by London Casey
Didn’t Olivia tell me it was Whitney’s idea to come to town?
“Okay,” I said. “Look, I don’t have time right now. I’m kind of busy.”
“Where you heading?”
“Where I need to go,” I said.
“Ah, playing the shy card. Sure. That’s fine.” Whitney backed off a little. She then ran her hand through her dark hair. She pushed it all to one side. Her hair was long and soft. She looked like some woman in a fancy shampoo commercial. “I just wanted to check on the guy that was stealing her heart.”
“What?”
Whitney covered her mouth. “Whoops. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“But you did.”
“Well, it’s true. And I can’t blame her. I’ve only been here for a minute and I can’t remember a thing I did yesterday. I just hope you know what you’re dealing with. Everything is processed.”
Kind of like your clothes, makeup, hair… appearance?
“How so?”
“Everything is decided for her,” Whitney said. “What she does. Where she goes. Who she goes with. In a way, it’s really sad.”
“How do you know Olivia?”
“We’ve been friends forever,” Whitney said, rolling her eyes. “Best friends. I just don’t want anyone to get hurt. Including you, Gavin.”
“Why would I get hurt?”
Whitney stepped forward and touched my hand. “Just… be careful of reality.”
I took my hand away. “I’ve got to go.”
“Of course you do. It was so nice to meet you. Again. Well, to properly meet you. Hope you didn’t judge me the first time. Being drunk. Hanging on those two dweebs.”
“No judgment at all.”
“Honestly, Gavin, it should have been you. I wish I got to you first.”
Whitney winked and turned. She made it to the steps and went down two of them. I never thought in my wildest dreams I’d have rich women parading around my house.
Whitney then paused. She looked back with a grin. “Are you going to Olivia’s speech?”
I laughed. “You already know that answer.”
“That’s why I’m here, Gavin. I have the car.”
“Excuse me?”
“The car. For us. To go there together. Olivia said-”
“I’ll drive my truck.”
“To a memorial?”
“I’ll make do.”
“Fuck, that’s sexy,” Whitney said. She puckered her lips and blew a kiss at me.
Then she walked away for good.
I stood at the edge of my porch and watched her walk to the black car waiting for her. Everything about her fake and temptation rolled into one.
I didn’t trust her for one second. And she was friends with Olivia?
I gritted my teeth and let out a sigh.
I started wondering if I was doing the right thing here…
I parked my truck and had to walk three blocks. The memorial was being held in a small park near a couple busy streets. The perimeter of the park was closed off by fences and roses. It was really beautiful to see. I had never been there before. Inside the park there were two playgrounds - one for really little kids and one for the bigger kids. There were picnic tables, a pavilion, and the rest was just grass with different sections of gardens. All kinds of different flowers. It was really nice.
The memorial was being held at the far end of the park. There was a small stage with a podium. A gathering of people, most of them wearing shirts with a picture of a little girl that I assumed to be Abigail. What struck me hard was that she looked a lot like Ava. My heart was suddenly heavy.
The first few rows of people were sitting in chairs. The rest of us were just standing wherever we wanted. To the right of the stage I saw a small group of people. Men in suits with earpieces in. They were probably the ones guarding Olivia.
I decided to just hang back and see what happened. I didn’t want to make her more nervous than she already was.
There was a screen off to the left of the podium, playing a slideshow of this young girl’s life. Each picture that slid across the screen seemed sadder than the previous one.
All of it made me think of Luke. We had done the same damn thing for him. Why were some lives just taken at the wrong time? The wrong age? It just didn’t make sense.
I had the sudden urge to drink or smoke.
But I couldn’t do either.
I thought about bolting to my truck and texting Olivia a bullshit story.
I ended up just standing there. Waiting.
I was the only person without someone next to them.
That problem solved itself when I felt someone touch my arm.
I turned my head… and there was Whitney.
Ah, shit.
“You made it,” she whispered. “That’s good. Olivia needs it.”
“She needs it?”
“Such a terrible thing.” Whitney blinked fast. “So young. What a horrible disease.”
Whitney lowered her head. She let out a noise.
I touched her arm. “Hey. It’s okay. I know it’s sad. I know. It’s…”
Whitney looked at me. “Thank you, Gavin. For being here for me.”
I opened my mouth but didn’t have the chance to speak a word.
People started to gently applaud.
I looked and saw Olivia walking across the stage. She was in a beautiful white dress. My heart began to race. I swallowed hard and felt myself smiling. Her hair whipped around in the breeze. She wrestled with it, trying to get it behind her ears. She was so naturally beautiful, even from a distance.
She stepped to the podium and looked around.
Everyone knew who she was.
“Good afternoon,” she said. “I’m sure you all know who I am. I’m not here to introduce myself or talk about myself. I’m here to talk about a beautiful girl who led a beautiful life. And I don’t like saying things in the past tense. Because she still is leading a beautiful life. Through all of us. Through everyone she met and smiled at. We get to forever carry her smile with us. In some ways… we’re so lucky, right? I remember the first time I met Abigail. I know, I’m just some figurehead walking the halls of a hospital trying to get money…”
The crowd let out a little gasp.
