TO THINK that summer was supposed to a freeing time in a young person life. To think that a young person can be stress free and be able to just... live.

But on that cold summer night, Olivia found herself tossing and turning in her sleep. She just couldn't find herself in a comfortable position to fall asleep.

It had been awhile since Olivia had felt this way, it was odd. She groaned, sitting up right, and rubbed her tired eyes.

She stood up, her bare feet touching the cold, hardwood floor as she made her way towards the bathroom.

She flipped on the lights, the bright florescent lights causing her to squint as she made her way towards the mirror.

Olivia couldn't really see her reflection, her sight blurry without her glasses on, but she managed to stand in front of the mirror and throwing some water on to her face. She didn't really know what that did, but it didn't make her feel more awake or any more sleepy.

She heard her phone ping from outside the bathroom and made her way back to her bed. She sighed as she sat and picked up the phone from the bedside table.

It was a text message.

She furrowed her brows and put her glasses on; slipping on her Hello Kitty slippers and crept her way downstairs.

She slowly opened the front door of her house and there stood Conrad.

"What are you doing here?" Olivia asked in a hushed tone, "It's 3 in the morning."

Conrad held a tight lip as he gently pushed Olivia to the side. Olivia held her furrowed brows and shut the front door.

She asked again, "What are you doing here?"

Conrad only gestured to head upstairs and Olivia sighed, rolling her eyes. She turned, making her way upstairs and into her bedroom with Conrad following behind.

She gently shut the door behind her as Conrad sat down on her bed. He clasped his hands together and played with his thumbs as Olivia stood in front of him.

Her arms crossed and her hair almost framing perfectly.

Conrad looked down at at her feet, covered with her Hello Kitty slippers and didn't say a word.

"I'm not going to ask again." She spoke, "You can't just show up—"

"I'm sorry." He muttered, not looking up at her, "I didn't know where to go."

"Why didn't you go home?"

To tell Olivia the truth would only hurt her more he thought. That if he admitted that the only reason that only reason he can here was she knew how to best comfort him would only hurt.

Especially since he did everything to push her away.

Olivia sighed and sat down next to Conrad. The silence grew between them until Conrad spoke.

"Come with me." He muttered.

He had been looking down and Olivia dipped her head down to look at him.

To most, Olivia was a kind spirit. She gave the energy that people easily gravitated towards and if she let you in, you could just as easily break her. And that was something Conrad didn't want to do to her, but he had.

He was a mess, he was in a state in which he could break just as easily and if he can, and he did, he would break her.

But he wanted her to come with him. To leave with him. Olivia Lovell was Conrad Fisher's person and she was there for him whenever he needed her.

And if he believed in a God, he hoped that He would be listening to his prayers.

"Where are you going, Conrad?" She softly spoke.

"Cousins." He muttered.

Conrad didn't lift his head, but he did turn towards her. Her eyes spoke thousands of little words. She was concerned, she was scared for him.

"I want you to come with me." He said, "Please."

Olivia sighed, "Right now?"

"Please."

Olivia sighed deeply, taking her fingers to brush the hair out of Conrad's face.

"How about we stay here and first thing in the morning we'll go wherever you want and if you change mind—"

"I'm not."

Conrad looked over at Olivia for the first time in a minute. He could tell that she had felt the smallest bit of hurt by his.

She had been there for both him and Jeremiah and asked for nothing in return. She was only trying her best to make the boys feel some sort of normalcy.

"I'm sorry." He muttered as she stood.

She sighed, running her fingers through her hair and began to pounder on the thought of actually leaving to go with Conrad to Cousins.

She finally turned, facing him, "I'll go. We leave first thing in the morning."

Conrad nodded as Olivia turned and opened a dresser drawer to pull out something he could wear to bed.

By the time she turned back around, she was shown his bare back as his shirt now laid on her bed.

"Where do you want me to sleep?" He asked.

Olivia cleared her throat, "I'm sure my bed will be fine. I have clothes you can wear to be more comfortable."

