A/N: Surprise! The lodge here has Wi-Fi. Didn't want to leave you all hanging on that cliffhanger! Enjoy (:
Chapter 11
What a Week
Amanda heard another knock at her door. She got up to answer the door, and was met with an angry Olivia.
"Liv…" Amanda said, partially apprehensive as Olivia barged herself into Amanda's room.
"What the fuck did you do, Amanda?" Olivia said, visibly angry.
"What do you mean?" Amanda defended.
"Everything is fine, and then Alex doesn't want to fucking talk to me anymore, because of the shit you said to her! I wonder what that could mean!" Olivia slapped her arms to her sides, her voice louder.
"Sorry, Liv. The girl had to know." Amanda folded her arms.
"No, she fucking didn't, Amanda. What happened between us was a year ago. You're still so bitter about me not wanting to be with you, that you sabotage this?" Olivia's face was red with tears threatening to escape her eyes.
"You need to calm down…" Amanda said quietly.
"No, I don't! You need to go tell her right now that you didn't mean what you said!"
Amanda studied Olivia's expressions carefully, watching a tear escape her eye.
"You… actually like her. Don't you?"
"Yes! And thanks to you, it's fucked." Olivia opened Amanda's door and began to walk out, Amanda following her.
"Olivia!" Amanda called after her.
Alex and Casey had heard the yelling and went to investigate. They caught a quick glance before hiding in the hallway as Olivia left Amanda's room, Amanda following her.
"Save it," Olivia said, getting closer to where Alex and Casey were hiding in the hallway.
"Olivia, wait. I was just trying to look out for her."
"The hell you were, Amanda. Fuck off. You ruined this for me. Now she thinks I'm some fucking sleazeball and doesn't want to talk to me." Olivia shrugged away from Amanda and kept walking towards the elevator.
Casey turned to look at Alex after hearing Olivia's rant. Alex was white as a ghost.
"Olivia… you're the one that does this. How can you blame me for warning her?" Amanda pleaded.
"Because it's not your business, Amanda! You know what? Yeah. You were a quick fuck to me, and I'm sorry that hurt your feelings. But I feel different, about Alex. And you, with your… jealousy, or whatever the fuck this is, ruined it. Did you even think to ask me, my intentions with her? Did you?" Olivia's tears were freely falling as she was just a few feet from Casey and Alex now.
Amanda was silent for a few moments. "No…"
Olivia fake laughed. "Yeah, exactly. Thanks a lot." With that, Olivia turned the corner and angrily got in the elevator, thankfully never turning around and seeing Alex and Casey.
Amanda walked towards the elevator and then turned to see Casey and Alex standing there. She put her head in her hands as she sighed. "Fuck."
Alex felt a giant lump in her throat, her heart beating faster. "I… shouldn't have called her."
Amanda looked up at Alex. "No, Olivia's right. This is my fault. I shouldn't have stuck my nose where it didn't belong. I'm sorry." Amanda turned to walk back to her room quietly.
Casey turned to Alex. "What are you gonna do?"
"I… I don't know…"
Days felt like weeks for both Alex and Olivia, who hadn't texted since Sunday. Alex stayed cooped up in her room, trying to focus on homework and studying, in hopes to get her mind off of Olivia. She was too embarrassed and nervous to text her after their last conversation. She was sure that she had ruined it, especially after going against her own wishes and not giving Olivia the benefit of the doubt.
Things were no easier on Olivia. She laid in bed or played Xbox nearly every day, not going out with Kathy, Elliot, or the guys. She kept her phone on silent and willed herself not to check it as often as she normally would. She did have a few unanswered texts from Amanda, whom Olivia did not want to speak to still.
Amanda: Liv, I'm sorry. You're completely right. I should've talked to you instead of Alex. It was wrong, and I'm so sorry.
Amanda: Liv, can I make this up to you? Alex really cares about you, and I know she does. I was wrong for not seeing how much you cared about her.
Amanda: Olivia… talk to me. Plz.
Amanda: I'm so sorry.
Olivia locked her phone and threw it on the other side of the couch, cracking open a beer before turning on the Xbox, booting up Halo. After a few games online, she heard Elliot come through the door.
"Sup, Liv. Missed you in class." He threw his backpack down on the floor and jumped over the back of the couch, plopping next to Olivia as he wrapped his arm around her.
"Whatever." She angrily mashed the buttons of the controller, not breaking her gaze from the TV.
"Have you talked to Alex yet?"
