From Hell To Heaven
Chapter 1-The Night Before
Olivia slipped her heels off and smiled towards the bathroom door that led off her bedroom, thinking of the man within it. He was a cop. Good looking, smart, funny, caring and a gentleman. The perfect guy to be her first after...what happened. Her smile faltered. She pushed her thoughts of that place and him to the back of her mind. Like usual.
She unclipped the holster from her upper thigh that held her smaller off-duty handgun. She placed it on her bedside table. She heard the toilet flush and looked up expectantly. He strode out of the bathroom, briefly leaning back to flick off the light and quietly closed the door.
"You know," he said with a smile. "You still haven't told me what unit you're in."
"My job always complicates things. And you haven't told me much about yourself. Well, besides, 'everyone calls me Max.'" she joked.
He sat down next to her on her bed, his eyes linked with hers. "That's because they do." he countered, leaning against her, causing her to lie back on her bed. She only smiled in responce as he kissed at her chest, her collarbone and her neck, trailing his lips up to the soft skin under her ear. She placed a hand in his dark brown locks and wrapped her other arm around his shoulders, holding him close.
"Well, in my experience," she muttered out, gasping as his hands slid up her sides, coming to rest at her hips, flush with his. His fingers teased around the strap of her dress, guiding it down and kissing at the skin it exposed. "When men dodge a question, it usually means they're hiding something." she almost joked with a slight smile.
She heard him chuckle, feeling his warm breath on her skin and the gentle shudder of his chest against hers. "Ok, if it bother's you so much." he joked, kissing her once more. "My name's Maxson, Harris Maxson." Olivia froze. Harris. He continued to kiss her, oblivious to her sudden hesitation.
As he moved to her other shoulder, teasing at her other strap, she didn't move. He seemed unaware of the ghosts flashing behind her eyes. Concrete floor. Handcuffs. The leering eyes ofLowell Harris.
Suddenly, Max's warm, sensitive, delicate kisses and caresses were cold, invasive and threatening. She pulled her hands from his hair and neck, bringing them to rest on his shoulders, preparing to push him away.
"Max," tumbled from her lips, but not in the passionate sense as he took it to mean. She felt his fingers on her strap, causing her to start pushing him back. "Max, stop." she started, pressing her hands against his shoulders.
"Why?" he asked, still kissing at her neck. Usually it would make her heart skip a beat, but now it resulted in her heart pounding harder, making her skin crawl.
"Because I said to." she replied sternly, pressing her hands harder against his unyielding chest.
"Oh come one, you like it, I know you do." he said, his tone obviously trying to be seductive.
"No," she began, exerting her strength against his chest. But he ignored her, as if suddenly expecting her to change her mind. "Max, stop it. Get off me!" she said, not allowing herself to plead. Not again.
He merely tried to refrain her hands. not understanding her sudden change of heart. "Olivia, please," he began.
In an instand Olivia dropped her hands from his chest and grabbed her gun from the bedside table. He froze as he felt the gun against his head. He instantly stopped moving, bringing his eyes to hers, fully aware of the cold metal against his temple.
"I said no." she simply said, her tone stern and uncompromising, as she forbade tears from forming, despite the lump stuck in her throat.
"Woah," he said, leaning back to sit up, slowly raising his hands in surrender. "I wasn't going to hurt you. I would never..."
"You need to leave." she interrupted, not needing to hear his meaningless promises of innocence.
"Ok," he said, leaning away as he brushed the side of his head away from her gun. "Liv, can I just say, I wouldn't..."
"Now." she threatened, removing the safety, that was still dangerously close to his face.
Her anger briefly flared at the mention of her nickname. She never allowed anyone to use that name, particularly in intimate situations. And she definitely didn't need to think of Elliot right now, not in a situation that made her feel so foolish, powerless and vulnerable. She never wanted him to see her that way. That's why she never told him about what happened to her at Sealview. What plagued her thoughts. What plagued her dreams. And the man she saw looming in every shadow, of every corner. Eternally stalking her.
"Ok, ok," he quickly said, blinking a few times in panic amd raising his hands higher in surrender as he tried not to upset her further. He got up from her bed, daring to turn his back to her and crossed her room in three strides. The door swung almost closed as he left. Olivia quickly pulled her dress strap back in to place and cautiously approached the door. After a long moment she heard the front door of her apartment slam shut. The safety clicked back in to place on her gun, then it fell from her loosening grip, landing on the floor with a heavy thud. She fell back against the wall beside her door and slid down it. She landed in a crumpled heap on the floor, as tears cascaded down her cheeks and she realised that she had not yet escaped her personal hell. The bars around her heart were still firmly in place and showed no sign of crumbling. She had no escape.