“Oh, wow,” Whitney said.
I stepped forward. Smiling.
Olivia was being real.
“See this?” she asked, holding up a piece of paper. “This was written for me. For today.” She ripped the paper in half. “I’m not here for anything but to make sure we never forget Abigail.”
The entire crowd was silent.
“So I met Abigail. She was so bright. Smiling so big. There was just something about her. You know? I look at her parents” - Olivia nodded - “to Bill and Sarah, and I just know they know what I mean. Abigail never let anything bring her down. Never let anything get to her. To her, the hospital room was her room. She always talked about school. Wanting to go to school. Wanting to learn. And I learned from her. See, what nobody knows besides her parents was that I visited the hospital more than you all know. It’s not just for image. I care. I love. I feel heartache and I want to do something more. But there are times in life when we can’t do anything but just be present. And it may not seem like much, but being present is everything. Because eventually we’re not going to be present.” Olivia looked over to the screen that had a still shot of Abigail smiling. “And that’s when it hurts the most.”
Everyone was silent. Enamored by Olivia’s words.
She had me hooked.
Fuck, just watching her up there exposing her soul… she had me falling…
I felt something grab my arm and pull.
“Gavin, I can’t,” Whitney whispered.
She put her head to my shoulder. She forced my arm around her. She started to cry.
For the next ten minutes, Olivia recounted each visit with Abigail. She spoke of the memories, what they meant, and then talked about the hospital and wh
at she wanted to do to help. She thanked Abigail’s parents for letting her speak. If that wasn’t enough she announced she was creating a fund and a scholarship in Abigail’s honor. Olivia was going to make sure all the local schools had updated computers and classrooms.
Whitney hugged my arm tight. “Oh, Gavin… I hate this.”
I gritted my teeth and broke away from Whitney.
Olivia finished her speech and the crowd applauded her. Abigail’s parents then took to the stage to hug Olivia.
“Can we go for a walk?” Whitney asked me. “I don’t want to be alone.”
“There’s plenty of people here,” I said. “I have to see Olivia.”
I saw the look on Whitney’s face and realized rejection was new to her.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “But I promised Liv…”
“She’s going to hurt you,” Whitney said. Her tears were suddenly dry. The sad girl was replaced with an evil girl. “So be ready for it, Gavin. And don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
The crowd kept applauding. Then a voice came through the sound system.
It was Abigail’s father.
I glanced at the stage and saw a broken man, standing in front of so many people that cared about him, but there was nothing anyone could do for him.
Christ, did I know that feeling…
I shoved all my feelings aside and walked on the outside of the crowd.
When I got to the end of the crowd I was met with three really big guys that were blocking my way.
They stared at me.
We were the same height, the same build.
“I’m here to see Olivia,” I said.
“Sorry, sir,” the middle guy said. “Miss Olivia is not available.”
“Come on, man, she told me to meet her here.”
“I’m sure she did,” the guy said with a smile.
I felt my right hand ball up into a fist.
“He’s right,” a voice said. “Now move.”
The guys turned and quickly parted and made a path for Olivia as she stood there in her white dress, her hair dancing around in the breeze.
“Hey, darling,” I said. “Am I allowed through the secret service brigade here?”
“Come here, Gavin,” Olivia said.
I walked by the security guards and smirked at them.
From there I forgot about the entire thing and just focused on Olivia.
I grabbed her by the waist and looked down at her. “You did amazing.”
“I can’t believe you came.”
“I said I would. I liked seeing you vulnerable like that. Those people were listening to you, Liv.”
“No they weren’t,” she said. “They were admiring the celebrity in me. I hate feeling like I’m always bullshitting. Because most of the time I am.”
“So I’ve heard,” I said.
“Oh yeah? From whom?”
“Funny story…”
“Hey, Princess! Look here!”
I looked to my right and there was a guy with a camera. And behind him there were a dozen more.
“Dammit,” Olivia said. “Gavin, you should go. I’ll text you later when I get out of here.”
“What are you talking about?”
The security guards quickly blocked the way, trying to get the guys with the cameras away. That’s when I realized what this was. They were the paparazzi. I looked at Olivia again, maybe finally realizing just who she was. To all these people she was rich and famous. To me, she was something else. I didn’t care about her being famous. I didn’t care about her being rich either. That meant nothing to me. I cared about the way she looked at me. I cared about her being honest with me.
I grabbed for her hand but she swatted me away. “Gavin…”
“Embarrassed to be seen with a poor mechanic?” I asked.
“No. Not at all. Gavin… they’ll follow you. They’ll drive you crazy. I don’t want that for you.”
I leaned into Olivia and kissed her cheek. “Darling, I don’t give a fuck about that. I’m not leaving you like this.”
