Never Crossed My Mind

Johnny sat on the couch – the same couch he and Olivia had sat on to watch movies and take shots the night he laid it all on the table and won her over – and listened to Charlotte as she paced back and forth, ranting and raving about him going after Olivia at the restaurant.

“Do you have any idea how humiliated I am?” she yelled. “Johnny, you told me everything was over with her! You told me she was no good, that she completely screwed you over!”

He fell back against the couch cushions and sighed. “Yes, I said that.”

“So what gives?” Charlotte demanded.

Johnny shook his head and leaned forward again, resting his elbows on his knees. “Have you ever been in love with someone, Charlotte?”

“Oh God,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes. “You seriously want me to believe you’re in love with this girl?”

“Believe it or not, it really doesn’t matter. I know the truth. When all of this went down, I wanted to hate Olivia. I wanted to forget she existed and forget about everything that ever went down between the two of us. Maybe I didn’t realize it until now, but you can’t just forget someone you’re in love with. It doesn’t work that way. I know I dragged you into this, and I’m sorry for that. I just … I can’t do it anymore.”

Charlotte’s face turned a shade of red that Johnny hadn’t seen on anyone else – maybe Olivia that morning they woke her up with the bullhorn and yelling. Charlotte grabbed for her purse and fished out her phone, calling for a cab.

“You’re utterly ridiculous, you know that!” she seethed. “This girl will ruin you – hell, she already has with all the shit she’s pulled. And you’re just going to let her keep on ruining you if you don’t move on.”

“You’ve been jealous of Olivia from Day One,” Johnny snapped. “Tell me that first date you and I had, when she opened the door, it didn’t piss you off.”

“I was coming to meet some new guy I was supposed to be perfect for and another girl answered the door. Of course I was irritated. What if it had been the other way around?”

“Honestly, at that point, I was so into Olivia, it wouldn't have mattered. I led you on, and it was wrong. I get that; I can’t apologize enough for it. But from the day I met Olivia, she’s been it for me. For me to try and erase everything that I had with her – it was stupid on my part.”

Tears welled in Charlotte’s eyes and her face softened. “I can’t argue with this anymore. What’s done is done. I wanted to be that girl for you, and you’re right. I knew from the beginning that it was too much – I should have left it after ending that first date.”

The cab honked from the front of the house. Charlotte kissed his cheek and left the house. Johnny still felt horrible for hurting her the way he had, but there was no one for him but Olivia. He’d known that as soon as she came up with the idea to have her ideas pulled from the original MTV documentary about Ryan’s death. As soon as she was no longer the enemy, he had to have her. He had been so confused at the time; he was so confused now.

He never would have believed that Olivia would do something to traitorous, but it was all there in black and white. The Dickhouse lawyers had documentation showing her signature. She signed off on the project. Maybe the woman he was in love with wasn’t the woman she really was. Either way, the whole Charlotte debacle had shown him he needed to move past Olivia – whoever she was – before he could get involved with anyone else.

His mobile rang as he trudged up the stairs. He didn’t really want to talk to anyone but if it was important – and it was Jeff. Letting out a deep breath and dropping down to the bed, he loosened his tie and answered the call.

“Yeah, Jeff, what’s up.”

“The lawyers just called me. We’ve got a meeting in the morning. Apparently Olivia’s lawyer has something he wants us to see.”

Johnny grunted. “We really sure this is worth it?”

“Apparently our lawyers got some details on it and they seem to think it’s worth it.”

“But they didn’t tell you anything?”

“They want us in there with open minds, I guess.”

“Look, Jeff, if Livvy’s going to be there, I don’t think I need to be.”

“Dude, you have to suck it the fuck up,” Jeff replied. “Guaranteed Bam and Julie are going to be there with her and Ehren is going.”

“I saw her tonight, man.”

Jeff paused. “What do you mean you saw her?”

