T. Leigh - A Tragic Wreck

“Swing set?” Olivia asked, raising her eyebrows at Cam, eyeing the large wooden play set in his backyard.

“I have nieces and nephews who like to come visit. Don’t worry. No kids, or at least none that I know of,” he replied, lightening the mood, happy to put a smile on her face.

She looked at the crystal clear water in the pool, wishing she had packed her bathing suit. Oh well. Maybe next time, she thought. She surprised herself, thinking about a next time at Cam's. It felt refreshing, as if maybe she would survive life after Alexander.

“Come, Libby. I’ll show you the rest of the house.” He led the way upstairs where there were two guest bedrooms complete with bathrooms, and an even larger master bedroom. Everything was decorated in light yellows, greens, and blues. The house definitely belonged in a beach community, that much was clear.

After Cam left her, Olivia ran the water in the master bathroom, hopping in the shower and savoring the feeling of the warm water on her skin. Her eyes began to droop slightly, the long drive finally catching up with her. For the past few hours, she had been running on pure adrenaline. Now that she had reached her destination, the lack of sleep over the past several days came rushing forward. She just needed to get through the shower and lunch, and then she could collapse.

“Feel better?” Cam asked when Olivia walked into the kitchen, the smell of garlic making her stomach growl.

“Yes. Slightly exhausted, but I’ll be okay.” She grabbed the glass of wine Cam held out to her.

“Do you like salmon?” He raised his glass to his lips and swirled the wine around in his mouth.

Olivia stared at his gorgeous face as he savored the taste of the wine, the liquid dancing across his tongue. Stop it, Olivia! she screamed in her head. She couldn’t help it, though. It had been far too long since she had sex and, for lack of a better word, she was horny. And Cam was hot.

“Libby?” he asked, smirking as he watched her stare at him with heat in her eyes. “Everything okay?”

“Yes,” she replied, still openly gawking at the little tufts of hair that were visible beneath his V-neck t-shirt, wondering when he had changed out of his wetsuit.

“So, do you?”

Her eyes met his. “Do I what?” she asked breathlessly.

He took a step closer, their bodies almost touching. Olivia could feel the electricity coming off his body. “Like salmon?” he asked, his voice husky.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Good.”

Desire flooded through her body as she continued to gaze into Cam's eyes. But he looked troubled.

Slowly shaking his head, he turned away. “Sorry, Libby, I just…”

Olivia looked away, embarrassed. “No. It’s okay. You have nothing to apologize for,” she spat out, downing her glass of wine, needing to feel the burn of the liquid, her face turning a shade of red similar to that of the wine.

“Libby, don’t be like this. Please. I just…”

“What, Cam? Spit it out already.”

Taking a deep breath, he gazed at her. “I was fucking heartbroken when you left back in January, but I know I sent you away. It was for your own good. You had to do it, but there was this part of me that didn’t want you to go, that wanted to keep you for myself. And now that you’re back, I just don’t know how to act around you. I love you, Olivia. I know you don’t feel the same way. I don’t want to be your rebound. I want something so much more from you, but I know you’re not ready for that. So until you are, please, let’s just be friends. It hurts too much otherwise.”

Olivia opened her mouth to respond, unsure of what to say. Cam loves me? She was shocked.

“Please. Don’t say anything. Let’s just go back to how things were five minutes ago. Wine?” He winked.

Olivia nodded, still reeling from his admission. “Yes, please.”

After enjoying a filling lunch of salmon with mango salsa, exhaustion caught up with her as she lay on the sofa, Cam rubbing her feet. On the TV, The Dude kept shouting that he wasn’t Mr. Lebowksi as Olivia slipped into unconsciousness. Cam gingerly raised himself off the couch, not wanting to wake her up, watching her chest rise and fall in an even pattern. He grabbed a blanket and draped it over her shrunken frame. Placing a gentle kiss on her temple, he whispered, “Sleep well, angel. I love you.”

His heart stopped when Olivia shifted. “I love you, too, Alex.”

Cam shook his head, knowing deep down that Olivia would never get over Alexander enough to pursue any sort of relationship with him, even though his heart yearned for it.