"No. She doesn't wanna talk to me. She thinks I'm a piece of crap, El." Olivia picked up the beer can and chugged the rest of it before crushing it and throwing it behind her somewhere on the floor.
"How do you know that?" He pulled her closer to him.
"I just do. Amanda did a real good job putting that in her head." Olivia's tone was bitter.
Elliot sighed. "Liv… You'll never know until you text her. Try to forgive Amanda. You did hurt her, after all."
Olivia gave him a look, her face riddled with anger. "Oh, so that's an excuse to fuck up my other relationships?"
"Liv, that's not what I was saying."
"Yeah." Olivia scoffed as she turned off the Xbox, grabbing her phone and bag as she headed towards the door.
"Hey, where are you going?" Elliot asked.
"Out."
Alex sighed as she laid on her bed, staring at the picture Olivia had sent her days ago. She felt her chest tighten as tears threatened to escape her eyes. Why did you do that to her… you should've listened to her, not anyone else. You were the one talking to her, not anyone else. Does her past really matter? Alex, why did we do this…
She grabbed her pillow and hugged it as her throat burned, trying to choke back her tears. Alex squeezed her eyes shut, forcing the tears to drop from her eyes. She sucked in a sharp breath as her chest tightened harder, warding off a sob.
Too focused on stopping herself from crying, she didn't hear the door open. She also didn't feel Casey sitting next to her on the bed.
"Alex?" Casey asked softly, reaching over to move the blonde strands away from her face. Seeing her cheeks wet with tears, Casey let out a sigh as she bent down to lay her body over Alex's and hug her, rubbing her back.
"Sweetie… I hate seeing you like this. Want to talk about it?"
Alex sat up on the bed, still hugging her pillow. "I… shouldn't have put her on the spot like that, Casey. I didn't even say anything back. I just.. hung up like a coward."
"Have you tried talking to her?" Casey asked softly, rubbing her back.
Alex shook her head. "She probably doesn't want me to talk to her."
"Lex… you heard what she said to Amanda. She likes you, Alex. Amanda is the one she's angry with, not you."
"I don't know, Case…" Alex said sadly.
"I do. I really think you should text her."
"Maybe later. Right now, can we just please go get some food? I'm hungry." Alex's stomach rumbled the moment she said the sentence, making Casey giggle.
"Sure thing, love. Let's go!"
Olivia sat at the bar, scrolling on her phone as she dove into her fifth glass of whiskey, her mind beginning to feel hazy as the alcohol took over.
"Hey," someone said, sitting next to her.
Olivia briefly looked over to the person sitting next to her and nodded her head.
"Can I buy you a drink?" The soft voice said.
Olivia threw back the rest of her whiskey and slammed the glass on the counter. She shrugged, starting to sway in her seat.
The person next to her slid her a beer as they pulled their stool closer to Olivia's, wrapping their arm around her shoulder.
"I knew I'd find you here."
Olivia furrowed her brow and looked over at the person hanging onto her, blinking a few times to try and focus her drunken eyes on the silhouette.
"Elliot told me you stormed out and he was worried. Are you okay?"
Olivia rubbed her eyes as Kathy finally came into focus. "No."
"Olivia… do you really think Alex wants nothing to do with you?" Kathy asked.
"Yes," Olivia answered drunkenly, chugging the beer Kathy bought her.
"Oh, Olivia. Come on, you need to get back home." Kathy got up and grabbed her hand, stabilizing her as she swayed and wobbled out the door.
"Don't wanna go. I want Alex," Olivia slurred, slumping down against the wall. Kathy tried to prevent her from sliding all the way down, but it was useless.
"Oh, Liv… I know, I know. Come on, can you stand up?" Kathy tried to pull her up, but Olivia was so drunk, her body was like lead.
Kathy pulled out her phone and tried to call Elliot, but he wasn't answering. "Shit!" She looked over at Olivia who had buried her head in her arms against the wall.
"Where's Alexandra?" Olivia slurred. "Call her, Kathy, I need her. I need her to know that I really do like her."
Kathy leaned down next to Olivia, placing her hand on her knee. "Sweetie, you can tell her when you're sober. We need to get you home."
"No. Not leaving without Alex." Olivia laid her head back against the brick wall, closing her eyes.
Kathy sighed as she dialed Elliot again, but he didn't pick up. "Damnit, El!" She placed the sidewalk for a few minutes before reaching into Olivia's pocket to grab her phone. Opening it up, she found Alex's contact and called her from her own phone; she didn't know if Alex would answer Olivia's call.
Alex furrowed her brow as she finished her sandwich, looking at the call from an unknown number.
