Melting Magnets

Chapter Fourteen:

The Sun

I'm here. Where are you?

Olivia clutched her phone in her hands, staring blankly at the bright screen. Letting her head fall back against the overstuffed cushioning of the sofa, she shimmied deeper into the cushions. Her phone fell out of her hands, landing on her chest. The vibrations coming from the slim device on her chest, drew her attention. Lifting her phone, she watched as her mother's name covered the screen alongside a green and red phone icon.

"Are you going to answer?"

She tilted her head back to see Fitz standing at the end of sofa. The phone finally quit ringing as she stared into his eyes, only to begin again a moment later. Sighing, Olivia hit the green icon.

"Hello?"

"Olivia, where are you?"

"Christopher is there to get you. He should have a sign with your name or go to the desk and ask for him. I'll see you when you get here."

She ended the call, dropping the phone to the sofa. Maya was going to lecture her about that when she got there, but Olivia was willing to accept that for a few more minutes of peace from her mother. She had moved to a whole new continent to escape her and here Maya was following her.

"Hold me?" She tilted her head back once more, staring up into his eyes. He nodded, rounding the sofa and settling into the soft cushions. She swung her legs around, shuffling on her knees to his seat and settling in his lap. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she rested her head against his shoulder. He brought an arm up to pat her back, kissing her forehead.

"Are you going to be okay?"

She shook her head against his shoulder. "Promise me you won't leave me."

"Where did that come from?" He brought a hand to her chin, gently prompting her to lift her head and look him in the eyes. Her eyes were bloodshot, wet with unshed tears. Fitz placed his lips on hers, trying to soothe her with a soft, gentle kiss.

"Promise me," she demanded when he pulled away.

"I'm not going anywhere, Liv." He held her against his chest.

"Don't let my mom get to you."

"What?"

"She'll like you, Fitz. And she'll flirt."

"She's one of those mothers?"

"It wouldn't be the first time she's stolen a boyfriend. That's why I didn't really date."

"She's not going to steal me," he asserted.

/

"Olivia!" Maya dropped her suitcase on the foyer floor, pulled her large, oversized sunglasses from her face, and eyed her daughter. "This isn't your father's house is it?"

"He lives in Chicago," Olivia answered, pulling at the hem of Fitz's shirt. Wearing his clothes, engulfing herself in the smell and feel of him, was her way of coping with tough situations.

"Then whose house is this?" Maya raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, her manicured nails tapping against her crossed arms.

Olivia was quiet for a moment, trying to decide how best to answer her mother's question. "My boyfriend's."

"You're sleeping with a rich boy?"

Olivia swallowed, hard. Leave it to her mother to make everything with Fitz sound so wrong. Where was Fitz anyway? She glanced behind her toward the open doorway leading into the home. He was supposed to be joining her as soon as he could. A call from work had taken him away as Maya's car was pulling into the driveway, but he had promised it wouldn't take long. She breathed a sigh of relief when Fitz finally waltzed into the foyer, frowning at the appreciative once-over Maya gave him.

"I guess I should have said man," Maya winked, moving toward Fitz and extending her hand. Smiling coyly, she extended her hand in Fitz's direction. Making a point to look at Olivia first, Fitz hesitantly and quickly shook Maya's hand.

"I'll help you carry your suitcase to your room."

After depositing the heavy, black luggage in the guest room, Fitz made an excuse to return to his office, leaving Olivia alone with Maya once more. Olivia crossed her arms over her chest, looking out the window of the guest room. She didn't know what to say to her mother; didn't know where to even begin.

"When did that happen?" Maya questioned, laying her sunglasses on a dresser and moving to her carry-on. Unzipping the back, she dug through its contents to produce her foundation and lip matte.

"It's been some time."

"And you never mentioned you were dating such a scrumptious piece of man-meat?"

Olivia bit her lip, pulling the band tee she was wearing closer to her body, breathing the heady scent of Fitz's cologne. She leaned against the window, watching the breeze rustle a few tree branches outside.

"Our relationship is private."

It was the answer Fitz had told her to give. She'd mentioned that her mother tended to be overly invested in her personal life - that Maya would want all the sordid details.

"Nothing has ever been private between us, Olivia." Maya cracked the case of her foundation open, smearing some across her face. Olivia glanced at her mother, rolling her eyes at the makeup. Not that she wasn't a fan of makeup herself, but she didn't cake it on her face. And she didn't refuse to be seen without it.

"This is."

"Hmm," Maya tsked, twisting the top of her lip matte and reapplying a thick coat of the blood-red shade.

/

"I hate her."

Fitz glanced up from his desk, hitting the mute button on his phone, his fingers pausing on his keyboard. Olivia leaned heavily against the closed door, her white shorts, matching her white, knee-length socks, just barely peaking out from underneath the dark grey Beetles shirt she was wearing. Her messy hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. She was everything her mother would hate - that's what she had told him.

