The apartment felt like a prison to Olivia. It had been a week. Ever since the night she’d almost gotten shot, Kyle wouldn’t let her out of his sight for more than two minutes. What made it worse was that neither spoke to each other, unless it was to tell the other to pass the milk at breakfast or to ask what was for dinner. The tension was suffocating her. She wanted to apologize. The urge to do so was almost unbearable, but…she couldn’t. Not before he apologized first.  At night, she would cry herself to sleep from the loneliness. Her life felt like a giant depressing hole!

            That’s why…she had decided to run away. Sure, she cared about others, but…at what price? Her own happiness? Her own life? She had never asked for this. It wasn’t her life calling. All she wanted was a normal life!  So, after lights out, she pulled her already packed backpack out from under the bed and snuck out her bedroom window. She tightened the straps on her backpack and shoved her helmet on before starting the bike. With one last glance back, she left.

            Kyle turned in his bed, having heard the sound of an engine in the parking lot. Sometimes being a light sleeper was a bad thing. He sighed, fully awake now and pushed back the covers. Clad only in his pajama pants, he shuffled out of his bedroom and into the kitchen. He got out the milk jug and started to gulp it down, when something—or the lack thereof—caught his eye. The key to Olivia’s Ninja was missing from the hook. He dropped the jug of milk, its contents spilling out onto the floor. He ignored it and ran for Olivia’s bedroom, throwing the door open in a state of panic.

            “Olivia?!” The door banged against the nearest wall. A soft breeze was blowing in from the open window…and Olivia’s bed was empty and made. “No.” He whispered in horror. “No, No, NO, NO, NO!!!! OLIVIA!!!” He ran to the window, but he couldn’t see any sign of her. His heart clenched in his chest. “This is all my fault. If only I’d apologized. If only we hadn’t fought. Olivia—“ He darted out of the room, threw on an old shirt and grabbed his car keys from the hook.

Three Months Later

            Olivia sighed as she entered the small grocery store in a nondescript town in Colorado. She looked at her grocery list and shook her head. Money was tight since she’d used most of her savings to get where she was. She had to make it last until she could find a low-key job.

            “Laney! Laney Rhodes! It’s so good to see you again! Where’ve you been girl?” It took her a moment to realize someone was calling her. She turned around and smiled at the older woman who was headed her way. “Why, Laney. It’s been so long since you’ve been in town. How you survive out there in that little cabin of yours is beyond me. I know I’ve told you before, but you just don’t seem like the hermit type, dear. You should be in town socializing and meeting people, not holed up in a little cabin by yourself. You know it’s dangerous for a young woman like yourself to be by herself up here in the mountains. Why don’t you—“

            “Ms. Lawrence? We’ve been over this. I’m trying to write a book. If I’m to have it finished at the appropriate time, I can’t be distracted.”  Olivia fingered a strand of her now bleach-blond hair. Her eyes were itching again too. The colored contacts she’d bought on the way here didn’t seem to agree with her. “I promise that next time I’m in town though…I’ll be sure to stop by your place for a chat.”

            “You promise?” The old woman queried.

            “Yes. I promise. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’ve got to get my groceries and get back home. I’ve got laundry on the line and it’s supposed to storm sometime today.”

            “Oh, of course. Well, it was nice chatting with you, dear.”

            “Always a pleasure. See you around.” She sighed as she rounded a corner and headed for the vegetable section. Ten minutes later, she had her items: a head of lettuce, some bread, cheese, deli meat, a box of cereal, and a bag of Golden Delicious apples. The cashier smiled at her as he handed her the change. She nodded brusquely and gathered her bags. No need getting involved with people. If the FBI showed up asking questions, she didn’t want anyone having answers.

            She desperately missed her Ninja as she climbed into the driver seat of an old Volkswagen Bug. She’d had to trade the bike in for a more subtle mode of transportation. How she missed her little bike. But…that was in the past, and this…this was her present and possible future.

As she pulled into her driveway five miles out of town, she felt a shiver of apprehension travel up her spine. There was a car parked in her driveway. No one was inside it. Leaving her groceries in her car, she slowly got out and pulled her hand gun from its usual place in the waist-band of her jeans. Traveling around back, she could hear noises coming from her kitchen. She traveled to the back door to the kitchen and paused before bursting in and pointing the gun…at Kyle Blackstone.