"Who's that?" Casey asked.
"I don't know. Do I answer it?" Alex asked in return.
Casey shrugged. "Couldn't hurt."
Alex slid her thumb across the phone to answer before placing the phone up to her ear.
"He.. hello?"
"Hi, is this Alex?" The unfamiliar voice asked.
"Y-yes? Who is this?" Alex asked timidly.
"Hi, my name is Kathy. I'm a friend of Olivia's. I'm Elliot's girlfriend, actually. I hate to call you like this but… I need help with Olivia."
Alex was silent for a few moments. "What do you need my help with?"
"Elliot isn't answering his phone. Olivia is drunk right now, like… really drunk. And she's refusing to get off the sidewalk until she sees you. Can you… meet us? I'm so sorry. I didn't know what else to do."
Casey was carefully watching Alex's facial expressions, trying to gauge any sense of the conversation.
"She's… drunk? Why is she on the sidewalk?"
Casey lifted her eyebrows.
"Yeah, she is. I don't know. She made some bad decisions today, Alex. She's so upset because of what happened, and she accidentally drank too much. She's not a bad person."
"I never thought she was…" Alex said softly. She felt her chest tighten a little. She couldn't help but feel sad that Olivia was upset and drank too much. She wanted to do what she could to help.
"Right, I'm sorry. Do you know where The Hamilton is?"
Alex stood up and motioned for Casey to follow her.
"What's going on?" Casey asked.
Alex held up a finger before responding to the phone. "Uhh, no. Not really. Can you text me an address? I'll be right there."
"Oh God, thank you. I'll text you right now. Thanks, Alex. She'll be happy to see you."
Alex hung up the phone as she picked up the pace, Casey quickly keeping pace next to her.
"What was that?" Casey asked. "Where are we going?"
"Uhh… that was Elliot's girlfriend. She said Olivia is really drunk and is on a sidewalk refusing to move until she sees me."
"What!?" Casey said in shock. "Jeez, that's a little dramatic, isn't it?"
"She's drunk, Case. She isn't thinking right." Alex checked her phone for the address and put it into her maps. "I want to make sure she's okay. We should be there soon."
Alex again picked up her pace as they raced towards Olivia's location.
Alex and Casey spotted Olivia leaning slumped against the brick wall, her head swaying in her chest.
"Oh my goodness, hi, are you Alex?" Kathy asked, shaking Alex's hand before giving her a quick hug. "I'm so sorry we had to meet like this. I was hoping it was under better circumstances. Olivia has been talking about you non-stop since she met you."
Alex couldn't help but smile. "Hi Kathy, glad to meet you. This is Casey."
"Hi!" Casey smiled and waved before looking over at an intoxicated Olivia, whose head shot up at the sound of Alex's voice.
"Aaaallleexxx!" Olivia slurred, throwing her hands up as if she wanted to be held. "What're you doin' here?"
Kathy bent down to put her hand on Olivia's shoulder. "I called her, Olivia. You wouldn't move until you saw her, remember?"
"Shitttt. She can't see me like this, Kathy! I'm a fuckin' mess." Olivia went to finally stand up, but immediately started staggering, Kathy catching her with Alex and Casey rushing to help.
Olivia looked up at Alex who was standing next to her, helping her stand up. She gave a drunken smile as she said, "Wow, you're cute. Hi, Casey." Olivia weakly lifted her arm up to wave before stumbling backwards, forcing Alex to wrap her arms around her so she didn't fall.
"Jesus Christ, Olivia, how much did you drink?" Kathy said.
"Not enough," Olivia said with a laugh, letting her head fall back against Alex. "I'm sorry, my beautiful Alex. You didn't have to come see me."
"Yes, I did. I want to make sure you're okay, Olivia." Alex gave her a concerned smile. She couldn't help but feel her heartbeat quicken. Even though Olivia was drunk, she was still just as cute.
"Come on, Liv. We gotta get you back home." Kathy began to lead her down the street, Olivia swaying and stumbling as she walked.
After they went about 2 blocks, Olivia stopped and started groaning.
"What's wrong?" Kathy asked, rubbing Olivia's back before Olivia threw her arm up to keep Kathy back as she puked into an alley.
"Oh, shit…" Casey said, watching Olivia puke.
Alex immediately walked up beside Olivia and began rubbing her back. "Are you okay?"
Olivia wiped her mouth and looked up at Alex before giving her a meek smile. "I am now."
