Chapter thirty: Control
Just as usual, when Olivia woke up the next morning, Fitz was gone. She got up to pee, brush her teeth and face and went to the kitchen to fix her breakfast. You would think a person would get tired of eating the same meal every morning, but Olivia hadn't gotten tired of her toast and raspberries yet. After she fixed her meal, she poured herself a tall glass of coconut water. She'd read somewhere, she couldn't remember now, that coconut water was good to drink during pregnancy. She sat down at the bar to eat her breakfast, while watching the small flat-screen TV in the corner of the countertop.
She rarely watched the news, that was Fitz's favorite program, whenever he watched TV. But since there wasn't anything good on this early in the morning, she turned on the news. It was the same news boring news as it always was. Olivia picked up the remote, and was about to search for something else, when she heard Fitz's name. Olivia listened in horror as she learned that Fitz's store had burned down and that it was arson. This happened yesterday. Why in the hell did he not tell her this? Sure she'd been sleeping like a hibernating bear when he got home, but this was news something she'd would've gladly woken up for.
Olivia listened to the news anchors reporting that the cops didn't have much to go by and had zero suspects. All they had were the witness statements. They were just moving on to another story, when she heard the front door open and close. She couldn't see the front door from the kitchen, but she knew it was Fitz coming in from his run. She sat and waited for him to come to the kitchen for a bottled water in the fridge, like he always did.
Fitz came around the corner, into the kitchen, a moment later. Olivia turned around in her seat, watching him. Waiting for him to tell her about the fire and explain to her why he didn't tell her last night after it happened. She watched him go to the fridge, without even acknowledging her presence. He took a water out the fridge and drank half of it in one swallow. When he was finished, he spoke a quick 'Good morning' before walking back out.
Really? That's it? That's all he has to say? Good morning. Olivia thought to herself. She hated how private Fitz was with most things. It was like pulling nails, trying to get Fitz to talk about his problems or his work. And most of the time, Olivia just accepted that he was a private person and would let it go. But not this time. No longer worried about her breakfast, she left the kitchen and followed Fitz to the bedroom.
He wasn't in the room, but she heard the water running in the bathroom. When she pushed the door open, Fitz was standing at the sink, with a towel around his waist, shaving. Fitz saw her come in, but he figured she just had to use the bathroom. So he continued shaving his face and didn't speak.
"Fitz." Olivia called out his name to get his attention. He looked at her through the mirror, while continuing his task of shaving. "Don't you have something to tell me?"
Fitz was honestly confused. he didn't know what she was talking about. "Not that I can think of. Why? What's wrong?"
"Not that you can think of?" Olivia repeated. "Well I can think of one. For starters, why didn't you tell me your store burned down last night. Or better yet, that someone burned your store last night."
Fitz sighed. It was wishful thinking to think he could keep this from her. He sat his razor on the sink and wiped his face clean. "It's nothing."
"What do you mean nothing? This is a big deal Fitz."
"I'm handling it Olivia." Fitz walked over to her and kissed her forehead, before going back to the shower. Before he could open the door to turn on the water, Olivia was in front of him blocking the way. "Liv, this is my work business. I don't want you worrying about this."
"How can I not Fitz? Someone broke into my gallery, and not long after, your business burns to the ground. That isn't a coincidence."
"I've got it under control Liv." He tried to step around her, but she moved with him, still blocking the way.
"Why is it so hard for you to talk to me? Why do I have to beg you to open up to me?"
"Livvie this is my personal work business. It doesn't concern you."
"Yes it does. We are a couple everything that we do or what happens to us, affects us both. When my gallery was trashed, that was my personal business, but you were right there by my side."
"That was different Olivia, you needed me."
Olivia was offended. "So what, you don't need me?"
"I didn't say that."
"Well it sure sounds like that's what you said."
Fitz sighed. he didn't feel like arguing with Olivia right now. It seemed like lately, they'd been doing more and more of that. Both of them were tensed and frustrated with how life was going these days, and they tended to take their frustrations out on each other.
"Liv I don't want to argue with you again."
