Chapter 11

"Hang on, hang on!" Olivia muttered as she opened her door and raced for the phone. "Hello?" She said, picking up the phone.

"Hey, it's me." Olivia was silent, unable to think of anything to say. "James."

Olivia laughed. "I know who it is, I just..." She trailed off.

"Yeah, I know. I'm really sorry, Liv. Can we talk?"

"What are we doing now?"

He chuckled. "I meant in person. Meet me at the Bistro in an hour?"

"Sure."

Olivia met James an hour later at their favourite restaurant. He was sitting in their usual booth in the back. He smiled and stood up when she saw Olivia. They hugged for a minute before sitting down across from each other. "I'm glad you called," Olivia said.

"I'm glad to hear that; I was worried you wouldn't want to talk to me. I'm so sorry about what I said, Liv."

"No, you were right. I really just invited you over so I wouldn't have to sleep alone."

"Ouch."

She smiled . "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I really do care about you, James, but I've been having a rough time lately."

"So you really have just been going out with me as a distraction."

"Hey, that's not fair. You're not just a distraction, I swear. I've been having trouble sleeping and it helps having someone there."

"So you were only using at night. That makes me feel much better." James sighed. "You're right, I'm being unfair. I just...I can't stand you not trusting me."

"I...I want to, I just...This job has screwed me up so much I don't know what to believe anymore. Trust is something we'll just have to build as we go along. I trust you enough to let you spend the night; is that enough for you right now?"

James nodded. "I can deal with that." He rested his hand on top of hers.

"Does this mean it'll be a while before you spend the night again?"

"Are you gonna beat me up again?" He smiled. Olivia managed a wry smile and James sighed. "I'm kidding, Liv. You're obviously not ready to confide yet, but I told you I'd help you if you needed it and I will. If that involves spending the night, I think I can make that sacrifice."

They both smiled. "How noble of you."

"Do you wanna go catch a movie?"

"Shouldn't we eat first?"

"If you insist." They ate a small meal and then headed to the theatre. Olivia wasn't that interested in the movie, but she felt relaxed leaning against James. When the movie was over he drove Olivia back to her apartment. They sat in the car in silence for a minute.

"I don't want you to feel like I'm using you anymore," Olivia finally said.

"I was being an idiot. You needed my help."

"I didn't deal with it very well. I should have had the guts to just ask for help."

"Yeah, you should have." He smiled.

"...Help." James got out of the car and Olivia followed. They walked up to her apartment together. Olivia opened up a bottle of wine and they curled up on the couch together. Olivia meant to just have a few drinks and then go to bed, but she was so exhausted she fell asleep next to James before she even finished her first drink. He just wrapped his arms around her, pulled the blanket down from the back of the couch and drifted off to sleep himself.

SVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVU

She was running down the hallway. Down the stairs, trying desperately to move faster, but her feet felt like they were moving through mud. She opened a door to another hall and tried to scream but nothing came out. She kept running, willing her feet to move faster. The hall was dark so she tried to turn on the lights but the switch wouldn't work. She tried again to scream but again there was silence. She managed to make it to the end of the hall, but there was nothing there except for a big window, black because it was dark outside. She saw herself standing in an orange jumpsuit, her eyes red from crying. She heard sounds behind her and she tried to scream again as she felt his grip on her shoulder. No...

Olivia awoke with a start, hands flying to her shoulder before she realized who it was. "Liv, it's okay, it's just me." She relaxed. She was on the couch next to James, her head resting on his chest. "You were whimpering."

"I...Sorry."

"Don't be. Are you alright?"

Olivia closed her eyes and let her breathing slow and the memory of the dream subsided. "It was a just a dream. It can't hurt me."

James smiled. "Good to know."

"What time is it?"

"4 in the morning. You should go back to sleep." Olivia rested her head on James chest again; he was already drifting off. Olivia considered getting up and making herself something to eat, as she often did in the middle of the night, but she couldn't for two reasons: she didn't want to bother James by turning on all the lights, which she would have to do if she left his side, and she was too exhausted to move. To her surprise, she didn't even realize she was falling asleep until she woke up the next morning to see that it was after 8 and James was gone.

Olivia sat up and stretched her arms up over her head, arching her back. She stood up and headed into the kitchen, where James was cooking bacon and eggs. "Hey, you're up. Hungry?"

"Starving. It's been a while since I slept through the night."

"Glad I could help."

"I think my therapist had something to do with it. She hypnotized me yesterday."

"Hypnotized? Cool, I've always wanted to try that."

"You've never done it?" She was surprised, since James's best friend was a trained hypnotherapist. She reminded herself not to bring that up, though.

"Brittany offered to do it a couple times, but I'm afraid of her making me quack like a duck of something. I don't really need hypnotherapy, so it wouldn't be that interesting for her, and I'm not paying to see another therapist just because I'm curious."

Olivia considered feigning curiosity about Brittany's training, but she didn't want to lie to James. She wasn't ready to tell him the whole truth, but she wouldn't lie to him. "I didn't know you could cook."

"There's a lot you don't know about me." He smiled.