Alex couldn't help but chuckle as she helped Olivia stand up straight again. She grabbed her hand and started walking towards Kathy, who was waiting for them a little ways up the sidewalk.
Casey trailed a little bit behind Olivia and Alex in case she needed to catch a falling Olivia.
Alex felt Olivia squeeze her hand tighter as she accidentally staggered a bit in Alex's direction.
"I'm so sorry, Alex… for everything. I keep messing up," Olivia slurred sadly.
"No, I'm sorry, Olivia. I shouldn't have taken Amanda's word to heart. I didn't handle that situation well. I'm sorry you've been sad. I've been sad too."
"I promise I'm not gonna do you and dump you like everyone fucking thinks. That's not me anymore. I like you, Alex. Honestly." Olivia drunkenly bumped into Alex again as her speech continued to slur.
"I know, Olivia. I know. I like you, too."
"I'm sorry you're sad and I'm sorry I'm drunk and you have to see me like this." Olivia started to tear up as her voice got wobbly.
"Hey," Alex said, stopping them from walking. "Olivia, you didn't do anything to make me sad. I'm sad at my own self for not just talking to you. I was a coward and didn't bother to talk to you at all. And I'm so sorry for that. Can you please forgive me?"
Olivia sniffled as she wiped her tears away. "You did nothing wrong, Alex."
"Neither did you."
Alex squeezed Olivia's hand strongly as they continued to walk the final few blocks to her townhouse.
Walking in the door, Elliot was on the couch playing Xbox.
"God damn you, Elliot Stabler!" Kathy yelled, Elliot frantically ripping the headset off as he shot up from the couch, looking at an intoxicated Olivia.
"Shit, is Liv okay?" Elliot jumped over the back of the couch and released Olivia from Alex's hold, holding her shoulders and looking her over.
"No, Elliot. She isn't. She got fucking hammered at the bar and I had to call Alex, because you're too busy on the damn Xbox!" Kathy was fuming.
Olivia gave a frown. "Kathy, I'm sorry…" her voice started to choke up again. Kathy ran over to her and held her in a deep hug.
"Baby girl, you have nothing to apologize for! I'm sorry for yelling. It's not you who I'm mad at." Kathy stroked Olivia's hair for a few moments before Olivia stumbled into the wall.
"Ow!"
Alex couldn't help but giggle, Olivia turning around to give her a drunken smirk. "She thinks I'm funny."
"Hey, Blondie," Elliot said, waving to Alex. "Sup, Red?"
"Her name is Alex, you fuck head," Olivia slurred angrily. "Stop calling her Blondie you dick."
"Jeez Liv, lighten up! It's a friendly nickname." Elliot lightly pushed Olivia's shoulder, making her stumble again.
"Elliot!" Kathy scolded.
"What? I'm sorry. Hi Alex, hi Casey."
"Hi Elliot," Alex and Casey said. "It's okay to call me Blondie. I know you're not being mean."
"Yeah, same here. You can call me Red."
"See? You two need to lighten up." He pointed at Kathy and Olivia.
"You need to have a little bit of fucking respect for my girl, El. I'll kick your ass." Olivia was getting belligerent.
"Oh, she's your girl now, huh?" Elliot said, backing away and smiling from a swinging Olivia.
Alex couldn't help but smile and blush at the way Olivia was trying to defend her.
"I'm still mad at you for taking Amanda's side, asshole," Olivia said angrily.
"Liv, that's not what I meant. You stormed out before I could explain!" Elliot was trying his best to defend himself.
"Start explaining then," Olivia slurred, taking her shoes off.
"Not now. We'll talk about it when you're sober. You need to go to bed. Say goodnight to everyone."
Olivia looked over to Alex, sadness in her eyes. "But..."
Alex smiled at her. "It's okay, Olivia. Get some sleep. You can text me tomorrow, okay? I promise I'll answer."
Elliot bent down to pick Olivia up over his shoulder as he carried her upstairs to her room.
"Well," Kathy said, turning to Alex and Casey. "Really, I'm so sorry we met like this. I know Olivia is going to be embarrassed tomorrow. She's a good person. And she really is crazy about you, Alex."
Alex gave a sincere smile. "I know. I'm crazy about her too. Tell her it's okay. My parents get drunk a lot. It's just what people do sometimes, happy or sad. She has nothing to be embarrassed over."
Kathy smiled back as she hugged Alex, then Casey. "Oh, are you guys coming to Elliot's birthday party next weekend?"
"I think so," Alex said. "As long as Olivia doesn't kill him before then."
The three of them laughed.
"I might do that myself…" Kathy groaned
