Meant to Be

Brendon remembered being in Seattle like it was yesterday. Nothing had really changed since he was last there, other than the sun shining more and his reasoning for being there. This time he was there to attempt to fix what he thought he had broken. Maybe there was some way he could convince Olivia that she wasn’t making a mistake and Jason was the one for her, even though, deep down he didn’t believe it.

“Keep the cab running, I’ll be right back,” Brendon told the driver as he exited the cab.

He grabbed his bags and caught up with his best friend and band mate, Spencer, who smiled and shook his head as Brendon ran towards him.

“Are you sure you wanna go right now? Drop on by and not call? Maybe you should wait until tomorrow,” Spencer suggested.

“It can’t wait ‘til tomorrow Spence. I have to make sure everything’s okay with Liv. I hate to think she’s that unhappy with Jason,” Brendon said as they went to check-in.

Spencer gave him a sympathetic smile. “You still love her don’t you?” he asked.

Brendon looked at him and lowered his eyes to the floor, shrugging his shoulders. “I’d like to think I got over her, but obviously that’s not the case. I guess I’ll never stop loving her, which sucks considering the situation I’m in.”

“I get it buddy, but I mean if she wants you to move on, you should move on. That email was probably more of a closure than a cry for help. But I guess it’s too late to turn back now and I’m not gonna complain about getting outta LA for a couple of days. It has been awhile since I’ve been to Seattle,” Spencer said moving forward in line.

Brendon sighed and looked around anxiously, hoping the line would hurry up so he could get to Jason’s soon. He felt Spencer place his hand on his shoulder, “Hey why don’t you go, and I’ll check-in for us. You can leave your stuff too and I’ll take it up,” he offered.

“Thanks man, I owe you,” Brendon said setting his bag down and heading outside for the cab.

After telling the cab diver the next destination, Brendon, once again, stood inside the elevator and waited for it to reach Jason’s floor. The ding of the elevator snapped Brendon back to reality and he headed straight for the apartment he had stayed at two months prior. His finger lightly touched the doorbell, hesitating before pulling it back. His mind flashbacked to two months ago and how the moment the door opened his heart flipped in his chest at the sight of Olivia. What would he do if it were just him and Olivia in the apartment? Would he be able to control himself around her? Brendon wouldn’t know the answers until that door opened and he was inside.

“Brendon? What are you doing here?” Brendon’s heart dropped when he saw it was Jason.

“Hey. I was in town doing stuff with the band and I thought I’d drop by. Sorry I didn’t call, I uh got a new phone, so I lost some of my contacts,” Brendon lied.

“Oh I see. Sorry, come on in,” Jason said motioning for Brendon to come in the apartment. “I’m just surprised to see you is all,” Jason said closing the door behind Brendon.

“I understand. Hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time. I just thought it’d be nice to see how you and Olivia were doing. Where she at? Work?” Brendon smiled.

Jason gave him a puzzled look and shook his head. “No um…didn’t anyone tell you?” he asked.

Now it was Brendon’s turn to look confused. “Tell me what?”

Jason sighed and scratched the back of his head. “Olivia’s gone,” he said sadly in a hush tone.

“Gone? What are you talkin’ about?” Brendon asked not really understanding the situation.

Jason shrugged his shoulders and sat down on the couch. “She’s gone. She left two days ago and all she left me was a note.”

Brendon took a seat on the couch waiting for him to go on, but when he didn’t, Brendon continued to ask questions. “Well what happened? Why’d she leave?”

“Oh, well she said she had been seeing a guy behind my back and loved him and she couldn’t take lying to me and left to be with him. Gah I just can’t wrap my mind around it. I thought she loved me,” Jason said blankly to the wall.

“Yeah I can’t believe it either. I mean when I was here, I didn’t suspect anything. All she could talk about was you,” Brendon added.

“I would’ve done anything to convince her to stay with me. Now I don’t even know where she’s at or if she’s okay. She’s just gone,” Jason said, his voice becoming more and more depressing.

Brendon reached over and placed a comforting grip on Jason’s shoulders. “I’m sorry man. So what’s next for you?”

