Just give me the key to the music room and let's call it a day. I am so not in any kind of mood to deal with you right now." Olive warned Damian. His smile slowly faded. He pressed his lips down firmly, still silently staring at Olive. Olive held her hand out, demanding him to give her the key. Damian didn't budge.
  "Dude, I'm fucking serious. I could get busted for this and so would you. There really isn't a win in this for anyone. I should've known you were lying when you said that you put the key back in the extinguisher case." Olive complained, raising her voice a bit. Damian shoved his hands in his pockets. He shrugged, then grinned.
  "I don't have them." Damian said with a shrug, additionally angering Olive. She looked up while taking a deep breath. She needed to calm herself down so she wouldn't make a scene. Damian noticed how rattled Olive was becoming and figured it would be best to explain himself to her.
  "I'm serious, I don't have them." Damian defended. Olive scoffed while laughing. She rubbed the temples of her forehead in discontent.
  "Then why did you text me a picture of you holding them?" Olive interrogated, looking at Damian in disbelief for attempting to try and convince her otherwise.
  "I took that photo when you forgot to lock the music room. I wanted to use it in the future in order to freak you out." Olive bit the inside of her bottom lip, laughing through the rage she was feeling. She looked up at the sky, clenching her fist, but inhaling heavily. Olive picked her bike up from the ground, grabbed her backpack and prepared to seat herself. Damian approached her by blocking her way to leave. Olive felt her chest cave in. She gripped harder on her bike handles, looking up at Damian with melancholy eyes. Damian raised his eyebrows with concern, but quickly removed the emotion from his face.
  "Damian, please. Just let me go home. I don't want to do this right now, okay?" Olive spoke in a desperate tone. She tried her best not to get emotional, but it was practically impossible after all the stress she had been unhealthily storing within herself. Olive randomly thought how much she wanted to fast forward through her life, to a time where she wasn't struggling. The pain and constant anxiety taking over her day and night was far too tiring. Olive seriously believed she would be completely content with dropping dead right then and there if it meant her non-stop torment would be over. She quickly shook the thought out of her head, thinking of her mother and Micah.
  "I was watching you off and on in there." Damian suddenly spoke. Olive looked at him with an uninterested visage. She clearly had no energy to pull from any longer. Damian was watching her fall apart bit by bit. He darted his eyes around, feeling the situation become more unnerving.
  "You were having an episode and started crying." Damian mentioned with a soft tone. Olive evaded her view from him, putting one of her feet on the peddles of her bike. Her body jolted as Damian suddenly grabbed her wrists. He lowered his face down to her level, but Olive refused to make eye contact with him. She stared at the pavement, refusing to even acknowledge him. Damian stood there silently, making it known to Olive that he wouldn't leave until she looked at him.
  "What do you want from me?" Olive said in a strained whisper, finally looking at Damian. There was a pool of tears in her eyes but they never leaked over. She peered at him with a desolate expression.
  "Nothing." Damian answered, his voice cracking suddenly. Olive gave Damian a light scowl, laughing sarcastically. Her mentality in that moment could only take so much more until it cracked.
  "Then move, I'd like to go home now." Olive stated to Damian. Olive and Damian heard a bell jingling. It was Franky coming from inside the restaurant. She walked toward Olive and Damian in a quickened pace. Olive turned back to look at her, knowing that there wasn't going to be much to stop her from verbally attacking Damian. Olive could sense it as Franky approached. She let her bike fall to the ground again, tossing her backpack on top. Olive stopped Franky in her tracks before she could reach Damian.
  "Stop, he's not worth it. I was just going home. Please don't do anything stupid and leave me to take care of the restaurant by myself." Olive pleaded with Franky as she showed off a forced enthusiastic attitude. Franky looked at her with dejection. Damian was still standing in the same spot he was prior to Olive holding Franky back.
  "You need to leave, I mean it. If I find out that you've done anything else to Olive, you and I are going to have a long talk that you won't like." Franky threatened Damian, trying her best to remain as calm as possible. Damian glanced over at Franky with a glare. He never spoke a word, but something about his expression and demeanor made Franky's blood boil over.
  "Franky, stop. Threatening a minor isn't a good look." Olive pleaded more, still finding room to joke around for the sake of convincing Franky that she was fine. Franky scoffed, walking passed Olive. Olive turned around quickly, grabbing Franky's forearm to halt her. Franky was standing a few feet away from Damian at that point. He didn't budge at all while he and Franky both stared at each other. Though, Damian wasn't expressing the same emotions or expression that Franky was. Olive had a tight grip on Franky's arm, more of her tears trying to escape.
  "You know nothing about Olive and yet you're sitting back, enjoying that fact that you're making her life harder." Franky exclaimed while gritting her teeth; her jaw tensing up.
  "Go inside, I can take care of myself." Olive demanded with a raised voice. Franky relaxed her muscles and took a step back from Damian. Olive stood in front of Franky, grabbing a hold of her wrists. Franky's expression softened suddenly.
  "I appreciate you doing this, but this just makes things worse." Olive stated in a choked up tone of voice. Her eyes darted around a bit as she spoke. Franky let out a pent up sigh.
  "I'm sorry, please get home safe and do not ever hesitate to call me if anything happens." Franky insisted for Olive to do as she advised whenever she needed it. When it came to Olive's safety, that was a priority. Watching her suffer unnecessarily was painful for Franky. She'd do anything in her power to take Olive's suffering from her in any way she could.
