A/N: Hm. I never realized I wrote the Oliver scenes so close to each other... Oh well.
Chapter Three: Jericho and Buttons
Oliver came over just about every day to "check up" on Holly. And everyday, she'd smile and let him in. Her mother grew so used to Oliver being there, that she was surprised to come home and find him absent.
"Hasn't he moved in yet?" she asked Holly as she hung up her coat after work. She had recently gotten a job as a medical secretary at St Mungo's Hospital and was there every day now.
"Not quite," said Holly with a chuckle. "We have nowhere to put him."
"I'm sure he could stay in the spare room down the hall... He's a nice boy, isn't he Holly?" Elise winked at her daughter and Holly frowned.
"Mother!" she said, irritated at what Elise was suggesting.
"Alright, alright, but he is rather cute, don't you think?" Elise said, making her way to the kitchen to prepare dinner. "Get the mail, would you dear?" Elise said, as she waved her wand. Pots and pans came flying out of the cabinets and the stove turned on. "What'll it be tonight, dear, hm?" Elise turned to her daughter and smiled, her short brown hair framing her surprisingly youthful-looking face. It was then that Holly realized that what the psychologists said was reasonably true.
a long time now, it had just been Holly and Elise, together, like roommates. And she didn't want Remus to move in with them.
Holly was distracted by a pecking sound at the window. Grumpily, she went over and opened it, and let her owl fly over and land on the back of a chair. It nipped at her fingers, expecting food or attention from Holly. Holly glanced at the feathered beast, tore off the letter, and threw it a small treat. The bird caught the treat in mid-air with its hooked beak and swallowed it whole.
"Does he have a name yet?" Elise asked. Holly shook her head..
"Spaghetti."
"What a peculiar name for a bird..." Elise said, eyeing the tawny closely.
"No, Mum," Holly said, laughing slightly. "Spaghetti for dinner."
"Oh!" said Elise, smiling sheepishly. "Right." With another wand wave, raw noodles flew out of the cabinet and into the pot, which was being filled under the sink with water.
"Cook until noodles are moist and flexible," she ordered the pot, who gave a small tip (spilling some water) to show that it understood. Elise then turned to her daughter. "Well, honey, how about Jericho?"
"Jericho...?" Holly said, skeptically raising an eyebrow. "Jericho?"
"Yes, Jericho." Elise nodded. "It was your father's middle name."
"Dad's middle name was Jericho?" Holly couldn't help but smile. "What a weird middle name."
"I think it'll work," said Elise and Holly agreed.
The doorbell rang and Holly opened it, expecting to see Oliver, but instead, she found a picture on her doorstep of a clown, which began to sing.
"How are you feeling today, I'm here to cheer you up
I'm Buttons and though I know it's been a while
Instead of crying I would like to make you laugh
And maybe turn that frown into a smile.
So open your heart and let it sing
Open your door and let me in!"
And as it finished it's annoying song that barely rhymed, the picture flew in and hit Holly square in the face and fell to the floor. When Holly looked at the picture on the floor, there was a giant white spot where the clown was supposed to be.
"Hi!" Holly was startled as Lee Jordan jumped out of the bushes. "Did you like the Smile-O-Gram?" Holly blinked at her friend.
"I beg your pardon?"
"The singing clown!" said Lee. "We're gonna sell it in Weasley's Wizard Weezes!"
"What... is it???" Holly laughed as she picked up the picture. Lee grinned. Holly noticed he wouldn't stop staring at her face and at her curious look, he looked away quickly.
"Oh, it's just something we made to cheer someone up when they got a little depressed..." Lee chanced another look at Holly's face, but when he saw her eyes still on him, he looked away again. "You know, I haven't spoken with you since the end of last year and even then you were really quiet. I wasn't quite sure if you wanted to talk to me at all, or..." Holly smiled.
"Oh, Lee, come in, why don't you." Lee did so, and he and Holly entered her livingroom. Right as Holly sat down, the doorbell rang again. Grumbling, Holly answered it to find Oliver. He bit his lip to stop from cracking up when he saw her.
"Holly..." he managed to say. "A Halloween costume? In August?"
"Huh?" Holly frowned. Lee popped up behind her.
"Hey, Buttons," he said in her ear.
"What are you two talking about?" Holly said, absolutely perplexed. Oliver directed his next question to Lee.
"Was she looking in a mirror when she put on her makeup this morning?"
