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“Olivia, don’t worry about him. You only need to get better.”
I move to her dresser and retrieve a pair of jeans and a sweater that I leave on the bed for her to change into. When I’m finished packing, she still hasn’t dressed.
“Do you need me to help you?” I ask as I kneel in front of her. She wraps her arms around my neck and begins to cry. I try to soothe her by stroking her hair.
“I don’t know how I let this happen,” she sobs. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
“I’m not worried about anything but you. Let’s get you dressed. In a few hours, you’ll be home.”
She unwinds her arms from around my neck and pulls open the belt on her robe. Underneath, she only has on panties and shows no sign of shame. She looks so thin; she must have lost twenty pounds or more since I last saw her. I help her slip on the sweater, then she stands and puts on her jeans. I roll socks onto her feet, and she slips them into a pair of fur-lined moccasins near the bed.
I summon Ivan, who helps me take the six bags of clothing down to the car. When I come back, Olivia is staring at the floor again. I hold out my hand to her, and she grasps it, allowing me to lead her out to the living room. Joshua tries to stand, but Boris pushes him back onto the couch.
“Good, get this bitch out of here!” Joshua shouts after us. “Fucking useless.”
I drop Olivia’s hand and rear around towards him, but Boris stops me.
“You’re a fucking piece of shit,” I spit. “If I ever see you again, I’ll kill you.”
“Is that a threat?” Joshua challenges
I shake my head. “No, it’s a promise. You better stay in your part of the world.”
Joshua says nothing else as we leave the apartment. My stomach is churning, and my fist is itching to hit something else. But all I care about right now is getting Olivia back to New York.
She falls asleep on the limo ride to the airport, and I rub at my hand, feeling the scrapes on my knuckles from the punches I threw.
Olivia is so exhausted that I end up carrying her up the stairs into the plane. I gently place her in one of the seats and belt her in, then sit next to her. The flight attendant asks if I need anything once we’re up in the air, but I say no. I just want to get home.
Two hours later, I’m awakened by Olivia stroking my stubble.
“Hey, sweetheart, how are you?” I ask lowly.
“I’m drained. Where are we?”
I check my watch. It’s almost 2:00 AM. “We must be close to New York.”
Sure enough, the captain’s voice comes over the loudspeaker, letting us know that we’re on the final approach to LaGuardia.
