Confessions and Olivia (Olivia #2) (38 page)

I take my key out of my bag put it into the lock but it doesn’t budge. I frown in confusion and try again. “He’s changed the locks.” Calvin tells me on my second go.

He has kept my mom locked inside?

“Mom!” I scream by this point as Elise starts banging on the door. A few moments pass and I hear my mom’s voice. My whole body sag’s out of liberation. She’s here. Thank god. Thank god.

“Olivia. The door is locked from the inside.”

My voice is desperate when I shout back. “You can’t get out at all? He’s locked you in?”

“Bastard.” Elise hisses.

Before my mom has chance to answer, Calvin walks back, then does a small run into the door. It only takes him two tries until he’s broken it down. Calvin moves the door aside allowing me and Elise to run in. We find my mom siting on the stairs. I quickly check her over. She’s in a plum velour tracksuit, she looks like she’s lost weight. Her makeup free face is pale, blotchy and her eyes are red and puffy.

She runs towards me when she sees me and goes into floods of tears.

“Olivia honey. You’re Okay! You’re Okay!”

The relief she speaks with is heart wrenching. Did she think something had happened to me?

My mom sobbing like she is sets me off. She has never openly cried. She has always wiped tears away and composed herself if she is upset, but this time, she lets it all out.

“I’m here mom. I’m fine.” I hold on to her as tight as she is holding on to me. She kisses my head several times holding my face between her palms to check me over.

“Thank goodness. Olivia, I have died a thousand deaths worrying about you. I’m so, so sorry I didn’t listen to you. What kind of mother am I? I’m a disgrace!”

I lift my head o
ff her shoulder, disagreeing with her. “No mom. Don’t say that. You didn’t no. I know how controlling he can be. It’s not your fault.”

My mom won’t have it. She continues to be hard on herself. “Of course it is, I should have listened to you. I should never have trusted that man against my own daughter. I should have been there for you Olivia but I wasn’t. I let that man turn me against you. How could I do that?”

“Because he is good at making people do things they don’t want to, mom. He has done it his whole life. Not just to you but with everyone. You couldn’t see it at the time because he gets inside your head so much that you actually believe what he’s telling you is the right thing to do.”

She closes her eyes briefly then looks up at the ceiling. “I will never forgive myself for what I have done to you.”

“Mom, you haven’t done anything. Everything that has happened is down to that man. Not you. Not me. Him!”

She looks past my shoulder wiping her eyes. She spots Elise who’s crying silently watching me and my mom reunite. Then she rushes over to her and hugs her tightly. “I’m sorry Elise, I'm so sorry.”

“Shh,” Elise comforts my mom. “This isn’t your fault.”

I turn around to see Calvin stood behind us. Giving us space but watching us intently. My mom walks towards him surprising us. She takes him into her arms. His arms stiffen to his side, not quite knowing what to do, but then he eventually places his hands around her back. “I am forever indebted to you Calvin. You have taken care of my daughter. Kept her out of harm’s way. You have protected her and you will never realize how grateful I am to you for doing that.”

She steps out of Calvin’s arms. His eyes flutter from hers to mine then back again.

“I will always protect her Ronnie. You don’t have to bless with me gratitude. I love her and I will forever keep her from harm.”

My mom kisses Calvin on his cheek and continues to say sorry. “I’m sorry for the way I treated you. I now see what my daughter has always seen in you. Your kind and courageous and selfless. And obviously gorgeous,”

I cringe at that and so does Elise.

“Mauricio would tell me how bad you were for her. Olivia was acting so out of character so I believed what he said. I believed that it was you taking over influence of my daughter. It’s only now I realize she was acting that way because of that bastard. And because I was taking his side.”

Calvin places a support
ive hand on her shoulder. “Honestly, it doesn’t matter. Don’t feel obligated to explain yourself to me. I’m as much to blame in all of this.”

My mom looks to where Calvin’s hand
is and rest's her hand over his. “But I have a lot of explaining to do.”

“So does everyone mom, but right now. We need to go. Wait, where is Sophia?”

“I was about to ask the same thing.” Elise frowns looking ready for a fight.

If she was here she would be here talking with us right now. That’s strange.

The resentment that suddenly fills my mom’s eyes tells me there has been a previous conflict.

“That bitch, she’s left. She left for Italy. Orders from her father. Good thing and all, if Elise had got to her first she wouldn’t have had a chance to leave.”

“She’s done what!” Elise growls in disgust.
I retreat a little with a frown. “What do you mean? Did you have some sort of argument?”
I hope with everything that they haven’t. They were meant to be looking out for each other.

My mom sigh
s as she moves her jaw in anger. “She took her father’s side. Of course she did. They’re the apple of each other’s eyes. She told me I was ungrateful. Called me a whore. Said that Mauricio should have left us in the run down hostel where we belonged.”

“What?” I can’t ignore the stab of pain that this is causing but I try to ignore the fact that Sophia would say such things.

Who am I kidding? Of course she would. It doesn’t mean that it makes it any better to digest. She was a sister to me. How she could betray us like this?

“Olivia, don’t look so shocked. That girl is a selfish bitch who doesn’t care about anybody. She wana hope I don’t see her anytime soon.”

“She said I was a disgrace,” my mom adds supported by Elise. “Said that I would still be a stripper who lived with an alcoholic, who didn’t care for his child, if it wasn’t for Mauricio.”

My eyes dart open in shock.
“You were a stripper?”

She nods her head in shame. “Yes. That’s how we met.”

I look over at Calvin quickly who seems to be smirking at my horrified face.

My mom was a stripper? Oh G
od, that is not an image I would like to have in my mind.

I shake my head, eliminating the thought. “R
ight. We can talk later mom, right now we need to leave.”

