T. Leigh - A Tragic Wreck

Olivia looked around. The street was bustling with rush hour commuters coming and going. Cars crawled at a sluggish pace along the busy road. No one appeared to notice her predicament so she did the only thing she could think of…she opened her mouth and screamed as loud as she could before pushing the man aside and bolting down the street. Her hands were shaking and numb from the cold as she clutched her brown paper bag.

~~~~~~~~~~

Martin turned the corner onto Boylston Street and the SUV continued to crawl. Alexander scanned the streets, desperate to find Olivia, if only to make sure she wasn’t walking in the snow.

“Shit!” he exclaimed, seeing a woman who looked like Olivia running away from a large man. He threw open the car door and ran across the street onto the sidewalk. “Olivia!” he shouted.

She paused briefly, hearing a familiar voice. Turning around, she saw Alexander running after her, clutching her jacket. She shook her head before she continued down the busy street. The strange man gained on her as she desperately ran away from him, wondering why no one thought it was odd that a large man was chasing a woman during a snow storm on one of Boston's busiest streets. Within a few moments, Olivia heard a scuffle behind her. She paused, catching her breath, before she glanced over her shoulder. Alexander was on top of the strange man, punching him repeatedly.

Fearful that he would do some serious damage, she turned around and ran to him. “Alex!” she cried out. “Stop!” She took a deep breath as he raised his eyes to meet hers, his fist in mid-air, ready to strike again. “Please,” she begged quietly.

Alexander glared at the man he had pinned to the ground. He looked familiar, but he couldn’t remember where he had seen him before. That was never a good sign. The man moaned out in pain. “You go near her again, I’ll fucking kill you.” Alexander slammed his head into the pavement one last time before standing up, watching as the strange man quickly raised himself off the ground and ran away in the opposite direction.

Alexander walked over to Olivia. “You forgot your jacket,” he said softly, handing her the coat in his hand, switching from angry, temperamental, controlling Alexander to sweet, caring, compassionate Alexander.

She stared at him, still clutching her brown bag.

“You shouldn’t be out here walking. It’s not safe,” he said quietly.

Olivia grabbed her jacket out of his hands. “Stop trying to save me, Alex,” she hissed. “I don’t need your help.” She turned and continued down the street.

“Well, then, what do you want from me, Olivia?” he asked loudly, watching her walk away.

She spun around abruptly and searched his eyes. “I don’t want you to always feel like you have to come and help me, Alex,” she whimpered, her throat beginning to close up again, thinking about the man who was no longer hers. “I just want you to stand by my side while I try to help myself.”

Her words caught Alexander off-guard. He had always tried to protect her. He failed to do that at an early age and spent the last several months trying to make up for that.

Her eyes narrowed, staring at him as he remained silent on the busy Boston street. “Do you think you can do that?” She looked at him as snow continued to blanket the sidewalk, desperately wanting him to say that yes, he could do that. That he would stand by her side. That he would forget all about her running out on him. That he would do anything he could to make sure she never did the same thing again.

But, instead, Alexander just stood there and stared, not saying anything.

Several moments passed, the silence deafening. “That’s what I thought.” Her eyes fell as she turned and continued to walk, shivering from the snow and the last shattered pieces of her heart being stomped on.

Alexander tried to open his mouth to say something, anything. Tell her to wait. Stop. He made a mistake. But nothing came out. He knew he had just let the only woman he would ever truly love walk out of his life, and he did nothing. He watched his entire world fall apart and he didn't do anything to stop it. All of a sudden, he felt more lonely than he had ever felt in all his thirty years.

~~~~~~~~~~

Olivia flung open the door to her house, soaked from the snow that continued to fall steadily around the city. She bolted the door, not wanting to see anyone, even some well-meaning friend. She needed some time alone. Stripping off the sexy black boots that, just a few hours ago, made her feel confident and ready to face the world, she walked into the kitchen and poured some Sapphire gin over ice, wishing she could turn the calendar back to October. Taking a gulp, she exhaled loudly, feeling the effects of the alcohol warm her stomach.

