love - j.w [BOOK 2]

12.

"I'll call the school, you book the tickets." Jeff spoke. "We will get there as soon as possible."

Their suitcases were all packed and ready to go, they'd kept Grace in her playroom to avoid questioning. Jeff had tried calming Olivia down, but it was difficult because this was her brother, her closest bond.

"The plane tickets are booked for early tomorrow morning." Olivia spoke, she was deflated. She pulled Jeff into a hug, letting tears fall from her eyes into his shirt. He kept her embraced and stroked her hair, just wanting this to stop. Seeing Olivia upset was the worst, she is always such a happy person. And manages to keep everyone that way, her mood is infectious.

"Let's get some food and get some rest." Jeff suggested. "You can choose where."

Olivia didn't have a single ounce of energy in her body as she could barely lift her arm up to turn her alarm off. 3.53am. She huffed and got up, making herself and Jeff some coffee. She had no intentions of waking Grace or Jeff up, so she took in the silence of her home as she made the coffee. She felt drained from crying last night. Jeff held her in bed for almost 45 minutes as she weeped. Bless him, he was falling asleep. But she didn't want anything to happen to her brother

She took the coffees upstairs and Jeff wasn't in bed. She opened her bathroom door and found him sitting beside the bathtub, watching it fill with water. She handed him a mug and sat with him.

"I should probably wake Grace up." Olivia mumbled, rubbing his arm as she left the bathroom. Just as she left, Jeff's phone began to ring. He retrieved it from the bedside table, seeing Olivia's mom's name.

"Hey Mrs. Mayer, is everything okay?" He asked. He was a bit worried as to why she was calling him at 4 in the morning.

"Yes, given the circumstances. But I just wanted to call you to keep an eye on Olivia. I know this sounds controlling but don't let her out of your sight." She explained.

"Why?" He questioned.

"Growing up, Nick had been in and out of hospital with breathing problems. His lungs haven't always been 100% functional. And whenever he'd been in hospital, Olivia would get frantic. She'd always been protective over him, despite her being the younger one. And I just don't want her to go off the rails again. With the crash he's been in, who knows how he will be."

"I didn't know about Nick's lungs. But I will make sure she's okay, I think with Grace and I being around, she will be fine." Jeff responded.

"Thank you, Jeff. We will see you soon."

The bath was finished and Olivia had returned, Grace in her arms asleep.

"This little one fell asleep eating breakfast." Grace chuckled, placing her in their bed.

Jeff grabbed her hand and led her to the bathroom. "Let's relax for a bit, before the flight."