"And neither do I. Fitz I just want you to talk to me." Olivia put her hand on his arm. "Stop treating me like I'm a child or fragile. Like I can't handle anything."
"I've got it under control." Fitz kissed her forehead again, then moved passed her to the shower.
X
When Fitz got out of the shower thirty minutes later, he got dressed and went searching for Olivia. He knew that he'd upset her earlier and that was not his intention. He didn't tell Olivia about the fire, because he didn't want to worry her. It was the same reason he didn't tell her about the surveillance cameras at her gallery or about Roger. Fitz was a natural protector, and he honestly thought he was doing what was right. He wanted to take care of this Roger guy without Olivia ever having to worry about it. He didn't want her to be scared or nervous every time she left the house, thinking someone was after her. As far as she knew, it was some dumb kids with nothing better to do who broke into her store.
Fitz found Olivia's abandoned breakfast on the kitchen bar, but no Olivia. He could see through the balcony doors, that she wasn't out there. He checked the library, his office, and every other room in the penthouse and didn't find her. After he checked the foyer table drawer, where they kept the car keys, and confirming that hers were gone. Fitz pulled out his cellphone to call the personal security guard he put on Olivia. He was a recommendation of Tom's.
The man answered after two short rings. "Yes Mr. Grant?"
"Are you following Olivia?"
"Yes sir. She left the penthouse about fifteen minutes ago."
"Where is she?"
"I believe she's headed to the train station, sir."
She must be going to her parents. Fitz thought.
"Do you want me to stop her sir?"
"No. Let her go. But stay on her, she does not leave your sight."
"I understand sir."
"And make sure she doesn't see you. I don't want her to know you're following her."
"I'll be discrete sir."
"Let me know when she leaves and where she goes next."
"Yes sir." Fitz hung up without another word. He wished Olivia hadn't left without a word, but he understood that she was upset and probably needed some space. He would be glad when all this Roger problem was solved, because he hated what it was doing to his relationship.
X
Dianna came home early that day. She had to prep her case for trial, but decided to work from her home office today. Eli was still in class, so she was home alone. Or so she thought. She wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings, as she walked through her home with her face buried in a book. She knew her home like the back of her hand and could navigate through it blindfolded. But as she walked down the hall to her room, she became alarmed when she heard a noise coming from Olivia's old bedroom. The door was cracked open slightly, and she crept to the door. Peeking through the cracks to see inside. The closer she got, the more she recognized the sound. it was snoring. Someone was sleeping in Olivia's bed.
Dianna pushed the door opened, and exhaled in relief. Olivia was laying on her side, peacefully sleeping in her old bed. Dianna wondered why Olivia would be sleeping here, when she had a perfectly good bed at her house. But she loved it when her girls came back home for a visit. It didn't happen as often as Dianna would like, and when it did, the girls always called ahead. So she was going to enjoy this unexpected one.
Dianna walked to the bed and sat down beside Olivia. She never really got this much time to just enjoy gazing at her daughters. They were always on the move or gone. She use to do the same thing when they were babies. At night when they were sleeping in their cribs, she would just stare at them and watch them sleep. It gave her comfort to watch their little bellies rise and fall with each breath. Being a first-time mother of twins was hard on her. She constantly felt like she wasn't doing the right thing, but she managed to keep then alive and they both grew up to be decent humans.
Dianna reached out to smooth a hand over Olivia's cheek. Olivia was always a little heavier than her sister, and she'd had chubby cheeks since she was a baby. And now that she was pregnant, she was plumping up even more. Dianna lightly pinched Olivia's cheek, and it was enough to stir her out of her sleep.
"Mom?" Olivia's voice was full of sleep. "What are you doing?"
"Hey baby." Dianna answered.
Olivia sat up, and rested her back against the headboard. "Were you watching me sleep?" Dianna only smiled. "You're so weird."
Dianna smiled. "You know baby, not that I don't enjoy your visits. But why are you here sleeping in your bed, when I'm sure the bed at Fitz's penthouse is much better."
