What Once Was, Is No More

Olivia and Brendon continued to embrace, with her head resting on his chest and his chin sitting upon her head, both having time to regularize their breathing. He gently stroked her back, comforting her from Jason’s hurtful words and carefully sucking on his bottom lip.

She finally realized that it was over between her and Jason. Now she could be with Brendon and live happily with him in LA or wherever; it didn’t matter to her as long as she had him. She smiled internally and tightened her hold on him.

“You okay?” He asked in a soft tone.

He felt her nod and sniff back some tears, and then sigh. “So, what do we do now?” She asked not exactly knowing where to go from there.

“You should probably wake up.” He replied.

She looked up at him confusingly. “What?”

“Wake up Liv.” He whispered.

Olivia’s vision became blurry and she blinked a few times before her eyes refocused. Once everything became clear, she saw she was still in bed staring at the plain white ceiling. It was all a dream she thought disappointedly. She groaned and placed her hands over her face. Why did she have to wake up and face reality?

After a few more seconds of embedding the ceiling pattern in her mind, she slowly turned her head towards Jason’s side of the bed; and there laid a note, just like in her dream. All she could do was stare at it, too scared to pick it up, hoping it would just disappear, dissolve into the off-white colored pillow. As she was about to pick it up, the fan’s wind blew it off the bed, and then her phone rang.

She sat up and reached for it. “Hello?” She yawned.

“Olivia, where are you?” A female voice asked.

She rubbed her eyes with her thumb and index finger, trying to wake herself up. “Hmm?” Was all she could manage to say.

“Where are you? You told us to meet you for lunch today. Remember?” Mia, her friend, said.

Olivia took the phone away from her ear and looked at the time. “Oh shit, I’ll be there in fifteen.” She said hanging up and jumping out of bed.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

“So you had nothing better to do today than come with your cousin to a jewelry store?” Jason asked Brendon jokingly.

Brendon crossed his leg and nervously shook his foot as they waited for Jason’s purchase. He wasn’t sure why he even volunteered himself to come with him-whenever he was around him, the guilt became increasingly worse to handle, but he tried his best to act a bit normal.

“Oh I had plenty of things to do today, but I thought ‘Hey I haven’t seen my cousin in a while. He deserves some Brendon time’ and so here we are.” He cupped his hands around his kneecap, continuing to shake his foot.

Jason chuckled a little. “So, why are we at a jewelry store? Didn’t you already buy her the engagement ring?” Brendon asked.

“Well, it’s nothing I’m buying. I had to get something fixed. This necklace she has, I broke a couple months ago and I told her I’d um, get it fixed. She kinda freaked out when it happened. Said it had ‘special meaning’ to her.” He explained air quoting the phrase “special meaning” and shrugged his shoulders.

“Mr. Kurk.” The sales clerk called from behind the counter.

Jason lifted his head at the mention of his name and walked towards the counter, where the man had laid down the necklace Jason was talking about; Brendon followed behind. Jason stared down at it, running his fingers over it, inspecting the quality of work done. He picked it up by its chain, letting the charm swivel around.

Jason scoffed. “Can you believe she freaked out over this thing?”

Brendon gasped at the sight of the necklace, stopping the charm in mid-spin, holding it in the palm of his hand. It was the necklace he’d given Olivia the day after they graduated. He couldn’t believe she kept it and considered it to have “special meaning” even after they broke up.

He felt Jason place his hand on his shoulder. “You okay man?” He asked pulling the necklace out of his hands and handing it back to the sales clerk.

Brendon shook his head, releasing his mind from the daze. “Uh yeah. It’s um...it’s just a very beautiful necklace.” He smiled.

He didn’t care anymore, about the overwhelming guilt, that Jason had come back early, that they would be celebrating their four-year anniversary tomorrow or even the fact Jason planned to propose to her. He knew that no matter what, he and Olivia were meant to be together and he would take her back with him to LA.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Olivia hurriedly walked towards her three friends who were sitting around a table talking amongst themselves.

“Sorry I’m so late. Have you ordered yet?” She asked them taking off her jacket.

“No not yet. What happened? Are you okay?” Mia asked as she watched the frazzled Olivia settle in her chair.

She brushed back fallen strands of her hair and nodded. “I’m fine, I just overslept. Let’s just say I had a tiring night.”

“It wouldn’t have anything to do with that little number you bought for Jason yesterday would it?” Cheryl asked smiling and raising both her eyebrows.

All three friends looked at her. “Wait, Jason came back already?” Her other friend, Krystal, asked.

Cheryl turned her head towards Krystal and eyed her with a baffled look. “What do you mean if he’s back already? He’s been gone?” Mia and Krystal nodded in unison. Cheryl then directed her attention to Olivia. “Then who was that guy you were with at the zoo?” She asked.

Curiosity filled her friend’s faces as they waited for her to answer the question. “That’s just an old friend from Vegas.” It wasn’t the whole truth, but the truth nonetheless. They still looked unconvinced; especially Cheryl who had seen the way Brendon acted that day with Olivia. “What? Don’t worry, he’s gay.” She would’ve said anything to stop all the inquiries.

“That makes sense now. His jeans were a bit on the tight side.” Cheryl said.

Olivia grinned and laughed to herself at her comment.

“Okay okay, so let’s talk about why we’re here. Why did you call us down for lunch?” Mia asked.

Olivia had forgotten about the reason she set up the lunch date. She reached down for her purse and grabbed the envelope that stuck out from the opening. She held it in her hands, thinking that she should’ve never accepted what was inside and then placed it on the table.

“Well, since it’s mine and Jason’s four year anniversary tomorrow, he set up this whole spa day and got three extra certificates for me to invite my friends. So I was wondering if you all would come with me tomorrow.”

“Awe, he’s going to propose to you tomorrow!” Krystal rejoiced clapping her hands together.

“Uh doubtful.” Olivia said confidently.

“Why do you say that? Why else would he book a spa day for you and your friends? He wants you to be all refreshed and looking lovely for your anniversary dinner tomorrow, so when he proposes you’ll be glistening with happiness.” Mia loving the idea of her friend getting married.

Olivia wondered what kind of fantasy fairytale her friend was living in. “It’s doubtful because he’s been talking marriage for three years now and hasn’t done anything yet. I don’t think a year of being together is going to change that.” She said before taking a sip of her drink.

“You never know Liv.” Krystal added in.

“Let’s just say he does ask. Would you accept?” Cheryl asked.

If she had asked her a month ago that same question, Olivia would’ve answered “yes” in a heartbeat, but under the circumstances, she didn’t know what her answer would be.

“Of course I would.” She lied.

6 hours later

Jason knocked on the bathroom door. “Hey Liv, you ready?” He asked.

He stood back as the door opened and smiled as he eyes fell upon Olivia. He walked up to her, running his fingers through her hair and kissing her forehead.

“You look beautiful.” He whispered.

She smiled at him. “We should get going.” He said grabbing her hand, leading them to the front door.

She looked back towards the guest bedroom and paused. “Wait, what about Brendon?” She asked.

“Oh, I’m sure he and Courtney are already at the restaurant. Now come on, I’m getting hungry.” He said motioning for her to walk out the door.

Courtney?

Just like Jason had predicted, Brendon and Courtney were already seated at a table, laughing and talking, almost looking like they were on a date. Olivia’s heart thumped loud in her chest as they neared the table. It would be the first time she, Brendon and Jason would all be in the same place face-to-face and she wasn’t exactly looking forward to it.

Queue the awkwardness