Guilty Secrets and Past Lovers
Chapter Six

Another knock on the door interrupted Olivia's evening but this time it was not for the better. She peered out through the spy hole and felt her heart sink as she saw Richard standing outside. She crossed the room and whispered to Casey.

"It's Richard." She hissed and Casey nodded, they both hoped that he would give up and go away. However, Olivia should have known better than to expect this from Richard.

Olivia and Casey sat in silence with baited breath for Richard to leave. Olivia sipped from her wine glass, but the alcohol did little to calm her. Why did Richard always have to turn up just when everything was working out so perfectly?

"Olivia!" Richard shouted from outside, banging his fist against the doorframe making Casey jump and nearly spill her wine. "I know you're in there Olivia, if you don't open the door, I'll open it myself."

Olivia and Casey exchanged a look. "Do you want me to go?" Casey asked.

But Olivia shook her head firmly, she wasn't sure if she had the strength to stand up to Richard alone, and she hated that he made her feel so vulnerable. It was the opposite of how being with Casey made her feel.

"Fine, I'm coming." Olivia called out, placing her wine glass down on the coffee table and heading towards the door. Casey pulled her dressing gown tighter around her body, trying to control her overwhelming concern for Olivia.

"What do you want Richard?" Olivia demanded, opening the door a crack.

"I think I've made that quite clear, Liv, several times in fact." Richard said with an annoyingly disarming grin. "Are you going to let me in or not? I wouldn't want to wake the neighbours."

Olivia groaned and let Richard into the apartment, knowing from the moment that he crossed the threshold that this was a very bad idea.

"Oh, you have company." Richard observed with a sly smile as he headed straight for the living area. "Hello Casey," Casey said nothing but glared up at the man. Seeing that he would get no response from the pretty redhead, he turned back to Olivia, smiling knowingly. "Sorry, I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

Olivia could feel a blush creeping up her neck to her cheek and she couldn't just blame the wine.

"No, we were just having a drink. You would be here long enough to intrude anyway." Olivia said, regaining some of her confidence. She dealt with sexual predators on a daily basis; a slightly crazy ex boyfriend was nothing in comparison.

Richard paused before he spoke again; it was obvious now that Olivia was no longer interested in him. He wondered what the subtext was between her and Casey. It seemed so ironic that he almost been romantically linked to the both of them. Now here they were both wearing dressing gowns and drinking wine together. It could be perfectly innocent but Richard suspected something more.

"Okay," He finally said. "I'll leave but before I leave town I want to talk to you Liv, just the two of us."

Olivia agreed, anything to get him out of her apartment.

Richard's late night visit seemed to kill the mood between Olivia and Casey. The redhead was worried about her relationship with the detective become public and Olivia was preoccupied with thoughts about Richard. When the two women retired to bed they kept to their own sides with no contact between them. Casey could hear the steady sound of the brunette sleeping beside her and knew that Olivia was asleep but however much she tried Casey could not fall asleep.

She stared up at the ceiling thinking of all the tender moments and those fuelled by desire that she and Olivia had spent in this bed. She was scared by her feelings for her; she had never felt this way for anyone before, especially not another woman. Casey knew she could risk their relationship becoming public knowledge but at the same time she didn't want to lose what she had with Olivia. She knew that things would never be the same between the two of them is she called it off, they had shared too much for them to go back to being just friends.

When Olivia awoke the next morning Casey was already dressed and was perched awkwardly on the edge of her bed, holding out a cup of coffee.

"Thanks babe." Olivia mumbled sleepily. "What are you doing up so early?"

Casey faltered. "I wanted to get home and shower before work." She stuttered.

Olivia looked confused. "But you always shower here."

Casey sighed. "I know, but I needed some fresh clothes."

Olivia was really puzzled now. "But at least half of your wardrobe is here." She attempted to keep her tone light but she was beginning to understand the implications of what Casey was trying to say.

"Casey…" She began but the tearful redhead cut her off.

"I'm sorry Liv, but I can't do this anymore. I really am sorry." Casey leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Olivia's forehead.

"Casey!" Olivia called after her but it was too late, Casey Novak had already walked out of her life.

"Don't worry Olivia, I meant what I said." Richard told her when they met at a coffee shop later that morning. "I'm leaving. I just wanted to talk to you first."

Olivia nodded half-heartedly; her coffee was left untouched.

"I know I've gone the wrong way about it, but I did come back here because I wanted you back and I wanted to show you that I still love you. That was before I realised that you had moved on with your life. I'm guessing you and Casey are together now?"

Richard's question nearly knocked Olivia off her feet.

"No," She said coldly. "We are not."

Richard looked surprised. "But I thought…"

"You thought wrong. She left me this morning and I haven't seen her since. It's over."

Richard almost looked genuinely concerned. "I'm sorry Olivia, I'm sorry about all of this." He leaned over and grazed her cheek with a kiss before leaving the coffee shop.

Olivia had lost both of the lovers in life, feeling dejected she headed back to work but her mind was elsewhere.