A Beautiful Mess (21 page)

“I don’t care about that, Dad. I need to help her.” Alexander ran down the short hill and stopped at the car. He looked in the back seat and his heart sank. Olivia’s eyes were closed and there was blood everywhere. Then she stirred a little bit.

“Hey, Olibia. We need to get out of here, okay?” Alexander said, unbuckling her seat belt, thinking that it most likely saved her life. He smelled something and knew there was probably a gas leak. He rushed, desperately needing to get her out of the car as his father attempted to help her parents.

“My mama and papa…”

“I know. But this is an emergency and you have to be brave.”

Alexander was able to get Olivia out of the car and quickly ran her to the SUV. He gingerly placed her in the back seat. “I don’t feel so well,” Olivia said.

“I know, sweetheart. We’re going to get you help. We’re going to protect you always, Olibia. Nothing bad will ever happen again. You can trust me.” Then Alexander felt someone approach behind him. He slipped into unconsciousness.

A
LEXANDER
awoke with a start the following morning. He hated reliving that day in his dreams. He wondered if, had they been just a little quicker, maybe the accident never would have happened.

Getting out of bed, Olivia consumed his thoughts.
His Olivia
. He thought about the girl he knew all those years ago. And the girl he had met the previous week. It felt like two different Olivias. But they weren’t. They were the same Olivia, separated by twenty-one years of secrecy.

August twenty-fourth. He hated that day more than anything. He thought it would feel different, knowing that Olivia was, in fact, alive and well. And in his life. But it didn’t. It felt the same.

While he no longer mourned the loss of his best friend all those years ago, he still mourned not knowing Olivia during that time. He mourned not growing up with her. He mourned not being at her side.

He got ready for his day, not wanting to stray from tradition. He contemplated texting Olivia just to say hello, but decided not to. He needed to focus on his day. He made a cup of coffee and went out to the front porch to enjoy a calm minute before the day got away from him. Sitting at a small table on the porch, Alexander looked out over the same river that just the previous night was dark. With the rising of the sun, there was much more activity in the maritime community. He looked at the cemetery across the other side of the riverbank where, if he looked close enough, he could make out his best friend’s grave.

“Alexander! Oh, it is you!” an elderly woman shouted as she walked her dog down the street. He wondered how Runner was getting along with the pet sitter.

“Mrs. Cunningham,” Alexander shouted back, getting up to greet her on the sidewalk. “It’s wonderful to see you.”

“I had a feeling you’d be here this weekend.” She gave Alexander a hug and kissed his cheek.

“Yeah. I’m a creature of habit, what can I say?” Alexander replied sheepishly, the normally confident man nowhere in sight.

“I think it’s sweet you still come and pay your respects all these years later. I know it must be difficult for you. I mean, you and that little Olivia. God, the two of you were inseparable.” She smiled at the memory. “I remember being over your mother’s for tea years ago when she would look after little Olivia for her mama. She couldn’t even walk yet and you would jump into her crib and just lie down next to her and watch her sleep, waiting for her to get up.” A tear started to trickle down Mrs. Cunningham’s cheek. “It was such a tragedy. I didn’t know her parents well, but Olivia… She was too young.” Mrs. Cunningham looked at Alexander, remorse etched across his face. “Well, dear me. I always bring her up. I’m sorry, dear. I’ll be on my way. Stop by later for a cup of tea if you’d like.”

She walked down the street and Alexander remained speechless. It was always so difficult to return to Mystic and see his old family friends who knew both him and Olivia. They would always talk about how lively and spirited of a girl she was and what a tragedy it was to lose her so young. He still had difficulty processing that she wasn’t lost all those years ago. She was hidden.

An hour later, Alexander made his way to the cemetery. He grabbed his cell and noticed he had a missed text from Olivia. He ignored it, not wanting to deal with anything other than what he needed to that day. It was a nice day and he could use the time to think, so he walked the mile across the bridge and toward the old cemetery.