Olivia sighed. "It certainly is. I don't remember this bed being this hard." Olivia stretched her back, working out the inks after sleeping for a few hours on her rock hard childhood bed. "I needed a break from Fitz."
"And why is that?"
"I don't know what's going on with us mama. It just seems like lately all we do is argue. Ever since I moved back after everything that happened with my shop, we've both been on edge. And it only got worse when I told him I was pregnant. We resolved whatever doubts he had about being a father, and he says he's looking forward to it, but I can tell he's still not sold on the idea of being a father." Olivia was playing with the threads on her blanket as she spoke. "Every time I want to talk to him about the baby's nursery and picking out paint colors or cribs he just changed the subject and preferes for me to do it all. He doesn't even want to talk baby names."
"Well maybe he's just nervous about being a father." Dianna tried to smooth over.
"These are more than nerves mama. So this is just our life right now. He leaves for work in the morning and is gone well into the evening and that leaves me at home all day by myself. And then this morning we had an argument because he failed to mention to me that his store burned down yesterday. And according to the news it was arson. I had to find out from the news because he refused to tell me anything." Olivia sighed in frustration. "He just treats me like I'm a child sometimes and it's really annoying."
Dianna laughed, which only made Olivia's anger grow. "Baby you're father was the same when he and I first started dating. "Always hovering over me, handling me with kid gloves, making decisions without me, because he didn't want to worry me. Your father is a protector and a natural caregiver that's all he knows. It's just in him to always want to take care of those he loves."
"How'd you deal with his smothering?"
"I just had to remind your father who he married. I've never been the type of woman that needs to be kept and taken care of. I hand to remind him that we were equals."
"I don't think that will work on Fitz. He's too stubborn."
"Oh honey you will soon learn that when a man, and I mean truly loves a woman, she can get that man to do just about anything she wants. You just need to learn your powers. How do you think I got your father to buy us this house out of budget?" Dianna winked.
"Eww ma!" Olivia shouted, assuming her mother was referring to sex.
"What? I didn't say anything about sex. But it's not a bad idea to have that in your back pocket as a plan B. Now that is how I got your father to finally book that trip to France he'd been promising since before your girls were born."
Olivia groaned, burying her face in her mother's lap. Dianna stroked at her hair. "I'm just saying. But all you need to do is go home and tell Fitz that you aren't a child but his partner. Let him know what you need, communicate."
"But I tried."
"Then try harder, and keep reminding him until he gets it. Let him know it's non-negotiable." Dianna lifted Olivia's head from her lap. "And that also means you can't hide out here with me all day."
"I know. But can I have a few more hours? I'm starving." On cue, Olivia's stomach began growling. She wished now she had finished her breakfast before she left this morning.
"Of course. I gotta make sure you're feeding my grandbaby."
Olivia was getting off the bed, when her phone began ringing in her purse.
"That's probably Fitz wondering where you are." Dianna said.
Olivia checked the caller ID and knew who it was. She pushed end and just as she expected, not too soon after, her phone pinged for an incoming text and she did as she always did deleted the message without reading it.
"Well who was it?"
"Roger."
"Roger?" Dianna repeated with disgust. She was never a big fan of his. "I didn't know you two were in touch again."
"We're not. He's just been calling me lately. I've ignored all his calls, but now he's started texting me and I ignore those two."
"Well what does he want?"
"I have no clue. He said he missed me and wanted to be friends again. I only read the first message, I've ignored the rest. I was going to let him down easy, but then he started calling me almost every day and then the text messages came. I don't know what his deal is."
"I think you should just block his number baby. That way he can't contact you again."
"I tried that. But he always calls from a different number."
"Maybe you should answer one of the calls to see what he wants. Or just to tell him to stop calling."
Olivia shook her head. "No. I don't want to talk to him at all." Olivia didn't admit it out loud, but the incessant calling and text messaging was beginning to make her nervous.
