Chapter Eight
The jury's out, but my choice is you
"You're a fucking idiot." Harrison yanked out the chair next to Olivia in the law school library loudly, ignoring the librarian's glare. "Like the biggest fucking idiot I've ever met in my life." He scowled at the student at the next table who was now shooting daggers at them.
Olivia looked up slowly, slipping her glasses from her nose and considering Harrison's words. She decided to play stupid, "What are you talking about?" She asked tiredly.
"You broke up with him." Harrison accused sharply. "You are purposefully making both of you miserable. Why the hell would you do that?" He asked. He rolled his eyes when the librarian shushed him. Turning back to Olivia, he repeated is question, "Why? Why on earth would you do that to Fitz? To yourself? That man loves you. He loves you and you love him and you're putting yourselves through this unnecessary crap."
Sighing, Olivia straightened up her work space methodically, trying to put her thoughts in order. Harrison waited patiently. Even knowing her only for a few months, Harrison knew this was Olivia's way of gathering her thoughts to come up with the best response. After a few tense moments of silence, she responded, "I hate to admit it," she murmured, "but Elizabeth North was right."
Harrison scoffed loudly, waving off the librarian when she glared at him angrily, "You can't be serious?" He asked.
Olivia held up her hand, "I know what you're thinking, but Harrison, think about it. Fitz has so much going for him, from his family's reputation, to his time in the Navy. . ." she sighed, "His future is so bright and I'm just, I'm only going to bring that down and"
"And that's his decision to make, not yours." Harrison cut in, "You can't tell me that you're happy. You were happy, but now you've let some blonde idiot get into your head."
Olivia dropped her head to her hands, "I know, Harrison, I know, believe me. And I don't want to feel this way." She sighed, "But if I'm holding him back, then how much do I really love him?"
Harrison stood up, throwing his chair underneath the table, "That's a load of bullshit and you know it. And you should know that I'm on Fitz's side in all of this." He left her staring at his retreating figure.
SSS
Olivia swallowed hard and clutched at the wine glass in her hand, "I don't know what to do anymore, Quinn." She whispered.
Quinn leaned over and wrapped her hand around Olivia's wrist. "I know, Liv, but don't you think that maybe you reacted too quickly? That maybe breaking up with Fitz was too rash?"
She shook her head, "Um, no because I thought about it for two days before I did anything and his future is"
Quinn sighed, "It's you, Olivia. It's both of you together and if you take the chance, if you jump in with him you could be so happy."
Olivia twirled her wine glass between her fingers slowly. "I know we could be happy, but let's just say that this works for a while. We get back together and then do you think that Lizzie North is the only person who doesn't think we fit together?" She asked, "Do you think that Edison Davis is the only narrow-minded person in the world?" She shook her head, "So we ignore them, we take it and then what? How long do you think we'll last when we're being blasted by both sides? When all we're doing is taking criticisms and punches from our colleagues, our enemies, potentially the media," she sighed, "how long until you think he starts resenting me for having to deal with that crap?"
Quinn seemed to consider that, "Oh." She said after a moment. "I guess so." She agreed. Quinn took three long sips of wine before she commented, "Don't you think Fitz should have a say in that?"
Olivia picked up the bottle, pouring a very generous helping, "And what do you think he will say? That he can handle, that we're worth fighting for. So, we try. And then what?"
Quinn didn't have a response for that.
SSS
Fitz took a long sip of scotch. He only looked up from the bar when he heard the door open. He couldn't even muster up a smile as Quinn slid onto the stool next to him and ordered her own glass of scotch. "You finally got her to talk about it?" He asked.
Quinn nodded, "More successfully than Harrison. Probably because I didn't yell at her or accuse her of anything."
Fitz scoffed, "Then it's a good thing I didn't talk to her." He muttered.
Patting his arm lightly, Quinn murmured, "Believe it or not, I understand why she did what she did and if I were in her shoes, I can't say that out of fear and love I wouldn't make the same decision."
With a sigh, Fitz flagged down the bartender for another. "And what reason could that be?"
"You." Quinn replied. Fitz stared at her, "She's afraid that eventually there will be more comments like Lizzie North's and that as time progresses, and the two of you are faced with more scrutiny like that it could hold back your career. She would rather you hate her right now, than resent her later on."
Fitz grunted, "And what about my opinion on this?"
Quinn thought about Olivia's words, "We both know what you would say now." She responded, "But what about in a year? In five years? In twenty years?"
SSS
Olivia tugged a t-shirt over her head, rubbing a towel through her hair, "What?" She asked, throwing her door open. She stopped at the sight of Fitz in her doorway, "Fitz?"
He pushed past her into the living room, "You had the entire conversation without me. You didn't even ask me. You assumed what I would say and then you made a decision without me."
Olivia stared at him, "Um, Fitz, can you start at the beginning?" She asked.
"What?" He yelled back, "Oh you want me to include you in the entire conversation."
She crossed her arms, dropping the towel to the ground, "No, I just want to give you the full conversation to scream at me, not just the tail end." She snapped.
He gave her a tired sigh, "I can't guarantee that we'll work out, Livie. Neither of us know what the future has in store." He placed his hands on her shoulders, taking a calming breath, "But wouldn't you rather be happy now, instead of miserable?" She bit her lip at that, "And when have I ever given you the impression that I am as narrow-minded as North or Davis or even my father?" He asked, "And for the record, I don't want some high-powered career. I want to work in a DA's office." He reminded her, "As long as you're not a felon, you won't affect my career, just as I'm sure I won't affect yours." He stepped into her space, "So, stop worrying about this. Stop having conversations without me." She looked up at him as he grasped her face in his hands, "And let me kiss you."
She bit her bottom lip, tugging it into her mouth, "You want to kiss me after I put us through that?" She asked softly.
He chuckled, "Yes, I do, because this was just a bump in the road. Relationships are hard, particularly new ones like ours. We both know it won't be rainbows and sunshine every day. If we can stick through the tough though, we'll make it. So, let me kiss you."
She studied him for thirty seconds silently before nodding, "Kiss me, Fitz." She whispered.
It was a sweet kiss, nearly chaste in nature. Just a simple promise that there would be more to come. When he pulled back, he put his best stern face on, "I'm still furious at you." He told her.
She nodded, "You should be."
"And unfortunately, I didn't actually plan to come here, so now I'm late for a meeting with a professor." He frowned, "But I'll be back afterwards if you'll be here."
"Wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I probably deserve to be punished a bit." She winked at him.
He chuckled darkly, "Probably." Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he whispered, "I'll be back in an hour. Two tops." He promised.
"I'll be waiting." She assured him. When the door closed, Olivia realized that for the first time in a week she felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest.
SSS
