Authors Note: Again, don't own GMW characters. This chapter is on the longer end and warnings of drinking, abuse, and self-harm. Thanks for reading!
Olivia awoke the next morning still feeling slightly nauseous. Her wrist was swollen but it wasn't broken. She had a break before so she knew what it felt like. She wrapped her wrist tightly before working on getting dressed. She had to cover the finger shaped bruises on her wrist and neck and the cuts she had made last night. Thankfully the day was overcast and windy so a long sleeved shirt wouldn't look too suspicious. She pulled out a long sleeve black shirt and paired it with a plaid skirt and black leggings. It was very much a private school girl look but it covered almost everything it needed too. She went to work on covering the bruises on her neck and made sure that her hair stayed down. That way, if it wasn't perfect, her hair acted as another form of cover.
She finished getting ready then took a deep breath before walking out of her room. Kevin would be her first test, he would call her out if he saw anything unusual. She just hoped her mom wasn't around or if she was, that she would do what she normally did after one of her drunken rages and just ignore her.
"Morning, Olivia," Kevin said blearily as he filled his coffee cup.
"Morning," Olivia slid into a chair at the kitchen table and grabbed an orange that was in the bowl. She focused on trying to peel it and ignored the stares coming from Kevin's direction.
He sat down across from her and watched her for a moment before speaking, "I'm sorry if we kept you up last night."
"You didn't."
"What happened to your wrist?" He reached across the table and grabbed the orange from her and started peeling it for her, "Something happen last night?" He had always had suspicions but never concrete proof that Erin was overly rough with Olivia and Olivia sure wasn't going to say anything.
The lie rolled easily off of Olivia's tongue, "I fell yesterday in gym class playing soccer."
He handed the orange back to her and studied the pale face looking back at him. She looked like crap. The dark circles under her eyes and hollowed out cheeks told him that she hadn't been sleeping well or eating much. Clearly his constant fighting with her mom was taking a toll on her, "Want a ride to school today?"
A small smile crossed her face, "Actually, that would be great."
The two enjoyed their breakfast in silence. It was only when they were getting ready to go that Erin made an appearance. The tension in the room was thick. Olivia darted past her mom to grab her bag from her room but she wasn't even in her room before they started arguing again. Her mom was going off about she had made a mistake in sleeping with that other guy but it didn't give Kevin an excuse to sleep with his "business partner." Kevin tried to explain that he wasn't sleeping with another woman and that he really did have a meeting yesterday but afterwards went to the bar to have a few drinks which he thought was understandable considering a few hours earlier he had found out his girlfriend was with another guy.
She threw her bag over her shoulder and went back to the kitchen and put her shoes on, the fighting stopped long enough for Kevin to tell her that he would be down to drive her to school in a few minutes and to wait in the car. Olivia grabbed his keys and headed out. She didn't want to stick around any longer than she needed too. She was just shutting the door when the apartment door next to hers opened and stepped out and closed his door behind him. Olivia prayed a silent prayer that he would go to the right and take the elevator rather than the left and take the stairs and put her right in his line of sight but clearly luck was not on her side.
"Good morning, Olivia. Riley and Maya are inside eating if you want breakfast before you go to school," he said kindly, not wanting to bring up what had happened yesterday.
"No thank you, sir. My...Kevin is bringing me to school today," she said quickly and turned towards the stairs and started walking.
"Are they still fighting?" Cory asked quietly as he followed Olivia down the hall.
She was about to respond but a crash from inside gave Cory the answer, "You're welcome over at our house anytime, ok?"
Olivia stopped and turned to him once inside the stairwell, "Please don't say anything to Riley. I don't...she doesn't need…"Olivia trailed off, not quite sure what she wanted to say, "I don't need anyone knowing my personal stuff so just please don't tell her what you've heard," she pleaded, her eyes filling with tears.
Cory reached out to her but Olivia instinctively pulled herself in and away from him without realizing what she was doing. She stumbled and he steadied her by grabbing her bad wrist. Olivia gasped and yanked her arm away, "What happened to your wrist?"
"Nothing, I fell. Just a sprain," Olivia murmured as she picked up her pace.
"If she hurt you, you need to tell me."
Olivia stopped suddenly and whirled around. When she tilted her head a little, he could see what looked like light bruises around her neck. He was about to ask about it when held up her hand, "Stop, ok? You're my teacher and that's it. Nothing more. You're not my friend. You're my friend's dad and my teacher. Please just leave me be."
It was the most he had heard her say, ever. She was normally quiet and reserved. Only speaking when called on and even then her words were careful and planned out. She never said more than what needed to be said and Cory could see that something had changed in her overnight, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to get into your business but I'm worried about you."
"I'm fine. Never better. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get to school," Olivia turned back around and hurried the rest of the way down the steps.
Once in the safety of the car, Olivia looked around to make sure no one was around to see her then she let out a sob. Her conversation with had rattled her and she had a sinking feeling he had seen the marks her mom had left on her the night before. She had never spoken to someone like that before and especially not someone who she could tell really genuinely just cared about her and her wellbeing. She let herself cry for a minute more before pulling herself together. She wiped her eyes and pinched her cheeks to give them some color. She had just finished fixing her make up when Kevin got into the car, "Ready to go, kiddo?"
"Yeah, let's go."
Olivia got to school and was at her locker shoving her books in when she heard Riley and Maya talking, "I didn't see her this morning so I didn't get to ask," she heard Riley say as they neared her locked.
"Probably not a big deal, we'll just ask when we see her," Maya said as Olivia shoved her last book in before slamming her locker, "Olivia! Wait up!"