“It wasn’t on purpose. I took Charlotte out to dinner and of all the fucking places in Los Angeles, she was there with Bam and Julie. I think they were trying to keep us from spotting each other, but when she saw me she panicked and ran out.”

“Knoxville, please tell me you didn’t go after her.”

“It’s Olivia, Jeff. We didn’t much. She didn’t want to talk to me. I just told her I missed her, then they drove off.”

Jeff sighed. “Get your shit together, Knoxville. We’re all just as bummed as you that Olivia turned out like this, but we’re doing what we have to do. Get your shit together and be at the meeting in the morning. I’ll text you the details.”

Johnny agreed and disconnected the call. He stripped down to his boxers and went downstairs for the whiskey bottle in the cupboard. Back in the bedroom, he set his alarm so he wouldn’t miss the meeting Jeff had just texted him about, took a swig of the whiskey, and cuddled in with the million thoughts warring in his mind.

***

The next morning, Olivia woke up and knew immediately that all the crying she had done the night before was going to show on her face. Her eyes were scratchy and her face felt dry. A look in the bathroom mirror confirmed bloodshot eyes and a puffy, red face.

She put in some eye drops then started a warm shower, hoping it would help her appearance. Julie and Bam had offered to sit with her, but she truly wanted to be alone. They disappeared back to Bam’s room; Olivia didn’t even want to speculate what happened there.

Hearing Johnny say he missed her was something she thought she wanted to hear – until he actually said it. Then it just hurt like hell. Her heart shattered all over again and she wasn’t sure all the pieces would ever fit back together again. It just wasn’t supposed to be like this. When you go a year unable to stop thinking about someone and finally get together with that person, it wasn’t supposed to end in such a mess. If it ended at all.

After she washed herself up, she didn’t linger in the shower. She turned off the faucet, wrapped her hair first, then her body. As she chose clothes to wear that day – they had all seen her in beer and fish stink, but she wanted to look as professional as possibly today – her mind came to one solid conclusion: her relationship with Johnny was just not what she thought it was. Johnny wasn’t who she thought he was. She had been wrong about so many things. Just like she told Bam, it seemed like the things that weren’t supposed to happen had started with Ryan’s death, and since the whole crew had continued to tempt Fate, this is where they found themselves. Olivia had believed Bam when he argued her point that night but now she realized it had only been optimism talking.

She was just sliding her feet into a pair of red pumps when Julie walked in. Olivia looked up and gave a faint trace of smile.

“Sorry,” Julie apologized. “I should have knocked first. I thought maybe you were still sleeping.”

“It’s all right,” Olivia said, checking her phone. “Guess I never took it off silent after last night. Bam with you?”

“He’ll be up in a few minutes. Told him I wanted to check on you first.”

Olivia nodded. “Thanks. I’m all right, really. I mean, the whole situation sucks, but I think after today, it’s going to get better. We can get past most of this lawsuit business, Nick’ll get his, and then I can go back to Carolina. I can go home.”

Julie’s shoulder’s dropped. “Liv, you can’t just forget about him. He misses you.”

“Whose side are you on?” Olivia challenged. “Missing the other person happens when you break up with someone. It’s just part of it. The sooner I can get all of this over with, the sooner I can go home and get on with life.”

“You mean you can go back to being a workaholic? Liv, you know I love you and I’m absolutely on your side. All I’m saying is – really, it’s not just about Johnny. It’s about the whole Jackass crew. They brought out the best in you. You’ve been fun again the last few months, you know? I know you think this has been all wrong, but you don’t see what I see. You’re the real you when you’re here, with these guys.”

Olivia shrugged. “It was fun while it lasted, Jules. I just don’t think … maybe the person I was while I was here, doing these things wasn’t me.” She lifted her casted arm. “When have you ever known me to be the girl who breaks bones doing crazy shit?”

Julie sighed. “Two weeks left and you won’t have that reminder anymore, I guess.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Olivia looked over at her cousin and widened her smile. “Listen to all that optimism and encouragement. You got laid last night, didn’t you?”

