Standing in front of his house, Olivia took a deep breath. This was the last thing she wanted to do today, but she knew she had to. Niall had texted her yesterday, letting her know that the he had found a few things strewn around his place that belonged to her. Things she probably wanted back. She texted him back that she would stop by today to pick them up, hoping he would toss everything in a box and leave it in the garage for her to grab and go. It didn't go that way, though. With Niall, it never did. There was no box sitting in his garage, or on his front porch. Of course there wasn't. He was going to make her do exactly what she didn't want to do. Shaking her head, she climbed the steps to his front door and rang the doorbell. She heard him walking towards the door on the other side and closed her eyes briefly - steeling herself for the moment he opened the door. Seeing him would hurt. It always did. When they broke up a part of her soul was ripped away, and no amount of passing time would change that.
He opened the door. "Hey, Olivia," he said softly. "Come on in." Nothing ever prepared him for seeing her. Each time he did, the memory of the night she walked away for good came roaring back, the pain nearly bringing him to his knees once again. It was all his fault. He knew this. If he could take back everything that had happened, the cascade of terrible events, he would do it in a heartbeat if it meant having her back in his life again. But it wasn't that simple. He knew that, too.
Olivia stepped into the once familiar house. She'd lived in it with him for nearly four years. Now she felt out of place standing awkwardly in the entrance way. "Hey, Niall." She wasn't sure what else to say. There wasn't much else to say. Nine months had passed since they split up. That night had been - and still was - the worst night of her life. Only a few months before it happened, he'd asked her to marry him. Unconsciously, Olivia reached for the engagement ring on her finger, only to realize yet again that it was no longer there. And then, after a few months of engaged bliss, he'd stepped through the very same door she just walked through and shattered their entire life.
More than anything, Niall wanted to pull her close and never let go. But that wasn't something he could do anymore. "This way," he motioned for her to follow him towards the kitchen.
The sadness in his eyes was unmistakable. She would have given anything to wrap her arms around him and let everything else melt away while he held her, safe and protected - but the past had a way of reminding her that she no longer felt safe and protected in his arms. "So what did you find?" Olivia finally asked him, wary of being there any longer than she had to be.
"A few random articles of clothing. And these." Niall pointed to the stack of notebooks on the counter.
Olivia picked up one of the notebooks, fighting back the tears that were threatening to fall. "Oh, my god." It was the manuscript she'd been working on for years. Flipping through the pages, she read bits and pieces of her own words, the story flooding back to her - whether she wanted it to or not. It was loosely based on her own life, and her relationship with Niall. But the story had a much happier ending. Isn't that what romance novels were all about? All these notebooks did was remind her of how their real-life story should have ended, but now it never could. Her temper flared underneath the pain, nine months of pent-up fury that she'd buried as far down as she possibly could. "You brought me over here for this?" Her eyes flashed when she looked back up at him.
"Umm. Yeah? You worked on that story for years, what was I supposed to fucking do, toss it all in the garbage?" Niall asked defensively.
"That's exactly what you should have done." Olivia raised her voice, anger seeping out of each word she spoke. "This story was a romance. OUR romance. Fictionalized. Why the fuck would I want to keep this? The main characters rode off into the sunset with their happily-ever-after. Meanwhile, I ended up alone because you thought it would be a better idea to have a few too many drinks and fuck some random woman during your motherfucking tour!"
