Part 18
Fitz walks in on Quinn and Abby comforting Liv, as he brings in her belongings.
"Oh Liv, it's going to be okay sweetheart."
"No it's not… everything is such a mess…" She weeps, as both women look at her with expressions close to pity.
"How much did you hear exactly?"
"Enough to work out what's been going on with you lately." Quinn admits ruefully.
"Oh God." Liv exclaims, resting her head in her hands.
"Hey, no-one's casting stones here… I for one would be the last person to pass judgement, god knows I've made my own fair share of mistakes." Abby assures her.
Quinn however has to remain true to herself; although she cares about Liv she cannot condone her behaviour. "But a married man? Seriously Liv, what was you thinking?"
"Quinn, that's enough", Abby chastises, but Quinn dismisses her and presses on… "No Abby, it has to be said," She turns to Liv once again… "What happened? A few months ago you told us that you were saving yourself for someone special… and now…"
Sensing his presence in the room, Liv takes a quick glances over at Fitz, who looks at her riddled with guilt… This was all his fault and he blames himself entirely. He was the married one, he should have known better and fought harder to ward off his feelings for her, but he didn't- couldn't. And now everything was falling apart. Something had to be done.
Focusing back on Quinn- "It know it may sound crazy, and completely unethical but I can't ignore how I feel- I love him…"
Quinn sighs, "Yes, you're right, this is crazy… So what now? Your father has obviously kicked you out- have you found somewhere else to stay?"
Exasperated. "No, that's what I was trying to do this morning, but failed miserably. I can't seem to find anything within my price bracket, and the few places I can afford are not worth living in."
Struck with a light bulb moment Abby immediately jumps up, offering a brilliant solution… "Move in with me Liv! I have a spare room. I was thinking about getting a lodger for a while now, but I was reluctant about sharing with a stranger… You however, are not… I can see it now, we'll have such a blast!"
"I don't know Abby…" Liv trails off, not so keen. Part of the reason why she was so set on getting her own place, was because it afforded her and Fitz a little privacy of their own. Whereas living with Abby would not.
"Come on Liv, you'd be doing me huge favour, just as much as I would be doing you the same courtesy… What's there to lose?"
Liv looks back at Fitz again- trying to gain his stance on Abby's proposal, but he gives nothing away… He looks lost in his own thoughts. She turns back to Abby, who has no intention of letting her say no.
"Come on, what do you say? You know it's genius!"
"What about your Landlord? Won't he or she have a problem, with someone like me, living with someone like you?"
"No, she's liberal on those matters, she don't care if you're black, white or yellow, as long as the rents paid at the end of the month, she's good… Now stop staling and say yes!"
How can she say no? If you took Fitz out the equation; it was the perfect solution.
xxxx
"So what do you think?" She asks, once they finally get a moment alone.
"You mean about moving in with Abby?"
"Yes."
He can sense her worry and uncertainty, she thinks he's mad at her, but he's not; not with her anyway. His face softens. "I think it's a good idea, at least until I can sort out something more permanent… I have an idea, but before I can put anything into motion, I need to know Liv, are you really in this for the long run, I mean all in, one hundred percent- fully committed..."
"I'm in Fitz... All the way, you know this, we've been though this already..."
"I know, I know... but I just need to be sure... you mean everything to me, and I'm more than aware of what I'm willing to sacrifice to be with you... But it wasn't until Eli came in that it finally sunk in just how much you're giving up too... Eli is the only family relative you have, and you will loose him if we do this..."
He is extremely tense, she's never seen him so wound up before... "What did he say to you?"
"Trust me, you don't want to know..."
"I do... Now tell me."
He almost wants to laugh at the sheer irony of it. "Fine... Your father wants me to spy on you... Oh, and he also plans on killing me, when he finds out it is me... And by the look on his face he means it!"
"You're kidding me?"
"I kid you not!" He takes her by the hand, and starts to stoke it comfortingly. "When Eli finds out it's me, your relationship with your dad will over Liv, no doubt about it... But, if we're really serious about being together, then we need to decide on our endgame..."
"Our endgame?"
"Our future Liv, where do we want to end up- and how will we get there, with no delusion of the sacrifices that lie ahead of us."
She looks him straight in the eye, love, passion, fear and determination blazing in her depths... "What's the plan?"