Maya and Riley rushed up and flanked her on either side, "Where were you this morning? We waited for you but you never showed," Riley asked as she fell into step with her friend.
"I needed to be at school early and forgot to tell you, sorry."
"Everything ok?" Maya asked as she looked at Olivia out of the corner of her eye. She seemed off. Everything about her seemed wrong, her posture, her voice, her look, nothing was right.
"Yeah, it's fine. Sorry, I just...bathroom. I have to go to the bathroom, I'll see you in class," Olivia stammered as she peeled off from the two girls.
"Maya? I don't think everything is ok with Olivia," Riley whispered as they watched her rush off.
"I think you're right, Riles. I don't know what to do though."
"Come on, I'm sure my mom talked to my dad about stuff last night, let's go ask him."
Olivia locked herself into the bathroom stall, breathing hard. That was hard, much harder than she anticipated. She felt like her heart was going to burst out of her chest and her breathing was labored. She hated this, she shouldn't worry about what people thought but she hadn't ever had friends like Riley and Maya before.
With shaking hands, Olivia dug into her bag and pulled out the box cutter from the night before. She rolled her sleeve way up and did one small cut. Her breathing steadied and her heart slowed down a little. She did one more and felt herself relax ever more. Taking a deep breath, she put pressure on the wounds to stop the bleeding then covered them with some gauze she had brought from home. Shoving the box cutter in the bottom of her bag, she took another deep breath and exited the stall to wash her hands.
"Alright, Matthews. Spill," Maya announced as she sat down on the corner of Cory's desk.
"Spill what, Hart?" Cory finished writing his announcements on the board and stepped back to make sure he had everything up there.
"Come on, daddy. We know you know what's going on with Olivia. She's acting….different. We're worried."
Cory turned around and put down his chalk, "I wish I had something to tell you girls but I don't. I know just as much as you know."
"You are a terrible liar, Matthews."
Cory sat down and looked at his daughter and her best friend who he considered another daughter, "Why don't you ask Olivia yourselves? You're her friends, I'm her teacher."
"Because she won't talk to us and I heard you and mom talking last night and her name came up," Riley looked at Maya who was watching Cory closely.
"We were saying what a sweet girl she is and what a great influence she is...unlike some people," he raised an eyebrow at Maya who had the guts to look innocent.
"You're still a liar Matthews but we'll let it rest...for now," Maya hopped off the desk, "Come on Riles, let's go see if we can't find Olivia before class."
Olivia was headed to homeroom when Maya and Riley found her, "What happened to your wrist, Olivia?" Riley asked, noticing the bandage wrapped around her friends hand.
"I fell."
"Then what happened to your neck? You look like you have a bruise or something," Maya pointed out as they neared their classroom.
"What is this, 20 questions?" Olivia snapped.
"No, it's just two friends concerned about their other friend. It's the way friendship works," Maya said haughtily before mumbling, "Not like you would know anything about that."
"Excuse me?"
"Please don't fight guys, Maya is just worried about you Olivia. We both are," Riley pleaded as she looked between the two girls.
"You don't need to worry about me, I'm fine."
Riley grabbed Olivia's good hand, "But you're really not. Maya and I both can see something is going on, please just talk to us."
Olivia pulled her hand away, "Then you must be blind because everything is great. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get to class."
"Don't talk to Riley like that, she's just trying to help," Maya stepped in front of Riley and put herself squarely in front of Olivia. She hadn't realized until that moment how much younger Olivia looked than her and Riley and how much smaller she was than them. Maya knew she was short but somehow Olivia was even shorter than her.
"Don't tell me what to do Maya. Now can I please just go to class?" Olivia pulled herself up a little taller and stared Maya down, "You're in my way."
"Apologize to Riley and I'll move."
"Maya, come on. It's fine," Riley tugged on Maya's hand, "Olivia, I'm sorry. I don't mean to push, I'm just worried about you. I'll drop it."
"Don't apologize, Riley. I'm fine, seriously," Olivia threw one last look at Maya before stepping around her, "I won't be able to walk home with you much anymore. I have stuff after school for the next few weeks."
"Oh, ok. Well, will we see you in the morning at least?" Riley asked hopefully as Maya rolled her eyes.
Olivia looked at Maya before responding to Riley, "Maybe, but don't wait for me. See you in class," and with that she strode into homeroom and took her desk in the far back corner.
"Maya, why would you do that?"
"Riles, clearly something is bothering her. Sometimes the only way to get someone to open up is to get them so mad they just break. Trust me."
"You really hurt her feelings though," Riley said quietly as they walked into class.
"Good, maybe it will make her mad enough to actually do something about it."
Olivia struggled to focus on her morning classes. Her fight with Riley and Maya had bothered her but it was necessary. After what her mom did, she couldn't have people asking questions because questions led to answers and no one would like the answers she had.
She waited impatiently for the bell to ring and when it did, she was the first one out the door. Instead of heading to the lunchroom where everyone else was going she headed to the library where she could just be by herself.
Olivia found her favorite unoccupied and let out a quiet sigh of relief. She pulled her book from her bag and curled up in the window seat just to read. She was lost in her book and almost missed a buzz from her phone, it was a text from Kevin asking if she needed a ride home. She wrote back that she did and realized that lunch was almost over. She grabbed a book off the shelf that she needed for her book report and went to check out.
She had just gotten in line when walked in the door. She instantly looked away but when she glanced over she saw he was watching her. He gave her a smile and a little wave that she ignored. She could do this. She had to do this.