"What???" Holly instantly ran into the mirror and screamed. "JORDAN YOU ARE GOING TO DIE!"
Two hours later, she could be found in her room, staring into the mirror and rigorously washing what Lee dubbed "Flesh Paint" off of her face as Oliver and Lee stared over each shoulder at her reflection in the mirror.
"I thought you said this comes off!" Holly screamed in frustration and threw the cloth to the floor, which seemed to be clean as a whistle.
"It does," said Lee, smirking. "Well, eventually anyhow." Holly turned to Lee and glowered at him, though the paint on her face suggested a smiling, happy clown.
"I am so getting you back for this!" Holly shrieked, rolling up her sleeves.
"Hey, Holly, careful, or I'll get a restraining order!" said Lee, putting up his hands. "Besides, you can't condemn a friend for trying to cheer you up."
"This doesn't cheer me up," she said, through gritted teeth. Oliver seemed quite cheery, however.
"At least it gets your mind off of things," he said, suppressing fits of laughter. Sighing, Lee reached into his robes and pulled out a vial of clear liquid.
"Use this," he said. "It'll take the paint off."
Holly snatched the vial greedily out of his hands and spread the potion all over her face. She picked up the wash cloth and rubbed her face. But she kept the cloth there for a moment.
"Uh, Lee?" came her muffled voice from behind the wash cloth.
"Yeah?" Lee chimed as he ruffled through her jewelry box.
"There's nothing... in this potion, right?" She sounded nervous. Lee snickered.
"No, Holly. Unlike the twins, I'm too nice to pull two tricks on you in a row. It's a simple cure-all called Lichogen. It wipes everything clean."
Holly sighed and finally worked up the courage to take the cloth away from her face. She looked down and dunked the cloth in a bowl of water.
"Good," she said. "Because I don't think I'd be able to stand having a..." Holly trailed off as she looked into the mirror. She didn't even notice Lee smirking as he counted the galleons he had stolen from the bottom of her jewelry box.
"Uh, Jordan?" she said, slowly. Oliver was staring at her, a smile slowly spreading across his face.
"Mm?" Lee looked up at her and hastily hid the money behind his back. Holly turned to him and he gasped.
"Where is my face?" she said. At least, Lee thought he heard her say it. Holly's face was covered completely with skin. She had no eyes, nose or mouth. Just a plain, featureless visage. But she could still talk, and apparently she could still see.
"Um..." Lee said, looking around desperately. "Um, um, um... Oh look, a bird!"
"Not funny, Lee!" Holly growled. Lee chuckled.
"It is to some of us– I mean, I'm sorry!" He cowered as Holly pulled back her fist. "I'll get your face back, I swear!" And in the blink of an eye, he raced down the stairs and fumbled in his rucksack.
Holly sat down on her bed and sighed. Oliver took a seat next to her.
"You know..." he started. "With or without your face... you're still beautiful." Holly turned to him and gave him what he knew was supposed to be an annoyed look.
"Are you hitting on me? Might as well say 'Nice rack!'" said Holly. Oliver's eyes widened and he grinned.
"Oooh, can I, really? Please? No girl's ever let me say that to them without slapping me!"
Holly slapped him. Oliver's smile disappeared as he rubbed his cheek.
"Thanks," he said, dismally.
At that moment, Lee came running in and skidded on the carpet. He handed Holly a purple potion.
"That's the cure for the cure-all! It'll get your face back!" Holly nodded, examined the bottle, then looked at Lee.
"You try it," she said. Lee frowned.
"But my face isn't missing..."
"TRY IT DAMMIT!" Holly screamed. Lee took the bottle from her immediately, poured some onto the wash cloth Holly had used, and rubbed it onto his face. When he pulled the cloth away, Holly smiled. Holly watched Lee's four eyes blink at her, curiously, one pair on top of the other. His second nose was sitting just to the left of his first nose, while his new mouth was on his chin. Holly smiled inwardly, though she had no lips to smile with.
"What?" Lee said.
"OK," she replied. "Give."
Lee's mother thought that his extra features seemed to suit him when she came to pick him up to visit his grandmother's. And so, she decided she'd leave them there for a while. Holly thanked her and politely said goodbye. And she was left alone in the living room with Oliver again.
"So..." he said, awkwardly avoiding her gaze. He looked up suddenly and pointed at her. "Hey, you remember that time when I told you that Cedric wanted to go out with you?"
