My Sweet Olivia.

My refuge.

This was the shortest flight ever; I got to Richmond in the blink of an eye. Ever since mom died, dad and I have become even closer. Not that I wasn’t close to him while she was alive, but our relationship became unassailable once we only had one another. He really is the best dad in the world. Undoubtedly.

“Hey!” He exclaimed when he settled his eyes on me. He makes me feel like I am the apple of his eye.

“Hi, dad” I responded as I threw myself in his arms. There is no safer place than to be wrapped in his arms. I feel safe, protected, and out of trouble’s reach when he envelops me in a warm hug.

“Hi, sweet girl,” I turned around, and Anne was reaching out with open arms. She has been a huge addition to our family, and I am thankful for her. This is how I know there is a mighty power in heaven.

Mom passed away when I was nine years old. Long QT syndrome took her away when she was only thirty-one years of age. Losing their mother is the worst thing that could ever happen to a girl. My father and I were alone for three years before he met Anne. She and dad couldn’t have a child after they tried for several years, so she took me under her wing as her own daughter.

We have a great relationship. She advocated for me whenever I needed backup, and she helped me convince dad that I would do great if I moved to Alexandria. Being the protective father that he is, he wanted me to stay local and go to school while I lived at home. I love dad, but he can be a little controlling sometimes. I know he means well— just a bit overprotective.

I broke down crying the moment Anne pulled me into a big hug. I choked up. “I knew something was wrong,” dad uttered. He wrapped his arms around Anne and me. I was bawling so loudly that I got the attention of certain curious travelers.

“Let’s go home” whispered Anne. I could not bring myself to answer, so I nodded vigorously.

Dad carried my bag and I walked with Anne to the car. “I caught Noah cheating on me with his receptionist,” I said.

“Bastard,” uttered Anne.

“f*****g son of a b***h,” added my dad.

I imagined they were probably wondering why I was in such emotional turmoil. Now they knew. Dad got in the driver’s seat and Anne sat with me in the back, not letting go of me. Her motherly hugs are amazing.

“Four years to the date,” I told them. “We met four years ago on Thanksgiving,” I cried. I had been planning a special dinner for our four-year anniversary. My sobs echoed in the moving car. I had to collect myself for a moment because I got a text notification.

Amelia: Are you home yet?

But I did not respond. I shoved the phone inside my purse without looking at it for a second time. I was not ready to talk to her, not yet. I had so much inside my chest that needed to come out before I exploded like a f*****g canned soup exposed to really high temperatures. Then, all of a sudden, Anne’s phone started ringing. It had to be Amelia. Anne looked at me and her eyes confirmed my suspicions. I gave her a small nod. “Hi Amelia!” She answered immediately after putting the call on speaker.

“Anne, is Liv home with you already?” she said in a broken voice.

“Yes, sweetie. She will reach out to you when she settles in,” replied Anne.

I blocked the rest of the conversation out of my mind. I know Amelia has nothing to do with this, but the fact that she is now engaged to Noah’s best friend – and that best friend knew about his infidelity and didn’t warn me at all, hurts. It f*****g hurt. I will speak to her, but I have to feel confident that Amelia will keep it to herself. I only saw the bright side of the four best friends dating each other; never in a blue moon had I imagined the conflict it would create in a breakup situation like this.

The airport was only twenty minutes from our house. We arrived in no time. Dad took my bag to my room, and I followed after him. “I will make you some tea” muttered Anne as she let go of my hand. I went upstairs and the first thing I wanted to do was get in the shower. I felt like I was contaminated. Knowing that I had unprotected s*x with Noah at the same time that he was f*****g that other woman made me feel sick to my stomach.

I scrubbed my body until my skin burned. I cried so much while I was under the downrush of the shower. Why would Noah do this to me? He is the first and only man with whom I have ever slept. I did things as he asked. I went where he sent me; everything I ever did, I did it to please him. He controlled most of our relationship.

