Savannah Posey (jurisdoctor) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2016-05-05 09:03:00 |
|
|||
The last time Savannah had met Olivia in the lobby after a trip out in Austin, it'd been after The Incident. It was hard for the scout to not draw parallels between then and now, despite the completely different circumstances. Of course, Los Nopales were involved in both events, like the worst possible common denominator or whatever, but Olivia liked to think that she was stronger now. That she hadn't been totally shaken by not even coming face to face with the cat gang this time. That yelling at Nathan when he'd found her in the Starbucks had been a totally regular thing to do. After assuring Savannah that she was okay and that nothing bad had happened to her, they made their way back up to the Oval Office. True to her word, Maizie was in there, too, instead of at her usual Lending Library shift. Somehow, it surprised Olivia that security restrictions had been put into place given what happened that morning over in West Campus, but it did make perfect sense. "Yeah, I'm kind of hungry," Olivia said as she stepped into the center of the room, carrying on the conversation she and Savannah had been having in the elevator. She reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it off, happy to be back in relative normalcy of their little corner of the LBJ. "Do you want to go get breakfast or something?" Though she was grateful for Olivia’s safety, Savannah was still visibly tense due to the events that had transpired that morning. That water truck was their literal livelihood and she wasn’t sure what they were going to do without it. They’d be fine for the short term, but if a solution wasn’t found in the next couple days… “What? Oh--yeah, we should have somethin’ to eat,” Savannah agreed, sending a slight smile Liv’s way. “I think they made some of those ‘just add water’ biscuits this mornin’ and there should be some left.” Savannah didn’t do it often, but after the morning they’d all had, she totally texted someone in the kitchen and asked them to run food up to the Oval Office. Once that was taken care of, she looked back up between Maizie and Olivia, and asked, “You sure you girls are doin’ okay?” Maizie glanced at Liv, her concern for the other girl written all over her face, but she merely bit her lip and gave a small shrug of her shoulders. It had been scary to think of Liv in danger, but still way less scary than what Liv must have felt herself. Whether they talked about what had happened or not, she knew that it wasn’t her emotions that needed to be at the center of the conversation. "Yeah. I'm fine," Olivia said for probably the fifth time that morning, her voice a little too chill. Her gaze dropped away from both of the blondes, though, as she turned to move behind their divider and rummage for another set of clothes. Better to not have either of them look too closely at her. "I mean, it all worked out, so." Feeling shielded by the minimal distance, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes tight. "Just give me a minute, okay?" “Okay,” Savannah agreed, giving a nervous glance at Maizie. She really hoped this wasn’t going spiral into another era of Liv’s bad mood. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door -- one of the kitchen staff delivering their food -- and after thanking her properly -- Savannah brought their meal to the table. “Food’s here when you’re ready, Liv.” Catching herself in the middle of what must’ve been her third or fourth worried look in the direction of the divider, Maizie hurried over to join Savannah at the table. She settled on one of the cushions and picked up her fork, fiddling with it while they waited for Liv to join them. It didn't take much time; their party of two became three after a few minutes as Liv took a seat next to Maizie. "Thanks for having them bring it up," she said, looking up at Savannah with a small smile. Suddenly, Olivia remembered another time they'd gathered around this table, when her blood pressure had spiked and she'd felt ready to burst. That wasn't going to be how this time was going to go, though. She looked at the plate in front of her and forced her smile to widen. "Oh wow, there's even peanut butter. I knew when Jeremy found those peanuts we could figure out a way to grind them!" Savannah smiled, letting Olivia and Maizie have first dibs on the peanut butter, before spreading some on her own biscuit. They’d run out of Jif and Skippy long ago, but Savannah was proud that the kitchen staff had once again worked miracles to keep them fed. “So I’m glad that Nathan was able to see you back safely,” Savannah said. She was just scratching at the surface of the real situation, what with Nathan telling her that Olivia had given him serious attitude, but she thought it was best to test the waters before she went all in. "Oh, yeah." Olivia shook her head slightly, unconsciously, as the embarrassment and shame she'd felt at his arrival hit her once again. She'd still been crying then, unable to stop even once it was obvious that Los Nopales had left the area, and she couldn't even remember half the things she'd yelled at him. She knew she shouldn't have made that much noise and run the risk of unwanted undead and human attention, but being nearly at the mercy of the gang who'd attacked her had really fucked her up. She swallowed then, eyes dropping down to her biscuit, and made a grimace. "I mean, I could've gotten home if he hadn't come, but." She shrugged a shoulder and reached for one of her biscuit halves, though she made no move to eat it just yet. "Me too, I guess." “Of course you could have.” Maizie reached under the table to gently squeeze Liv’s leg, earning a small smile from her girlfriend. “With those Nopales in the area, though, I'm really glad you waited for him.” It had been a relief for her to know Nathan would be there, anyway, since it wasn't like Maizie could go help Liv herself. Oh, she would have, in a heartbeat, but even if they would've let her, exactly what was she able to do that would have been helpful? It was a troubling thought. So, yeah. Thank goodness for Nathan. Savannah never doubted Olivia’s ability to get home by herself, but given her last encounter with the Nahuales raiders, she didn’t want to risk a repeat. Besides, the fact that Liv had lashed out on her brother just confirmed what Savannah had worried about -- that Olivia had been frightened to be in a position like that again. A silence settled over the room for a few moments as the girls ate, but once Savannah swallowed her bite of food, she said, “Do you think maybe you were a little rude to Nathan because you were scared?” At Savannah’s question, Maizie frowned, her eyes darting to see Liv’s reaction. This was the first she’d heard about something happening with Nathan. "No," Olivia said immediately, her mouth