Holly laughed. "Yeah, that was... interesting."
"Uh, yeah..." said Oliver.
There was silence. Holly coughed. Oliver picked up a photo on the mantle piece.
"Hey, is this your dad?" he asked.
"Um... yeah," said Holly, slowly as she took the picture from him.
"He looks like he was a good guy," he said. Holly frowned at him.
"Um, do you want to sit down?" she offered, gesturing at the couch. Oliver jumped.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, right!" he smiled as he sat down on the couch and Holly sat down beside him.
"You know, Ireland won the Quidditch Cup..." Holly muttered.
"Yeah, um, that's year-old info, Hol," Cedric laughed.
"Oh." Holly was looking at her lap. She wasn't really thinking about Quidditch. She really wished Oliver hadn't mentioned Cedric.
Oliver sat staring at the coffee table. He really wished he hadn't mentioned Cedric.
The two sat there in silence, each thinking about totally different things, and yet, each wondering if the other was thinking what they were thinking.
They spoke simultaneously.
"I was wondering if you wanted to, then..." Oliver started.
"Have you ever had those dreams when..." Holly said.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" they both exclaimed.
"You first," Oliver said.
"No, you," Holly sighed, staring at her lap again. "Mine's a rather touchy subject."
Oliver laughed, nervously. "Yeah," he said. "Mine too."
They sat in silence again.
"You know," Holly said, finally, after taking a deep breath. "Sometimes I wonder if... If he's here, you know. With us."
"Huh?" Oliver looked totally confused as he stared at Holly. Holly looked over at him.
"You know, if he's like... watching us, or something. Trying to tell us something. Because my God, I swear... sometimes I feel him, it's just..." she trailed off and sighed. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just still grieving." Oliver was still frowning, but slowly, comprehension dawned, and with it, disappointment.
"Oh," he said. "Cedric."
"I mean..." Holly started. "I mean... Have you ever loved someone? Truly loved someone?" She turned to Cedric, desperately. "Loved someone so much you could almost feel when they were unhappy or in danger or... Or even their presence before you turned around! Known them so well that everything they did was familiar to you. Every word they uttered you'd known in advance, every thought..."
Oliver looked away.
"I thought I did, once..." he whispered. "But I was wrong."
Holly stared straight ahead of her.
"Well, I wasn't. Wrong, I mean. I've never told anyone this, but... I could feel it. When he died. And when he died, I felt like... I felt insane. It was crazy. Sometimes... Sometimes I dream of this little girl and I feel like she's always talking in code. She's cute, and she's in a pretty dress, but... See, although she talks in code, I feel I understand her somewhat. I feel I can relate to her. Like she's a part of me I've never met."
Oliver was silent. He was still looking away from Holly, who was pouring her heart out to him.
"And sometimes... Sometimes Cedric is there. And I mean, he's really there Oliver! I can feel him, I know I can. And sometimes, I can feel him during the day..." Holly looked around the vacant room. "Like right now..."
Oliver stood up loudly.
"Stop it!" he screamed. "Stop talking like that!"
Holly looked up at him, confused. "Oliver?" she said, tentatively. Oliver ran a quivering hand through his hair.
"He's dead..." he said to himself, shaking visibly. "He's dead and gone and he's not here, he's not anywhere, he's just gone! And there's nothing you, nor me, nor anyone else can do about it!" Oliver slowly picked up a picture on the table of Holly and the Weasley twins in their fifth year, laughing and smiling. He was still trembling.
"I mean, God damn it!" he shouted, slamming the picture down onto the coffee table. "I know that he hates it when people cry over him... He just hates it. And I remember when Erin cried when they broke up and he put his arm around her and commanded her to stop. She did. It was the only time Erin cried in her life. And he... My God, Holly, when you were crying at the rink, I knew he'd tell you the same thing so I did it for him, but you know what? I don't give a damn anymore! Cry all you bloody want for all I care! Because he's not here, Holly! He's not here to tell you to stop. I talk, you talk, we all talk– He's not listening. We talk, but he's not there! What's the use of tears? What's the use of praying if there's nobody who hears?"
Oliver was trembling. Holly rose to her feet and took him in her arms.
"You're sweating," she noticed.
"You're observant," he said with sarcasm and a forced laughed. Holly smiled at him. She kissed him on the forehead and sat him down on the couch.
"You may not think so," Holly said, quietly but stubbornly. "But he is here. He does listen. And above all, he always cares."