“I already have bags packed,
Olivia.”

“Okay. Right, the police followed us down. They are outside. We have protection mom. They’re going to take us to a safe house until Mauricio is behind bars.”

Calvin takes my mom bags from her and is about to walk out of the house when we hear two noises that force us to freeze.

“Was that… gun shots?” I turn to my mom who face has turned white. Elise stays where she is daring not to move.

Calvin drops the bags where he stands and marches towards us, the fury on his face puts me in state of complete distress. “Yes. I think they’ve found us.”

“So that was the police that shot?” Elise asks hoping for the best.

Calvin shakes his head confirming the worst. “The police are dead.”

He pushes us towards the kitchen frantically. “Have you someplace you can hide?”

My heart lurches into my mouth. Hide?

“They are coming to get us aren’t they? They’re outside?” Calvin ignores my whimpering and asks my mom again where he can hide us.

“The basement. We can hide in there.”

My mom leads the way down to the basement. Calvin grabs hold of my hand, he has to literally pull me along. My legs feel like I have no bones left in them. My skin has turned colorless. My heart is pounding out of my chest and pulsing through my ear drums.

When we get to the basement my mom finds a hiding space in the corner. The basement is huge with a snooker table inside and other stored items.

Calvin crouches down to speak to me. “Stay here Okay. I’ll stall them. It won’t be long until more police arrive. I won’t let them come down here.”
I begin crying hysterically pulling on Calvin’s arm. “No. You can’t go up there. They will kill you on the spot. Calvin, stay here. Please.” I beg him while my mom and Elise try to comfort me.

“If I say here, they will come looking for us. At least I can spare you some time.”

“And what about you? Just wait here until the police come. Please.”

I’m fighting a losing battle. He has his mind set. Calvin bends down to kiss my quivering lips.

“I’ll be fine. I love you.” He wipes the tears away from my cheek and stands.

As he turns to leave we hear the basement door opening s
lowly. It creeks, it always has, but for some reason the creek seems to be a hundred decibels higher. My mom and I gasp out of fear. Elise holds onto my hand tightly putting her finger up to her lips for us to stay quiet.

We can’t see the door from where we are but we know someone is coming. I hold my hand over my mouth to try and suppress my sobs and pray that it is the police. My mom and Elise stay composed, scared nether the less but composed. Calvin stands in front of us with a stiff back, his fists clenched like he’s protecting his young.

Fuck. What are we going to do?

I hear his voice before I see him. It sends ice cold shivers directly down my spine paralyzing me.

“Well, what do we have here?”

I hear his haunting footsteps before Mauricio comes into view. My heart sinks to the pit of my stomach. My body doesn’t go into fight or flight mode. I’m immobilized. Stu
nned into a senseless state of fear.

As soon as I see his face, it feels like I’m seeing the real him for the first time in my life. The real sardonic face of Mauricio Fahoney.

His eyes wonder slowly over all four of us. They slightly open wide when he spots Elise but he has wry smirk on his face when he sees me and my mom, but it drops when he gets to Calvin. Mauricio’s bristling glare towards Calvin takes my body out of its paralyzed state. My body seems to suddenly take over and I stand quickly to be by Calvin’s side. Mauricio’s eyes flash towards mine.

“You think you can protect him Olivia? You had your chance. You blew it. Maybe you don’t love
him as much as you think you do. You went back on your word you lying bitch.”

Calvin pushes me behind him with his arm to Mauricio’s amusement. He speaks with mockery oozes from him tone. “You want to protect your little Olivia do you? What about your brother?” Calvin inhales
sharply while his fists tighten.

“You didn’t go a great job of that one did you?”

Without warning Calvin launches himself at Mauricio. I immediately gasp. I think Elise notices I’m about run towards him so she pulls me back.

“Olivia, no!”

Calvin punches him hard in his face but Mauricio doesn’t stumble like most men would. Calvin isn’t done yet though but Mauricio lifts his own arm up to punch Calvin catching him in the jaw. I hear something crack as Mauricio grapples with Calvin and begins punching him in the ribs. I wince at every single blow he gives him.

Calvin wraps his arms around Mauricio’s
waist and violently tackles him to the ground. He pins him down and starts laying punch after punch into his face. There is blood everyone. I’m screaming while Elise holds me back, my mom’s crying, Mauricio and Calvin are cussing and crashing into everything that’s in sight causing it to crash, the sounds echo around the room making it worse.

I can’t bare this.

I’m in too much of a mess to notice two really large men walk into the basement. It’s only when my mom screams so high pitched making everyone look at her that I notice.

“No!” I run towards them in a panic getting free from Elise. I'm trying with everything I have to push them away but they push me aside aggressively. Mauricio pushes Calvin away from him and swipes his mouth with his wrist to wipe away the blood snarling because he can see the large men walking towards Calvin. The first large bold headed man gets to Calvin first
, but Calvin reacts quickly and head butts him busting his nose. The man doesn’t flinch but laughs and throws his suit jacket off to get ready to take Calvin on. Calvin takes an almighty swing for him but he ducks and takes hold of his right arm while the other man grabs hold of his left.

They steady Calvin with everything they have as he’s doing everything in his power to fight them off. I stand clenching my hand into my mother’s while I watch on sobbing in horror. Elise turns away not be able to watch.

“Give it up Blake. You’re never going to defeat me. I will always win.”

My mouth overtakes me as I try to defend him. I try to divert Mauricio’s attention as he walks towards Calvin malignantly.

“Leave him alone you bastard. You can’t do this to him. Why do you need those fucking pigs to fight for you?”

It works. Mauricio straightens up and turns on his heal to face me. His menacing cruel character holds me in place. His bulging glare is keeping me from moving.