Conrad finally turned, looking down at Olivia and the clothes in his hands. They were his whenever he had last come to see her.

"I'll just wear them out when we leave."

Olivia nodded and turned quickly and placed the clothes on top of her dresser.

Conrad had already been laying flat on her bed by the time she decided to join him. She heavily sighed as she slipped her glasses off.

The silence was almost awkward. They hadn't spoke to each other prior to the phone call in a while and now here they were, sharing a bed, and leaving New York to go to Cousins first thing in the morning.

"You seemed upset earlier." Conrad spoke.

"You called me out of nowhere and it sounded like you were gonna—"

He quickly cut her off, "I wasn't. I'm not." He reassured, "I meant when you opened the door."

Olivia sighed, turning in her side, looking over with boy who continued to stare up at the ceiling.

"My dad came."

Conrad cut his over over towards her, flipping over on his stomach, his hands resting underneath the pillow.

"Are you serious?"

"I heard my mom yelling from outside and when I walked in her turned around and smiled." She paused, "He hugged me and all I did was stand there and cry. I could've done so much. I could've kicked him, yelled at him, something... and all I did was freeze up and cry."

Olivia licked her lips and tasted her salty tears and sighed.

Conrad reached out, taking the pad of this thumb and wiping the tears away.

"I just wished said something."

"I wish there was something I could say to make you feel better." He muttered.

She took the back of her hand, wiping her cheeks as she gave him a small smile.

"Don't worry about it." She softly spoke, "Let's just sleep, yeah? We've got a long day ahead of us."

Olivia rolled over, her back now facing Conrad's.

And for the first time, Olivia realized that she would be going to Cousins.

What the hell did she get herself into?

OLIVIA HAD woken up earlier than Conrad. She decided to scout her house for her mother, but she was nowhere in sight.

The girl rushed back upstairs and pulled her duffel bag from out of her closet and shoved random clothes and a bathing suit inside. If she needed anything else, it would be at her summer house in Cousins.

Olivia picked up her phone from the nightstand.

8:35 AM.

She deeply sighed and entered her bathroom with the phone pressed against her ear.

The phone went to voicemail and she rolled her eyes, "Hey, Jere... Uh, I just wanted to let you know that Conrad is good. I don't know whether or not he told you were he was going, but he's all good. For the time being. We'll be in Cousins for a day or two, but um, if you need anything, don't hesitate to reach out."

She removed the phone from her ear, hanging up and getting ready for the drive to Cousins'.

She stepped out of her bathroom. Her hair wet from her shower and she wore a random, off-white, ribbed top with a pair of her mom's shorts that she claims was from the 80s'.

The girl sat down on her bed, grabbing her beat up shoes from underneath her bed as Conrad continued to sleep next to her.

She looked back at the boy and decided to pressed her hand against his bare shoulder.

"Conrad." She muttered, her voice barely above a whisper, "Conrad."

He muttered something underneath his breath, his eyes fluttering open, but not moving.

She turned, pressing her knees on her bed, hovering over the boy.

"You wanted to go to Cousins." She spoke, "We're going to Cousins. Get up."

He shut his eyes, sighing deeply and flipping over on his back, looking up at the girl.

"Were leaving in twenty minutes." She spoke softly, "Get up."

Olivia stood up from the bed, grabbing her bag as she made her way downstairs and into the kitchen.

She grabbed a cup and poured some cereal inside as she began to text her mother.

If Olivia told her that she would be going to Cousins, she'd probably kill her. But she had a good excuse to leave with her father popping up out of nowhere.

So, she sent a text to her mom to let her know that she would stay the night with Violet and would be back in a couple of days.

She would text Violet later about it, but for now she picked at her cereal and waited for Conrad.

He quickly appeared and the two of them sat in her car and began their journey to Cousins.

Olivia decided that she would drive the first half and Conrad the second.

She tapped her fingers against the stirring wheel as Joshua Bassett blared through her speakers.