She grabbed the bottle and collapsed on the couch. Nepenthe walked over and sat down over the floor heater, warming his body. Olivia was chilled to the bone, but she had no desire to go upstairs and change. The cold helped take her mind off how much pain she felt.

“Why did I ever come back here?” she sobbed to no one at all. “I don’t belong here… I don’t belong anywhere."

~~~~~~~~~~

“Grant. Did you get her?” Donovan asked, hopeful.

“No, sir. I was in pursuit, but Burnham tackled me to the ground.”

“Shit,” he spat into the phone. “Did he recognize you?” He sounded worried.

“I don’t believe so.”

“Fuck. Why is one girl so fucking hard to kill?”

Grant laughed. “I didn’t realize we were going to kill her. I just thought we’d abduct her and make her lead us to those documents.”

“Well, yes. And then we’re going to kill her, Grant. I don’t leave any loose ends.”

“Then what’s the plan?”

“The plan is to lay low. There have been too many fuck-ups. Burnham could have recognized you and, even though he’s engaged to that other woman, he’ll probably be on high alert over the next several weeks. So we wait. Let Burnham forget that we’re after her. Once he lets his guard down, we make our move. When they least expect it.”

“HEY, ALEX,” TYLER SAID as he pulled up a barstool next to his brother on a Thursday night in early January. “How’s everything going?” He signaled the bartender to pour him a beer.

Alexander looked at his brother. “I’ve been better,” he replied, downing a shot of tequila.

“Shit. What happened?” Tyler inquired as he took in his surroundings at the bar in Davis Square. At the far end of the room, a pair of college students sat on stage and performed to a captive audience. He had never been there before and had hoped to convince Alexander to meet him closer to Boston University, but his brother was adamant about going to a place called Johnny D’s.

“She’s back, Ty,” Alexander said, staring down into his pint glass filled with an amber liquid.

“Who is?”

“Olivia.” The word fell off his tongue in a way that made him miss her even more.

“Does Chelsea know?”

“Yup. She ran into her outside of my office, after she came to me and begged me to take her back.”

“And did you?”

Alexander raised the glass to his mouth and slowly shook his head. “No. I just couldn’t do it. All I could remember was how I felt when I left her in Florida after she begged me to leave her alone because it was the only way she could survive. I knew she didn’t want that, but she looked so broken. And now I don’t know what the fuck to think. I’m supposed to be getting married next month.”

Tyler exhaled slowly, thankful that he didn’t have the girl problems Alexander seemed to have. He loved his brother and was grateful that, whenever he needed someone to talk to, Alexander would always call him. They were never that close when they were younger, but once Tyler started college, they became closer. Over the years, he watched Alexander go home with woman after woman until Olivia walked into his life. Little did Tyler know at the time that it was Alexander’s Olivia from all those years ago, but he did know that Olivia was the best thing to ever happen to his brother. It made him change his ways and open his heart to love…a heart now possessed by Chelsea.

“Are you in love with her?” he asked.

“Of course I am!” Alexander exclaimed. “I wouldn’t have gone all the way to Florida if I didn’t love her!”

Tyler lowered his voice. “No. Chelsea, man. I was talking about Chelsea. Are you in love with her?” He raised his eyebrows, realizing that he probably already knew the answer.

Alexander paused, thinking about the question.

“Come on, Alex. You put a goddamn ring on her finger. You shouldn’t have to even think about it. Just answer the question. Are you in love with Chelsea?”

Alexander sighed. “It’s not that easy, Ty.”

“It should be. There shouldn’t even be a doubt in your fucking mind if you’re about to give that girl our last name.”

Alexander nodded, knowing that his brother was right. Why did Olivia have to show up and throw herself at him, begging for forgiveness? After the months spent with Olivia, his life finally had some semblance of normalcy. Chelsea offered him security in a relationship, which was something he never felt with Olivia. And he was in control. He needed the control. With Olivia, he had none. With Chelsea, he didn’t feel as if his world was about to fall out from beneath him any second.

Alexander shook his head, knowing that he wasn’t in love with Chelsea. He knew he probably never would be. There was only one girl he would ever love. A girl that captured his heart years ago, and he never got it back. The apple of his eye. His Eve. His Olivia.