Olivia Jensen is on her way to ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ғᴀsᴛ (sprinted) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2016-11-24 19:00:00 |
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Entry tags: | # 2019 [11] november, nathan posey, olivia jensen |
Who: Olivia Jensen & Nathan Posey
Where: Oval House
When: Thanksgiving (11/8/19), mid-day
What: An argument, maybe. Definitely a discussion.
Even though there were a ton of people in their house for the holiday, somehow there came a moment, during a lull in the late morning while they waited for that turkey to deep fry and all the other food to finish baking, when Olivia found herself alone with Nathan. She knew that things had defrosted between her pseudo-mom and her pseudo-uncle (or since she'd started calling Savannah 'Mom,' should she call him 'Uncle Nathan' now?), but she'd never had any reason to talk to Nathan again after he'd moved out, aside from odd Freenet and Instagram comments here or there -- nor had she actively sought him out. She glanced over at him on the couch, where he sat just two cushions away, then turned her attention back to her phone. Except then he spoke up and said, “Feels like they all cleared out for a reason,” as casually as possible, even though he had noticed some of the not so subtle machination behind leaving him and Liv as the only occupants of the room. As much as Olivia was trying to not talk to him, his words couldn't help but pique her curiosity. Was everyone really conspiring against her, even Savannah and Maizie? "You think so?" she asked, shooting him another brief sideways glance. The rest of her stayed put, though, angled decidedly away from her jerk of an uncle. “You’ll really think they’d let the two of us off the hook for helpin’ otherwise?” He answered with a shrug. Whatever Nathan had done to get the cold shoulder from Olivia was also something that everyone but him was aware of, apparently. He had known that something was up, but pressing Liv to talk about it had seemed like a bad idea. It was pretty obvious to him just in the last few minutes that whatever gut feeling he’d had about being on the outs with his… niece? (He still wasn’t clear on what he should be calling Liv) With Liv, wasn’t just something he’d created in his head. “Seems fishy to me is all.” Nathan shifted on the couch so he was kind of angled towards where Liv was sitting. “Reckon there’s any reason you can think of that they’d do that?” he asked, giving her an out just in case it really wasn’t the time to try and resolve her grievances with him. The question earned another glance from Olivia, this one a little bit longer and a lot more assessing. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she had enough self awareness to know that the two of them not getting along would make things more difficult for Savannah. Especially now that she was dating Nathan's asshole roommate, too. So she decided to cut to the chase, though there was nothing compromising about the way her eyes narrowed as she continued to look at him: "I heard what you said to Savannah the day you moved out. And I don't like when people hurt her." “Oh.” It was too late to backtrack out of the conversation, even if a very small part of Nathan wanted to. The larger, more adult part realized that he owed Olivia an explanation and probably an apology. “I don’t like when people do either,” he hedged. “But I’m not always great at not doin’ it myself.” Except that wasn’t an explanation or an apology. “I was a dick. Savannah said something about,” Nathan’s sentence stuttered, he lowered his voice, “my marriage, and I took it too far.” The argument felt like a lifetime ago, since he’d gone through quarantine, and Paige had shown up again. His failed marriage was exactly something he’d been trying not to think about lately. “Me and Sav have always been good at findin’ each other’s weak points and exploitin’ ‘em. Used to spend most of the time fightin’ each other when we were kids.” Maybe Liv knew that already, he didn’t know. Sighing, he scrubbed a hand over his face and through his hair. “I know it doesn’t mean much now probably, but I’m sorry I said any of it, I didn’t mean it.” Savannah’s relationship with Gray had just been the easiest thing at the time. “My sister’s amazin’, and more than what I accused her of bein’.” He really hoped he was right and the rest of their family and guests clearing out hadn’t been coincidental. “I’m sorry I upset you Liv.” Her eyes had remained on him all the while as he spoke, though she didn't immediately respond even as his words died down. Olivia had never been good at telling the truth from body language and tone of voice, but part of her badly wanted to believe he was lying, that he had meant to hurt Savannah with what he'd said. It was much more complicated to think that they could both get at each other that badly, then find it within themselves to move on. "If it weren't for your sister, half this town wouldn't be alive." It was an exaggeration, maybe, born out of a mix of ignorance at the exact number of survivors who'd been sheltered in the LBJ Library and straight up hero worship, but Olivia didn't care. Hearing Savannah and Nathan scream at each other back in September had hit a nerve, and just thinking about it brought her back to when she'd been younger, hiding in her room while her parents picked and tore each other apart. "I've never met anyone as selfless as she is. Do you know how easy it would've been to just quit after Gray died? She didn't have to run the Library, she didn't have to take Maizie in as her own, she didn't have to do that for me. And I don't --" Her voice had started shaking, so she cut herself off then, unable to even understand the reason why she was tearing up. It was embarrassing. More importantly, though, it was Nathan's fault for putting her in this situation altogether. She tried a glare through her stupid teary eyes, but even she could feel it wasn't all that effective. "I don't want to hear you guys fighting like that ever again, so don't you ever come around here if you're just looking to start more shit." If it had been anyone else sitting across from him Nathan would have tried to console them, but given he was a big reason why she was upset, and even with the lackluster glare there was no mistaking that he wasn’t anywhere near forgiven just yet. “Darlin’,” he began, “I try my damnedest to not let things between me and Sav get that bad.” Nathan wasn’t quite at promising Olivia anything just yet, despite knowing it would have been the easiest way to gain her forgiveness. He realized that he couldn’t treat Maizie and Liv like kids, even if they were still pretty young, and not treating either of them like kids meant being honest with them. “It ain’t like I start shit on purpose. Do y’all got any siblings?” He realized he didn’t know whether she did or not, and