"Are you going to tell me why we're going to Cousins or am I just going to have to guess?"

"It's easier to guess." He said, "Would probably make me feel better hearing whatever the fuck you have to say."

"I think I deserve a straightforward answer after you quite literally begged me to come."

Conrad scoffed, licking his lips, "My Aunt Julia is selling the house."

Olivia didn't mean to push so hard on the break that caused her and Conrad to jerk forward. She just didn't think that was the reason they they were going to Cousins.

"I'm sorry." She quickly apologized, "I didn't mean to do that."

"Are you trying to kill us before we get there?" He asked.

"I just didn't think it was that straightforward." She coughed, continuing on with the drive, "So, I mean, what are you going to do exactly?"

He sighed, "I'm going to try and get access to my trust fund."

"Try?" Olivia questioned, "So, you and your dad aren't—"

"No, Liv. We're not."

"Does Jere know?"

"No. And he's not going to know."

"You can't keep this from him. He deserves to know. Maybe he can help."

"I can do this on my own."

"Then why am I here, Conrad?"

Silence. All Olivia could hear was the car driving and the sound of LA by Joshua Bassett ending.

"Oh, come on." She smiled, "Don't get silent on me now, Conrad."

He did nothing but stare out the window and Olivia softly shook her head, but she soon smiled as she turned up the radio and began singing Sign of the Times by Harry Styles.

"Just stop your cryin' it's a sign of the times." She sang, "Welcome to your final show."

"You're singing the most depressing song I've ever heard in the most upbeat tone."

"Then you pick a song, Conrad." She sighed, unlocking her phone and passing it to him, "It will definitely fill the void of you not my question."

Soon, he tapped on a song and Ain't it Fun by Paramore played throughout her speakers.

Olivia smiled, "You know what we should do?"

"We can't stop anywhere."

"It won't hurt to make one stop... or two." She smiled.

Olivia turned her car into the parking lot of the nearby dollar store and grabbed everything she needed and returned the car and handed Conrad a plate and a marker.

"Write what you feel and I'll you know when we're there."

Conrad rolled his eyes, but did what the girl had asked and she soon pulled into a dirt path.

She turned her car off and gestured for Conrad to follow. She grabbed one of the plates and a marker and began scribbling her own thoughts onto them.

"What's the point of this?"

Olivia looked up swiftly before looking back down at her plate.

"I'm not driving all the way to Cousins with you while you're rightfully so pouting." She said, "I know this sucks, but you're not alone. I'm here and I'm angry."

"Angry?"

"My dad showing up... really scared me. Upset me? I just— I felt everything at once. He missed my birthdays, milestones, graduation, and he just shows up." She explained, "I remembered when you and I talked about how your dad cheated on your mom and I thought that... maybe it would've been harder for my dad to leave my mom if she just didn't love him anymore, cheated even. But he packed up everything and left when he found out I was bi... and I'm angry that he showed up, I'm angry that I didn't say anything, I'm angry and I'm gonna smash this plate with my feelings on it."

"That's what this is for?" He asked.

"Yeah." She answered, "Trust me, you'll feel so much better after you smash it."

Olivia turned, stepping away from him and her car and held the plate over her head. She shut her eyes, taking a deep breath and threw the plate on the ground.

She turned, facing Conrad with a smile, "God! I want to do it again!"

She ran back to her car grabbed another plate and before she could turn she heard another plate breaking from behind her.

She smiled, grabbing another plate and rushed to Conrad's side.

"It feels good doesn't it?"

Conrad looked down, "Yeah... it does."

"Do you think we have time for one more?"

She looked up at Conrad with a small smile and he carefully took one of the plates from her.

And for a moment, they felt alone in the world. Just the two of them and their act of smashing plates.

— lucy has something to say !!

i wanna smash plates so bad

aunt julia is a BITCH

adding: being rude to or about skye/elise is weird! their pronouns are they/them respect that!

(listen to you by miley cyrus for the next chapter)

bye :))))