Read Olivia for Free Online Page A

doorman, having planned on his absence next
week.
    “ I am, to visit my parents,” he
says.
    “ Well, I hope you have a wonderful
time,” I tell him, “and a safe trip.” I genuinely do hope that, but
only I know I’m asking for purely selfish reasons.
    “ Thank you for remembering, Miss
Holland. I will see you in two weeks.”
    “ Goodbye, Francisco!”
    Now taking a seat next to my mom, I realize
everything is working out as planned. Mom won’t be able to come to
the loft because Dad has a surprise for her, a weekend getaway to
our lake house with my brother. He’d wanted me to go, but I
didn’t want to be faced with visiting the place that used to
inspire me the most, creatively, only to have the same mental block
there that I have here. And I didn’t want the plethora of questions
I knew my dad would ask because of that. After I told him my friend
Camille invited me to stay with her next Saturday night, he finally
accepted that I wouldn’t be joining them.
    Mom takes me to the loft every week with the hopes
that I will paint there. I have every intention to, too. I psych
myself up every Saturday morning over breakfast while Mom opens the
Art Room and gets the instructor settled in for the day. That used
to be Granna’s job. Mom had taken on most of her work, in light of
what had happened. She always had a plethora of energy, but these
days, I can tell that her impossible schedule is wearing her out. I
know she likes our Saturdays at the loft because it gives her some
quiet time to work, or read, or do whatever she wants to do.

    Later in the day, Jon’s waiting at the curb for me
when I pull up. I’m thankful he is, too. The written instructions
to his dorm were confusing, but the drawing he’d emailed to me
somehow led me right to him–which doesn’t surprise me, with his
meticulous illustration that has Jon written all over it. Seeing me
dangling the loft key with a wide grin, he opens my door after I
put the car in park and leave it idling.
    I get out and try to hug him, but his squeeze is
quick. “Let’s get out of here,” he says as he holds my hand and
leads me to the passenger side of the car. I glance around
cautiously after I sit down and buckle up, seeing two guys pointing
their phones in our direction.
    “ Do you know them?” I ask Jon when
he gets behind the wheel.
    “ Ben Shuman and Trek Hollis... two
of my roommates.”
    “ How many do you have?” I
ask.
    “ Three.”
    “ Wait–Trek as in Star?”
    He chuckles. “Yes.”
    “ Who’s the third
roommate?”
    “ Fred Wharrington. He seems normal,
and although he knows who you are, he didn’t seem to care. The
other two, though... I kind of wish I hadn’t stuck your picture by
my bed.”
    “ Awww,” I say. “You hung up my
picture?”
    “ I did,” he says as he pulls into
the street. “Hollis and Shu didn’t realize we were dating at first.
They just thought I had a picture of Jack Holland’s jailbait
daughter hanging for... well, for purposes I’d rather not
say.”
    “ And so you told them?”
    “ They’re my roommates,” he says,
glancing at me, looking unsure. “I just assumed they’d find out
sooner or later.”
    “ No, it’s fine,” I assure him.
“What will they do with the pictures they just took?”
    At a red light, he narrows his eyes and crinkles his
nose. “I’ll ask them to delete them when I get home tonight. Yeah,
I don’t know what the purpose of that was. But that’s why I wanted
to hurry and leave.”
    “ You were in a hurry,” I say, leaning over the console and putting my hand on
his thigh. Taking both hands off the wheel, he puts them on my
cheeks and kisses me. “That’s better,” I tell him with a
smile.
    “ What movie did you find?” he asks
when the light changes.
    “ Framed by the Night,” I tell
him.
    “ Good one. It had the worst opening
all year.”
    “ So I read.”
    “ You did your homework!”
    “ I know the requirements! We’ve
been doing this all