I Was Never Yours - Episode 8
06-09-25 (15:20)
I felt the heat escape my body; it was like my veins
contained ice rather than blood. My heart started
pounding inside my chest and my knees began to
tremble. I must have heard him wrong, maybe he'd
said something totally unrelated. I gulped as I willed
myself to ask him to repeat himself.
"Come again?"
In a voice softer than I could have ever imagined
coming from him, Zach spoke the words I just realized
I never wanted to hear.
"We're going to meet someone who might know
where' Olivia is." He looked at me to gauge my
reaction and I had no idea what expression my face
carried at the moment. Was I happy, relieved, scared
or angry? Did I want to see the woman who had
ruined so many lives and however unintentionally had
destroyed mine the most? Why was Zach doing this?
He had lost as much as I had but did he still love her?
My heart ached at how selfish I was being. How could
I think about myself when this man in front of me
deserved to get all the answers that he wanted? My
sister had broken his heart, she'd broken and crushed
his soul and robbed him of the desire to love, and the
least he deserved was to hear from her own mouth
why she did that to him.
"How...how do you know this?" I asked quietly as I
stood in front of the door.
"This man called me a few days ago; he said he had
some information for me and that if I didn't come see
him he'd go to the press with it," he said all of this like
it wasn't a big deal, like things like this happened on a
regular basis. His voice had become cold again,
detached, and I didn't like it one bit.
Zach rang the bell before I could say or ask anything.
Almost immediately my hand reached for his, a way of
my body telling me that I wasn't ready for this. He
gazed at my hand, tightly clasping his and he must've
understood my state of mind since he didn't let go. Our
breaths came out in puffs of smoke as we stood there,
waiting for someone to let us in. I was trembling from
head to foot, my flimsy sweater no match for the
freezing cold of New York. Zach pulled off his jacket
and wrapped it around my shoulders. I looked at him
gratefully but couldn't hold his gaze for long. The strong
emotion in them was starting to scare me.
We got buzzed in and entered the building hand in
hand. The walls were yellowing with paint peeling off
all over. Water seeped onto the floor from the cracks
and there was a rancid smell about the place. A metal
stairway led to the upper floor and it creaked beneath
our feet as Zach led me to it. Honestly I never wanted
the staircase to end; if it ended I'd have to face the
truth, and that I didn't want to have to do. I was
eighteen years old but I'd gone through more than any
normal eighteen-year-old could ever imagine going
through and it seemed like the problems never ended.
I'd gotten used to my life but it was like someone was
constantly reminding me that I'd never find peace in
the life I'd been forced to choose.
We walked down a dingy corridor with a stained
carpet lining the floor. The occasional drunkard
stumbled out from the rooms and I found myself
pressed firmly against Zach's side. His protectiveness
had obviously heightened since the incident at the
airport and for the first time I was glad I had someone
to save me. I never allowed Noah to fight my battles
for me; I wasn't a damsel in distress and I didn't need
someone to be my hero but I was grateful for Zach's
presence.
We came to a halt outside a room labeled 405. Loud
music vibrated through the doors and reverberated in
my chest. By now a knot of tension had formed in my
stomach and was constantly making my fists clench in
pain. What if Olivia was inside...?
Zach knocked firmly on the door and we waited with
bated breath. I dared not look at him and he was
avoiding looking directly at me. I knew my nails were
digging into his palms but I couldn't let go of his hand.
It just wasn't possible for me in the moment.
The door opened slightly and a foot popped out the
small creak that opened up. The foot led to a leg
covered by ripped jeans. I followed the trail to find a
somewhat familiar face grinning at us. Don't forget to leave a Comment 