Chapter Three: Jericho and Buttons
Oliver came over just about every day to "check up" on Holly. And everyday, she'd smile and let him in. Her mother grew so used to Oliver being there, that she was surprised to come home and find him absent.
"Hasn't he moved in yet?" she asked Holly as she hung up her coat after work. She had recently gotten a job as a medical secretary at St Mungo's Hospital and was there every day now.
"Not quite," said Holly with a chuckle. "We have nowhere to put him."
"I'm sure he could stay in the spare room down the hall... He's a nice boy, isn't he Holly?" Elise winked at her daughter and Holly frowned.
"Mother!" she said, irritated at what Elise was suggesting.
"Alright, alright, but he is rather cute, don't you think?" Elise said, making her way to the kitchen to prepare dinner. "Get the mail, would you dear?" Elise said, as she waved her wand. Pots and pans came flying out of the cabinets and the stove turned on. "What'll it be tonight, dear, hm?" Elise turned to her daughter and smiled, her short brown hair framing her surprisingly youthful-looking face. It was then that Holly realized that what the psychologists said was reasonably true.
a long time now, it had just been Holly and Elise, together, like roommates. And she didn't want Remus to move in with them.
Holly was distracted by a pecking sound at the window. Grumpily, she went over and opened it, and let her owl fly over and land on the back of a chair. It nipped at her fingers, expecting food or attention from Holly. Holly glanced at the feathered beast, tore off the letter, and threw it a small treat. The bird caught the treat in mid-air with its hooked beak and swallowed it whole.
"Does he have a name yet?" Elise asked. Holly shook her head..
"Spaghetti."
"What a peculiar name for a bird..." Elise said, eyeing the tawny closely.
"No, Mum," Holly said, laughing slightly. "Spaghetti for dinner."
"Oh!" said Elise, smiling sheepishly. "Right." With another wand wave, raw noodles flew out of the cabinet and into the pot, which was being filled under the sink with water.
"Cook until noodles are moist and flexible," she ordered the pot, who gave a small tip (spilling some water) to show that it understood. Elise then turned to her daughter. "Well, honey, how about Jericho?"
"Jericho...?" Holly said, skeptically raising an eyebrow. "Jericho?"
"Yes, Jericho." Elise nodded. "It was your father's middle name."
"Dad's middle name was Jericho?" Holly couldn't help but smile. "What a weird middle name."
"I think it'll work," said Elise and Holly agreed.
The doorbell rang and Holly opened it, expecting to see Oliver, but instead, she found a picture on her doorstep of a clown, which began to sing.
"How are you feeling today, I'm here to cheer you up
I'm Buttons and though I know it's been a while
Instead of crying I would like to make you laugh
And maybe turn that frown into a smile.
So open your heart and let it sing
Open your door and let me in!"
And as it finished it's annoying song that barely rhymed, the picture flew in and hit Holly square in the face and fell to the floor. When Holly looked at the picture on the floor, there was a giant white spot where the clown was supposed to be.
"Hi!" Holly was startled as Lee Jordan jumped out of the bushes. "Did you like the Smile-O-Gram?" Holly blinked at her friend.
"I beg your pardon?"
"The singing clown!" said Lee. "We're gonna sell it in Weasley's Wizard Weezes!"
"What... is it???" Holly laughed as she picked up the picture. Lee grinned. Holly noticed he wouldn't stop staring at her face and at her curious look, he looked away quickly.
"Oh, it's just something we made to cheer someone up when they got a little depressed..." Lee chanced another look at Holly's face, but when he saw her eyes still on him, he looked away again. "You know, I haven't spoken with you since the end of last year and even then you were really quiet. I wasn't quite sure if you wanted to talk to me at all, or..." Holly smiled.
"Oh, Lee, come in, why don't you." Lee did so, and he and Holly entered her livingroom. Right as Holly sat down, the doorbell rang again. Grumbling, Holly answered it to find Oliver. He bit his lip to stop from cracking up when he saw her.
"Holly..." he managed to say. "A Halloween costume? In August?"
"Huh?" Holly frowned. Lee popped up behind her.
"Hey, Buttons," he said in her ear.
"What are you two talking about?" Holly said, absolutely perplexed. Oliver directed his next question to Lee.
"Was she looking in a mirror when she put on her makeup this morning?"
