The Proverbial Mr. Universe (36 page)

J
ust like Olivia imagined would happened, happened. She left Nick for a moment to help her mother bring out the birthday cake. There was a sound of a woman’s voice screeching and coming from the garage. When she got there, she found Dario in the garage with a bloody nose and Nick was nowhere to be found. Nina told her that not long after they walked in the garage Dario followed them. He continued to provoke Nick and that was when he said Olivia had kissed him.

“You!” She pointed her finger at Dario and walked closer. “You know that’s a total lie! You’re the one who kissed me.”

“I told you the guy is fuckin’ crazy, Olivia,” Dario said.

“Ouch!” Dario yelped when Nina roughly placed the ice pack to his face. He scowled at her, and Nina just shrugged.

“Dario, you manage to ruin everything for me … my life and my self-esteem. You manipulated me, kept me from things I love. You twisted everything for your own gain.”

She looked at him and with all the rage she had inside. Olivia realized it wasn’t worth it. After all these months, she was finally able to move on. She was ready to say the words.

“I forgive you for the shitty things you’ve ever said or done. I forgive you for cheating on me. I’m granting you my forgiveness but it’s not for you. It’s for me, because if I don’t you’ll always exist in this space in my life and I need the room for better things.”

Dario’s eyes diverted to his shoes, Olivia was so caught up in her emotions that she didn’t hear anyone coming in.

“Dario, you need to leave,” a deep voice came from behind her. Olivia turned to see her father. “You’re not welcome here anymore.”

O
livia went to Nick’s apartment, but when there was no answer she decided to go down to his studio. Dan, who was coming out of the door, met her in the hallway. He closed the door behind him, muffling the ear-splitting music.

He gave her a grim smile. “Trust me, you don’t want to go in.”

“He’s upset?”

“That’s putting it mildly.” He paused. “Look, he didn’t tell me what happened between you two, but I know my brother well enough to tell you to just give him room to cool off, okay?”

Olivia waited until he was out of her sight before going in. She couldn’t wait any longer without talking to Nick.

After the party ended and everyone had gone home, she found herself alone in her parents’ backyard, looking at her phone and trying to decide if she should call him, but she didn’t know what to say. Olivia decided to give him some space, but somewhere deep inside she had hoped that he was going to call her at some point.

He never did.

This morning she went from disappointment to anger for the way he had acted. After all, she didn’t do anything wrong. Nick, of all people, should have known that.

She opened the door, walking into the blaring music. Nick had his back to her, mixing his paint colors. Without even seeing his face she could tell by his stiff, rigid posture that he wasn’t happy. She reached over to the radio to press the off button.

“Dan, I thought I told you to leave me the fuck alone.” Nick turned. His icy eyes softened as she took him by surprise. “What are you doing here?” Nick said in a melancholy voice.

“I wanted to talk.”

He shook his head, focusing his eyes on his hands as he cleaned them with a rag. “Sorry, Olivia, but I don’t feel like talking right now.”

“But I do. I want to talk about what happened last night.”

“Please, Olivia, just go home,” he pleaded.

“No, just listen to me for a minute.”

She got startled when Nick swiped everything off his work table, causing each item to crash on the floor. The paint he was mixing just moments before was now splattered all over the concrete floor, adding to the mess of empty paint bottles and dirty rags.

This was the first time she witnessed Nick’s aggressive behavior. He didn’t scare her because she knew he would never hurt her, but she knew way too well that this kind of aggression always led to violence. But Nick wasn’t Dario, which she had to keep telling herself. Nick was acting out from being hurt. Dario would act out because he wanted control. She could imagine how Dario must have weaved the story to him, making it more than it was.

If only he would allow her to explain, then everything would make sense to him.

“Is it true? Did you kiss him?” he asked in a softer tone, getting closer to her but not close enough to touch her.

“He kissed me.”

He walked away from her and kicked the trashcan to the other far side of the room.

“Last week I was supposed to have lunch with my dad. He never showed up and I got worried so Dario help me track him down.”

“Of course he did,” he said dryly.

“I don’t know what Dario told you, but I didn’t do anything wrong. The kiss was unexpected and it meant nothing to me. I made it clear to him I never want it to happen again,” she said.

He studied her for a moment. “Did he try to do anything else?”

“No.”

“Did he do anything to hurt you in any way? Because if he did …”

“No, no of course not.”

“I just don’t understand why you didn’t fuckin’ call me instead.”

“Your right, I should have. I had no business being with Dario that day. The only reason I called him was because I thought they were together.” She paused. “I didn’t tell you because I thought it wasn’t worth you getting upset over. You have to understand that. It’s the only reason I kept it a secret from you.”

“Well, I’m upset just the same. You know you can come to me for anything?”