  "I will." Olive confirmed, finally relaxing where she stood; watching as Franky walked away from her and Damian to head back inside the restaurant. Olive turned around to stand face to face with Damian. She silently walked toward him to pick up her bike and her backpack once more, so she could finally go home.
  "Olive." Damian spoke softly. Just hearing his voice was too agonizing for Olive. She shifted her body quickly to face Damian again, glaring at him.
  "What? What is it? Can't you just let me go home? Is it so hard for you to stop your constant games even for a few hours?" Olive snapped at Damian, her voice breaking throughout her yelling. Damian averted his eyes, still standing in front of her. Olive scoffed, forcing a laugh. Damian voluntarily moved out of the way, not looking at Olive, nor saying another word. Olive took the opportunity to leave. She was still wary of whether or not it was a trick, but she was soon relieved of that thought when she noticed that Damian didn't do or say a thing as she started to peddle away.
  Olive began to ride home, her mind becoming similar to a beehive with all her thoughts swarming around, buzzing uncontrollably. The sun was beginning to set, as it was nearing seven in the evening. Olive decided to take a different route before heading home. She peddled as fast as she could, desperately trying to stop her mind from melting out of her ears. Riding through silent and empty streets lined up with healthy trees, Olive allowed her tears to come out again.
  She pulled the brake line of her cycle when she realized she reached her destination. She started to walk, pulling her bike along with her. Her shoes scraping the semi-muddied ground, large rocks and pebbles scattered all around. She maneuvered her way through, not stopping until she had found what she came there for. As soon as she found it, she ceased all movements, removing her grip from her bike and backpack. She set both down at the ground in a gentle way.
  "Hi, Dad." Olive formally greeted her father. An inconsolable expression painted over Olive's face suddenly. She looked over the headstone, finding it difficult to find the right things to say. She sat with crossed legs, starting to topple over and quietly sob. His grave was placed toward the tail of the graveyard, underneath a grim-looking tree, surrounded by other graves of strangers. The grave still looked fairly new after all the time that had passed. Olive felt overwhelmingly petrified with all the memories coming back to her. She didn't want to remember any of it anymore. It haunted her—always stuck in the back of her mind; as if never allowing her to release it from her brain stem.
  "I don't know what to do anymore. There's no way I can do this by myself, but I can't tell anyone else about it. I'm so scared." Olive explained as she stared at her father's grave, her voice raspy and heavy. She sniffled.
  "I'm so sorry I'm dropping all of this on you, but there's nothing else I can think of. It feels like I'm suffocating every moment of the day." Olive caught her breath. Her nose was running and the area around her eyes were already red and swollen. She was trapped and couldn't figure out a way to escape. She pleaded with her dad to help her somehow. Her attempts at pleading grew useless. There was nothing but the sound of the tree branches and leaves on the ground moving with the wind of the humid evening air. Olive inhaled through her nose deeply, holding it in for a moment before releasing the breath out of her mouth.
  "I really am sorry, Dad, I shouldn't have come here. You shouldn't be forced to listen to my problems at the drop of a hat when I don't even come to see you anymore. But it just hurts so much." Olive wiped the stinging tears from her cheeks.
  "It hurts to even breathe knowing you aren't here anymore." Olive's chest was growing heavier as she continued to speak. Yet, she was still capable of smiling once she thought of telling her father about how her mother and little brother were doing.
  "Mom and Micah are happy. Mom got a new job and Micah is doing so good in school. He's so smart that it makes me jealous sometimes. Mom works so fucking hard just to make us happy and I couldn't have asked for anyone better to have in my life." Olive frowned.
  "Sometimes I want the whole world to pause. This feeling and all these emotions won't go away. We want you back and for everything to be okay again but I know that isn't possible." Olive poured her heart out to her father's grave. She spoke as if she were sitting directly in front of him. She wanted to hear her father's voice one last time. She wanted to hear him tell her that everything was going to be okay. She wanted him to hold her hand and guide her to what she needed to do. Olive's breathing was ragged.
  Olive spent the rest of the day's sunlight at the cemetery, sitting in front of her father's tombstone. She spoke to him for over two hours. She felt comfortable, finally being capable of feeling a small moment of glee. For some reason, talking about her hardships with someone who couldn't speak in return, was far more soothing than speaking to someone who could respond. Olive thought to herself that perhaps it was therapeutic to speak to her father's grave.
  "I'll come by more. I know it's been a while, but this is a promise, Dad." Olive had a difficult time standing up due to her legs going numb from sitting criss-crossed for all that time. She balanced herself, gathering her backpack and bike. The silence in the graveyard was somewhat peaceful for her to know that she awaited an eternity of blissful silence once death came for her. Olive approached her father's headstone again. She placed the palm of her hand over her mouth, puckering her lips against it, then placing her palm flat on the grave, giving her dad an indirect kiss. She swallowed excess saliva, trying hard to keep her tears back.
  "I love you." Olive whispered softly, forcing a smile while looking down at her father's grave. Olive turned to walk out of the graveyard. She threw her backpack over her shoulders, seating herself on her bike once she had reached the street. Olive turned her head to the side, looking through the quiet cemetery once more before leaving.