Lyrics from "I'd Rather Be Alone" by Karyn White
I know that people do go through
changes
But this just don't make no damn sense
If we're
gonna keep sayin' we love one another
Well, then we better stop
fightin' and arguin'
Cause baby, I've heard I'm sorry
too many, many times before
Now I know better
It hurts to hold
on to this kind of love even more
No, I'm not crazy
I
won't be a fool, a fool for love
Cause I know I'd rather be
alone than be here unhappy
I'm not gonna choose, choose for
you
Cause I know I'd rather be alone than be here unhappy
I
know it's time to go when I feel lonely
When I'm layin' in
your arms and it don't feel right
Cause every time I feelin'
up you try to bring me down
So I feel good knowin' I don't
need you around
Cause I know, I know that I can feel this bad
all by myself
And maybe that's my best bet
Starting this
time I'm gonna think selfishly
And never depend on someone else
for keepin' me happy
I'm never gonna be a fool for
love
I'd rather be alone, just give it up
Don't make no
sense to be in love
And be here unhappy, oh, no
It might
feel good on a lonely night
But layin' in your arms today ain't
right
I'd rather lose you than lose my mind
Byron climbed out of his truck and slammed the door. He hated the damn thing, he actually drove a BMW. He only kept it for secretive purposes, so people wouldn't recognize his vehicle outside of Serena Benson's house.
He had a hard day at work and all he wanted to do was curl up and go to sleep. He took out his spare key and opened the door. He was greeted with Olivia and Serena sitting on the couch, holding hands, looking as if they were waiting for him.
They were.
"Hello beautiful ladies," he smiled, pulling on the charm. Both of them were so weak. They did whatever he asked them to, when he asked them to, and when they wanted to show a spark of independence, he promptly stomped it out of them.
"Byron, your time here is up." Serena said. Olivia was amazed at the how calm and strong her mother's voice sounded, because she herself was churning inside with fear. "Put your key on the table and turn around and leave. You're not welcome here."
Byron slowly put down his workbag. "Is there a problem here Serena? I'm a little confused…and maybe we shouldn't talk about this in front of your daughter."
"You mean my daughter or your rape victim?" Serena snapped. "Get out of my house. Now."
"Rape…" he looked at Olivia, genuinely confused now. "Olivia…did you tell her that?"
"Yes," she said, her own voice strong. "I told her everything, Byron."
Byron struggled with his emotions. "Olivia, we are together…Serena she's only saying I raped her because she is too ashamed to admit that she's been fucking her mother's boyfriend. She came on to me. Such a slut. Just like you. But I like women like that so it's okay."
"Get out, Byron, or…"
"Or what? You'll call the police?" Byron laughed at that one. "Go ahead. See how far that gets you."
He was right. They would take his word over there's. Serena started tear. "Please, we don't want any trouble, I just want you to go. To leave us alone."
Byron smiled. He always had to do this with Serena. She didn't learn as easily as other women did, say his wife. Instead of doing as she asked, he stooped down and pulled his service revolver out of his bag. Olivia and Serena froze as he casually walked up to Serena and put the gun to her forehead.
"No!" Olivia screamed, jumping up. Byron swiftly back handed her and sent her flying across the arm of the couch. Serena stifled her own scream, too scared to move in case he shot her.
"Get up," he commanded to Olivia. Slowly, she obeyed him. He grabbed her hair and forced her to kneel directly in front of him. She cried out in pain.
"Stop…you're hurting her…" Serena whispered, frozen on the couch.
"This is what happens when you try to tell me what to do," he said in an instructional tone. "I have told you both many times that what I say goes. I don't give a shit what you think, you end where I begin. You do as I say or I'll kill you."
Serena nodded. Byron unbuckled his pants and pulled out his engorged penis. Olivia winced, horrified at what he was about to make her do.
"Do it Olivia, or I'll shoot your mother."
"Nononononononononono," Serena blubbered. "Don't do that, don't make her do that."
Byron shot into the couch right next to Serena, causing both women to scream.