Olivia felt something else in that question. “Yes, I know.”

“Shit, I ruined your father’s birthday party. I feel like such an asshole.” He placed his hand on his face. “It was exactly what Dario wanted, and I played right into it. I let him get under my skin. I should have just walked away … I just couldn’t let him talk about you like that.”

“What did he say to you?”

“It’s not important now. The guy is a creep. I’m sorry for the way I behaved, but I’m not sorry for breaking his nose.” He gave her a half-smile.

He slowly turned away from her and walked back to his work table. “So when were you going to tell me about the job offer you got in Milan?” Nick said as he began to throw everything into a black garbage bag.

Olivia knew that the only people who knew were her sister and her father. And out of the two, it could have only been her father who might have told him.

“I want you to be honest with me. Why didn’t you tell me you got that position for a magazine in Milan?”

“I didn’t think I needed to tell you because I’m not excepting the offer.” She shook her head.

He frowned. “Then why would you apply for the job?”

She threw her hands in the air and blew out a long breath. “I don’t know, I guess because it was W. Moda Italia! I wanted to see if I was capable of getting the job. I knew it was a long shot. I didn’t think they were going to call me back for an interview on skype.” She frowned at him. “I don’t know why you’re making a big deal about it. Look, I told you before that my cousin’s mother-in-law was the editor for W. Moda, right?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I remember you mentioning something about it.”

“It’s not like I went looking for it. My cousin, Gaby, had called me a few weeks ago. There was another position that came available for an assistant to the editor. It’s contract-based. I applied to get my cousin off my back. Never in a million years did I think I would get the position.”

Olivia placed her hands in her pockets, feeling the cold metal of her keys between her fingers. She just wished he’d walked over and take her in his arms like he usually did, but there was something different about him, something somber, like he was afraid to come close to her. He remained silent as he cleaned up around him.

“You should take it.”

“What?”

“Yeah, it’s too good of an opportunity for you to pass up,” he said without meeting her eyes.

“Look, I’m not going anywhere … I’m staying here with you.”

He searched her face. “Like you said, opportunities like this don’t happen every day. You have to take it.”

She shook her head. “No, I don’t. I already made up my mind, Nick. You know why my father told you … He just wants us to fight or break up.”

He allowed the trash bag to slide out of his hand. “For once I agree with your father.”

Olivia laughed. “My father doesn’t want me to go. He expressed that already.”

“That’s not what he told me yesterday.”

Olivia shook her head. “No, I don’t believe you. He was always against the idea.”

“People are allowed to change their minds, Olivia. Maybe your father realized this might be good for you to get away from all the bullshit that’s happening in your life. It would mean a clean slate.”

“Oh my God, you’re serious.”

“I couldn’t be more serious. It means you can get away from Dario. You know if you stay, he will only find ways of making your life harder. I’d rather you be miles away from him, safe from that asshole, even if it means you’ll be away from me too. Take the job,” he said softly.

“No. You know I can’t leave my dad, not now.”

“You’re not a fuckin’ lifeboat, Olivia. Stop trying to save everyone. This time, you need to focus on yourself. Your dad has other people in his life. He’ll be okay.”

“I don’t get it. Don’t you want me to stay?”

“If it were up to me, I’d want you to leave, and that’s the honest fuckin’ truth. I know this is your dream, and I don’t want to be the one who stands in your way. I could never live with myself if you resented me.”

She searched his face. “I could never resent you.”

“You say that now. We can’t be everything to each other, Olivia. You’re going to have to start fighting your own battles.”

“Then what about us?” Olivia asked. “How is this going to work out?”

“I love you, Olivia.”

Olivia could see the sadness in his eyes. “Why does that sound more like a good-bye?”

He walked up to her and placed his hands on her face. “Make me miss you like hell. I want you to go out there and show them what you’re made of.” He searched her face. “You’re so talented Olivia, and you’ll be wasting it all away if you stay here.”

Olivia frowned. “You’re breaking up with me?”

His shoulders fell and there was a glaze over his eyes. “I don’t see a point to stay together, not when we’re living in different time zones, let alone countries.” He paused. “I can’t do long-distance relationships, Monti. I’m sorry.”

“It doesn’t have to be a long-distance relationship, Nick. You could come with me. You could finally check off living abroad on your bucket list.” She put her arms around him.

His eyes finally met hers, and he gave her a weak smile “You know there is nothing I would want more, but I can’t. My doctors are here and I can’t just leave Dan. I’m the only thing he has left.” He looked down to the floor for a moment then found her eyes. “I … I think it’s best we both go our separate ways, Olivia.”

“So that’s all you have to say?” She shook her head, pulling his hands off her face and taking a step back. “How can you tell me you love me one minute and the next push me out of your life?”

“I’m not pushing you out. I’m letting go.”