“Wow,” Olivia said, feeling a little annoyed at Margie again. “And here I bought it hook, line, and sinker.”
“I’m sorry,” Margie whispered. “But even then I knew it in my gut, Ollie. I knew he still cared about you far more than he’s ever cared about me. And even though you’d asked me to keep certain things from him because you didn’t want him knowing your business, you know what he’s like. You know how persuasive he can be. A few of those times he got it out of me, and as much as he tried to hide it deep down, I could see it bothered him. So I knew he didn’t want you to know because he was afraid you’d cut him off. That’s why I was so shocked when he tagged me on his status change. We both knew you’d see it. I was at work at the time. So I texted him to ask him what the hell, and all he said was if you asked anything to just tell you everything.”
Olivia nearly gasped when it hit her. She brought her hand to her forehead. It never occurred to her because she’d told Margie about the client who’d been asking her out and she was actually considering it. That was just a few weeks before Jay changed his status update. She had noticed his questions about her social life had gotten a little more personal, but she would’ve never imagined it was because Margie had told him anything. She thought he was just being nosey again. The day before he changed his status she’d made the comment that she’d decided it was time to be more social, and he’d asked what that meant, but she wouldn’t elaborate.
Is that why he’d done it?
“So what did he do? You said you were so wrong about him in your text.”
“I’ve been such a pathetic and delusional idiot,” Margie said, and Olivia heard her voice break again. “I knew it all along, Ollie. But I convinced myself that because you were so far away and because you sincerely never wanted anything to do with him again that he might actually give up on you and take the next best thing. I mean, seriously, how pathetic is that? I was willing to settle for being his consolation prize.”
It was a bittersweet eye-opener. Jay had always known about Margie’s social awkwardness. Olivia had never told him, but she was certain he’d figured it out on his own that Margie was even more virginal than Olivia had been when he’d gotten a hold of her. Olivia had at least gone to her prom and, ironically because of Jay, was comfortable with flirting. Margie was a bookworm with zero social skills when it came to boys, but she’d always told Olivia she was fine with that. Yet even hearing all this didn’t prepare her for what Margie dropped on her next.
“I’m pregnant,” she said then cried softly as Olivia’s stomach took a complete nose dive, not because she was upset that Margie was pregnant with Jay’s baby. She’d meant it even before she’d met Lorenzo, but she couldn’t say it with enough conviction now. She felt nothing but disgust for Jay.
But her heart did hurt for Margie because she knew exactly why she was crying so much. Instantly it was clear why her best friend needed her right now. And her heart was breaking for her.
“Oh, honey,” she whispered, sitting up and off the side of her bed, feeling choked up herself. “I know your parents will be upset at first, but—”
“Jay’s insisting I have an abortion.”
Olivia gasped, not that she had anything against abortion. She was pro-choice all the way. But Margie’s family would be upset enough that she’d had sex before wedlock. An abortion would be catastrophic. This was something she knew even Margie, who was far more open-minded than her parents, felt very strongly about. It went against every fiber of her being and was the one thing Olivia and Margie had long ago agreed to disagree on.
“Margie, he can’t force you to.”
“He’s in love with you, Ollie,” Margie said as she continued to sniffle, making Olivia squeeze her eyes shut. Margie’s voice went even higher pitched when she spoke again. “Always has been and he admitted it yesterday when I told him I was pregnant. He said his heart will always belong to you, and while he didn’t admit it, I know now he was just using me to get to you. When I told him how you’d called me immediately to ask about his status change and then later how you stopped returning my calls and texts, I could see it in his face, hear it in his voice. He was happy. Even though you stopped returning his calls too, I could tell it gave him hope you still had feelings for him. Yesterday, he told me what I’d known all along. He has every intention of getting you back. He claims all he needs is for you to hear him out, and he said . . .”
Olivia held her breath as Margie whimpered softly. “It doesn’t matter what he says or thinks, Margie. I’m over him.”
“He knows how much I’ve missed you,” Margie said with a newfound vehemence. “How much it’s hurt me to have lost your friendship. How much you mean to me, and he always assured me that eventually you’d come around, but now he says if I have this baby there will be no chance for any of us to reconcile. That it would be an end-all.”
“He’s lying,” Olivia tried to assure her. “Just like he still thinks he and I have a chance. It’s not true.”
“He also said that if I care about either of you I’d abort because if anyone should know how much you two belong together it’s me. My having this baby would ruin any chance of you two working things out forever.”
Something about her defeated tone told Olivia that Margie actually believed his bullshit. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t be telling Olivia all this. She wouldn’t be crying about this or have even considered aborting. Not for a minute. Panicked by this, Olivia told her about Lorenzo. She told her how amazing he was and how she’d never—not even with Jay—felt what Lorenzo made her feel.
“But you’ve only known him for a few months,” Margie said, sounding skeptical. “You and Jay—”
“It doesn’t matter,” Olivia insisted, shaking her head. “I’m not even sure how to explain it, Margie, but you know what they say about fate, right? When you’re destined to be with someone, you know the minute you meet him he’s the one. I wasn’t even sure what it was when I first met him, but I felt it. I knew he was different, and he feels the same way. I’m crazy about him.”
