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After the last class of the day, I gather all my stuff and walk out of the small building. It is still snowing outside, even harder than this morning. I pull my hat a little further down to my ears, and rub my hands together, so I won't get super cold.
"Grace! Wait up!" I hear someone say behind me. I stop my tracks and turn around. See, you'd expect it to be Gilbert, at least that is what I expected, but it is that Olivia girl. She makes her way up to me and gives me a smile. "Hi." She says, pushing some of her hair behind her ear.
"I just wanted to say that, you're lucky to have Gilbert in your life, and that Gilbert is lucky to have you in his life." A smile appears on my face and I say, "thanks". I'm not very good with compliments, I'm actually very awkward accepting them. Still, I thank Olivia for complimenting me.
"Gilbert talked a lot about you on the boat." Olivia says, after a long silence. I look at her, not knowing that she was on the boat too. "How did you and Gilbert met, exactly?" I really want to know where she came from. Maybe something bad happened, and Gilbert, as the guy that he is, helped her.
"It's a long story." She starts, and she fiddles her fingers. "Does it look like I have something to do?" I ask, making her chuckle. "So, my father was like the 'boss' of the boat Gilbert was working on. Something happened and he let me work as a punishment. That's the moment I met him and Bash."
"What happened?" I'm not sure if she is going to tell me, but she doesn't seem like a person that does bad things. "Ehm" she starts to get a little nervous. "I never really told anyone."
"I can take you to a secret place, if you want to tell me." I suggest, and Olivia slowly nods. Not gonna lie, it feels a little awkward, but maybe that'll go away when she tells me. I take her arm and bring her to the place that Anne, Diana, ruby and I always sit.
➳
"So it all started when I met this girl on the boat." Olivia smiles when she mentions the girl. "Brown skin, dark curly hair and brown eyes. We started talking, and we always met on the roof of the boat. It was our place. I felt like I knew her for ages. On one point I started catching feelings for her, but I knew my father wouldn't accept that."
A tear escapes Olivia's eye and she takes a deep breath before she goes on with her story. "The night I confessed my feelings for her was the most amazing day of my life. But the day after wasn't." Olivia wipes her tears away and stands up. "Sorry, I-I didn't want to-" Olivia starts to breath heavily and it looks like she is having a panic attack.
"Take deep breaths." I tell her and I stand up. She nods and sits back down. "It's okay. Life sucks." She chuckles, still catching her breath. "Okay," She starts when she has calmed down a bit.
"T-the next day was a nightmare. Someone must've hurt us talking and confessing our feelings, because my dad was angry and screamed at me. As punishment, he cut of her tongue and threw her overboard, and he made me look." I'm speechless. How can someone be so cruel?
Olivia's face changes from feared and shaky to normal and a fake smile."Ehm, I should go." She stands up and grabs her basket. "Gilbert is waiting for me ." I nod, and stand up too. Before she walks away I stop her. I want to tell her that I'm sorry for her, that her dad is the worst and that she didn't deserve the things that she is been through, but I can't get the words out. She rubs my shoulder and walks away.
