With a moan she disappears into the apartment, leaving me standing awkwardly by the door, staring at her incredibly hot roommate. I suppose the fact that she hasn’t slammed the door in my face is a plus.
“I’m Elijah Agnor.” Awkwardly I hold my hand out for her to shake.
“Isabella Henry. Do you want to come in? I don’t know if Olivia wants to speak, but…”
“I just want to offer her something which I hope will make her feel better because she definitely doesn’t seem very happy at the moment.”
“She’s been through a lot,” Isabella says softly with a one shouldered shrug.
Once invited inside, I find Olivia curled up in a ball on some kind of sofa bed situation. Yeah, I don’t think this is the ideal situation for her, after a bad breakup and an accident. Although I imagine it’s pretty nice having such a sweet roommate. One who isveryeasy on the eye…
Notthat I’m here to check out Olivia’s roommate.
Things are bad enough.
“Olivia, your mother only reached out because she thought you might like a vacation. I’m going out to the island next week and I thought you might like to come…”
“Theisland?” she scoffs in utter disbelief. “What the hell are you talking about? You might hob knob it with other rich assholes all day long, but normal people don’t talk like that.”
Ouch. So she’s not impressed by me.
Understandable. I don’t know much about the life she had growing up with June, but I’m guessing it wasn’t one with billions in the bank. But she doesn’t have to hate me for my money, I can use it to help her.
“Right, right. Laucala Island,” I correct myself humbly.
“Oh right sure, that one, of course. How could I be so stupid?” The eye roll is massive.
“So, would you like to come for a few days, or weeks? To recuperate and get away from everything?”
“With you? I don’t think so.”
I catch Isabella’s eyes and I’m pretty sure she can sense how helpless I feel. Dear God, I hope she’s about to help me out here because I’m drowning. Olivia doesn’t want to offer me any kind of lifeboat, and I guess I can’t really blame her.
Why would she? She doesn’t even know me.
“Maybe it’d be good for you.”
Oh!
“Isabella, don’t get in the middle of this. I don’t want to go with Dad…”
“Don’t you think some time away from here and thesituationmight help you out? I don’t know anything about Laucala Island but it sounds exotic. What better way to start feeling like yourself again than to get some sunshine and cocktails? Think about the beaches.”
“Fiji has the best beaches…”
Oops. I was better off just staying silent. Two sets of fierce eyes glaring at me doesn’t feel too good.
I need this to work out though, even more so now that I’m here standing in front of Olivia, realizing what the past took away from me. Things happened, and even if I don’t like them there wasn’t anything that I could do to change what has already gone by. But Icando things better now, if Olivia will let me.
There are so many promises on the tip of my tongue, so many things I want to offer my daughter so she won’t hate me anymore, but I don’t.
I can’t.
Every word that comes out of my mouth seems to make her despise me more. Isabella is doing a much better job at it than I am.
Although I’m not sure that’s the real reason why I can’t take my eyes off of her.
“Next week, you say?” Olivia finally answers. “Maybe I can do that.”