settling into a stubborn pout as her eyes narrowed in response to the sudden scrutiny. She glanced sideways, meeting Maizie's eyes in an attempt to silently apologize for keeping her out of the loop. There just hadn't been time or privacy before Savannah had sprung this on her. "I mean…." Her eyes dropped down to her plate as a blush rose in her cheeks. God, she didn't want to talk about this, but the look on Savannah's face when she glanced back up at her made it clear she wasn't going to drop the subject. Deep down, Olivia knew she'd been both scared and rude, but admitting that out loud was something else altogether. "I just didn't want him to be there," she said then with a frown. Savannah frowned as well, watching the emotions flicker across Olivia’s face. She could understand that people acted in all kinds of regrettable ways due to fear or insecurity, but that didn’t make it a valid justification. Everyone had challenges, even more so these days, and the only they could control was how they treated one another in these difficult times. “So that made it okay for you to speak to him like that?” Savannah asked, her mouth still turned downward, but not quite as severely. Liv was just a scared kid, but she still needed to be held accountable for her actions and learn from these experiences. Especially if she expected to continue living in the Oval Office. "No," Olivia repeated after a long pause, though this time she knew it was the answer Savannah wanted -- and the truth. She bit her lip hard, her eyes down on the table. Over the last couple of months, Savannah had gone from being one of her friends and equals to this uneven, almost-parental relationship. She cherished the newfound closeness deep down, but disliked the way that it meant that Savannah could tell her what to do. "He didn't need to come get me. I mean -- I'm not mad he did, I guess, I just. He didn't need to." Stricken, Maizie’s eyes flickered between Savannah and Liv. Should she really be witnessing this discussion? It seemed kind of private, especially since Savannah was getting after Liv for … well, she still wasn't really sure what had been said to Nathan. But they'd started talking in front of her and it wasn't like she could just get up and leave now. Not only would it be disloyal to Liv, but it would be super awkward as well. So Maizie just sat there, listening, her expression clearly broadcasting her confusion and her discomfort. “We all know that you could’ve gotten home on your own, Olivia. I know you’re physically capable, but I was worried about you. What if they’d been more of those raiders in the area and you ran into them when you were alone? If you’re gonna be mad at anyone, it should be at me because I’m the one who sent him.” 'I'm not mad at anyone." If anything, Olivia was mad at herself for getting so worked up about it earlier, enough for her to have even made a scene in front of Nathan in the first place. When she spoke again, her voice was thick. "I'm not mad at you, so." Savannah sighed, running her fingers through her hair with frustration. This wasn’t nearly as bad as how Olivia had behaved when she first got her cast on, but she thought they’d learned something from that experience. Apparently not. “I care about you and so does Nathan, even if he hasn’t known you that long. But that doesn’t mean you can project your frustration onto us. You should apologize to him.” Olivia looked sharply up at Savannah, though the expression was tempered by the tears in her eyes. It wasn't a secret to anyone that she and Nathan sometimes didn't see eye to eye, and the notion that he cared about her seemed false to her ears. She couldn't stand the way Savannah was looking back at her, though, so she nodded in surrender. "Okay." Savannah’s gaze softened at the tears welling in Liv’s eyes. She hadn’t meant to make her cry. “I just don’t get why you didn’t want him there so bad. He was just tryin’ to help. You’re both a part of this family. It’s what we do for each other.” "I don't know." Olivia took a deep breath, blinking rapidly as she tried hard to not let the tears fall. "I was just. Being dumb." She glanced over at Maizie, wondering if she understood; she'd told Maizie over text how scared she'd been, how she didn't want Nathan to come. Did Maizie think she was being ridiculous? Did Savannah? Nathan did, probably, all things considered. With a sympathetic look, Maizie reached over to grip Liv’s hand. To have been in such a horrible position, trapped just feet away from men exactly like the ones that had hurt her so badly, must have been a nightmare. If she'd lashed out after -- Well, Maizie thought it was completely understandable. Probably she would have done something similar. Olivia swallowed hard, forcing a sharp exhale. "I was kind of a mess. When he got there. I was embarrassed, I guess. I barely know him and --" Olivia had never claimed to do a good job of vulnerability, but this moment was particularly challenging. She couldn't just ignore what Savannah had said, though, so after a long pause, fraught with the possibility of more embarrassing tears, she added, "You guys are my family, too. So I'm sorry, okay?" Savannah blinked rapidly, willing away the tears welling up. It was so damn frustrating how Liv could act out even while she knew how much Liv cared about them. Even with the bad moods and Liv pushing them away, they really were a family. “I know, honey. We were just so worried about you and--you know that I love you, don’t you? Maybe we both overreacted a bit, but it’s been a stressful day. Let’s just try harder next time, okay?” "Okay." Olivia sniffled then -- it sounded way too obvious and emotional to her ears, so she tried to cover it up by clearing her throat -- and risked a glance at Maizie, first, then Savannah. The embarrassment-turned anger she'd felt so strongly earlier hadn't yet faded away, but it was lessening the longer they sat together. With a deep breath, she added, "And I, you know." God, why did reciprocating feel like the hardest part of her morning, all of a sudden? "I love you too." The words came out in a rush, but they were there, out in the open, and she couldn't take them back. The urge to make a face and play it off was strong, but she forced herself to ignore it. Though she was trying hard to hide her discomfort, Maizie knew just how hard this conversation had been for Liv. She was so proud, not only of Liv but of their whole Oval Office family. They’d been through so much since the end of last summer. Smaller without Dad but bigger now that Nathan had joined them, through hardship and sorrow and things that would have broken bonds that were less strong -- all of a sudden found herself getting choked up too. With a glance over at Savannah, making sure she knew this was for her as much as Liv, Maizie echoed, “I love you too.” Under the table, her hand squeezed Liv’s again. |