"Earth to Olivia," Elliot repeated. "I say, earth to the outsiderrrrr."
"Ah!" Olivia was startled as Elliot's riding glove hit her in the head. Across his bedroom, Elliot was strapping on his helmet. "What?"
"Where are you today?" Elliot asked confused. "Ever since yesterday you've been all..."
"What?" Olivia asked. Was she really being as flighty as she felt?
"I don't know... out there. Are you mad at me or something? Did you have a bad time last night?" Elliot worried.
"No, no. It's not that at all. I had fun last night, seriously," Olivia reassured.
"Then what is it?" Elliot walked over and took the glove from the bed and pulled it over his hand. Olivia got off his bed and picked up her helmet. "Did Adam do something?"
"Adam's away with his parents this weekend. I don't know what it is." Olivia huffed. "This is going to sound weird Elliot but..." Olivia couldn't find the words. She wasn't sure how she was feeling. "I don't know about Adam and me anymore."
"Why? Did you guys fight? Did he do something? Do I need to kill him in his sleep or anything?" Elliot joked and Olivia laughed. She turned serious and turned her attention to lacing her shoes.
"No it's nothing like that. It's just... When you were with Kathy last night, you were so happy. I mean, you were 'grinning like an idiot' happy. Every time you see her, you're eyes just light up. I know that's a really girlie thing to say, but it's true." Olivia noted.
"This is bad to you because?" Elliot couldn't see where this is going.
"It's not bad El, it's just different. I don't have that with Adam. I haven't had that with any guy I've ever dated. What if something's wrong with me? What if I'm just incapable of loving?" Olivia's fears surfaced. She thought of all the damaging things her mother had done to her but left that part out, although Elliot knew the scene all too well.
"Olivia, you're eighteen years old. You don't need to know your soulmate right this minute. Honestly? I think there may even be more than one person for every one. Just in case you miss the first one that comes along."
"Really?" Olivia finished knotting her sneakers and looked up at him. "I just want that... Spark. Or whatever it is. I think it's so awesome that you feel that way with Kathy and I'm just noticing, by comparison, that I just don't have that. I mean, Adam isn't a bad person or anything. We have a great time together but I don't really miss him when he's not around. I don't draw hearts in my damn notebook with our inicials. He's just there and I'm there and blah." Olivia furrowed her brow at the thoughts that had been plaguing her for the last two days.
"Well, I can't help you there because only you know how you feel. However, I can tell you that maybe you should just relax and try not to think about it. That's when the real things happen. If you put all this pressure on finding this one or whatever, I think you'll drive yourself crazy."
"I see what you're saying but it's not just about the one. It's about any 'one'. I don't know what I mean, let's just go hit the trails." Olivia grabbed her water bottle and the two headed for Elliot's garage to drag out his dirt bikes. Nothing made Olivia feel better or clear her mind, like a long, fast ride through the back woods. She was thankful that they lived far enough up, where there were some woods to ride around in. She couldn't imagine being stuck in the city all the time.
"OLIVIA!" Olivia could hear Elliot's muffled yell from the living room. She turned off the shower and rubbed the towel over her head fast.
"I'm coming! Sorry, I'm running late!" She called back to her antsy friend. She knew they still had to meet up with Kathy and Elliot was more than concerned about looking bad in front of her.
"You got five minutes!" Elliot called.
"Yeah? Or what? You'll leave me here and take my car?" Olivia mocked as she bolted down the hall, barely holding her towel together.
"Yeah, yeah. Just move it," Elliot complained. She heard the refidgorator door open and figured he was helping himself.
Olivia wasn't really sure what to wear, not that she put that much thought into it anyhow. She ended up grabbing a pair of jeans and a fitted white t-shirt. It wasn't chilly yet, but she knew when the sun went down in about an hour, it would be. She grabbed her jean jacket, a twenty, her license and her car keys.
"Okay see, I'm ready!" Olivia said, slipping flip flops onto her feet while locking the front door.
"I'm a good motivator," Elliot smiled.
"You're ridiculous," Olivia laughed as they walked briskly to Olivia's old 70's two door blue GTO.
"Alright take this right," Kathy said from the passenger seat. They had just picked her up on time. With a minute to spare even. Elliot had moved to the back and they were making their way closer to the city. The sun was already going down when Olivia pulled into the warehouse area. A number of cars were already parked up on the grass and a group of boys were gathering wood and piece of who knows what, to build the fire. A group of girls were pulling open bags of chips and another group were dragging coolers filled with beer up to the camp spot. Someone had set up a portable radio and kids were laughing and singing to the current music. Olivia took in her surroundings. She hated dealing with new people. She didn't know why, but it was just hard for her to deal with big crowds. She had no problem striking conversations with people. She wasn't shy, she just kept to herself. Kathy immediately spotted her group from the restaurant and led Olivia and Elliot over to greet them.
"Olivia, girl, you're lookin' good tonight," Olivia laughed at Joe and his lisp. He wore a pink polo shirt, khaki shorts and a hemp necklace with glass beads. He took a drag from his joint and handed it to her. "You gotta loosen up honey, we're all gonna have a good time tonight, am I right?" He laughed and Olivia took a drag and handed it back to the flamboyant boy.
"You're nuts Joe," Olivia said, shaking her head and exhaling.
"Yes and maybe I can snag some! Oh, I'm bad!" They all laughed as he herded the group over to some lawn chairs and logs, surrounding the fire. They guys had really got it going and as the sun dropped further into the sky, Olivia began to relax. She listened to the jokes and stories of the crowd around her.