“But—”
“Listen to me, Margie,” Olivia started with even more conviction.
She could tell already by the sound in Margie’s voice Jay had gotten to her, just as he’d convinced Olivia so many times in the past of whatever he wanted her to believe. He was toxic that way. He had this way of controlling her with his words, his eyes. Olivia shook her head again, ashamed that she’d once been so easily manipulated by him. But it made perfect sense. He probably knew all along that Margie was secretly pining for him and used that to his advantage. The bastard.
“Even if I weren’t crazy about Lorenzo, I would never go back to Jay,” she insisted with more certainty than ever. “He lost any chance he had with me a long time ago. You remember. I’d made up my mind months before we left Texas. Don’t let him do this. Don’t let him turn this on you. He and I not ever being together again has nothing to do with you or that baby. Whatever you decide, I’ll be here for you.”
They spoke for a while longer, and even though Margie said she believed her, Olivia was left with a bad feeling. Margie wasn’t completely convinced. Olivia was sure she knew why too. Her best friend likely found it impossible to believe that Olivia could truly be over Jay, especially since she’d been a firsthand witness to Olivia’s utter fixation with the guy.
By the time Lorenzo called, Olivia felt emotionally spent. She hated that Margie had taken her otherwise perfect day and practically ruined it. Revisiting the shameful memories of the person she vowed she’d left behind was not something she wanted to do now that she was feeling like a brand new person. That wasn’t her anymore, and she refused to let Jay ruin or even affect her relationship with Lorenzo. Hearing Lorenzo’s voice did, however, make her feel better.
They’d only been on the phone for a few minutes, and she’d thought she’d been doing a pretty good job of shaking off the uneasy mood Margie’s call had put her in. The last thing she wanted was to ruin
this day for Lorenzo too. Telling him about Margie’s call would do that for sure. She was determined not to lie to him even by omission, and she knew he couldn’t possibly be mad at her, but it would definitely make for a tense conversation. So she’d decided to wait and tell him about it another time.
And then it happened. “What’s wrong?” he asked, but he didn’t sound overly concerned, so she didn’t panic just yet.
“What do you mean?” she asked as casually as she could.
“You sound a little down,” he said, still not too concerned. “You feeling okay?”
“Yeah,” she said again, trying to sound casual and a bit chipper even. “I’m just a little tired.”
“Then maybe I should let you go so you can get some sleep.”
“No, I’m good,” she said too quickly then bit her tongue and squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m lying in bed,” she explained, “so I’m resting. I can still talk to you. I want to.”
That last part was practically whispered because she was already having visions of Lorenzo’s intense stare, and now she was going to panic that this conversation just might happen. Geez, could she be any more transparent?
He was silent on the other end for a moment then spoke again. “What else did you do after you got home today?”
She’d already told him about finding the perfect place for each and every one of the flower arrangements they’d brought back from the beach house and how she’d told Emi all about yesterday, today, and the bracelet he’d given her.
“I talked on the phone,” she said her eyes still closed.
He was quiet again as if he knew he’d hit it on the nail. “With who?”
“Margie,” she said simply but still didn’t open her eyes.
“The one who’s seeing your ex now?”
“Yes.”
“Is this the first time you’ve talked to her since the day you found out about it?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me about it.”
Eleven
Lorenzo
Don’t let what happened with Linda fuck things up for you with Olivia.
Vince’s words repeated in Lorenzo’s head over and over, and he welcomed them. He needed to keep this in mind. He’d be open-minded, damn it. Just because one call from Margie already had Liv sounding strange, it didn’t have to mean anything.
They’d just had the best two days ever. He’d gotten pretty good about reading her in the past several weeks, and he’d seen it in her eyes plenty of times now. She was just as crazy about him as he was about her. Most importantly, Liv deserved more than the benefit of the doubt. She deserved his full trust. So he waited as she beat around the bush, telling him how Margie had texted her to say she needed Liv now more than anything and how she’d felt compelled to hear her out.
“It’s not just that her family is uber religious, but they’re very old fashioned,” she said as Lorenzo took a deep galling breath because he got the distinct feeling she was prolonging this—avoiding getting to the real reason why she still sounded strange. “Not only did they have her late in life, so they’re much older than parents of someone her age are normally, but she has an uncle who’s a pastor and her parents both have degrees in theology. It’s why I was so surprised when I first found out she was involved with Jay. She never said she’d be waiting until she was married to have sex, but she said her parents had waited and her mom always said she should too. Margie herself has always been religious. She prays about everything, so I kind of had the feeling that would be the case with her. Before Jay, she’d only ever had one relationship that even came close to being a boyfriend. I never told her, but I always got the feeling it was why he sort of disappeared and lost interest with her. Jay . . . well, he’s not the type of guy who would ever have an unconsummated relationship. For a minute there I even thought maybe that’s why they’d gotten engaged. But I was wrong. I should’ve known there’s no way that would be the case with him.”