"What???" Holly instantly ran into the mirror and screamed. "JORDAN YOU ARE GOING TO DIE!"
Two hours later, she could be found in her room, staring into the mirror and rigorously washing what Lee dubbed "Flesh Paint" off of her face as Oliver and Lee stared over each shoulder at her reflection in the mirror.
"I thought you said this comes off!" Holly screamed in frustration and threw the cloth to the floor, which seemed to be clean as a whistle.
"It does," said Lee, smirking. "Well, eventually anyhow." Holly turned to Lee and glowered at him, though the paint on her face suggested a smiling, happy clown.
"I am so getting you back for this!" Holly shrieked, rolling up her sleeves.
"Hey, Holly, careful, or I'll get a restraining order!" said Lee, putting up his hands. "Besides, you can't condemn a friend for trying to cheer you up."
"This doesn't cheer me up," she said, through gritted teeth. Oliver seemed quite cheery, however.
"At least it gets your mind off of things," he said, suppressing fits of laughter. Sighing, Lee reached into his robes and pulled out a vial of clear liquid.
"Use this," he said. "It'll take the paint off."
Holly snatched the vial greedily out of his hands and spread the potion all over her face. She picked up the wash cloth and rubbed her face. But she kept the cloth there for a moment.
"Uh, Lee?" came her muffled voice from behind the wash cloth.
"Yeah?" Lee chimed as he ruffled through her jewelry box.
"There's nothing... in this potion, right?" She sounded nervous. Lee snickered.
"No, Holly. Unlike the twins, I'm too nice to pull two tricks on you in a row. It's a simple cure-all called Lichogen. It wipes everything clean."
Holly sighed and finally worked up the courage to take the cloth away from her face. She looked down and dunked the cloth in a bowl of water.
"Good," she said. "Because I don't think I'd be able to stand having a..." Holly trailed off as she looked into the mirror. She didn't even notice Lee smirking as he counted the galleons he had stolen from the bottom of her jewelry box.
"Uh, Jordan?" she said, slowly. Oliver was staring at her, a smile slowly spreading across his face.
"Mm?" Lee looked up at her and hastily hid the money behind his back. Holly turned to him and he gasped.
"Where is my face?" she said. At least, Lee thought he heard her say it. Holly's face was covered completely with skin. She had no eyes, nose or mouth. Just a plain, featureless visage. But she could still talk, and apparently she could still see.
"Um..." Lee said, looking around desperately. "Um, um, um... Oh look, a bird!"
"Not funny, Lee!" Holly growled. Lee chuckled.
"It is to some of us– I mean, I'm sorry!" He cowered as Holly pulled back her fist. "I'll get your face back, I swear!" And in the blink of an eye, he raced down the stairs and fumbled in his rucksack.
Holly sat down on her bed and sighed. Oliver took a seat next to her.
"You know..." he started. "With or without your face... you're still beautiful." Holly turned to him and gave him what he knew was supposed to be an annoyed look.
"Are you hitting on me? Might as well say 'Nice rack!'" said Holly. Oliver's eyes widened and he grinned.
"Oooh, can I, really? Please? No girl's ever let me say that to them without slapping me!"
Holly slapped him. Oliver's smile disappeared as he rubbed his cheek.
"Thanks," he said, dismally.
At that moment, Lee came running in and skidded on the carpet. He handed Holly a purple potion.
"That's the cure for the cure-all! It'll get your face back!" Holly nodded, examined the bottle, then looked at Lee.
"You try it," she said. Lee frowned.
"But my face isn't missing..."
"TRY IT DAMMIT!" Holly screamed. Lee took the bottle from her immediately, poured some onto the wash cloth Holly had used, and rubbed it onto his face. When he pulled the cloth away, Holly smiled. Holly watched Lee's four eyes blink at her, curiously, one pair on top of the other. His second nose was sitting just to the left of his first nose, while his new mouth was on his chin. Holly smiled inwardly, though she had no lips to smile with.
"What?" Lee said.
"OK," she replied. "Give."
Lee's mother thought that his extra features seemed to suit him when she came to pick him up to visit his grandmother's. And so, she decided she'd leave them there for a while. Holly thanked her and politely said goodbye. And she was left alone in the living room with Oliver again.
"So..." he said, awkwardly avoiding her gaze. He looked up suddenly and pointed at her. "Hey, you remember that time when I told you that Cedric wanted to go out with you?"
Holly laughed. "Yeah, that was... interesting."