"Check out that sunset," Kathy noted. They all turned to see the vibrant glow of oranges and yellows through the grey buildings. "It's so pretty." They all agreed.
After sharing another joint with Joe and a half of a beer Olivia realized she had to pee. "Hey Kathy, where's the little girls room? Do I just pick a bush and hide?" Olivia joked. She had loosened up considerably and was having a good time with the new friends she had met.
"Yeah I guess," Kathy answered looking around. "I'd say go down over there." She pointed off to the edge of some woods where no one was near. "Do you want me to come with you?"
"Um sure, you can be my guard," Olivia laughed and handed her beer to Elliot.
"Can I come?" Elliot joked.
"You wish," Kathy retorted and the girls made their way from the bonfire.
Kathy was quiet for a moment before Olivia broke the silence.
"I'm glad you invited us," the relaxed brunette confessed. "It's really nice to do something different."
"I'm glad you guys decided to come. What do you usually do on a Saturday?" Kathy asked.
"Well, I drag Elliot to the movies with my boyfriend Adam," Olivia said emotionless.
"Oh that's right, El told me you were seeing someone," Kathy exclaimed. She seemed like a girl that loved to gossip, in a good way. "How long have you been seeing him?"
"Uh, I guess three months now," Olivia said, stepping over pieces of concrete in the grass.
"You don't sound too excited," Kathy observed.
"He's a really great guy and everything... I just... I don't know if we match, I guess," Olivia tried to find the words, more for herself than for Kathy.
"I know how that is," Kathy said, avoiding an old trash can. "Hey it's getting darker back here. Why don't you just go behind that tree?"
"Yeah I think--" Olivia stopped suddenly in her tracks.
"What?" Kathy spoke quietly, alarmed at Olivia's actions.
"Shh... Did you hear that?" Olivia whispered and craned her neck to listen for more noise. Somewhere close, she could hear muffled arguing. Kathy heard it too. She went stiff with fear. Olivia noticed the short blonde freeze and even in the dark, she could see her scared expression.
Olivia took two steps forward and stopped when she heard the crack of a hand hitting skin. She looked back at Kathy and took her by the shoulders. "Listen to me, I'm going to go over there," she whispered quickly. "We're too far from that campsite for you to make it back safe. It's too dark. I want you to sit here beside this concrete cylinder and I'll be right back okay?" Kathy nodded. "Stay still and don't move okay?"
Olivia felt around in the grass. The warehouse area was littered with garbage and she found a thin pipe. She gripped it in her hands and crept over to the edge of the woods. She listened carefully. She could hear a guys voice talking low and angry to someone. The closer she got, the more clear his words were becoming.
"What's the matter? I'm not good enough for you?" The voice came in low and harsh. Olivia could see a tall muscular boy pinning a girl against a tree with his body. The moon had partially come out by now and Olivia could see the gleam of tears in the girls eyes, as well as the boys hand over her mouth. She inched closer, clutching the metal pipe in her clammy hands.
"Matthew please," the scared voice shot to Olivia's ears. The boy had moved his hand to kiss her when she began to plea for him to let her go. That scared voice wasn't all that unfamiliar. "Please don't do this, you're hurting me."
"Why don't you just shut up," he replied angrily pushing his mouth onto hers. Olivia crept closer as the small girl beneath him tried to push him away. "Don't push me Alex, you know you want this."
"Alex." Olivia whispered aloud before she could stop herself. She stopped moving and put her hand over her mouth. She didn't want him to hear her coming up behind him. But he didn't seem to notice.
"I don't want this, I said no!" Alex tried to yell but he had her pressed so hard against the tree, she could hardly breathe. Her words made him even madder and he grabbed her hard by the shoulders and threw her to the ground.
"You don't say no to me," he said, standing over her. He dropped to his knees and Olivia went to surprise attack him when she heard a gasp.
They all had heard it. Olivia looked up to see Kathy standing in the distance. Shit. She thought to herself.
"Hey," the boy said, turning to look at Kathy but she didn't move. Alex decided that this was the perfect time to scurry away. She rolled over as fast as she could and started to crawl away when Matthew noticed. He grabbed for her foot and she yelped. She hadn't realized it but she was heading straight for Olivia. It was in that moment that Olivia took her chance to strike back. When the crack of the pipe hit him in the head, his hand went limp and Alex pulled her leg away. She looked up to see Olivia standing over her. Olivia looked down at the scared blonde. She looked back up just in time to see Kathy running back to the campsite to get Elliot.
She bent down quickly to see if Matthew was breathing. He was. Then she turned to Alex. Her breathing was labored and her eyes were wild with fear. Olivia reached out to touch her but she flinched.
"It's okay," the brunette reassured. She threw the pipe into the woods and approached the blonde. "Are you okay? Did he.."
"No," Alex answered before the word could leave Olivia's mouth.
"Are you alright Alex?" Olivia got closer and touched the girl's shoulders. She tried to look Alex in the eyes but the blonde kept avoiding it.
"He tried to... He was going to... If you didn't come," Alex's broken sentences ended with her tears as she let Olivia pull her into a hug. The thin girls body was hot with anxiety and her sobs began to soak through Olivia's shirt.
Olivia looked up to see Elliot and Kathy running over. Elliot looked from Matthew to Olivia, to the crying girl in her arms.
"What the hell happened here?" He exclaimed.
"I
don't know, Elliot." It was all she could offer. Too many things were
beginning to flood her mind as she rocked the girl in her arms,
stroking her tangled hair.