Midnight Daffodil (Poisonous Petals #1)

Chapter 23Olivia

twenty-three

OLIVIA

M y eyes burned as the sunlight stung them. I pried them open sleepily and stretched. Then, I felt my heated blanket over me. Warmth radiated through the soft material, indicating Matt had just left for work. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and examined the empty room around me.

I shot up out of bed.

Today was the day.

The familiar body ache that radiated from all the pain I’d carried for five years finally ceased to a dull twinge—time to go.

I stumbled out of the covers, my ankles tangled in the loose sheet I slept under, nearly falling onto the floor. I hurried out of the bedroom after quickly noticing Matt wasn’t there showering. I moved through the rest of the place quietly and found no one.

I was alone.

My heart thundered in my chest so loudly that I questioned if it was coming from me or if it was storming. I grabbed the last tote of my things, fought to close it, and threw Matt’s black card on the kitchen island. I slipped on a pair of Converse shoes and grabbed my shiny pink puffer jacket. I took my keyring out and looked down at the charm that held a picture of Matt and me from college.

We were smiling, the expensive restaurant enveloping us in a dimly lit room. Before Matt was so angry. Before he was rich. We each had a dot of cake on our noses. I smiled wide with my arms around him, his hands pulling me close by my waist, both of us beaming as the waitress snapped the photo, flash blinding us.

Tears pricked my vision. I wasted so much time locked in the mental prison known as Matt's heart.

It was time to go. For good.

I opened the door to the hallway with my bag held high on my shoulder. I imagined Matt staring down at me with a shit eating I told you so grin. But there was nothing.

Just a brightly lit hallway.

My hand shook on the knob as I stepped through the threshold. The click of the door closing and locking behind me nearly made me drop my stuff. I slapped a hand over my mouth; it trembled against my jaw, my pulse throbbed in the base of my throat so hard I felt like I could taste it.

I peered down the hall and saw nothing and no one. I could hear the blood roaring in my ears as I approached the elevator. The phone from Vera chimed; I guess I didn’t have to call it that anymore, I thought as I looked down at my phone. I had a text from Luke.

Him: just got off my shift, thinking about how sweet it would be to come home to you, angel.

Thoughts of morning, afternoon, and night sex flooded my mind. Withdraws from Luke’s touch traced my skin, leaving me needy for him. He knew his way around my body like he had done it a million times before. Like we were made for each other.

The elevator opened, and I stepped into it, hitting the lobby floor for the last time. Any other time, the elevator moved in slow motion, but this trip down lasted one second, barreling toward the ground floor. As if the building was eager to get me out.

“Ma’am.” A familiar gruff voice spoke.

The doorman stood out of sight of the public. His gaze lingered, his brow furrowed with his head tilted to the side.

“I’m leaving,” I said, eyes flicking toward my huge bag.

“You aren’t coming back.”

I nodded. I was never coming back.

I looked down at my phone and ordered the Uber, making sure I hit cash payment at the checkout. A black sedan with a female driver would arrive in five minutes to pick me up.

“Good,” he said as he extended his hand out to me.

It took me a moment before deciding it was safe to take it; he gave it a small squeeze before speaking so softly I thought I’d imagined it. “Stay safe.”

His lips barely moved. Matt and I weren’t the most interesting tenants, but it still meant a lot to me that through all this time, someone had seen me. Someone had noticed Olivia and knew that she wasn’t okay.

“I will. Thank you for everything,” I said before rushing out the door as a dark sedan with even darker windows pulled up in front of the building.

The passenger side window rolled down, and a deep complexioned woman smiled back at me. Her mulberry colored, thick rimmed glasses with the chain attached reminded me of my own mother.

“Hi baby, are you Olivia?” Her southern drawl reminiscent of Luke’s.

“Yes, um, hi, are you my Uber?”

She nodded, smiling; she put the car in park and put her flashers on. She hobbled out of the vehicle. “Let me help you with these here bags, baby.”

Her dark, pixie style curls bounced around her face as she silently helped me with my things. She tugged her purple sweater down as the trunk slammed shut.

“There we go; you can get settled in the backseat. There’s water and goldfish packs for you if you’re thirsty or need a snack.” My mind played an image of my mom as I stared at the driver.

I hadn’t seen her in years.

I just nodded; my lungs felt like they were full of mud. The stabbing sensation with each breath grew more prominent. I climbed into the backseat, taking the water and snacks to occupy my hands.

She moved the car into gear, and I studied the building for the last time. The doorman watched me, his eyes fixed on the sedan. He bid us adieu with a final nod of his head. I lifted my hand to wave ever so slightly.

As I took a deep breath, I realized my life wouldn’t be the same. The tears came on fast and heavily, berating my face in a torrential downpour of relief and sadness.

“Oh, sweetheart.” Her soothing tone was meant to be a balm but furthered the emptiness I felt within.

Crying uncontrollably, I turned into a sniveling mess of goldfish and water spilling into her car’s cloth interior. “I’m so sorry,” I muttered between sobs that shook my entire body.

The car continued its trek across town to the other side of Seattle, carrying me further from the life I shared with Matt. I planned to stay the night at an almost three-star hotel near a few restaurants. The car slowed to a stop in front of the fast food place.

“Do you have someone you can call, baby?” Her southern accent comforted me more than she could ever understand.

Pain radiated through my torso with every inhale. I gasped for my breath as if I were being suffocated; I wanted someone to hold me and tell me everything was going to be okay.

I had no one.