"Okay, stop, don't hurt her," Olivia pleaded. She put his member into her mouth and closed her eyes. She heard her mother's weeping intermixed with Byron's moans of pleasure and encouragement. It was at that moment that she knew.
She was going to kill him.
The thought and almost instantaneous decision calmed her as she finished the degrading act. As soon as he buckled up his pants and took the gun off of her mother, she looked directly in his eyes.
And he saw it too. With a last backward glance, he grabbed his bag and bolted out the door.
XXXXXXXXElliot walked into the diner, searching for Olivia. She saw her slight form slouched in a booth in the back. Hurriedly, he walked over to her.
He hadn't seen her in almost four days, she had missed school, wasn't answering any of his phone calls and, until now, hadn't attempted to call him. He was shocked by her appearance. She had dark circles under her eyes, her hair was unkempt and she looked like she had lost weight.
"Olivia," he breathed, sliding into the booth next to her and enveloping her into a tight hug. He signaled to a waitress. "When was the last time you ate something?"
She closed her eyes and soaked in the feel of him while he ordered food for the both of them. She missed him and had thought about him all week when she wasn't tending to her mother. After the incident with Byron, Serena had gone on a drinking binge that left her a complete mess.
"Liv, what is going on?" he asked, frustrated after the waitress left them. "I haven't seen you in days. I was worried about you babe."
Pulling away, she looked at him. "I need to talk to you."
"Okay…what's going on?"
Olivia searched his face. She didn't know where to start. What she was about to tell him was going to devastate him to the core, and she had to accept the fact that this was most likely the last time she would ever see him.
She had made a decision. She was going to confess to Elliot before she killed Byron. If he reported her, then she would be sent to jail, and Byron would be forced to leave her mother to refute her motive. If he didn't, Byron was going to be pushing up flowers. Either way, she and her mother would be free of him. She didn't care which. She was beyond caring at this point.
But she had to tell Elliot why she had no choice but to kill his father.
"Olivia?" Elliot said, prompting her.
"You look so much like him, but you're the complete opposite," she whispered, with a small smile.
Elliot was confused. "Okay…" he said, laughing nervously. "Like who?"
"He's been seeing my mother for more than a year…and he won't leave us alone."
He could barely make out the words. But for reasons he couldn't explain, he knew exactly what and who she was talking about. The nights away from home. The furtive stares and whispers when he or his family were in public places. He knew. He just never in a million years would have guessed it was Olivia's mother.
Yet, he felt the urge to deny it.
"No…I have no idea what you are talking about Olivia," he said dismissively.
"Yes, you do," she said. "He's hurting us Elliot."
"No…" he whispered.
"Don't you see? That's why I could never go to your house and never let you come to mine, drop me off…you would have found out-"
"My dad was fucking your mother this entire time and you didn't think that was important enough to tell me?" Elliot felt a cold fury. At his cheating, piece of shit father. At that slut Serena. And Olivia. His Olivia. She knew all along.
"I couldn't…I couldn't tell you…" she said tearfully. She paused as the waitress put down their food. Seeing Olivia's tears, she threw her a sympathetic look. Lovers' quarrel. "I was too afraid…afraid of what he would do to us…he's a cop…no one would have believed us…"
The beatings at home had lessened. He looked at Olivia as if he were seeing her for the first time. His father was beating her. The shock of it was making it very difficult to breathe.
"Does he hit you?" he asked in a faint whisper. He knew the answer. The bruises proved it.
Olivia nodded her head. "…and that's not all Elliot. He…forces himself on me..."
Elliot felt like the sky was falling and it was slamming straight into his body. He really couldn't breathe. He had to get out.
"Liv…Liv, I gotta go…"
"No, Elliot please…" She grabbed his arm, but he shook it off. Throwing down some bills, he stumbled out of the restaurant. After some hesitation, Olivia jumped up and ran after him. She ran outside and skidded to a stop. Her face betrayed her horror.
Elliot and Byron were standing face to face.
XXXXXXXXX