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“Well, I don’t really have any sort of personal relations with the band members. I’m just the housekeeper. The only interaction I have with them is when I ask if any additional work needs to be done and when I’m receiving my paycheck.”
Olivia mentally sighed as the reporters once again raised their hands and shouted her name, all trying to get her attention at once. Reluctantly, she pointed to one of the nicer-looking women in the front. She knew it was biased but three days with the press had taught her just what kind of questions could be thrown at her. And it was those kinds of questions that were the one she was trying to avoid.
The woman spoke quickly and firmly, like any reporter normally would. Instantly, Olivia regretted choosing her. “Miss Woods, is it true that you have an ongoing intimate relationship with Andrew Lukraft?”
To stop herself from glaring, Olivia closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, before leaning toward the microphone once more. “I believe I just explained that my relationship with each band member is strictly professional. As a general rule, I stay out of their way and they stay out of mine.”
Just as the journalists once again tried to out yell each other, Olivia Woods pushed herself up from her seat and brushed her skirt down. “Those will be all the questions I choose to answer at this time. Thank you.”
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“Why are you with him? He just hurts you every time. I don’t understand it. It doesn’t affect your work but I’m sick of seeing you like that, Liv. All of us are. We had to stop Johnn last night because he was ready to go out and kick his a**.” Vince was visibly upset. Olivia scanned the others, wondering why exactly any of this was their business and why they even cared at all.
Andrew’s gaze (which had been fixed on the wall) shifted to meet hers, before he shook his head and rose from the couch. He took one last look at her before walking swiftly out of the room, cracking his knuckles in what she assumed was a way to release some of his stress rather than a threat to anyone. Jacob was staring at her with a hard expression. She couldn’t tell if he was upset or just curious. He stared only for a moment longer before sitting back, resting his elbow on the armrest and turning his head to stare at the wall. She looked at Kevin, who was merely shaking his head as he closed his eyes and relaxing back. Her gaze stopped at Johnn, who was staring at the floor with a hard grimace on his face. His arms were crossed and his whole body was tense as he leaned against the door frame.
They weren’t going to leave it alone at this point. They weren’t going to let her go on the way she was. Not without knowing. Talking about it wasn’t going to make her change the path she was on now. However…perhaps they wouldn’t be so upset about it if they understood better why she was doing it. It was worth a shot. She frowned and looked at the floor, finally speaking up, though keeping her voice barely above a whisper. “You guys don’t understand…I knew from the beginning he couldn’t make me happy…not until he made himself happy first. Right now he’s angry with the world. He’s been that way for a long way, ever since I first met him. I thought I could make him happy…at least happier than he was. And it worked…somewhat. He’s not so violent anymore. He stopped taking his anger out on other people. And maybe I can still make him happier. I can’t give up on him. I’m afraid if I do…he might go over the edge.” She only had to close her eyes to go back to that time.
She watched as the boy chased the younger one through the woods, screaming names and every manner of threat possible. What was the cause of such anger that he proceeded to chase him down and give him a black eye nearly every night? She wondered as she watched from her seat in the tree. Tonight was the first night she’d gotten this close to him. She flinched s she watched him shove the smaller boy against the tree, covering her mouth in alarm. She was scared to intervene. A young girl, against a tough boy like that in the middle of the night? No one was around to help her. But…she had to do something.
Quickly, she leaned over and yelled as loud as she could, “Hey!” His startled look was enough to tell her she had his attention, “What are you doing? Let go of him!”
Olivia nearly jumped out of her skin when the bully looked up at her with the most fearsome glare she’d ever seen. As his hands fell from the smaller boy’s shirt, the young one quickly ran off. However, the older one’s gaze was still fixed on her. His voice sent chills down her spine. Yet…as she listened, it almost seemed as if he was scared. “Just what does it matter to you what I do with him? And who are you to tell me what to do?”
She bit her lip as she stared into his eyes. Just what was he scared of? Certainly not her? She was harmless, despite her talk. “You shouldn’t prey on the weak, you bully! So stop it! Pick on someone your own size!”
Her sharp inhalation could be heard as a grin slowly played across his face. She inched backwards as he took a threatening step towards the tree, all the while staring up at her, his eyes full of mixed emotions. Anger, fear, sorrow…she couldn’t understand it. She watched as he began climbing up to where she was, grabbing onto any branch he could to aid him in his ascent. Her heart rate was steadily climbing as her breath caught in her throat. For once, she wished she had kept her big mouth shut. It was too far down to jump and there was no way she’d be able to climb down that fast without falling.
Before she knew it, he was sitting on the same branch as her, staring at her with a devious grin. As he scooted forward, she inched backwards until her back was firmly against the tree. She did her best not to look threatened or scared at all…which was easier said than done in this case. She cringed as he crawled forward till he was kneeling over her. She was trembling as he leaned forward more, his mouth dangerously close to hers. She winced as he spoke again in a soft, cold whisper, “I suppose that means I have the right to prey on you then, Miss…”
She lashed forward angrily, slapping his cheek as hard as she could, causing him to fall backwards into a sitting position across from her. “Why would I tell you my name, jerk?”
Slowly, she sat forward, attempting to get up to climb down. However, she suddenly lost her footing, slipping off the branch. And just as quickly as she had begun falling, she stopped. Not by force of the ground, however, but rather by force of his hands, pulling upwards on her one. It was a slow, painful process. As a matter of fact, she would have rather he had let her fall. But that was not the case. He grunted as he finally pulled her back up onto the branch and to her dismay, in a rather unflattering way. His arms snaked around her and pulled her close against him. She turned her head away quickly as he leaned into her, wincing as his lips brushed the skin of her neck.
His cold voice broke the silence yet again. “If I tell you my name, will you tell me yours? After all, it would be the courteous thing to do…” She didn’t have to look at him to sense the grin in his voice. “I’m Joe.” He waited a moment for her to respond before breathing against her ear. “I think it’s your turn, missy.”
She shivered and clenched her fists before placing her hands on his chest and shoving as hard as she could, “Olivia. Now let me go.”
She winced again as he placed his hand under her chin and turned her head to face him again before placing a hard kiss on her lips. As he pulled away from her, allowing her to sit back, he grinned and whispered again, “Very well. But-” She winced again when he grabbed her arm to prevent her from climbing down. “Perhaps you should meet me here again. Tomorrow night or something. You interest me."
 Feather Apple_P I · Wed May 12, 2010 @ 09:44pm · 0 Comments |
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