Saturday, July 30, 2011

Chapter 13

Hey!! Just wanted to drop a note to check in and let you all know I've been reading and enjoying all your comments!! The common thread seems to be how much we all hate Andy-Ass... He is pretty shitty, isn't he? :)

Obviously I haven't had a ton of songs attached to the this story, but this is one that I felt was perfect for this chapter... and for Liv and Steven. It's an oldie-but-a-goodie in my book! The accoustic version is what the link is to...


if you'd accept surrender
I'll give up some more
weren't you adored
I cannot be without you
matter of fact
I'm on your back

if you walk out on me
I'm walking after you




Ch. 13



The conversation I had with my mom earlier in the week was a complete disaster.

“Olivia! You have a role to fulfill and you are promised to Andreas.”

“Mother, he abused me so bad that I was put in the hospital.”

“You cheated on him,” she hissed.

“How do you know that?”

“Because he came here as soon as he arrived back home and told us everything.  He also told us how you broke his nose.”

“Lies!” I cried into the phone.  “All lies.”

“Even if they are, you still cannot change your future.  You are his.”

“I’m becoming an U.S. citizen, Mother.  I’m not coming back home.”

“You are better than that,” she spit and hung up the phone on me.

I have to say I was shocked when my father agreed to Skype with me.  However, he probably thought I was confessing that I had been wrong and that I would be coming home.  Honestly, my heart was torn in pieces.  My family’s approval was so important to me.  My heritage was so vital and I knew by becoming an U.S. citizen, I would be going against everything I was ever taught and I would never be able to return home to the family I loved so much and my friends.

“Daughter,” my father said sternly over the computer.

“Hallo, Vater,” I said in our native tongue.

“I see you are making a bigger fuss than what should have been made about your bruises,” he said harshly in English.  I felt Steven fidget next to me, but I just laid a hand on his thigh, warning him to shut his mouth.

“They were a lot worse; I actually had a severe concussion, from which I still have vertigo.”

“Don’t use your big medical terms on me,” he growled.

I just sighed and decided I better turn it over to Steven.  “Father, I have someone here that would like to speak with you.  His name is Steven and he speaks English, so please be polite to him and speak English back to him.”

My father just nodded, obviously annoyed.

“Hallo, Pflazgraf Meier,” Steven said politely.  “My name is Steven Stamkos…”

“Are you the boy my daughter is messing around with?” my father blurted out.

“I wouldn’t put it that way, sir.”

“How would you put it then?  Would you rather I just ask if you are fucking my daughter?”

I cringed and heard Lesley take in a sharp breath.

“You have no business being involved with Olivia.  All you do is fill her head with American ideas.  You Americans are all the same,” my father continued, allowing me to realize that Andreas sounded exactly like him. Or maybe it’s the other way around…

Steven cleared his throat and spoke up.  “Sir, I am not American.  I am Canadian and there is a big difference.”

Of course my father just scoffed at this.

“I have an offer to make you.  If we promise not to press charges on Andreas, will you allow Olivia to stay here in the States and live her life the way she pleases?”

Again my father laughed evilly, causing me to shutter at his harshness.  “You wouldn’t be able to afford to fight this in the courts.”

“Ah, that is where you are wrong.  I think our salaries are evenly matched; I make a few million in just endorsements.  I will be able to hire the best.”  This was absolutely the first time I had ever heard of Steven talk about money.  He was never one to flaunt it or use it for power…until now.

The talk of money made my father’s ears perk up.  “Are you threatening to use your money against me?”

“I am.  All I want is your daughter,” Steven said in a grown up voice as he squeezed my hand.  “She deserves the world and I will give it to her.  I’d just rather do it without the hassle of fighting with you, but if I have to, then I will.”

I watched as my father sat back in his seat, obviously a little uncomfortable with someone talking about their feelings, especially when it came to his daughter.  My father never told me he loved me, mainly because I was a girl and basically meant nothing to him.  In truthfulness, I doubt my father even knows the meaning of love.

“For not being American, you sure do have that whole attitude of believing in fairytales Mister Stamkos.”

“This has nothing to do with fairytales.”

“So are you asking me for permission to marry my daughter?”

I sucked in a breath and looked over at Steven who never seemed to be thrown off kilter by the question.  “Yes,” he said solidly.  “I want to marry your daughter, whether it is tomorrow or several years from now, I’m going to marry your daughter.”

“If I give you my permission, you will make sure she never steps foot on my land and promises to never make contact with my family?”

Before Steven could say anything I pushed back in front of the computer and said, “Wait, do not bargain with him like I am not here listening to this!”

My father just crossed his arms and looked into the computer and I could tell that there was no choice because he wouldn’t give me any other options.  It was either go home to Germany and marry Andreas and possibly end up on my death bed within a few weeks or stay here with Steven.  To an outsider it would seem like an easy choice.  To a woman who loved her family and country, it was the hardest decision I ever had to make in a split second.

I took a deep breath and blew it out, willing the tears to stay away until I finished my piece.  “I’m sorry it has to end this way, Daddy.  Even though you have never loved me, I have always loved you.  I just wish you understood what that word meant and that you could have loved my mother the way she should have been loved.  Please tell everyone goodbye for me and as much as I am not a malicious person, I hope my decision haunts you forever.  Know that I have found what I deserve in life in Steven and that I will make the best of the new life God has given me a chance to pursue.  One day I hope to look back at this decision and realize it will probably be the best Christmas gift I have ever been given.”  As soon as the words were out of my mouth I leaned over towards the coffee table and flipped the lap-top closed.





