A/N: Again I appreciate all reviews. I listen to everything people say and try to take it into consideration. A fellow author advised me to slow things down a little so hopefully I succeeded in doing that this time. I'm having so much fun writing for you guys! This chapter is rather long mainly because I probably will stop posting back to back so you'll need something to tide you over right?
Anyway, Enjoy & I hope it doesn't disappoint!
Back at her apartment Olivia began to pace in circles. What had she just done? Who was she kidding, she loved Fitz more than she loved being a doctor and she had dreamed of that all of her life. Maybe she could back out… no, there was no way she could live with herself if she never gave him another chance. She had always known Mellie had a thing for Fitz but she trusted him wholeheartedly; he brought so much joy and happiness into her life and considering the type of father she had growing up that wasn't something she thought any male could do.
She wanted to forgive him but a part of her was scared to love a man as much as she did so even though Mellie eventually came to her one day while she was on break to explain she couldn't bring herself to move past it.
She could still remember the conversation….
She had just come from surgery and was about to go clean herself up when she heard someone calling her name. She froze, not sure whether to ignore her or turn around. Too late, Mellie was upon her.
"Olivia can we please talk about the other night? I never should've done what I did. I was inebriated and completely out of my mind. I would never hurt you purposely. Sure I had feelings for—"
Olivia turned abruptly and folded her arms as she shot daggers with her eyes at Mellie. "What you did was so far beyond the line. I can't even look at you without wanting to throw up. You know how much Fitz means to me and what issues I have with trusting men after my childhood. Intoxicated or not there are certain things you just shouldn't do to a friend."
Mellie averted her gaze as she said, "I know, I just… I see how he looks at you and how much he wants to be with you and loves you and I want that but every guy turns out to be a living nightmare and I don't know, I just got depressed and decided to drink until I couldn't feel anything anymore. It was completely out of line and I'm so sorry. Don't be mad at Fitz. Also, I may have said something to him last night about coming back for what's mine but you should know he made me leave. He said you were the best thing to ever happen to him; he loves you so much."
Olivia was stilled pissed so she just walked away and left Mellie standing there.
…. Did she do the right thing by walking away? She was so confused. For months she tried to work up the courage to call Fitz and hear him out but she just couldn't face him. She thought he'd be angry that she walked away and she didn't take rejection well. She'd rather leave him than to watch him leave her. Those first two years had been hell. She had lost weight and she stopped going out, only leaving her apartment to go to work or go swimming when she could muster up the energy. By the third and fourth year she had become numb.
She had run into Fitz on several occasions and every time he made a move to approach her she had run. That's what she was good at, running and not looking back. Now after 5 years he had finally caught up with her.
Sitting on her favorite chair she tried to sort out all of the emotions running through her. She had been caught off guard when he grabbed her and before she could be angry with him he had been taking off her bathing suit. She had stared at him trying to take in everything about him that was new: his hair had grown so that the curls fell over his forehead, he had let his beard grow just a little but it looked good on him.
He must've been working out more because she could see he was a little bigger. If only he had taken his shirt off so she could have some type of proof. He still smelled like his favorite brand of Axe body spray. She had wanted to just lay her head on his chest and inhale his scent for a few moments.
Was she making a mistake in agreeing to go with him? It was obvious her feelings for him still ran deep. You only have one soul mate and she knew he was hers.
She decided to just wait and see how things went this weekend.
They were in the car on their way to the airport and Fitz kept scooting closer to her until she was sandwiched between him and the door. He knew she was probably uncomfortable but he wanted her to know he had no intention of letting her go far from his side for the next three days.
They hadn't exchanged many words beside "Hi"
That one word held so much meaning for them. The morning after their first time making love she had awoken him with that simple utterance.
He hoped she'd be more comfortable around him by the time they got to their hotel. He booked a room with a single bed so she could forget about getting rid of him unless she planned to sleep on the floor which knowing how stubborn she could be she might actually try to just to prove a point.
He planned to enjoy his time with her; it was long overdue and nothing was better than being in her presence. Simply watching her was enough for him she fascinated him like no other. Often when they were together he would watch her as she got dressed or while she slept and send a prayer up to the Man above for blessing him with this phenomenal woman.