waited for her to respond. "No." Olivia managed a laugh, somehow, despite the fact that she wasn't sure what was stronger: the inexplicable urge to make Nathan comfort her while she cried or vomit with humiliation. Ugh, this was why she used to not talk to anyone about anything. "They barely held it together enough to have me in the first place. Siblings were definitely not an option." Nathan nodded at the response, his jaw tensing minutely at the mention of what Liv’s parents were like, but he didn’t say anything about it. “When I was a kid I wished that my parents had stopped at one. But I got Savannah, so… it took ‘til we were adults for me to appreciate havin’ her as a sister. I ain’t ever doubted that she could do anythin’ when she’s got her mind on it,” he continued. “Sav’s a goddamn superwoman sometimes. She’s made it through more than I ever wish she would of had to, and I never wanna lose her for real.” For just a second his mind flashed back to the abject terror and helplessness he’d felt as he watched Savannah get taken away so many months ago. “I don’t always have real fine moments, but despite those shortcomin’s, I’d do anythin’ for her,” he paused because goddamn now his voice was dangerously close to trembly, so he sucked in a steadying breath, gave Liv a small, genuine smile and continued, “for you and Maizie too.” He bit down on another apology before it escaped, hesitant because he wasn’t sure any of what he said sounded genuine to Olivia. She considered this for a moment as her eyes narrowed again, this time focusing on the way he was looking back on her. It was hard to ignore the fact that he seemed just as worked up about this as she did. Belatedly, she realized that Nathan probably hadn't had the easiest last three years, either, getting from out west back home to Texas. And it wasn't like she hadn't ever said shit to Savannah, too, that she regretted with all her heart. "You're not gonna cry, are you?" she asked him, aiming for deflection but the words tore a sob out of her anyway. Still, underneath the tears that were finally falling, she couldn't help but smile. God, emotions were so weird. “You plannin’ on faultin’ me if I do?” It was probably a risk, but Nathan moved closer and put an arm around Liv, pulling her in just a little, but also making it clear that she could shrug him off if she wanted. She didn't, though; there was a tenseness to her, at first, but she leaned in towards him and pressed her cheek against his chest as she shook her head. If asked about it later, she'd claim it was all gravity's fault, but there was nothing automatic about the way she moved one arm around his waist, too, returning the hug. “I’m sorry, kiddo,” he said, and kissed the top of her head, then scanned the end tables for a box of tissues. For Liv, and maybe a little bit for himself if their talk kept going the way it was going. It hadn’t mattered as much before if him and Savannah got into a fight, but he realized now that there were more people their fights affected than just the two of them. Spotting the box he’d been looking for, he reached for it and offered Liv a tissue. “Tell you what, if I go bein’ stupid like that again, y’all got permission to read me the riot act about it,” he told her. “I won’t take it personally. But I don’t want you keepin’ it to yourself, alright?” "Okay." Olivia took the tissue and dabbed at her face with it. She'd already inadvertently wiped off most of her tears and snot on his shirt, but the tissue had been a nice gesture. "But, I mean, it wasn't like I meant to get quarantined like, the day after," she pointed out, her voice still hoarse and halfway muffled by the shirt fabric, but her natural indignance still managed to shine through. "I would've said something if it hadn't been for that." And maybe next time, if something this bad ever happened again, she wouldn't be so numb from the shock of it that she'd fail to say something that very same day. "But I'll keep that in mind." “I”m just sayin’, unexpected circumstances notwithstanding, if I’m somehow bein’ or been a dick, call me on it.” He gave her a quick squeeze, and tried not to focus on the fact that he was going to end up sitting through Thanksgiving with a damp shirt. If that was the cost of repairing things with Liv he’d take it. He’d meant what he said about doing anything for her, and Maizie and Savannah. They were his family. There were more people he could put on that list also, and it still hadn’t ceased to surprise him how it had increased exponentially since he’d found his way back to the city. “Sav never hesitates to do it,” he added with a laugh, and a glance up to see if everyone was still doing their level best to make themselves scarce. “It’s what family does.” He paused for only a fraction before he added, “Love you, kiddo.” And maybe it didn’t come out as easy as when he said it to his sister, but it wasn’t any less sincere. She twisted slightly, aiming a glance up at his face. The angle made it hard to make out his expression, and her first instinct was to question the truthfulness of his statement, but then she bit back her rejoinder and tried to consider this a little more deeply. As much as she didn't want to believe him, the truth of the situation was that she felt a hell of a lot better now that they'd started talking again. In a weird way, maybe she'd actually missed having him around -- and maybe it was nice to know that someone else besides Savannah and Maizie cared about her, too. "I think --" It felt dishonest to repeat it back to him so soon, but she wasn't pulling away, either. Olivia sniffled again, though it was more like the aftershocks of her crying jag, and tilted her head back against his chest again. "I'm getting there. Is that okay?" He laughed. “That’s cool,” he assured her. “Nothin’s sayin’ y’all ever have to get there.” It wasn’t like he’d been expecting anything in return, and he wasn’t going to put some obligation on her. He opened his mouth to say something else, but then Savannah came into the room and interrupted them. The rest of the Thanksgiving guests must have either been eavesdropping (he hoped not), or Savannah had been the only one brave enough to show her face and find out if Nathan and Liv were still at odds. "I mean, I probably --" Olivia jerked upright once Savannah came round the corner, pulling away from Nathan and blushing at the blatant show of familial affection. "Hi. Um, what's up?" Savannah bit at her lip, clearly trying not to let Olivia see the smile that was threatening to take over her face. She’d been quite certain that Nathan and Liv would be chumming up just as soon as pigs learned to fly, but here she was, happily surprised. Knowing that drawing any attention to the situation would only embarrass Liv, and probably send her in some kind of embarrassment spiral, Savannah said, “C’mon you two. I need help settin’ the table.” |