The whole room was silent except for the beating of the 4 hearts that occupied it.  It was the best and worst moment life had dealt me.  I stared straight ahead for a few moments, giving Liv some privacy.  When I looked back over at her, I found a pale faced blonde who was turning a terrible shade of green.  Before I could say anything she was up off the couch and running to the bathroom.  My mom, sister and I just sat still, listening to her puke and cry.

I stood up to go to her when I heard the sink faucet turn on, but I only made it halfway to the her by the time she walked out of the bathroom and the look on her face made me stop in my tracks.

“Nein, I just need some time alone,” she mumbled as she held up her hand to stop me.  “I’m sorry,” she said, turning towards my bedroom and walking towards it, shutting the door behind her.

My heart ached for her because truthfully, I had no clue what she was going through at this moment.  I just knew how thrilled I was about the fact she was going to be here with me forever, but I couldn’t imagine making the decision to never see my family again.  I knew how much they meant to her and I could only imagine begin to visualize how devastated she was from making the decision to walk away.

I walked back out to my living room, plopping down on the couch next to my mom.  I leaned into my mom as she wrapped her arm around me, whispering words of encouragement and love.

“I think I’m going to head over to Downie’s for the rest of the night,” I said, hoarsely after I sat and stared at the TV, not able to concentrate on a damn thing.  What I really needed was to go for a run, but since my best friend was probably sulking about still being laid up, I decided playing video games was probably the next best option.

“Hey buuuuudddy,” Steve chirped as I walked into his place.  “Why do you look like you just lost your favorite stuffed animal?”

I just rolled my eyes and shook my head.  “It all came to a head tonight,” I said as I walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water.

“What did?”

“I talked to Pflazgraf Meier,” I said, leaving the sentence open, looking over at him.

“No shit,” Steve breathed, reaching over me to grab his own bottle of water.  “What happened?”

“Well, basically Olivia is never allowed to go back home and is not allowed to make any contact with her family ever again.”

“Well that’s a good thing right?  That means she can stay here…”

“It is a good thing, but you know how she feels about her family.”

Downie sighed as he hobbled back and flopped down on the couch, grabbing an X-Box controller off the coffee table.  “Yeah, I’m sure she’s devastated.”

I just nodded quietly.

“So why are you over here and not at your place consoling her?” he asked curiously.

“She said she just wanted to be alone for the rest of the night.  She ended up puking in the bathroom after she told her father goodbye and I think she needs time to let things set in and grieve,” I informed him honestly.

“Well, I guess I can understand that.  Your mom and Sarah are still over there, right?”

“Yeah, I just figured some time with my best friend was needed,” I said, regretting the words right after I said them.

Soon his arm was around my neck and he was roughly rubbing my head with his fist.  “Aww, my little buddy.”

“Jesus, Downie!” I growled.  “Can we just play Call of Duty here?!”

He just laughed obnoxiously, let go of my neck and flipped on the TV allowing me to immerse myself in the fantasy land for a while.





I somehow fell asleep.  I’m assuming I was able to fall asleep because my body was just so tired from crying.  When I awoke, I rolled over to see the clock reading 0300hrs.  Stewie had curled up next to me where he had slept every night since we moved into Steven’s place and groaned as I slid past him, placing my feet on the cool carpet.  I grabbed one of Steven’s sweatshirts from his drawer, threw it over my head and padded out to the kitchen for a glass of water to hopefully solve the terrible case of cotton mouth I had accrued.  I was half way out into the semi-dark living room; it was dimly lit by the lights of the Christmas tree in the corner of the room, but I never saw Steven on the couch.

“Liv,” he said hoarsely, causing me to basically jump out of my skin. 

“Sheisse!” I squeaked.

In two steps he was standing in front of me, his hard, warm body just inches away from mine as he looked down at me with a worried face.  His hair was tousled in that sexy, no sleep way. He was wearing just a pair of boxers and a t-shirt; the scent of him comforted me.  “I didn’t mean to scare you, love.”

I looked up and just stared at him for a moment.  He must have known my tears were coming because he suddenly reached out and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against him so that I could sob into his chest.

“Sssh,” he cooed.  “I promise it will be okay.  I love you and I promise to make everything okay my beautiful.”

“I know it will be okay,” I sniffled in between sobs.  “But ist meine family…und Ich just feel so alone right now,” I continued, mixing my Deutsch and English. 

“But see, that is what you have all wrong.  You have a new family here that is willing to accept you for who you are and already loves you.  We are going to make our own family some day and we are going to be here for each other forever,” he murmured as he soothingly rubbed his hands up and down my back.  “I know this will all take sometime to come to terms with, and I am here for you if you want to cry or scream about it.  That is what a relationship is about, Liv.”

After a moment of silence I mumbled, “How is it that you are only 20 years old but you seem to have the wisdom of an old man?”

I smiled when he laughed his easy laugh and said, “You can thank my mom for that bit of advice.”

We stood there in the glow of the lights, holding onto each other.  I just focused on his breathing and the beating of his heart, enjoying how it relaxed me by just being near him.  After a while he pulled back to my reluctance and took my hand to lead me back to the bedroom.  I crawled back in, over top of Stewie and snuggled myself under the blankets as Steven crawled in beside me.  I sighed happily when he pulled me back against him and wrapped himself around me.  Things weren’t going to be easy, but I knew that I had the perfect partner to help me make it through as his warmth enveloped me.

1 comment:

  1. This was so sad for Olivia. But I'm glad that she is finally free from Andreas! Everything seems to be falling into place now. I can't wait for the next chapter!

    ReplyDelete