“Liv, babe,” Lorenzo finally had to speak up.
“Yeah?”
“What’s wrong?”
“She’s pregnant,” she said simply, making Lorenzo swallow hard.
“But they’re engaged so . . . why does that bother you?”
“It doesn’t bother me,” she said defensively. “It’s just that . . .”
Lorenzo could feel the tension he’d already started feeling become heavier with every moment that went by and she didn’t continue. “Just that what?” he finally had to ask.
“He wants her to have an abortion.”
“What?” Lorenzo gripped the phone a little tighter. “Why? He was gonna marry her anyway.”
“He’s not gonna marry her,” she said, exhaling loudly.
As aggravating as this conversation was becoming, hearing her exhale the way she did made it seem as if she were finally going to get to what was bothering her, so he braced himself.
He heard her take a deep breath but said nothing as if she were trying to figure out what to say first. Lorenzo’s gut feeling didn’t like where this was going. It brought back the memory of the first and last time they’d spoken in depth about this guy. She’d been uncomfortable then, too, pausing a lot, and he hated it, but he waited patiently.
“I got a text from him today too,” she finally said, and Lorenzo was on his feet, but she didn’t pause this time, so he listened without interrupting. “Which I didn’t respond to and I deleted it, like I plan on doing if he ever texts me again. So before you get upset or anything, just know that I have zero intention of reconnecting with him in any way. Margie is different. She’s been my closest and only true friend forever. We’ve always known each other better than our own families knew us. Sometimes I thought she knew me better than I knew myself, and we’ve been through so much together. She’s been there for me in some of my darkest hours. It’s why I wanna be there for her now too, but Jay’s totally different.”
“What did he want?”
Lorenzo could feel the anxiety rising up his spine, already making his neck muscles stiffen. He knew from the moment he started seeing Liv it would feel so much worse if he ever experienced anything remotely close to what he had with Linda. This confirmed it because she hadn’t even done anything and already he felt on the verge of losing it.
“I haven’t responded to any of his messages or calls since I found out about him and Margie. He’s insisting he wants to talk to me now. I’m assuming it’s because of her pregnancy.”
“Regardless of why he wants to . . .” Lorenzo stopped talking and walking at the same time, pinching the rim of his nose, and took a deep breath to try and remain calm. He did not want to start regretting having gotten involved with Liv. While she just told him she wouldn’t, he had to reaffirm where he stood on this. “That’s not happening, Liv. You know that, right?”
“Yes. I know,” she said immediately. “I don’t want us arguing because of him, and I want nothing to do with him. I hate what he’s doing to Margie.”
“I don’t wanna argue either, babe. Believe me. I don’t. But you have to tell me everything I need to know. Did he say anything else?”
Liv made another one of her exasperating pauses before finally speaking again. “Aside from being smug and saying he knows I want to talk to him, he didn’t say anything else, but Margie did. Lorenzo”—she exhaled but thankfully didn’t pause for long—“I’m only telling you this because I want to be completely honest with you. I don’t want to keep anything from you. But I refuse to give him the power to still mess with my life. If this upsets you, then it’s exactly what I’m doing and he wins. So please believe me when I say this doesn’t matter to me at all, okay?”
“Okay,” he said immediately.
Feeling his heartbeat spike because he already had a feeling what was coming, he grabbed a glass out of the cabinet and poured himself some water from the water dispenser on the fridge.
“According to what he told Margie, he still has feelings for me.” For the first time in t
his entire exasperating conversation, Liv sped up instead of pausing as she’d been doing and started spitting it all out at once. “He’s trying to guilt her into aborting the baby because he says if anyone knows how much he and I belong together it’s her. He says a baby with her will ruin any chance for us reuniting. Remember I told you she was the only one who knew about my relationship with him? She was there from the very beginning to the bitter end through all the tears. She knows what he meant to me once upon a time. It’s the only reason I think someone who is so strongly against abortion would even consider it.”
Lorenzo had started pacing but stopped after hearing that last sentence. “Why? Does she believe you still have feelings for him?”
“I guess she did.” It was like a punch in the gut, but he waited for her to go on. “I reminded her that I’d moved on before I even left Texas, but she knew we’d kept in touch still. I guess she just assumed that deep down I still wasn’t over him.”
“Any reason why your best friend who sometimes knows you better than you know yourself would think that?”
Again she was silent, and without thought, he smashed his glass in the sink.
“What was that?” she asked, the alarm apparent in her voice.
“Nothing. I dropped something,” he said quickly, running his fingers through his hair and needing to get a grip. “Answer the question, Liv. Why would your best friend believe him?”
“She had no way of knowing about you. If she’d been around when I first met you and I gave her the blow-by-blow on everything that’s happened, she probably would’ve pointed out before I even admitted to myself how hard I was falling for you. I guarantee you she’d agree that what I feel for you is totally different from what I felt for him.”