"What did she do now?" He asked, twirling around in his chair and standing.

"She keeps talking about you."

"It's wrong to talk about me?" he winked, stopping before her.

"It is when she's calling you 'man-meat'."

"Well…" he chuckled, placing his hand on her hip and leaning forward, "I have nothing to say to that."

His free hand moved to her side, locking the door as his lips sought hers. She tilted her head back, her hands going around his back to cup his ass, pulling him toward her. Sighing into the kiss, she opened her mouth to him. He smiled against her lips, a hand sliding under her shirt. No: his shirt on her body. Sliding up her body, he smirked when he realised she wasn't wearing a bra.

"You could walk around like this more often," he whispered against her lips.

"I could," she agreed, tossing her head back and groaning when the loud call from the phone on his desk interrupted the two.

"Fitz, are you still there?"

Resting his forehead against hers, he pecked her lips. "Duty calls."

She leaned against the doorframe, heavily, on shaky legs when he drew away from her. Watching with hooded eyes, her breathing slowly returned to normal. Fitz took a seat at his desk, unmuting the phone and answering those on the other line. Tilting her head, she smiled as she watched him work. It wasn't a sight she got to witness very often.

"Olivia!"

Olivia banged her head against the door, groaning. Maya just wouldn't leave her alone.

/

"When do classes start again?" Fitz questioned, looking at Olivia as he sipped on his wine.

"The first week of January," she answered, chewing on a forkful of pasta.

"What are you going to school for again?"

Olivia frowned at her mother's nonchalant tone. She wasn't interested in Olivia's life. Not really. If she was, she would know what Olivia was majoring in.

"Zoology."

Olivia smiled to herself, enjoying the surprised look on her mother's face when Fitz answered. Unlike Maya, he was generally very involved in her life. It just went to show that time had no influence on love.

"Zoology? Really Olivia?" Maya's disappoint wasn't hidden - it never was.

"I like animals. I want to work with them."

"You could be anything and you choose to work with animals? Do you know how sweaty and disgusting that will be?"

She bowed her head, going over her mother's words. Of course she knew that zoology wasn't the most glamorous major. She had always felt the pull of wildlife, of animals in general, though. She'd contemplated being a veterinarian - she still sometimes wondered if she wouldn't really like doing that. All she knew was that the visit Fitz had arranged for them at the zoo when she'd first arrived was still one of the best days of her life.

"It'll be worth it, though," Olivia shrugged, reaching for her wine glass. She had been taking minimal sips of the red liquid throughout dinner - now was not the time to lose her senses. Not around her mother.

"You should change your major to design or something of the sorts."

She had to struggle not to snort at her mother's command. So confident, so sure that Olivia would bow to her wishes. Olivia lowered her head. Maya had a reason to be confident of that outcome. There was a time that Olivia would have scurried to do exactly what Maya wanted. Therapy was changing that.

"She's a natural with zoology," Fitz stated, his stern gaze quieting any retort Maya may have had. Taking a deep gulp of air, Olivia felt relief that Fitz was there with her. She had never seen anyone quiet Maya the way he had - not even her stepfather. Maya, for her part, quietly continued to eat her meal, a sour look marring her face. The thick tension in the dining room lasted, alongside the quiet, until Fitz placed his fork on his plate, asking:

"Who's ready for dessert?"

/

"I don't know how you do it," Fitz announced, yanking the covers back on his bed and fixing the pillows. Olivia poked her head out of the bathroom, toothbrush gripped tightly in her hand as she shrugged her shoulders. Pulling his shirt over his head, Fitz tossed it in the laundry basket, followed seconds later by his pants. Rolling his shoulders, he padded into the bathroom.

"I told you I hated her." Olivia rinsed her toothbrush, placing it back in its holder on the sink. Fitz nodded. As much as he didn't want to agree with Olivia, he had grown up to respect his own mother, he had to agree with her. Maya wasn't good for her mental health.

"If I'd realised she was like this, I would have told you to tell her not to visit." He opened the white container on the counter, retrieving the smooth, acrylic night guard. Popping it into his mouth, he fit his teeth inside the moulded dental wear.

"Telling her no isn't something I excel in."

"You did tonight. Even if you don't realise it - you told her no tonight, Liv." He bent, awkwardly pecking her lips. The night guard didn't make the task easy, distending his upper lip ever so slightly and even giving him a slight lisp when he spoke.

"That's because you were there." She stretched her arms, leaving the bathroom. Inside the bedroom, she bounced into her side of the bed, pulling the covers to her chin. Fitz followed behind, crawling into his side and placing his hands on her sides, yanking her to him. Snuggling into his chest, her head on the pillow, Olivia closed her eyes.

"What has she done to you?" Fitz whispered as she fell asleep.