“For now, I’m going to head back to New York and work at the business there, while my partner looks over everything here. I just need get away for a bit. Kinda like what you did when you came here.”

Brendon nodded his head understandably, but something didn’t seem right with Jason’s story. Who could Olivia possibly have left with?



Olivia hummed a cheerful tune as she cooked breakfast. When she woke up, she actually smiled and was happy to wake up in her old bedroom. Even after five years, it was still the same as she had left it when she went off to college. And for that she was thankful – to be back in a familiar place.

“Mm is that bacon I smell?” Olivia turned around to see her dad walk into the kitchen.

She smiled at him and returned back to cooking. “Yes you do and also some sausage links. But I made you some oatmeal with a touch a cinnamon.”

She heard her father grunt with displeasure. “Sounds yummy,” he answered sarcastically.

She laughed as she served herself. “It is yummy and good for you,” she said setting his bowl of oatmeal in front of him.

“Then why aren’t you enjoying a bowl of this crud with me?” he asked digging his spoon into the oatmeal.

Olivia shrugged her shoulders as she bit a piece of her bacon. “I’m just craving this. It’s been a while since I’ve had it.”

After a few more spoonfuls of oatmeal, Olivia’s father decided to ask the question that had plagued his mind since her arrival yesterday. “So are you gonna tell me why you’re here or am I supposed to believe you’re here to help me out,” he asked eyeing her.

Olivia was caught off guard by the question. “Dad, I told you why I’m here. I’m on vacation and since Jason went out of town for business I thought I’d come here to visit and yes help you out,” she said tearing off a piece of her bacon.

“It just seemed like something was wrong when you got here. Is everything okay? You’re not even wearing your engagement ring,” he said pointing to her empty ring finger.

Olivia froze and stared at her ringless finger. She’d forgotten that she no longer had it; that as she left Jason’s apartment and said “good-bye”, she placed the dainty ring in the palm of his hand. She didn’t want to lie to her father, but right now she wasn’t ready to tell anyone her and Jason weren’t together anymore.

“Oh, Jason took it back to New York with him to get one of the diamonds replaced and he wanted to engrave something on it,” she shrugged.

“Oh okay. But you’d tell me if something was wrong right? I know you don’t like me to worry, but I’m your dad, I worry no matter what,” he said placing his hand over hers.

She looked down at their hands then back up to him and smiled. “I know you do and if there was anything wrong, anything at all, I’d tell you.” Just not right now she thought.

“All right, so what are your plans for today?” he asked stirring the lumpy meal in his bowl.

Olivia shrugged as she chewed her eggs. “I don’t know. Maybe go see Charlotte and help her with wedding stuff,” she said.

“I’m sure your cousin would love your help. You should also think about going to see your mother. It’s been a while since you’ve visited her,” her dad suggested.

It really had been a while, though that was an understatement; it had been years since she last went to visit her mother, but that was only because she always managed to cry when she did.

“Um…yeah maybe. I don’t wanna leave you here by yourself all day.”

Her dad smiled and chuckled to himself. “You won’t be. Your bother is coming over and bringing the kids, so I’ll be perfectly fine if you leave.”

“He is? Well then I should just stay and hang here with everyone. I haven’t seen Abel in a long time either and the kids. I miss them,” she smiled.

“Olivia, they’ll be here by the time you get back. Stop trying to avoid it and just go,” he father demanded.

She nodded quietly.



Brendon took another sip of his beer before settling down the empty bottle on the counter of the bar. He ran his fingers through his hair and stared blankly at the wall of liquor in front of him.

“So you really think Jason lied about Olivia leaving?” Spencer asked before taking a gulp of his beer.

“No, I believe she left. I just don’t believe his reason for her leaving.”

“Then why do you think she left?”

Brendon shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. I mean, I know she wasn’t happy, but I didn’t think she’d run off. And now I don’t even know where she’s at or if she’s okay.” Brendon felt the tears stain his cheeks and quickly wiped them away. “If I at least knew she was fine, I’d have some peace of mind.”

