She woke up in the middle of the bed, noting how comfortable it was to spread out exactly how she wanted.
The events of the night before, and her shameful departure, filled her mind and she sighed. Gingerly touching her face, she could tell it was swollen and sore. She touched her feet to the ground, and got up. It was nearly ten in the morning.
The flat was empty, just how she wanted it. She peeked outside the flat using the peep hole, but no one was around. That quelled the anxious knot in her stomach, though she knew at some point she would have to deal with Ames.
She checked the fridge, noting how empty it was, before pulling a slice of cold pizza out of the box. It was a few days old, but definitely still edible. She walked around the apartment, wearing just a bra and underwear, eagerly eating a slice of pizza. She was sure she looked a mess.
What was she supposed to do? She was reminded that she had not a single person she felt comfortable confiding her issues in. Did she want to stay with Ames? She was unsure. It was her longest relationship, but what did that mean, really? Was that reason enough to shut up and take his abuse? She didn't want to become anyone's punching bag.
In the bathroom, she took a look at her face for the first time. Her cheek was starting to turn an ugly yellow color, and the puffiness spread up to her eye. In time, that would darken too. These marks would be harder for her to cover.
She decided she didn't particularly feel like doing anything this morning, so she climbed back into bed with a garbage romance novel. A little after noon, she heard the Floo rattle, as Ames was bounced off it. She still wasn't ready to see him or have the conversation that needed to be had, so she left it locked. However, that did not stop him; he tried to make it through two more times before it went silent.
Twenty minutes later, she heard the flat's front door open. She couldn't keep him from using his key. Knowing she would have to face him, she slipped her dressing robe on and left the bedroom.
"The fucking Floo's broken," he said, as soon as he saw her.
"No, it's not," she said, boldly. "I locked you out."
He looked at her quizzically, and she knew he saw the swollen state of her face. A silence overcame them.
"I drank way too much last night," he said, apologetically.
She nodded, her arms crossed.
"And I'm really sorry about how I treated you."
She didn't say anything. An apology would not do it for her. She needed real change if there was any hope for them to work out.
"Well?" He asked, after a considerable time.
"I think you should go stay with Simon for a few days," she said. "Go pack yourself a bag. I don't want you here."
"Liv, love-" he pleaded. "Please listen to me, I'm so sorry, I had far too much alcohol in my system to think straight-"
"I don't care," she said. "That's the second time you've hurt me, Ames. I am not going to be in a relationship with someone who hurts me. I don't think that's asking for too much."
"It will never happen again, I promise you, Liv-"
"Please," she said, her voice wavering as she tried not to succumb to tears. "Just pack a bag and get out. I need a few days to think."
He seemed to accept this, as she locked herself on the balcony and smoked. Through the French doors, she could see him place his things in a duffel bag. When he was done, he took a step towards her, but she just shook her head, and he got the hint.
As soon as she was sure she had heard the door to the flat shut, she crushed the cigarette on the ground, and returned inside, where she promptly dove into bed and cried.
The next morning, she got to work early, hoping to score a new case from Kensington to busy her mind. She'd put plenty of ice on her face and covered the discoloration as best she could. Hopefully no one would look too closely at her today.
She hoped Potter would be in his office, so she could thank him for the cake, but found it empty. His secretary, Taryn had just sat down. "Tell him I stopped by."
She got to her desk, grabbed a cup of coffee, and got to work opening the letters and departmental notes she had neglected last Friday. That took her all of about twenty minutes, before she began wondering where the hell Kensington was. He had yet to come in, and he wasn't marked as having requested it off. The man hadn't taken a sick day in years.
She supposed she could... talk to one of her coworkers. On her way back from getting another cup of coffee, she stopped into the office of her colleague, Ben Houston. He had started at the ministry the year after she had, and been promoted ages after her, yet he was the one with an office with a door. She tried not to resent him too much. She wasn't great at it.
"Houston," she said. "Any clue where Kensington is?"
He looked up from an old, dusty book. "You'd know better than me."
"Thank you for your exceptional help," she said sarcastically, leaving his office quickly.
Since she had no case to work on, and all her administrative tasks were fulfilled, she decided it was time for a project. The files behind her cubicle, but in front of Kensington's office had been long neglected. It was time to throw out the out of date records. This was intern level work, but she needed something to keep her hands busy today.
She dragged the empty trash can from outside Kensington's office over to the nook of shelves that held boxes of records. She started with a box she was pretty sure Houston had dumped back there last week, sitting cross legged on the floor to begin sorting.
Files about cases closed before she even worked at the Ministry? In the trash. Cases without proper status reports in five years? To the side for her to throw away later. Files that had become so faded and worn that they were no longer legible? Well, those would get dropped off for an intern to duplicate.
She stood up on the balls of her feet to grab the next batch of files, a dusty and deformed box that had been there as long as she could remember. It was a little too far of a stretch for her, but she wiggled the box out slowly, before it came crashing down, causing her to lose her balance.