X
After eating lunch with her mother and spending some more time with her just talking, mostly about the baby. Olivia finally decided to leave. She wasn't quite ready to go home though, so she went to a few stores and did a little retail shopping therapy. Most of the things she bought were for the baby. She decided that she wanted to wait until the baby was born to find out the gender. So everything she bought was gender-neutral. Mostly baby blankets, towels, socks and a few cute books she'd seen. Olivia was still very nervous about being a mother, but she was looking forward to it. She'd always known she wanted to be a mother, but she didn't think it would happen so soon in her life. She also planned to have a husband and a family home first, but she was getting over that.
When she finally got home, it was about seven in the evening. She walked in the penthouse with all her bags, dropping them at the foyer door. She had a bad habit of just dropping her things by the door, just for Fitz to trip on later when he came home. He was always getting on her about that. The lights were all out in the house, only the stove light was on in the kitchen. She called out for Fitz, but he didn't respond. She went to the kitchen to grab some grapes out of the fridge and then went to check Fitz's office. That's normally where she found him most days.
She knocked, and when she didn't get an answer she opened the door. She could tell he'd been there before, there were a bunch of papers on his desk. Normally he would leave things just scattered around on his desk, Fitz hated unnecessary messes. Which meant he hated all messes. Everything needed a place and everything had to have a place. Olivia was convinced Fitz was OCD, although he'd deny it. Olivia didn't make a lot of messes, but she didn't fret over a towel on the floor or her shoes by the bed. Fitz, however, needed all towels on the rack or in the hamper and all shoes and other clothing in the closet.
Olivia went over to straighten up his desk for him. She put away a few papers, until she came across a file she wasn't sure Fitz was supposed to have. It was the police file for the break in at her store. Why did Fitz have it? How did Fitz have it? She flipped through the file, until she saw what looked like a security camera photo. She had to hold the picture up and squint but she eventually made out the person's face.
"Roger?" It hit Olivia like a ton of bricks, as she flipped through photo after photo of Roger dressed in all black with a crowbar in his hand and a bag on his back, no doubt carrying the spray paint he used to write whore all over her walls. He was the one who broke into my place? Why? Olivia just didn't understand how or why Roger would do something like this. She knew now that it was no coincidence that his calls started right after her store was broken into. She saw another file on the desk, that looked like the file for Fitz's store. Just as she picked it up, Fitz came into the room.
"What are you doing in here?" He noticed the file she had in her hand and went to take it back from her. "What are you doing with this?"
"What are you doing with it?" He didn't answer, he just kept gathering all the papers on his desk. He knew he shouldn't have left them out. "Fitz? What are you doing with these? Why do you have them?"
"Don't worry about it Olivia. I'm handling it."
"Handling what Fitz?"
"Don't worry about-"
"Stop it! Just stop. You don't get to keep doing that. You don't get to just keep things from me, especially things like this. I am not a child and you need to stop treating me like one."
Fitz ran his hands down his face, a habit he had when he was frustrated. "Tom knows a guy."
"What do you mean knows a guy?"
"He knows a guy at the station and got him to make a copy of the police file."
"Why?"
"Because I trust Tom to get this situation resolved a lot faster than I do the police." Olivia was giving him a look that meant continue. "All they have right now is a security picture of the guy that vandalized your store and they're pretty sure it's the same man that burned down my shop."
"What?" The shock forced Olivia down in Fitz's desk chair. Not only did Roger break into her shop, but he also burned down Fitz's shop? Olivia never saw this coming. In all the time they were together, she never got the crazy arsonist vibe from him. His only problem was with the bottle. She knew now that she never really knew him to begin with. And the fact that he's now started contacting her had her more than nervous, now she was scared.
Fitz saw the look of fear on Olivia's face and wished he'd kept his mouth closed. This was exactly why he chose not to share any details with Olivia, he didn't want to frighten her.
"Olivia." He kneeled down in front of her. "I don't want you to worry okay. Tom is going to handle this. As soon as he figures more out about this guy, he's going to find him and put an end to all this okay."
Olivia had a slow steady stream of tears running down her cheeks. "His name is Roger Calhoun." She said quietly.
"How do you know that?" Fitz asked.
"He's- he's my ex-boyfriend."
"What?"
Olivia wiped at her face. "I broke up with him two weeks before my meeting with you. He's a drunk and after he caused a scene at my job, I couldn't take it anymore."