"Uh, yeah..." said Oliver.
There was silence. Holly coughed. Oliver picked up a photo on the mantle piece.
"Hey, is this your dad?" he asked.
"Um... yeah," said Holly, slowly as she took the picture from him.
"He looks like he was a good guy," he said. Holly frowned at him.
"Um, do you want to sit down?" she offered, gesturing at the couch. Oliver jumped.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, right!" he smiled as he sat down on the couch and Holly sat down beside him.
"You know, Ireland won the Quidditch Cup..." Holly muttered.
"Yeah, um, that's year-old info, Hol," Cedric laughed.
"Oh." Holly was looking at her lap. She wasn't really thinking about Quidditch. She really wished Oliver hadn't mentioned Cedric.
Oliver sat staring at the coffee table. He really wished he hadn't mentioned Cedric.
The two sat there in silence, each thinking about totally different things, and yet, each wondering if the other was thinking what they were thinking.
They spoke simultaneously.
"I was wondering if you wanted to, then..." Oliver started.
"Have you ever had those dreams when..." Holly said.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" they both exclaimed.
"You first," Oliver said.
"No, you," Holly sighed, staring at her lap again. "Mine's a rather touchy subject."
Oliver laughed, nervously. "Yeah," he said. "Mine too."
They sat in silence again.
"You know," Holly said, finally, after taking a deep breath. "Sometimes I wonder if... If he's here, you know. With us."
"Huh?" Oliver looked totally confused as he stared at Holly. Holly looked over at him.
"You know, if he's like... watching us, or something. Trying to tell us something. Because my God, I swear... sometimes I feel him, it's just..." she trailed off and sighed. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just still grieving." Oliver was still frowning, but slowly, comprehension dawned, and with it, disappointment.
"Oh," he said. "Cedric."
"I mean..." Holly started. "I mean... Have you ever loved someone? Truly loved someone?" She turned to Cedric, desperately. "Loved someone so much you could almost feel when they were unhappy or in danger or... Or even their presence before you turned around! Known them so well that everything they did was familiar to you. Every word they uttered you'd known in advance, every thought..."
Oliver looked away.
"I thought I did, once..." he whispered. "But I was wrong."
Holly stared straight ahead of her.
"Well, I wasn't. Wrong, I mean. I've never told anyone this, but... I could feel it. When he died. And when he died, I felt like... I felt insane. It was crazy. Sometimes... Sometimes I dream of this little girl and I feel like she's always talking in code. She's cute, and she's in a pretty dress, but... See, although she talks in code, I feel I understand her somewhat. I feel I can relate to her. Like she's a part of me I've never met."
Oliver was silent. He was still looking away from Holly, who was pouring her heart out to him.
"And sometimes... Sometimes Cedric is there. And I mean, he's really there Oliver! I can feel him, I know I can. And sometimes, I can feel him during the day..." Holly looked around the vacant room. "Like right now..."
Oliver stood up loudly.
"Stop it!" he screamed. "Stop talking like that!"
Holly looked up at him, confused. "Oliver?" she said, tentatively. Oliver ran a quivering hand through his hair.
"He's dead..." he said to himself, shaking visibly. "He's dead and gone and he's not here, he's not anywhere, he's just gone! And there's nothing you, nor me, nor anyone else can do about it!" Oliver slowly picked up a picture on the table of Holly and the Weasley twins in their fifth year, laughing and smiling. He was still trembling.
"I mean, God damn it!" he shouted, slamming the picture down onto the coffee table. "I know that he hates it when people cry over him... He just hates it. And I remember when Erin cried when they broke up and he put his arm around her and commanded her to stop. She did. It was the only time Erin cried in her life. And he... My God, Holly, when you were crying at the rink, I knew he'd tell you the same thing so I did it for him, but you know what? I don't give a damn anymore! Cry all you bloody want for all I care! Because he's not here, Holly! He's not here to tell you to stop. I talk, you talk, we all talk– He's not listening. We talk, but he's not there! What's the use of tears? What's the use of praying if there's nobody who hears?"
Oliver was trembling. Holly rose to her feet and took him in her arms.
"You're sweating," she noticed.
"You're observant," he said with sarcasm and a forced laughed. Holly smiled at him. She kissed him on the forehead and sat him down on the couch.
"You may not think so," Holly said, quietly but stubbornly. "But he is here. He does listen. And above all, he always cares."