Julie sighed and got up off the bed. “You’re so missing the point of this conversation, Olivia.”

She laughed. “Oh my gosh! You did! You and Bam did the dirty! So what now, are you guys like … a couple?”

“We’ve yet to discuss that,” Bam answered for Julie, coming into the room. He kissed Julie quickly. “Let’s get through today, then we’ll go from there. You girls ready?”

Olivia grabbed her messenger bag and nodded. “Ready as we’ll ever be, I think.”

***

The whiskey had done him right the night before – sleep, not so much. A tired, hungover – or maybe still a little drunk – Johnny walked into the cold meeting room and took a seat next to Jeff. Ehren was on the other side of him and Steve-O was seated on the other side of Jeff. Chris, Dave, and Wee-Man shuffled in not even a minute later, and Preston wasn’t too far behind them.

“Gang’s mostly here, I guess,” Johnny commented.

“All of you gentlemen need to see this,” the lawyer spoke up. He checked his watch. “They should be here any moment.”

Sure enough, just a couple minutes later, Olivia’s lawyer opened the door. He held it open, and Olivia, Julie, and Bam filed in. The lawyer and the women took a seat on the other side of the table; Olivia handed Bam her laptop and he hooked it up to the projector so that whatever they had to show would be visible on the larger pull-down screen in front of them.

When Bam took his seat also across the table, Johnny felt a pang of guilt and sadness. Everyone at this table – save for maybe the lawyers – had been a family not that long ago. It wasn’t supposed to be this. It wasn’t supposed to be eight against three; they were supposed to be a team. That thought opened his mind a little more to what they had to say, and he leaned forward as Olivia’s lawyer spoke.

“Thanks for coming today, gentlemen. My clients have put together a rough edit of a documentary to answer the one shown on MTV that will dispel any doubts you have against any of them, I believe. Mr. Margera, will you start it, please?”

Bam happily took the honors and pressed play. After the opening credits, the scene opened to Olivia sitting on her hotel bed. The film was rough; probably done with a cheaper video camera. As she began to speak, the tension in the room could have been cut with a knife.

“All this shit that’s been going on lately has been really overwhelming. We’ve been torn apart as a family, and that’s not how it should be. When people lose someone close to them, it’s supposed to teach them to stick together through thick and thin. I’ve spent the last few months seeing how Dunn’s passing brought these guys together, and they’ve made me a part of their family. Unfortunately, someone who is a … fucking liar who wanted to cheat his way into his fifteen minutes of fame has come in and taken some actions that have drawn some very serious battle lines for our family. I know no one believed me when I said I had nothing to do with it, so I got this—“ She showed the creased paper with Nick’s signature on it “—signed confession from Nick that he stole the footage and forged my signature. And if that’s not enough, I got it all on video, too.”

Her face faded away from the frame and opened to the video she and Bam took beginning just outside of the diner. They all watched wide-eyed while she went through the motions of a truce with Nick, all the while actually getting him to state out loud what he did. After her and Bam laughing in the cab, the frame went back to the hotel room, but this time Julie and Bam were in the room with her.

“So now that that’s cleared up, we’re going to give you guys some footage of how things really happened,” Julie said.

“Not to say some things that happened didn’t go down in a really sketchy manner,” Bam added. “But it wasn’t quite as dirty as the other documentary made it out to be.”

Olivia took a deep breath. “Here’s the story of how the stuff behind the scenes of Jackass 4 really went down.”

They watched for the next hour as the rough cut of the documentary played – and it was pretty close to perfect. A few more commentaries and some fine tuning, and it would clear everything up just fine. When it was over, they all sat back in their chairs again.

“Would you all please let me have a few minutes alone with my clients?” the Dickhouse lawyer asked.

The four sitting across the table agreed and left the room. The anticipation was high; the reaction to what they had come up with could change everything around.

It was going to be a long few minutes.