"Fuck." Fitz stood and started pacing the room.
"I swear I didn't know he was capable of something like this. I haven't talked to Roger since I met you. And when he started calling me again I didn't think-"
"Since what?" Fitz whipped around so quick. "He's been calling you?"
"And sending me messages. But -"
"When exactly were you going to tell me this?"
Oliva could tell he was getting angry. "I- I didn't think it was anything. I thought he just wanted to talk to me. I didn't think he-"
"Your ex-boyfriend starts calling and texting you and you don't think you need to tell the current man you're dating. If any man, let alone an ex-boyfriend, is calling my woman I damn well better know about it."
"I'm sorry. I didn't answer his first call. I thought he would stop but he didn't."
"How long has this been happening?"
"Ever since the break-in."
"And you didn't think that was a coincidence?!"
"At the time no. I-"
"Were you not the one just bitching about me not telling you things and here you are keeping shit from me. Things I need to know! We could have known who this guy was way before now if you would've just opened your fucking mouth!"
Olivia's anger level was now with Fitz's and it raised her up out of her seat. "Stop yelling at me! You should've told me this a long time ago. This is not my fault."
"Well it isn't my ex-girlfriend that's ruining my business."
"Oh excuse me, I didn't know Mellie was so perfect."
They were getting off-topic. Fitz had no idea how Mellie came up. "Where is your phone."
"Why?"
"Where is your phone." He repeated.
"The foyer in my purse."
Without another word, Fitz walked out his office and to the foyer. He shouted out Tom's name on the way and he met him in the foyer followed by Olivia. "Guess what." Fitz spoke with fake enthusiasm. "Olivia here has cracked the big case." He was rifling through Olivia's purse looking for her phone. "Apparently our favorite criminal, the one who like to vandalize and burn shit if an old friend of my dear sweet Olivia. An ex to be exact. An ex who apparently has been calling her and sending her messages that she failed to mention to her current boyfriend." Fitz finally found her phone. He probably would have found it a lot sooner if he wasn't so frantic. "So what I need from you is to go through her phone find whatever number he's using and track the son of a bitch." Tom took the phone and left without speaking. Olivia was still standing there staring at Fitz, as he stared right back at her. "You see how easy that was?"
"This is not my fault Fitz."
"Do you know how much money I lost in that store? And it was all because you have a crazy ex who apparently isn't over you."
"I'm sorry okay. But you're not the only one who lost something. This is not my fault."
"I didn't say it was."
"Yes you did. Just by the way you're reacting right now. Yes, okay, I should have told you about the phone calls, but don't you dare act like I'm the only one keeping things. All you do is keep secrets from me! So don't explode on me just because you're now feeling what I've been feeling." Olivia's tears had come back full force. "Jesus, you can be such an asshole! And I have no fucking clue why I love you!" Olivia stormed off to the bedroom, leaving Fitz in the foyer. She would've left to her sister's house, but to be honest she didn't feel safe leaving out by herself now. She never once feared Roger while they were dating, she never had a reason to. But now, she was understandably frightened and she didn't want to be alone. Too bad she was pissed at her boyfriend right now.
Fitz didn't dare go to their room later that night. he'd heard the water running earlier and knew Olivia was taking a bath, but he didn't go in. Just like he didn't go after her when she ran off. He probably should have, but at the time he thought it was a good idea to just let them both calm down. He would talk to her about it in the morning. Meaning he would apologize in the morning. He hated the angry side of him. He knew he had a terrible temper, and Olivia had only seen a small portion of it. He never wanted her to see him fully angry. He never wanted to see that man again.
After going a few rounds with the punching bag in the gym, Fitz cracked the door open to the bedroom and stood in the hallway watching Olivia sleep for a while. She was laying on her side, with her hand on her belly. He knew all this stress wasn't good for her, and he was determined to put an end to it, including all the stress he was causing her.
