One Flight Down
Chapter Forty-Four
"What happened to you?"
Victoria looked at her mom and started to cry. "I was riding my bike and Melissa came over. She hit me in the face with a rock. It made me fall off my bike."
"Sweetie, come here."
She went over towards her mom and let herself get enveloped in a comforting hug.
"Let's get you cleaned up." Her mom suggested, leading her towards the bathroom. "Has this kind of thing happened before?"
"Yeah." She nodded slowly. "She usually doesn't hit me though. Usually she just yells things at me."
"How long has this been going on?"
"A few months."
She watched as her mother got out a clean washcloth and turned on the warm water. "Why didn't you tell me sooner that you were being bullied?"
"I don't know." She shrugged. "I was embarrassed."
"You don't need to be embarrassed. You did nothing wrong."
She watched as her mom cleaned the scrapes on her arms and legs.
"Let me tell you something about bullies that will help you for the rest of your life. You can't let the bully have the power. If someone tries to bully you or manipulate you into doing something you don't want to do…well the worst thing you can do is give in because that just tells the bully they can keep doing it to you. So don't ever give a bully any power over you or they will never quit. Take back the power by standing up against them. Disarm them, not by violence or doing the same thing they are doing. Take the high road. Forgive them and show them just how strong you are."
"What if I don't feel strong?" She asked.
"It's ok to not feel strong all of the time. Just remember that you have a great and powerful strength inside of you and you always will. If you ever doubt yourself, take three deep breaths and calm your mind."
Victoria's eye jolted open, the dream still fresh in her mind. She had almost forgotten about that day and the words her mother said to her. Those words had served her well over the years and she knew they would serve her well again this time.
She couldn't let Louis dictate her vote. As much as she didn't want Louis to be the one to tell Harvey what happened, she couldn't let her fear keep her from doing what she felt was right. And what she felt was right involved making Robert the next managing partner.
She turned her head to look at Harvey. He was still sleeping peacefully. The small grin on his face led her to believe he was having a good dream. She knew that he wasn't going to be happy with what she had to do. But sometimes doing what you think is right isn't going to make people happy.
She only hoped he would forgive her for what she had to do.
He started to stir and opened his eyes, smiling when he saw she was awake too.
"Good morning." He greeted happily.
"Hey." She smiled back.
He pulled her closer, planting a chaste kiss on her forehead. "I always seem to sleep better with you in the same bed. Why is that?"
"I have no clue." She chuckled.
"I think it is because you are magical."
She scoffed playfully. "I don't know about that."
"I do." He asserted.
"I should go make some coffee." She placed a kiss on his lips before trying to get out of bed.
"No." He whined like a toddler, grabbing on to her. "Stay for just a little bit longer?"
"I'll be right back with coffee." She promised, getting up and leaving the room. Once she got to the kitchen, she picked up her phone from the counter. Pushing a few buttons, she placed a call. "Hey, do you have time to grab lunch with me today?...I know it's short notice but it's important…It will be my treat…Great…Is Noon alright?...Ok, I'll text you the address."
She put the phone down after ending the call and texting the address for lunch. Then she got started making coffee.
She felt bad about making such a quick escape from the bedroom this morning. But she wasn't sure how to act around him right now. It was the main reason why she didn't call him yesterday like she said she would. She wasn't sure what to say and was glad when he showed up anyway.
She worried about the consequences from voting for Robert tonight. If Louis told Harvey what he knew from the investigator, then there wasn't anything she could do about that. It wasn't something she wanted to have happen though.
Truthfully she was still angry with him about telling Louis they were dating. She tried to understand why he would do something like that…why he would go against her wishes. But she couldn't understand it. At some point they would need to talk about it. She would have to let him know she was aware of it.
She would also have to let him know about Louis blackmailing her. She just wasn't ready yet. So as wrong as it was, she was simply pretending that nothing was wrong.
He watched Victoria leave the bedroom. Once her back was turned, the smile on his face slowly drained. There was still something bothering her, something she wasn't telling him. It was clearly written on her face. He was trying to be supportive and patient, but he hated seeing her upset. He thought back to last night.
He stood at her door with a pizza and a hope that she would talk to him. When she left her office she told him she would call. But it was now almost twenty-four hours later and he still hadn't gotten a call from her. So he decided to take matters into his own hands. He knocked and waited for her to open the door.
"Harvey, what are you doing here?" She asked.
He noted that she looked genuinely surprised to see him. "Well times are tough out here. I had to take a second job delivering pizzas just to make it through."
She started to laugh. "I don't ever remember having a pizza delivery guy look as good as you before."
"What can I say? My good looks have been earning me a lot of tips." He smirked.
"I bet." She grinned. "Well I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but I think you have the wrong address because I didn't actually order a pizza."
"Really?" He played along. "Huh. Well, since I'm here anyway and I have a pizza…maybe you could let me in and we could have dinner together."
"Do you have dinner with all the ladies you deliver pizza to?" She asked.
"No, you're the only one I would even consider doing that with." He explained.
"Alright." She nodded, moving out of the doorway so he could come in. "You're lucky you're cute and I love pizza."
"I'll take what I can get." He laughed, coming in and placing the pizza box on the counter. He saw her go to the refrigerator and pull out two beers. She then got a roll of paper towel.
"Follow me." She said, leading him into the living room. She sat the beers down on the coffee table before leaning up against the couch and motioning for him to put the pizza box between them on the coffee table.
He did what she wanted before sitting next to her. She was already pulling a piece out of the box so he opened his beer and took a quick swig, thankful that she started stocking some of his favorite beer in her refrigerator alongside the crappy beer she liked to drink. "So at the risk of sounding like some stereotypical pathetic, desperate girl…you never called."
"No, I didn't." She admitted. "I'm sorry about that. I just didn't know exactly what to say."
"Are we ok?" He asked, wanting to get to the point. It was bothering him all day because he wasn't sure.
"I don't know. Are we?"
"You were very upset last night." He pointed out. "Are you sure it's just the vote for managing partner? It seemed like more than that."
"I'm sure." She nodded, picking up her beer and taking a sip before putting it back on the coffee table.
The next thing he knew, she was moving the coffee table back a little bit and moving to sit on his lap. "What are you doing?" He chuckled as she put her arms around his neck.
"What do you think I'm doing?" She smirked, starting to kiss his neck. "You know, I've never been with a pizza delivery guy before."
"Well, I think we might be able to remedy that."
"That's what I'm hoping." She said, starting to kiss his neck.
He realized that she was using sex last night as a way to get out of talking. And last night he was alright with it. But now it was morning and they needed to talk about things.
It didn't take her long to come back with two coffee cups. She came over and handed him one before going over to the other side of the bed and getting back under the covers. He took a drink from the cup and then put it on the bedside table. Then he laid back down, turning to face her.
"See? I'm back." She smiled.
"I'm glad." He pulled her close again, happy when laid next to him and put her head on his chest. "So what do you want to do today? Because I vote we stay in bed."
"I actually can't do that today." She explained. "I have some things I need to take care of."
"On a Sunday?" He questioned.
"Yeah." She answered.
"Alright." He wasn't happy about that and wondered what things she had to do on a Sunday. But he wouldn't pry any more about it. "Vic, are you sure things are ok with us?"
"Of course." She said a little too quickly. Then she reached up to give him a kiss. "I love you Harvey."
"And I love you." He assured her.
"See?" She chuckled. "As long as we love each other, things are fine."
He wasn't convinced that everything was fine but he decided to let it drop for the moment.