He stopped at a market and picked up two bouquets of roses and one of sunflowers. He walked the rest of the way down Main Street and through the large iron gates of the cemetery before heading down the old dirt path to the DeLuca’s graves set high up on a hill overlooking the river, the sun glimmering on the water creating a serene atmosphere. Placing a bouquet of roses on Olivia’s parents’ graves first, he made his way to Olivia’s grave. He sat down and placed the sunflower bouquet at the gravestone, smiling at how his old friend loved sunflowers.

“Well, another year’s gone by. And I just don’t know what to do. I’m still talking to you like I do every year. But this year, well, I found you. Last week, actually. You’re still alive, Olivia DeLuca. Except your name is now Sarah Olivia Adler. I don’t know what the whole story is and why you were taken from me, but you were. And I’m scared to know the truth, Olibia.

“I love you, ya know. I mean, I love the girl I grew up with all those years ago. And you should see the woman you’ve become. You’re a strong, beautiful, talented, exceptional woman. A woman I’ve always seen myself falling in love with, if you could believe that. Maybe the reason I never settled down before was because, deep down, I knew you were still out there somewhere and my heart was just waiting until I found you.” A smile crept across his face, thinking about the previous morning with Olivia and the things she did to him.

“But, you’re also scared,” he said, returning from his thoughts. “Scared of losing people. You’ve lost so much in your life that now you just push everyone away, afraid that you’ll lose them. And I don’t want you to push me away. I want you to open up to me. I don’t want you to be scared of losing me. I will never leave you. I’ve looked for you my entire life. And now that I know I was right, that you are alive, I will never lose you again.”

Alexander looked down, unsure of what to say next, a gentle breeze rustling through the trees as the horn on the drawbridge sounded in the distance.

“I brought you sunflowers again. You always loved them when we were kids. You used to call them giant daffodils.” He paused briefly, remembering arguing with Olivia when they were younger about the proper name for the flower that now lay in front of her gravestone. “You don’t remember anything about your past,” he said sadly. “You remember some things, but not much. It’s as if you are this totally different person than the girl that I remember. And I know that’s okay. I just wish you would remember, because it’s breaking my heart to know that I’m going to be the one to tell you. To tell you that you were taken from the people that loved you. That you were taken from me. That your entire life has been a lie.”

Alexander looked at the grave, his eyes brimming with tears. “And I don’t know if I’m strong enough to do that.” Taking a deep breath and trying to control his emotions, he stood up and placed his hand on the top of the gravestone. “I love you, Olivia DeLuca.”

He turned to walk away and heard a slow clapping. He looked in the direction of the sound. He should have known.

“Adele. Why am I not surprised to see you here?” He walked toward a tall, thin blonde woman dressed in a short black dress, wearing an over the top black sunhat and dark shades.

“Alexander, darling. So happy to see you. I knew you’d be here.” She walked toward Alexander and gave him a hug, which he returned weakly.

“Well, it’s not that big of a surprise, now is it? I come here every year, don’t I, Adele?” He glared at her.

“I know, darling. I know. Listen, Mummy and Daddy are having a thing today at the country club and I am in desperate need of a date, and I figure since you’re in town and I’m in town, you’d be more than willing to accompany me.”

“Adele, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. If I wanted to, I’d see you in Boston, but I don’t. Plus, I’m seeing someone now. Someone that I actually care about more than just an occasional fuck. Don’t get me wrong, it was fun while it lasted, but I’m not interested anymore.” Alexander started to walk away.

“Come on, Alex. As friends,” she said, running up to catch him, making him turn around. “I know you’re still in love with Olivia even though she’s been dead for like twenty years or something. Anyway, I’m not interested in dating someone who is in love with someone they can never have. No one can ever live up to that pedestal you’ve placed Olivia on.”

“You always have an ulterior motive, so what is it this time, Adele?” He crossed his arms over his chest and Adele visibly gawked at the rather impressive muscles bulging through his simple blue tee shirt.

“No motive, I promise.” She held up her hands in defense. “I just miss my friend. We used to have fun together. Before things got complicated. Let’s just hang out today, as friends, like we used to.” Adele walked up to him and pushed a strand of hair out of his eyes. “I miss the old Alex,” she crooned.