            Olivia kept her hand on the gun and hid her surprise at seeing him in her house. She kept it trained on him, showing no sign of recognition.

            “Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?” She asked in a scratchy voice. Kyle turned to her from where he was trying (and failing) to get water out of her sink.

            “Your sink doesn’t work. Did you forget to pay your water bill or something?”

            “Get out of my house.” She growled. He ignored her and went to the fridge. Opening it, he tsked.         

            “One apple, a slice of cheese, and the butt of the bread? Doesn’t seem very appetizing to me.”

            “Then get out of my house! There’s nothing here for you, so why don’t you just leave?! I don’t want you here…whoever you are!”

            “Huh…cut the crap. I know it’s you, Olivia. You can dye your hair blue, make your eyes purple, or even get plastic surgery if you want…but I’ll always know it’s you. Is this how you’ve been living for the past three months? In a house with no electricity or water? Living off of the bare necessities?!” He slammed the refrigerator in disgust. Olivia could feel her blood boiling. She threw her gun onto the counter and glared at him.

            “Yes. This is how I’ve lived and how I plan to live after you get out of my house! I don’t want to be a part of the FBI! I never wanted to! I didn’t want that life, but I was forced to live it! Don’t you understand?! I’ve lived under someone else’s rule all my life. I never got to make any decisions for myself. I was discovered at a school talent show…my mother told me to take the opportunity. Three years later, I’m finally free of Hollywood, paparazzi, and crazy fans, and guess what?! I’m forced into the FBI by my apathetic father, who doesn’t really care about me! Who only cares about getting the bad guy even at the risk of his own daughter’s life! But no, she’s not really his daughter because he never even bothered to visit her! Didn’t take the chance to get to know her, even when she was within his reach! He was too busy for her, until the time came where he could use her! Did you catch that Kyle? He used me! He never cared about me…all he cared about was that I had connections that could get him his criminal. All he cared about…was his job.” She sank to her knees and let the tears come. She hadn’t cried in so long, but now it was all coming out in great, heaving sobs. Kyle was immediately at her side. He tried to pull her into his arms, but she pushed him away.

            “Olivia—“

            “No. You hurt me too. I trusted you. I thought you were different from my father, but you’re not. Your only love is your job. You don’t care about anyone else but—“

            “Don’t say it, Livi. Don’t you dare. You don’t know what I’ve been through these past few months. What I’ve felt for the past few months as I searched for you. Livi…I quit my job at the FBI. After a couple weeks, they had given up on you…but I wanted to keep looking. They wanted me to stay on the case and do my job, but I couldn’t.  So, I turned in my form of resignation and kept searching. You’ve no idea what it’s been like for me: wondering if you were hurt, wondering if you were scared and alone, wondering if you were dead. Look at my eyes, Livi! I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in months! If the only thing I care about is my job…tell me how it is that I quit…and came looking for you when everyone else had given up.” He pulled her against him and buried his face against her hair, soaking it with his tears. “I was so scared. The night I saw that you’d run away, I was so scared. Like I’d never see you again. In all my years in the FBI I’ve never felt fear like that. I—I’m just so glad you’re okay.” They sat there and cried for the better half of an hour before Olivia, exhausted, pulled away and staggered towards the door.

            “Where are you going?” Kyle called out hoarsely.

            “I’ve gotta get the groceries.” She murmured. He nodded and followed her out, grabbing both bags out of the car for her while she gathered her laundry from the lines. Thunder boomed from nearby, and they hurried inside. After storing all the food in the fridge, they went to the living room. They settled in on one of the sofas and relaxed as they listened to the sound of rain starting to fall.

            “How come you didn’t sell any of this furniture to get more money for food? Or better yet, electricity?”

            “Because it’s not mine to sell. I’m renting this place off of a friend. They let me rent it cheap because they don’t have the money to pay for water or electricity. It’s not the best, but it works.”

            “I see.” He sighed and laid his head back on the back of the sofa. “I’m so tired.”

            “Then go to sleep.” She chuckled. He fixed her with his big green eyes, and she sighed. “I promise that I’ll be right here when you wake up.”