“They’ll follow my car,” she said. “It’ll be…”
I looked to my right. The paparazzi were arguing with the security guards. Abigail’s mother was now on stage speaking. I wanted to flip my lid. These assholes wanted a picture of Olivia while that poor little girl’s parents were grieving the loss of their daughter. I looked behind me and I smiled.
“Liv, I have an idea,” I whispered.
“Oh?”
I looked down at her feet. She wasn’t wearing heels. Something about that just drove me wild. She could play the rich girl image in front of anyone she wanted to but I could see through it. Because I saw the real her before I knew she was rich.
I slipped my hand into her hand. I smiled. “I hope you’re ready to run.”
Fifteen
The Run
(Olivia)
When dealing with the paparazzi, my father always told me to play into the cameras. The more I let them take my picture, two things would happen. First, it would be more exposure for my father’s company. I wasn’t a wild child like Whitney so any picture taken of me always portrayed elegance and care. Second, once they had enough pictures they would move on. If I ran, they’d chase me. And then I’d look bad trying to run, as though I had something to hide.
Yet, there I was, running. And, yes, I did have something to hide. That was Gavin. He did not need to be dragged into the camera lens and have his picture plastered all over the internet and local newspapers.
He should have just listened to me and left when he had the chance. I could have posed for pictures, answered questions, and then slowly worked my way around the stage and to my private car. I had a hotel room booked and I could have Gavin then sneak through the back and he and I could spend the rest of the afternoon and the night together.
Instead, things were crazy.
We didn’t go toward the back of the stage. No. Gavin grabbed my hand, told me to get ready to run, and then he turned, facing the park.
We started to run and I was happy I didn’t wear heels. I never wore those things. I hated those things. My father told me that appearing too short was a negative thing, but according to his research team, me being short showed a level of innocence that helped to protect his image.
The more I thought about my life as I ran through the park with Gavin, the more I realized just how processed it all was. How every decision made was comforted with money as though that were the great end all. And maybe for a time that was a good thing.
Gavin looked back at me and smiled. “We’re almost there, darling. I promise, we’re going to get away.”
I smiled back and nodded. I trusted him. So much. I think I sort of loved him too. He was showing me a side of life I never knew. A life that didn’t revolve around money, predetermined answers to hard questions, and something so simple that it was anything but simple, but worth fighting for.
“Hey! Olivia! Where is the princess running to?” a voice called out.
“Gavin, they’re following us,” I said to him.
In the background I heard the soft voice of Abigail’s dear mother. How terrible was this… these people with cameras worried about me when there was a woman trying to speak of her only child that had been taken so early in life?
“Once we get through the park, we’re fine,” Gavin said.
The flowers that surrounded us were beautiful. It almost felt like a game. Or something… like being a real princess. He was the knight there to save me. The evil kings henchmen were coming to get me. Gavin was saving me.
I heard the voice of Abigail’s mother crack up for a second and I dug my heels into the ground.
“Gavin! Wait!”
He stopped. The paparazzi were still coming after us.
I looked at him. “I can’t just walk away from this. What this means to me. I need to say something to all of them.”
“Okay. Then say it.”
“I don’t want you to have yo
ur picture taken, Gavin. It’s not fair.”
“Try me,” he said.
Gavin reached to his jeans and pulled a pair of sunglasses out of his pocket. He stuck them on his face and stiffened his back. He looked over seven feet tall. He was so sexy in his cleaned up white button down shirt. His version of being well dressed which was sort of comical but made my body tingle.
He then crossed his arms and turned his head, looking rough, tough, and really pissed off.
“Gavin…”
“I’m here to protect you, princess,” he said. He tilted his head and looked over the top of his sunglasses and winked.
I sighed.
I never met anyone like him. And now he wanted to pretend to be a bodyguard for me.
I took a few steps forward and put my hands out to calm the paparazzi.
“Hey, hey, hey,” I said. “There’s a speech going on you all need to listen to. You need to take pictures that way.”
“Olivia! Why are you running?”
“Princess! Who is the mystery man you’re with?”
“Where’s Sterling?”
I shook my head as the cameras snapped picture after picture of me. “I hope you all realize that there is a mother and father grieving back there. A very special young girl was taken too soon. And it’s up to us to help. So I’m asking you all right now to take as many pictures as you want of me, but do the same for Abigail’s parents. For this entire memorial.”
“Where are you running to, Olivia?”
“Princess…”
“I’m going to fully commit to everything I spoke about. I’m leaving now because I don’t want the attention on me. This is not for celebrity purposes. This is for how I felt about Abigail. What she meant to me. What she meant to her family. And more so, about the rest of those children who are fighting a battle that I hope none of us ever have to understand.”
“Princess, your mother died of cancer, correct?”
The question caught me off guard. I wasn’t used to engaging with the paparazzi. It was more or less me just walking, pausing, pictures being snapped. My innocent smile, a few kind words, then move on.
I felt my emotions suddenly catch up to me.