He was torn about what to do. All his thoughts lately had been of Olivia. The girl he once knew and the Olivia he now knew. Maybe some time away from it all was exactly what he needed to clear his head. “Okay,” he exhaled. “I’ll go.”

“Great!” Adele exclaimed, clapping her hands. “There’s a golf tournament that they’re all at now, but want to call it noon? It’s kind of an all day thing and I really didn’t want to go alone. I hate all those pretentious high school bitches who are all married and all they talk about are their kids. If I have to look at one more baby photo and pretend the kid is actually cute, I may lose it, so thank you for doing this.”

Alexander looked at his watch. It was only about ten in the morning. “Okay. I can do noon.”

“Fantastic. Pick me up at my parents’ place, okay?”

“Why don’t you just walk over to my place? It’s only three houses away.”

“Alexander, darling. You can’t honestly expect me to walk to you wearing heels, can you? You’ve been screwing trash for far too long, dear. You need to have higher expectations of the women you fuck.”

“We’re not fucking today, Adele.” Alexander started to walk away. “I’ll pick you up at noon.” It was not worth the fight.

Alexander had known Adele and her family almost his entire life. She was the same age as Alexander and, even at a young age, was jealous of Alexander’s relationship with the young Olivia. He remembered how inconsiderate she had been when she learned that Olivia died.

She wanted to become the new Olivia and had worked hard all during their school years to do so. They had slept together on and off for the past decade or so. She was a distraction, but no emotional attachment ever came of the relationship. Adele had become a means to an end. She was more than willing to give up total control of her body to Alexander, which was what he needed and craved. But since he had met Olivia, he wanted more than just an occasional screw.

Adele’s family came from old money, just like Olivia’s mother. She was used to a certain way of living and refused to settle for anything less than marrying a man who had a heavily padded bank account, even though she also had one without working a day in her life. She was the polar opposite of Olivia, who, even with her wealth, still worked and volunteered her time to valuable causes. Adele preferred spending her time around Boston at night clubs with her friends from Wellesley College. She groaned every time her father insisted she attend one of the many charity events she was expected to be at, but attaching herself to Alexander’s arm for the evening made it more bearable.

Adele quickly followed behind Alexander and jumped in her sporty white convertible, pulling up alongside Alexander. “See you at noon, Alex.” She smirked. “Oh, and Happy Birthday, darling.” She tore down the small dirt path in the cemetery and turned onto the street.

“Stupid bitch,” Alexander murmured.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Mr. Burnham, welcome back,” Mrs. Carlson said when Alexander walked into his house. “Your sister is here, along with your brother. They’re in the study.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Carlson. I’ll be going out in a bit and won’t be around for lunch or dinner, so you’ll only have to worry about Carol or Tyler, if they’ll be around.”

“Yes, sir.”

Alexander made his way into the study.

“Happy Birthday, bro,” Tyler said, walking over to Alexander as he entered the room, giving him a hug.

“Thanks, Ty,” Alexander replied, staring at a younger version of himself. “What are you doing here? I thought you’d be hung-over from the big twenty-one celebration last night.”

Tyler shrugged. “It’s your birthday today. I needed to be here for you. I know how hard this day is for you.” He leaned over and whispered in his ear. “Plus, that fake ID you got for me when I started college has been great. I feel like I’ve been twenty-one for years now.”

Alexander smiled.

“Hey! I heard that!” Carol interjected.

Alexander looked fondly at his sister. “Hey Carol. How’s it going?”

“Good. Good.” She looked hesitant.

“What’s going on? Why are you both here?” While it wasn’t out of the ordinary for Tyler to show up in Mystic that weekend for Alexander’s birthday, Carol normally stayed in Boston in case she was needed for work. Her being in town struck Alexander as odd.

“Umm, well, we need to talk, Alex,” Carol said, looking nervously at Tyler. “I’ve been thinking that with all the new information that has come to light, it might be time to open that letter.”

Alexander stared at his siblings with a wide-eyed look on his face.

“Alex, what are you so worried about? I know Dad sent the letter to you and it’s your decision about whether to open it or not, but come on already!”