Olivia tossed the last of her luggage into the back of her SUV and took a moment to watch her breath as it drifted upwards into the bitter night. She'd been back for three weeks and had done something she almost never did: requested time off. The day before, Olivia found herself in Broyles' office listening to herself ask him for a week off to visit Rachel and Ella in Chicago. Broyles hadn't second guessed her request, hadn't asked why she wanted to go, he simply nodded and said, "Take two." She needed to get out of Boston. She needed to get away from Peter.
Taking a deep breath and grabbing the keys from her pocket, Olivia took the few steps to the driver's door, reached for the handle and froze at the sound of his voice.
"Running away?" For a second, Olivia just stared at the keys in her hand. She didn't want to look up, didn't want to look at him, and so, steeling herself, she raised her head. He stood silently on the sidewalk with his hands in the pockets of his coat and just stared at her. His eyes were bloodshot, surrounded by dark circles and gave the impression he hadn't slept in days. He looked...great.
Unable to maintain the eye contact, Olivia glanced down and cleared her throat. "Uh, no. Not running away. I"m going to Chicago...to visit Rachel and Ella."
"Are you coming back?" Looking up again, Olivia watched Peter move forward, slowly closing the distance between them. Every step he took, punctuated by the crunch of the light snow that had fallen that morning, reverberated in the air and she felt an ache begin in her chest and in the back of her throat as she struggled against the tears that threatened. "Olivia..."
Instinctively she took a step back and brought her hands up to stop his hand she had seen reaching for her arm. Tears spilling over and running down her face, Olivia shook her head and reached for the door again.
"I'm sorry, Peter. I can't be here now. It hurts too much and I can't breathe here. I have to go." Almost blindly, Olivia climbed into the car and stuck the key in the ignition. She took a second to wipe the tears off her face before pulling out of the parking space, forcing Peter to take several steps backward. She didn't look back. She wasn't sure she was strong enough to see him in the mirror and not stop. With a stoic determination, Olivia kept driving, not looking in the rearview mirror until she turned the corner and never seeing the tears in Peter's eyes.