Chapter Fifteen
Ghosts from your past gonna jump out at me
Three Months Later
Olivia flicked through the rack of wedding dresses almost absently. Her mother had been hounding her relentlessly about it. Olivia supposed she was right, they were inching closer and closer to the wedding date, and with the final year of law school starting (and Bar prep already beginning), she wasn't going to have much time for wedding planning. She and Fitz had been woefully neglectful of that over the summer. They should've planned everything out so it was done, but instead they both dove head first into their new internships, happy to finally feel like productive members of society (for once for her, and once again for Fitz).
"Olivia, you're too picky." Maya Pope sighed and pulled out another dress, "Just start trying things on, you may be surprised."
"Your mom is right, stop being a bitchy bride and start trying things on." Abby advised.
Quinn snorted, "Nice, Abs. I think you've had enough champagne." Quinn reached for Abby's glass, but Abby slid around her.
"Or not enough." Abby countered, moving to another rack of dresses.
Olivia hummed in response, not really listening to their bickering. "Is she even paying attention?" Quinn asked.
"Is she even interested in wedding dresses?" Abby grumbled.
Maya moved to Olivia's side, passing the wedding gowns she'd selected off to the sales woman. She snapped her fingers in front of her daughter's face, "Olivia? What has gotten into you?"
Olivia's eyes moved back to her mother and she shrugged, "What, Mama?" She asked.
Maya smiled softly, "Are you alright, Livie?" She asked.
Olivia nodded, "Oh yes, fine, just thinking about everything that's ahead. You know there's so much to do and graduation is just around the corner and the Bar exam and"
"Olivia," Maya placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders, "are you having second thoughts about marrying Fitz?"
Olivia sighed and tugged a hand through her hair before shoving an errant curl behind her ear, "Not second thoughts, per se."
Maya nodded waiting. When Olivia said nothing more, she prompted, "Then what?"
"Something's wrong." Olivia spit out, "I don't know what it is, but there's something wrong and I can't stop it because I don't know what it is and I'm so scared that whatever is wrong is going to come between Fitz and me and it makes me hesitant to go through with this wedding until it's all settled. We're young. Well, I'm young. The last thing I want is to start a marriage out with trouble. Marriage isn't easy and"
"And you're overthinking things, love." Maya shook her head fondly at her only daughter, "You are just like your father. You're always so good at doing that. You both are. You need to take a breath and ask yourself one question."
Olivia scowled, but took the breath anyhow, "What is that?"
"Do you love Fitz?" Maya asked simply.
"Of course, I do." Olivia answered before she even registered the question.
"Then nothing else matters." Maya assured her daughter, "You can make it through anything as long as you love each other, trust each other, and are honest with each other about everything. Tell him that you're afraid something is going to happen. Try to put your gut feeling into words. That man loves you more than his own life. He'll listen and understand and figure out how to soothe you."
Letting out a sigh, Olivia drew her mother in for a hug. "Thank you. I think I needed that."
Pulling back, Maya nodded sharply, "Good, now get into that dressing and start trying on some of these dresses." She ordered, "I don't have all day. Your father likes it when I'm home to have a drink with him. Even if home is a hotel room right now."
SSS
Fitz tugged Olivia into his side as they curled up in bed together. "So," he murmured in her ear, "did spending time with your mom, even with a drunken Abby around, help clear whatever was going on in your head?"
Olivia looked over her shoulder where Fitz was laying, spooning her, "You knew?"
"That you were worried about something?" He asked, chuckling, "Yeah, I knew. You didn't want to talk about it though. You're not as tense tonight so I figured I'd ask."
Sighing, Olivia dropped her head back to the pillow and wiggled a little bit until she was firmly pressed against him. "Things have been so easy and quiet lately." She commented.
He hummed, one of his large hands skimming up under the silk tank top of her pajamas to caress her skin, "I know, it's been nice." He admitted.
"No," Olivia corrected, "I mean it's been too quiet."
Fitz considered her words for a moment before finally asking, "Do you think that something is going to happen?"
She shrugged, "I don't know, I just feel like something's off. I'm not sure what it is, but there's something not right and I can't put my finger on what it is."
"Is this your brain working in over drive because you're worried about everything else, or is it your gut?" He questioned. She was self-aware enough to be able to differentiate between the two. It was one of the many things he loved about her.
"It's my gut." She answered confidently. "And it has me worried."
"About?"
"The wedding." She admitted. And she was thankful that he was secure enough and mature enough to know she wasn't worried about marrying him or their relationship.
"You don't think someone will try to stop it, do you?"
"Actually, yes. And I'm also afraid that if we get married now, someone's going to make it so hard on us early on that we don't make it. I don't want to lose you because we move too fast or"
"Olivia," He rolled her onto her back, "don't do that. Don't stop our future over the fear of my father. That's who you're worried about. I worry about him too, but don't stop what's good because of him. Then he wins. It's what he wants. No matter what that bastard says or does, or who he throws at us, I'm not going anywhere. Okay?"
She bit her lip, but nodded after a moment, "Okay, Fitz. Sorry." She turned slightly, wrapping his arms back around her and tucking herself into his chest again.
He nuzzled the back of her neck, inhaling the scent of vanilla that always seemed to cling to her. "You don't have to be sorry for having those feelings or thoughts, Livie. We've been through a lot. Thank you for telling me."
"Even if it took forever to tell you?" She asked softly.
"Even if took forever to tell me." He agreed. After a moment he said, "You'll see, Liv, things will work out just fine."
SSS
Mellie stared across the kitchen table in her apartment and shook her head, "No, Jerry. I'm not interested."
"Not interested?" Big Jerry had quietly flown to Boston just to sit down with Mellie and discuss a new tactic for breaking Fitz away from Olivia before the wedding. Just before, too. He wanted his son's heart shattered into pieces so he came running home to California. "I thought you loved Fitz."
"I've moved on, Jerry. I'm dating someone new and I'm happy. For the first time in my life I'm truly happy and I don't want to mess that up. I don't want to lose that."
"With Leo Bergen?" Jerry asked. Mellie didn't even bother to look surprised that he knew. She was aware that Jerry was keeping tabs on all of them.
"Yes, with Leo." She confirmed.
"You know that boy isn't going anywhere. He'll be a second-rate attorney at best." Jerry taunted her.
Mellie just snorted, "And Fitz is destined to work for the DA's office." At Jerry's scowl, she rolled her eyes. "Look, if you want to meddle, by all means, meddle. Just leave me out of it. Leave Leo and me alone and"
"Do you really think that's an option now?" Jerry asked threateningly. "If you don't play the game you signed up for then something may happen to Leo. Very soon."
Mellie stood up, the tea cup she'd been sipping from tipping over and rolling to the floor, shattering on the ground. "You listen here, Big Jerry. I'm not some little whore you can throw at your son whenever he doesn't play by your rules. I'm not a chess piece, I'm not a weapon. I'm a person. And I'm not in love with your son."
"You don't have to be!" Jerry shouted. He took a few calming breaths before he stated slowly, "You just have to be in love with 1600 Penn." Mellie's mouth clamped shut at that. "Now sit down and listen." When she didn't move, he said in a low voice, "Sit down and listen for Leo."
SSS