X
Fitz rolled over onto his back on the guest room bed. After last night, he thought it best to give each other some space. Although that didn't mean he had a good night's rest, or that he rested at all. He couldn't get comfortable in the guest bed alone, knowing Olivia was just in the other room. It was different when she was in Sag Harbor or the year he didn't even know where she was. Now he knew exactly where she was and she wasn't two hours away. She was down the hall. Sleep wasn't coming to him that night. And even if he had been able to get some rest, he would've been woken by Olivia anyway.
Throughout the night, he could hear her in the other room. Twice he heard her crying and he thought he heard her throwing up at one point. But when he went to check on her, she was already walking back into the room, wiping her mouth with a cloth. He stood by the door, watching her through the crack for a while, until she got back comfortable in the bed and fell back to sleep. Throughout the entire night, Fitz probably got about two hours of sleep. And those two hours were not great. He kept having dreams Roger. He didn't know that guy, but he knew what he was capable of. And now that he knew what the connection was between him and Olivia, he was terrified. He was obviously a jilted lover, and Fitz had no idea what he was planning to do to Olivia.
Around nine, Fitz gave up on trying to get some sleep. Instead, he got up and walked down the hall to his bedroom. Olivia was still asleep when he opened the door. She was turned on her side, snoring lightly. She blamed her snoring on the baby, but Fitz knew she'd been snoring before she got pregnant. Trying not to wake her, he went into the closet and got some clothes to take a shower. He made it quick and when he got out the shower, Olivia was still sleeping. But now she was turned on her back. She was dressed in only boy shorts and a black hot wheels t-shirt that had since rose up her on her stomach. Fitz sat on the edge of the bed, and lifted the shirt until her belly was fully bare. Olivia was four months pregnant and while she was definitely showing, she was still small. Fitz had found her in front of the mirror one day caressing her stomach, worried that she wasn't gaining enough weight. But at her last appointment, her doctor assured her that she was just fine.
Even though he still wasn't completely on board with this whole baby thing, Fitz was looking forward to meeting the little boy or girl. He never saw himself as a father before, but he guessed that it didn't matter anymore. He wished he could be just as excited as Olivia was. He sees how annoyed and angry Olivia gets with him every time he avoids the baby talk. He doesn't know why his feelings are the way they are toward kids, but he can't help it. The only baby he truly tolerated was Theo and he even loved the kids. He probably wouldn't accept to babysit every time Tabitha asked, but he would say yes sometimes. He only hoped that by the time his kid got here, he could change his views. He didn't want the kid to grow up thinking his/her dad didn't live it. Because although he wasn't exactly excited about being a father, this baby came from him and Olivia. And he knows he loves Olivia, so that means he loves their baby too.
Fitz didn't realize that he was rubbing on Olivia's stomach, until he looked up and she was staring back at him. "Morning." Olivia didn't answer, she just pulled her shirt back down and sat up with her back against the headboard. "How are you feeling? I heard you got sick last night."
Olivia scoffed. He heard me puking, but didn't come and check on me? "I'm fine."
"Well how about some breakfast?" Fitz was ignoring her little attitude.
"I'm not hungry."
"You didn't eat dinner last night, and you were throwing up. There's nothing left in your stomach, you need to eat." Olivia didn't answer. "Come on. We have some more of that cinnamon swirl bread you love. And there's brown sugar cream cheese in the fridge."
That perked Olivia up. "Fine."
"Great." Fitz got up to get Olivia's slippers. When he walked back over, he got on one knee and one by one put her fuzzy socks and slippers back on. Olivia hated walking around the house barefoot. She would have either socks or slippers on. But she didn't like sleeping with socks on. So at night when she got into bed, she would slip off her socks and drop them beside the bed. It drove Fitz crazy. When he got her last slipper on, he stood so that Olivia could get out of bed and together they walked to the kitchen.
Olivia was so glad she asked Fitz to give the house staff a break while she was staying at his penthouse. She didn't like having people just roaming the house all the time. And she was not in the mood for any extra people in the house right now. When she got to the kitchen, Fitz beat her to the bread and moved to the fridge for the cream cheese. She sat on the bar and watched while he spread a generous amount of cream cheese on two pieces of bread. He slid the small plate over to her and she thanked him, before biting into the bread.
