Page 22 of Protecting Olivia

The call disconnected and the radio came back on, at least if we were going to sit in silence Leo had good taste in music.

“We’re going to Hawaii?” I asked, shoving a saltine cracker in my mouth.

“No.”

“What is wrong with you? Did I say something or do something wrong?” I demanded.

I was getting fed up with his attitude.

“Nope.” Oh, my God, I was going to scream.

“I’m sorry to put you out. I’m sure you have better things to do than babysit me and drive to…wherever we’re going. But it really isn’t my fault. I didn’t ask for any of this. Maybe you should direct your shit attitude toward Peter Newton. Or my mother. Or better yet, the both of them. This is their fault. I’m the one who sat in that shit hole thinking I was going to die. All I want is to go home.”

I sucked in a breath and tried to hold back my tears. I still hadn’t had time to process that only a few hours ago I was locked in a room close to death. During which time all I could think about was my mom. I had no one now. Nothing! Here I was stuck in a truck with a man that very obviously didn’t like me.

I hated that my mom lied to me. I hated that I had a dad all these years and I never got to know him. I knew I needed to hear my mom out, I’m sure she did what she did because she thought she was doing the right thing. It didn’t make her lies any less painful, but I knew my mom would never set out to hurt me. Only, I couldn’t do it now, I was still too mad at her. I felt like I was going to snap at any moment.

My outburst was met with more silence. He didn’t want to talk, fine. I leaned my head back on the headrest and closed my eyes.

***

“Olivia, you need to wake up.” I felt someone shaking me. I waited for the kick to come. It always came right after my name was called.

Olivia…kick to the stomach…Olivia wake up…kick.

“Olivia, wake up.” More shaking.

“Please, don’t.”

“Tesorino, you’re safe. Wake up.”

I cracked my eyes open a sliver and saw Leo sitting next to me. He looked way madder than he did when I fell asleep. I couldn’t catch a break with this guy.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” I apologized.

“It’s fine. You needed to sleep.” His voice was still harsh, but his face had gentled.

“Where are we?” I asked, noticing we were no longer moving.

“Ohio.”

“Ohio? How long have I been asleep? I didn’t drink!”

I frantically looked for the orange drink. The doctor said I had to drink every hour or I’d need another IV.

“Settle, Olivia. It’s fine. I called Westinghouse. He said you needed to rest and to let you sleep. Try and drink a little more now.”

I couldn’t believe we’d driven all the way to Ohio. That had to be six-ish hours.

“We’re at a rest stop. I need to stretch my legs for a minute and hit the head. We have fifteen minutes before the cameras come back online so let’s make this quick.”

“Where are the others?” I asked.

“Around. Do you not think I can protect you on my own?”

“Sheesh, grumpy, I was just asking. Am I allowed to walk?”

“Yes, but if you start to get dizzy tell me right away.”