She landed on her ass, in a cloud of dust from the box. Her white shirt was a casualty of the fall, and she didn't even care. She couldn't help but laugh at the entire situation. Her life was in such ruins right now, she couldn't even be mad about this. She laughed at the absurdity of it all.
"What in the hell's going on here?" Potter asked playfully. She'd been too distracted to notice him approach, but he became visible as the dust cleared.
"I got bored," she said. "Kensington is MIA, I needed something to do, and apparently my mere existence is attracting chaos this week."
"I'd say," he said, laughing. "Want a hand up?"
"That'd be great," she said, accepting his hand. She brushed off as much dust as possible before realizing it was a useless endeavor.
"Taryn said you'd stopped by," he said.
"Oh," she said. "I just wanted to thank you for the cake. That meant a lot to me."
"Wasn't a problem at all," he said. He touched his face in the same spot hers was swollen and bruised, though she'd been wishing he wouldn't notice. She should've known him better than that by now.
She looked down. "There wasn't a scene Saturday night, was there?"
He shook his head. "I think most people were too busy to notice."
She sighed, and rubbed her shoe at a scuff on the floor.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not particularly," she said. "I've sent him off to stay at a friend's while I decide what to do. Relationships are just... really hard."
"Only as hard as you allow them to be," he said.
"Says the bachelor," she said, turning back to her boxes of files.
"I was married once," he said, defensively. "I've been knee deep in the muck, Liv. But there's certain things worth wading through, and some things that just plain aren't."
"I know your feelings on the situation," she said.
"You are so incredibly stubborn," he sighed.
"Never said I wasn't," she had turned away from him almost completely, not wanting to have this conversation, especially not here.
"I guess I'm just not sure why you stay with him-"
"Excuse me," she said, facing him again, her hand on her hip. "Since when is that your business?"
"Everything alright here?"
They both turned to see Rutherford, Harry's boss, behind them, looking very inquisitive as to the conversation he walked in on.
"My apologies, sir. Just following up with Wellwood on something, but I'm available now."
"Actually," Rutherford said. "I'm not here to meet with you."
Harry and Liv exchanged an intrigued look.
"Is your schedule free, Olivia?"
"Erm," she took a second, looking around at the mess she had made to decide. "Yes, I suppose so."
"Good," he said. "Meet me in my office in about ten minutes? Perhaps with less dust?"
"I will... do my best," she said.
After they both watched him walk away, they turned to each other, prior argument long-forgotten.
"Have you got any idea what that's about?" she asked.
"Not a single clue," he said.
"I'm trying to think of what I could have done to be in trouble," she pondered. "I was rude to Houston this morning..."
"Is that new?" He asked. "Everyone's rude to him, he's a prick."
She shrugged. "Could I be in trouble for hanging out with you on Friday?"
"Coworkers socialize all the time," he said. "Kensington ever give you a hard time about socializing with Evanson?"
She looked down. "No..." she trailed off. "But why is your boss wanting to speak with me privately?"
"I really dunno what to tell you, Liv," Harry said. "He's a reasonable man, I'm sure it's nothing big. Go dust yourself off and tell me what it was about later."
She listened to him, trying to look as presentable as possible, but her heart beat fast in her chest as she walked to Rutherford's office.
"You wanted to see me?" She asked, as she stood in her doorway.
"Yes, please come in. Shut the door, if you don't mind."
Shutting the door made her even more worried, but she did it before sitting in the chair in front of his desk. In front of him, she could see her employee file on the desk. Was she getting fired?
"Thank you for meeting with me, Olivia," he said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Especially on such short notice."
"It wasn't a problem." She did not like being addressed by her first name, especially by someone she wasn't familiar with, but out of fear of being in trouble, she kept her mouth shut. "What did you want to discuss, Rutherford?"
"Kensington is going to be out of work for the foreseeable future."
That was certainly not what she was expecting. "What do you mean?"
"He appears to have come down with Dragon Pox," Rutherford said.
"Oh shit," she said, then realized how unprofessional that was. "Excuse me..."
Rutherford laughed. "Not to worry, that was my reaction as well."
Her mind was moving fast. She had not known a Ministry without Kensington. "How quickly can you hire someone to replace him?"
"That's actually why I wanted to speak to you," he said. "When I talked to Kensington a bit this morning, you were his recommendation to fill his role for the time being."
She couldn't help but laugh. This was a joke. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Something about your tenacious attitude..."
"Bradley's been here longer than me," she said. "And Houston's got an office- I mean, isn't that a sign of seniority?"
"Do you not want to fill in for him?" Rutherford asked.
"I..." she trailed off. "I think I do. I am just concerned that I don't have the proper training for this."
"I'll work closely with you, of course," he said. "The Head of Legal will too. It's a team effort here, we understand there's going to be a learning curve but I think that if Kensington thinks you're the right person for the job, you are."
"Okay then," she said, her mind soaring. "I accept it then."