Fitz watched her eat. "How about some oatmeal?" He knew she sometimes ate a bowl of oatmeal with honey in the morning.
"Fitz I really can't eat all that."
"How about fruit then?" Before she could answer, he was already moving to the fridge to see what fruits they had. A moment later, he pulled out a bowl of cubed cantaloupe and a vine of grapes.
Olivia knew what he was doing. He felt guilty about last night and their argument and he was being extra attentive this morning. "Aren't you going for your run?" Olivia asked, he ran every morning. And on Saturdays, he ran a little more, since he didn't have to worry about getting back home to shower and get ready for work.
"Not this morning." He answered. He sat down in the bar chair next to her and sat facing her. "We need to talk."
Olivia kept her attention on her food. She really wasn't up to eating when she first got up, but now she was gaining a little appetite. "About what?" She knew exactly what.
Fitz sighed, she wants to play games now? "About last night Liv."
"What about it."
He sighed again, trying not to get frustrated. But her little act was beginning to annoy him. "Olivia I'm sorry okay."
"Sorry for blowing up at me or for lying to me?"
"Lying? What did I lie about?"
"You've been keeping things from me for weeks. You failed to tell me about your new PI firm with Tom." Olivia said sarcastically.
"Olivia I only asked Tom for help, because I trust him. I trust him a lot more than I trust those incompetent cops in Sag Harbor."
"Why did you feel you couldn't tell me? Why do you feel you can't tell me anything?"
"Olivia I didn't want to scare you. If you didn't know about the guy or my store, then you wouldn't have anything to worry about and you could go about your daily life without anything to fear. I was only trying to protect you."
"Fitz I'm a big girl, I don't need you to protect me all the time."
"Too bad, it's my job. As your boyfriend it is my job to protect you. And if that means I have to keep some things from you to protect you and keep your stress level down that's what I have to do, and I'm not going to apologize for it."
"We're not getting anywhere with this conversation Fitz."
"This isn't all on me Liv. You can't preach communication and you're going around keeping things from me too." Olivia looked away. "You're ex texting and calling you is something you should have told me, even if you don't read his text or answer his calls. You should have told me. If Mellie was calling me again, you would be pissed at me if you found out and I didn't tell you before." Olivia knew he was right. She would go ballistic if he and Mellie were still in contact.
"I'm sorry. I never answered his calls and I didn't even read his messages. I just thought that he would eventually give up and stop if I didn't respond to him. I had no idea he was the one that did that to my shop. But just because he's my ex doesn't mean that everything is my fault."
"I didn't mean that."
"Yes you did."
"I'm sorry okay. But can you blame me for being angry? I would love to see you the day my exes start calling me-"
"Okay I get it. I should have told you. But I still don't appreciate you talking to me like that. You can be so mean sometimes. You turn into a completely different person Fitz."
Fitz leaned forward, to turn Olivia in her chair so she was facing him. He held both her hands in his as he spoke. "I'm sorry Olivia truly." Fitz felt like he's said those words fifty times since he woke up. "I know I sometimes have a difficult time controlling my anger. And I'm working on that. It's just when it comes to the people I love and care about, I am very passionate about protecting them. Especially you. If something were to ever happen to you Olivia-" Fitz couldn't finish his sentence. Just the thought of Roger somehow hurting Olivia was flaring his temper.
"Baby." Olivia brought him out of his thoughts. He didn't realize he was squeezing her hands, until she spoke.
He released his grip on her hands, but still held onto them as he brought them to his lips. "I just want to keep you safe Olivia." He mumbled against her hands.
Olivia slid off her chair, to stand in front of Fitz between his legs. She pulled her hands from his and cradled his head to her chest. "I love you Fitz."
Fitz pulled her onto his lap, his head still resting on her chest. "I love you too."
X
I know I haven't updated in a while, but I'm trying to rectify that. This chapter is a little shorter than I wanted it to be, but I thought it worked better to cut off this chapter here. I'm already working on the next chapter and I will upload it soon. I will also be updating my other stories soon.