“Tyler, sorry if I interrupted. I saw the lights on.” Kyle, my landlord, looked me over with wary eyes, probably noting the desperation etched in my features. “I was here to meet with other tenants and wanted to chat with you about the additional space if you had time.”
“Um, yeah, sure. Just one minute.”
I came back to Olivia, her eyes darting everywhere but mine as she wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand.
“This conversation isn’t over. I need to talk to my landlord, but I’ll come to your apartment right after.”
She inched over to me, running her hand down my chest.
“Goodbye, Tyler.” She kissed my cheek and dropped her head to my chest, pulling away when I reached for her. She sniffled, wiping her eyes one more time and not looking back as she passed Kyle on the way out the door.
I managed to hold it together enough to have a decent conversation with Kyle regarding rent and the logistics of taking over the deli space. He already had a lease agreement drafted, which highlighted everything we originally talked about. When he left, I stared at it for what seemed like hours. This was the expansion I never would have had the opportunity to even think about until Olivia. Not only by giving me a big break but by believing in me. This should have been something to celebrate, but without her by my side, what was the point of celebrating anything? I was already lost without her.
I closed up as quickly as I could and rushed to her apartment. The lights were off, but her car sat in the driveway.
I stepped out of my truck, wondering if I should knock on her door. Olivia was too fired up to reason with, but I hated the thought of her falling asleep thinking I didn’t love her, that being with her was something I was only doing out of obligation. After months of agonizing over how to tell her how I felt, I let something stupid slip out and fucked it all up.
Tyler:I’m outside. Talk to me, sugar.
I laughed at the silly pet name I gave her on the fly during our “act” at Donnie’s wedding. Shewasthe sugar. Life had been sweet since she offered me that crazy favor and changed everything. I leaned back on the car door and rubbed my eyes.
“Tyler?”
I blinked my eyes open and found Carla regarding me with a furrowed brow as she stepped closer.
“What’s wrong?”
Everything.
When she clutched my arm, I realized I’d said that out loud.
“Olivia and I got into an argument. I said something stupid that she took completely out of context, and…” I raked a hand through my hair. “If she would talk to me, we could straighten it out, but I think she’s sleeping already and I don’t want to wake her up only to upset her again.”
She looked me over with a sympathy that only made me feel worse. “Sounds like Olivia. She’s passionate and hotheaded.” She sighed, shaking her head as she crossed her arms. “And when it comes to you,” she said, cocking a brow, “sometimes she doesn’t think too clearly. Most times.”
“Because we drive each other crazy?”
“Because she loves you more than she ever knew how to handle.” Carla squeezed my shoulder. “Let her cool off. If there is one thing my daughter is consistent with, it’s that she can’t leave you alone for very long.”
That was something I could always count on, but what if I pushed her too far this time? When she’d said goodbye in the bakery earlier, it hadn’t felt like the old Olivia who lived to set me off so I’d come back at her. She’d sounded like she was letting me go. I couldn’t let that happen, but at the same time, I had no clue on how to stop it.
“Can you check on her in the morning? Make sure she’s okay?” I asked.
She nodded. “I will, and I’ll see if I can help her calm down a little. She’ll be fine. You both will. Sometimes a fight is good. Gets you back on track when things become a little… shaky. Javier and I had a few good ones.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to figure out how everything good in my life was slipping right through my fingers.
“Go home and get some sleep. You’ll work it out in the morning.”
“I will.” My reply was hollow, just like the middle of my chest until I got Olivia back.
“And Tyler?”
I turned to look at her before I climbed into the driver’s seat.
“It’s a blessing when someone loves you like that. Just takes a minute to figure out how to handle it.”
A surprised laugh fell from my lips. I was so lucky to have Olivia, and if I had told her that a long time ago, we wouldn’t be here.