"Great," he said. "That makes my job far easier... I'm going to send you upstairs to the Administrative department, they've got to give you clearances for a bunch of new things. You might be there awhile."
She just nodded, her mind too busy to really listen to him.
"I'm going to be sending out a departmental memo so that everyone is aware of what's going on," he said. "After that, you're free to move your things into Kensington's office. It will be professionally cleaned by the time you're ready."
"Alright," she said. "This is good."
"I think so," he said. "Now go on upstairs, I'll let them know to expect you. Oh, and make sure that cubby with all the boxes is cleaned up."
"Thanks," she said, getting up and leaving. "I'll be in touch."
She got up, and walked deliberately past Harry's office. He looked up as she passed, and she cocked her head to the side. She knew he would follow her.
She wasn't supposed to tell anyone yet, but she couldn't keep this secret. She just couldn't. She walked up a flight of stairs, then waited for Potter to catch up with her.
"What was that all about?" he asked.
"Is there anywhere to speak privately?" she asked, keeping her voice down as others passed.
"Yes," he said. "My office."
"No," she hissed. "Outside the department."
"I'm sure we can find somewhere."
She followed him through the unfamiliar floor, as he checked doorknobs until he found an empty, unlocked conference room. "What's going on?"
"Kensington's sick," she said. "Too sick to work, and they want me to fill in until he's well again."
"That's fantastic!" he said, genuine happiness radiating off his face.
"He has dragon pox," she said. "And I was such an arse to him last week."
"He'll make a recovery," Harry reminded her. "You know there's been medical advancements, he'll be fine."
She was quiet, just pacing around the small room.
"Plus, he's been working with you for ages… I'm sure he hasn't taken you seriously when you're an arse for years."
"I'm not qualified for this," she said. "I don't have the skills for this. I'm not a people person."
He laughed at her, and she turned around quickly, the look on her face scathing which really just made it funnier. "That's what you're worried about?"
"It's not funny!"
He just shook his head at her. "A little more confidence would suit you, Wellwood."
She wrinkled her face, but had nothing to say. "My life is so crazy right now, I can't even process things. I don't do change well."
"I see that," he said, gently. He looked at her. "It's a role you can grow into, Liv, and you have a department's worth of people backing you up. I can't think of a single person more qualified for this than you."
She blushed, not used to receiving praise.
"Believe me, I rolled my eyes hard when I saw we were working together on that case," he said, "But you blew me away with your research skills… and I know you have it in you to grow into the managing people thing. Look how much you've warmed up to me."
"Out of necessity," she said, with a small smile.
"Well consider this necessity as well," he said, putting his arm on her shoulder.
She let a long time pass as she paced the small room, aching for a cigarette. "You're right."
"Where'd Rutherford send you?"
"Administrative," she said.
"Right, you'll need clearances and a new badge," he said. "Let me fix up your face, okay? You don't want to see that every time you look at your badge."
He was right, so she shut up and closed her eyes while she felt her skin tighten. It still hurt, but the swelling had gone down, at least for now. She touched it, feeling that everything was back where it belonged. "Thank you."
She made her way to the Administrative office, where she spent the next few hours, getting fingerprinted and cleared for the privileges she needed to do her new job. It was all so weird. She went through the motions, doing everything they asked of her, but the reality of it all had yet to sink in.
By the time she returned back to the department, Rutherford had sent the notice out and everyone looked at her a little differently as she returned to her cube. Harry had gone home for the day, but he'd left a note on her desk telling her she knew where to find him if she wanted company. She thought about it, but crumpled the note and put it in the trash. She still remembered the stray thought that had crossed through her mind last week when they were out to drinks, and didn't trust herself enough. She wasn't thinking straight. What she really needed was some time alone, for thinking.
It was nearly time to go home, but she wanted to get the files situated and maybe begin to move the first few things into her new office. The office felt oddly quiet today, but she lagged behind as people started to empty out. She emptied the drawers of her desk and brought them to Kensington's office one by one.
She was satisfied when her cube was empty, but the office still didn't feel like hers. She pulled out the chair, and sat at the desk, observing. It just felt odd.
She ended up dragging the chair from her cube into the office and putting Kensington's chair in her cube. It made everything feel a bit more familiar.
She tried to make sure everything was in order for when she came in the next morning, before closing up for the day. The office was mostly empty at that point, and she felt comfortable leaving.
The apartment was empty, especially for a Monday, but for the first time that day she was able to be entirely alone and sought peace within herself over that.
She got comfortable on the balcony, having stripped away the day's dusty clothes in favor of her silk dressing gown. A glass of wine in her hand and a pack of cigarettes beside her, she was finally able to mull everything over.
Author's Note: I really appreciate everyone's reviews—please, keep them coming! Thank you to my beta, potter-reading-coastie, for all his help with the story. Hope everyone has a lovely weekend and I'll see you back here on Monday for the next chapter of Liv's story.