Our Girl

Shed A Tear

*Colson's POV*

It's been a little over a week since the incident. Olivia's trying to pretend that everything's okay but the ones closet to her know better. She's suffering. More than she's even ready to realize herself.

I wanted to believe that when she was ready, she would talk to us. But Levi was at his wits end. Olivia was having nightmares. She was barely talking to people like she used to. Her smile no longer reached her eyes.

We asked her to talk to someone, anyone, but she refused. She claimed she could handle this on her own. We knew she couldn't. It has nothing to do with us believing she was weak either. What she went through, no one should ever have to go through. We're just worried about her. She likes to keep things bottled up for the sake of others. I wish she would just let it out. Scream. Cry. Anything just to get her emotions out there.

"She won't talk to me." Levi called me over to see if I could talk to Olivia. She had been in her room all week. She hasn't really eaten anything or drink anything. So I was now watching him pace back and forth in their living room.

"Maybe you should talk to her."

I looked at Levi like he was insane. "Naw. I'm good."

"That wasn't a question." His voice went a little deeper than normal, indicating that he was serious.

"It seemed implied." I smiled, hopping to lighten the mood.

I failed.

Miserably.

"Colson." Levi was pleading with me now.

But I was not going to budge. "She tells you everything. If she won't talk to you what makes you think that she'll talk to me?"

"Because you're not me."

"That makes no sense."

He stopped pacing and glared at me. "Colson just talk to her."

I looked Levi in the eyes. He looked defeated. He looked tired. Worried. Concerned. Everything a loving brother should feel when their sister's in this state.

I sighed. These Jacobs will be the death of me. "Fine." I turned to walk out of the house.

"Where are you going?"

I stopped at the front door. "If I'm going to talk to Olivia about her feelings I'm going to need my armor." I closed the door behind me.

———

I knocked on Olivia's door before I entered. There was no sound coming from the room. Feeling nervous, I cracked the door and looked inside. She was in there. She was laying on her bed watching the fan go round and round.

"Hey Ollie." I said softly.

She sat up on her elbows. "Hey Coley." Her voice was barely audible. You could look at her and tell that although she had been in the room all week, she was exhausted.

I tried to tread carefully. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." Her words were short.

"I'm pretty sure you're not." I retorted and went deeper into her room.

"But I am fine."

"Stop saying that. You're not fine." I doubted that she would talk to me about what she was thinking but my goal was simple, to make her feel something other than numb. If I could just get her to yell at me, at least me and Levi would know that she wasn't completely broken.