Spencer could see the pain his friend was going through and could think of nothing else but to comfortingly run his hand up and down Brendon’s back. Brendon gave Spencer a thankful smile and he could still see water in his eyes. Spencer never knew how much Brendon loved Olivia, but now he did. Not only that, Brendon was in love with her.

“I’m sorry about all this. It sucks seeing you hurt,” Spencer said cupping his beer between his hands.

Brendon sighed and looked in Spencer’s direction. “I’m sorry too. I’m sure you don’t like me to bitch and moan about my problems when I don’t even ask you if you’re okay. Are you? Is everything okay with you?” Brendon asked.

He could see Spencer smile a little. “Yeah everything’s…perfect. In fact, I couldn’t be happier,” he said smiling in Brendon’s direction.

“That’s good. I’m glad. So you and Haley…you two are still going strong huh?”

Spencer nodded, still smiling. “Yup. I love her more than anything. I really think she’s the one for me and can see spending my entire life with.”

Brendon patted Spencer’s back. “I think so too. You’re a lucky guy Spence.”

“Thanks. So uh…how about one more round? My treat.”

Brendon nodded in agreement. “Sounds good.”



Olivia slowly parked next to the curb and stared out her window. Everything about being there made her feel uneasy. She took a deep breath and got out of her car, letting the surprise wind blow through her hair. It had almost been six years, but the place still looked the same.

“Do you remember where your mom’s…”

“Yeah dad. I know it’s been a while, but I remember,” Olivia interrupted her dad as she left the house to visit her mom.

She knelt down on the soft grass in front of the grey gravestone and gently ran her fingers over the etched in epitaph.

Anna Loraine Adams
February 10, 1964 – November 29, 2004
Loving wife and mother.

Olivia wiped away the stream of tears that had fallen. She and her family had lost her mother six years ago to breast cancer and missed her dearly. Of all the people in her life, her mother was the one she needed the most at the moment.

“Mom, I wish you were here right now. I could really use your motherly advice. I need someone to tell me I can do this. That I’m strong enough to keep going on, because right now it seems like everything I had hoped for is fading from my grasp.”

“I think you’re a strong person that can get through anything that comes her way,” Olivia heard from behind her.

She slowly turned her head around and saw a man holding gardening tools standing behind her. She got up and tilted her head, studying the man’s face, trying to figure out if she knew him from somewhere.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop or sneak up on you, but I thought you should know you what I thought,” he said, giving her a half smile.

“Thanks, but you don’t even know me and I don’t know you…at least I don’t think I do,” she said still trying to figure out who he was.

He chuckled a little. “Olivia Adams, most popular girl in high school and one of the nicest girls I ever had the pleasure of knowing,” he said.

“We went to high school together?” she asked.

He nodded. “Sure did. It’s me, Travis O’Brien.”

Olivia’s eyes widened and she let out a small gasp. “No way. Travis? Wow, you’ve changed so much. You look…amazing,” she commented.

He blushed and laughed. “Thanks and you look amazing still. I didn’t know you were back in Vegas.”

“Oh yeah. I um…I’m here to help my dad, but uh he thought I should come see my mom. It’s been a while,” she said looking back at her grave.

“Yeah I always see your dad and brother come and visit, so I try to make sure your mom’s grave looks especially nice. I always make sure to have her favorite flowers out,” he said walking up to Olivia’s mother’s headstone.

“You work here?” Olivia asked.

“Well not exactly, but I should get back to work. How about we get lunch tomorrow and we can catch up? If you’re not too busy that is,” Travis suggested.

Olivia smiled and nodded her head. “Yeah I’d like that.”

“Great. How about at Momma J’s House around one thirty? That work for you?”

“Sounds perfect,” she replied.

“Awesome. I’ll see you tomorrow then. And it was great seeing you again. Highlight of my week actually,” Travis said giving her the widest smile he could.

This time it was Olivia who blushed. “You were always a sweetheart Travis. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

They waved good-bye as Travis headed toward to another area of the cemetery and Olivia stayed at her mother’s grave site. She continued to smile as she knelt back down and couldn’t wait for tomorrow to meet with Travis.