He decided that for the time being he would abide by her rules and not make love to her but that didn't rule other means of "loving" her.
When they got to the airport the driver took them to a private hangar. He had friends in very high places, one of which was gracious enough to lend him her plane. He would have to make sure to thank Verna when he got back. He would also have to reimburse Liv for her wasted plane ticket but it would be worth it in the end.
When they boarded the plane she immediately collapsed on the couch and pulled her shades down off her head and over her eyes.
Fine, he thought, she can try to distance herself all she wants but the fact that she even agreed to be near me shows me that somewhere inside she still loves me.
He planned to get their talk out of the way first so that they could enjoy each other's company; he didn't want any tension between them. He decided to take a nap on the other couch until they arrived at their destination.
6 hours later they had arrived and were preparing to get off of the plane. The drive to their hotel was accomplished in 30 minutes.
After they checked in and got to their room Olivia looked at him and said, "Where's the other bed? You promised not to make love to me!"
Fitz said, "Relax. Just because we share a bed doesn't mean we have to sleep together. Or am I that irresistible?"
She just shook her head. This may be the longest vacation of her life.
After he put their things away he turned to her and said, "Can we talk now? I want to get the tension out of the way so that we can try and have some fun."
"Sure, why not. I'm sure I don't have any other choice."
"Olivia, you always have a choice with me, even though sometimes I don't like what you choose… like walking away from me instead of hearing me out. What was up with that?"
"I'm sorry I just freaked out. It's very hard for me to trust men and I felt like if you did that once then you'd do it again. I never told you about my father and I think it's time. When I was younger my dad was like my own personal superman. There wasn't a thing I thought he couldn't do. Until one day I came home and heard a squeaking noise from my parents bedroom. Well curiosity got the best of me and I decided to take a peak. My babysitter was on top of him riding like the wind."
She paused as she wiped a tear from her eyes. The memory was painful to her.
"As I backed away I bumped into my mother who had apparently snuck in behind me. Turns out she got off of work early that day. She burst into the room and started screaming and throwing things. I sat in a corner and began to rock myself as I watched her drag the girl by her hair out onto the front porch. My father fell on the floor at my mama's feet and swore he would never do it again. She didn't speak to him for a whole month and everyday he sent flowers to her job and played the part of a dutiful husband but we eventually found out he was still fucking the babysitter, Paige. I thought he'd be begging to be in my mother's good graces again but he just up and left. No explanation or anything."
Fitz watched as she struggled to control her emotions and his heart ached for her. What kind of man did that to his wife and child? If he could strangle the man then he would.
He got up and crossed the room until he was right in front of her and he wrapped his arms around her tiny frame. "It's okay Livi, let it out. It's okay to cry. I'm here for you and I'm not going anywhere. I understand why you were so upset but you should've trusted me. You should've given me a chance to prove to you that I could be the honorable man you thought me to be," he said.
She stepped back and wiped her eyes before she grabbed his face and slowly pulled it down until their lips met. Kissing him always made her feel better; it was like a full body massage after running a marathon, he soothed her soul and made her feel relaxed and complete. She suddenly broke the kiss, chest heaving. "I'm sorry, I just needed to feel connected to you."
He sat on the bed and patted the spot next to him. "Sit down. I've told you how I felt about you now it's time that I show you. For the next couple of days I'm going to treat you like the queen we know you are. I'm going to show you why being apart from each other is the wrong choice for you to make for us. I need you in my life. My heart ached for you every day you were away. I almost gave up on everything because I didn't have the most important person by my side. You hurt me and I hurt you but now it's time for us to heal," he said.
She grabbed his hand and kissed it before she placed it over her heart. "Fitz, you were always right here with me. I never stopped thinking about you and as much as I wanted to I couldn't move on; every guy I met couldn't compare to you. A part of me is screaming to run away and never look back but I would hate myself if I never gave you another chance to see where this could go. So yes. Yes, you can have another chance to show me why we shouldn't be apart."
Fitz was elated. His heart began to swell as he felt a tremendous weight being lifted from his shoulders. This was the best week of his life in 5 years.