Olivia slept all day and into the night. Cam thought about waking her up so she could eat dinner, but she looked so tired. She had barely stirred all afternoon as she rested on his couch. And, for once, she didn’t wake up screaming every few hours because of the nightmares. No, he’d let her sleep.

When the clock struck midnight and she still hadn’t awoken, Cam gingerly wrapped her in his arms and carried her upstairs to his bedroom, laying her down gently before crawling in next to her. He knew it wasn’t the smartest idea, but he desperately wanted to feel her body in his arms. He wrapped himself around her and fell asleep dreaming about what life would be like if Olivia had never met Alexander.

THE FOLLOWING MORNING, CAM woke up as the sun shined brightly through his bedroom windows. Looking over at Olivia, he smiled as she continued to sleep. He quietly slipped out of the bed, seeing that it was practically noon. He wondered if Olivia was ever going to wake up. Then he thought about her cat. He wasn’t sure how long Olivia would sleep, and he wanted to make sure Nepenthe didn’t starve as she rested in his bed. He secretly loved the sound of that. He found her keys and headed over to her house so he could check on her cat.

Pulling up in front of Olivia’s house, he was surprised to see a rental car parked in her driveway. Grabbing her house keys, he walked up to the front door.

“Hey, buddy. Can I help you with something?” Cam bellowed to a figure slumped over, sitting on her deck and leaning against the railing. The figure jumped, startled, and raised his head to look at Cam. Shit, it’s him.

Pushing past him, Cam walked to the front door, not wanting to look into the face of someone who had damaged Olivia past repair.

“Hey! What are you doing here?!” Alexander roared, following Cam into Olivia’s house, Nepenthe stalking the front door, hissing at both men.

“What am I doing here?!” Cam shouted. “I’m taking care of my fucking friend! That’s what I’m doing. What the fuck are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be off on your honeymoon with your wife?!”

Alexander shuddered at the term.

Cam lowered his voice. “Please. You need to leave her alone. She doesn’t need someone like you in her life.” He walked toward Nepenthe’s food bowls and began filling them up, freshening his water before throwing some cat nip on the ground for him to roll around in.

“You barely know that fucking girl,” Alexander growled. “Who are you to tell me who she needs in her life? What is this? You want her for yourself?”

Cam exhaled, not wanting to tell Alexander what he thought he needed to hear, wondering if Olivia had told anyone about what happened the night she found out that Alexander had gotten engaged.

Lowering his voice, he turned to face Alexander. “Listen, when Olivia first got here, she was so sad. I knew she was depressed. All the signs were there. Then we started to spend some time together, and I got to know her.”

Alexander’s temper flared just thinking about someone else being able to spend time with his Olivia.

“She started to come out of her shell. Then she found out you were dating that girl and she broke down again. And I was stupid enough to give her space. I knew it was the last thing I should have been doing, but I fucked up. I pissed her off and then let her stew. Weeks later, my friend texted me, letting me know about your engagement, and I rushed over here. Olivia didn’t seem to know about it just yet, which was good. So I left her with the promise of coming back in an hour to take her to dinner. When I got here…” Cam trailed off, remembering the scene he saw when he kicked in the door.

“When you got here, what?” Alexander inquired, his voice shaky, unsure of whether he wanted to hear what Cam was about to tell him. He followed Cam’s eyes to Olivia’s front door, noticing the repaired door jam.

“When I got here, I knocked and no one answered.” Cam gulped, remembering the sinking he felt in his chest that night. “So I knocked again, but there was still no answer. Then I heard a scratching.”

“Nepenthe…” Alexander breathed, looking down at the cat.

“I knew something was wrong so I looked into the window…and she was lying on the floor over there, a pill bottle spilled out on the coffee table and an empty liquor bottle next to her. She was unconscious. She had taken four valium and drank far too much liquor…”

“Fuck…”

“If I arrived any later, I wouldn’t have been able to get those pills up. But I did. And then I pushed her out the door, thinking that if your love for her was as strong as it seems hers is for you, then maybe you’d forget about all this bullshit and take her back. It killed me to do it, but I knew she needed the closure at least. But now, I don’t know. She’s just so empty, as if she’s just going through the motions, waiting…”

Alexander sat down on the couch, trying to process everything Cam had told him. Olivia hadn’t mentioned any of that to him. “How is she? I mean now? Is she okay?”