Screw that!

Fuck you, Noah!

I walked out of the bathroom and Anne was sitting on an accent chair by the window. “Anne, are you still good friends with Dr. Almanor?” I asked. She nodded her head and gave me a small smile that expressed her concern.

“Would you like me to call her first thing in the morning?” she asked. Many things crossed my head, and I had to tell her what was troubling me. “Noah and I always had raw s*x. We never used condoms, and I am losing my mind thinking that he may have exposed me to something.” I cried. “You know, he confessed to having slept with her.” I swallowed hard.

Anne pulled me in for a hug. She took me to see Dr. Almanor four years ago when I started having s*x with Noah. She advised me to get on the pill to prevent an unexpected pregnancy. Of course, Noah and I got tested before we started having raw s*x for the first time. Going back to see Dr. Almanor only added extra pain, but I had to if I wanted my mind to stop throwing curbs at me.

“Sweetie, you need to call Amelia. She keeps texting me.” Spoke Anne.

“Would you stay right here with me?” I asked her. She smiled and kissed my forehead. I lowered my head in her lap and dialed Amelia’s number. I knew I had to explain what had happened. She was like a sister to me after all.

“Liv,” she said with some amusement in her voice. "Thanks for calling me." I narrated everything that happened from the beginning to the part where I threw the watch at Noah. I was hesitating to speak about the part when I slapped her fiancé because I felt betrayed by him too.

“I am so sorry for slapping James” l told her. “I know he is your fiancé, but he was also my friend, and he should have honored our friendship to a certain extent,” I muttered. There was silence on the other side of the line. I went quiet for a quick second, waiting to see if Amelia had disconnected the call. “I know,” she finally spoke, and I heard pain in her words.

“Noah came a couple of minutes after you left. I gave him a piece of me, too,” she chuckled. I knew Noah was going to come looking for me, and he would play the victim card. He was great at it.

“I booked a flight to Atlanta first thing in the morning. When are you coming back?” Amelia asked.

“I only bought a one-way thicket,” I spoke. I was met with silence on the other side of the line once again. “I might need some time off to think about my next step,” I added. There was still silence. “Amelia?” – Did she disconnect the call?

“I’m right here” Amelia muttered. I heard sobs and it broke my heart. “Please promise me that you will come back,” she said. I was confused and hurt— I couldn’t promise anything. “Liv, please promise me that you will never give up on our friendship.” She cried. I understood that she was afraid that I would distance myself from her.

“Are you f*****g kidding me, Meli?” I chuckled. “You are stuck with me forever,” I told her. “I am very angry with James, but you and I go way back to before our boyfriends came into our lives. How can I throw all of that away?” I assured her.

“I love you, Liv” she told me. “I will follow you until the ends of the earth,” she snickered.

“I know, baby. You and me until the ends of the earth. I love you, too,” I told her. And then we both laughed loudly. “Call me when you get to Atlanta,” I told her. We stayed on the phone for a few more minutes, but I changed the subject. I asked her to say hi to her parents and her little sister. She has a fourteen-year-old sister who is crazier than Amelia. I adore them both.

Anne was still playing with my hair after I disconnected the call with my best friend. I turned around to face her, and I smiled. “I am so thankful for you, Anne. I love you,” I told her, and she smiled back.

“I love you too. You need to get some rest. We will have a busy day tomorrow. Goodnight sweetie,” she told me before bending down to kiss my forehead.

“Have a good night, Anne.”

The next day, I woke up to the delicious smell of fresh bacon. I realized I was so hungry because I only had lunch with my co-workers and never got a chance to eat anything for dinner. I only had a coffee while I waited at the airport. Well, I had more than one coffee. It's my addiction.

“Good morning sleepy head,” said my father.

“What are you talking about? It’s only 9:30 a.m.” I said.

“I got you an appointment at 10:45,” spoke Anne. I looked at her and then turned to look at my dad. He gave me a small smile. Did she tell him? s**t, how embarrassing. It was always difficult for me to talk about certain topics with my dad. Thank goodness for Anne.

I felt hungry, but my stomach felt nauseous too and could barely tolerate anything. I only got some hot coffee and sat on the chair next to my dad. I could tell he wanted to say something, but he chose not to let the words out of his mouth. He reached out to me and kissed my temple.

When my appointment came around, I couldn’t control my nerves. Anne literally held my hand throughout the time I sat there waiting for the doctor. I was about to throw up. Once she came, I explained my concerns and asked her to do every test in the book of possibilities.

“I might be exaggerating, Dr. Almanor, but I would rather be safe than sorry,” I told her.

“I like that attitude, Olivia. A lot of the time, girls are embarrassed to talk about the possible dangers and end up rejecting some of the tests. We will do three different tests; I will check for STDs, pregnancy, and HIV,” she told me. I squeezed Anne’s hand. I was in panic mode. Hearing it come from a doctor made it more scary.

“How soon will I be able to get the results?” I asked Dr. Almanor.

“We have our own in-house lab. I will be able to find out the pregnancy results by the end of the day. I will call you tonight since Anne and I are good friends. The other two tests will take a couple of days, and you need to get retested again in three months,” she told me.

“Everything will be okay, sweetie.” Anne reassured me.

My heart was about to come out of my chest throughout the duration of my appointment. My body was trembling, and my hands were cold and sweaty. The doctor did her thing, and soon enough, we were on our way home.

“Can we stop by Wegmans and buy everything we need for tomorrow’s dinner? We can grab a bite and one of your favorite frozen coffees beforehand,” Anne told me.

“Sounds like a great idea,” I responded.

The more I occupied my mind, the less time I would have to think about my situation. I had to pull my head out of the gutter before I ruined everyone’s holiday. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays as a matter of fact. Perhaps I could learn a trick or two in the kitchen if I helped Anne cook tomorrow’s dinner. She is a great cook.

“Is there something you would like me to cook for you, Liv?”

She put a big smile on my face. “Do you think we could bake an apple pie, or would it be too much for you?” I asked.

“Absolutely. We will get all the ingredients, and we will throw some vanilla ice cream in the cart as well. Anything for you, sweetie.”

Some people say that a mother’s love is irreplaceable, no doubt about that. However, the love Anne and I had for each other came close to a mother and daughter's love. This is where I can say that God is real. He took my mom, and I was mad and hurt about that, but he gave me another human being who loved me just as much. Sometimes I wonder if she would have loved me as much if she and dad had ended up having another child of their own.

“Oh boy, how many guests did you and dad invite?” I chuckled. She had bought an assortment of about ten bottles of wine. I have a very small family; maybe they were inviting friends or associates from the firm. Anyway, the point is that I was ready to have a good time with whomever they had invited over.

“Mom and dad will be joining us on Thursday. And so will your uncle John and his family, but Kaily and Jeyren are coming over tomorrow.”

Crap! Kaily and Jeyren Greenfield are the parents to one of my closest high school friend, Juliana; but they are also the parents to one of my ex-boyfriends. “Are Juliana and Justin coming over with them?” I asked.

“Uhm, maybe. I forgot to ask,” she told me.

Justin and I broke up a week before we went away for college. I went to Harding University, and he went to Virginia Tech. We dated for two years, and I couldn’t complain; he was a great boyfriend. We agreed to a friendly break-up because it would have been impossible to stay in a committed relationship from a long distance. He was very respectful and only made it to second base with him; he never pressed me for s*x. Well, intercourse, because we did pleasure ourselves in a different way.

We followed each other on social media, and we remained friends, as we said. He was dating some girl last time I checked his profile, which was a while ago. I was very busy impressing my boss and seeking a promotion at work; and I was also in a relationship with Noah. I had no time to be spying on my ex. As for Juliana, we remained in touch.