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And god, I was so tired.
Maybe it was the long day of filming or the weird push-pull relationship I had with Eli that was draining me, but ugh. The thought of walking home made me feel as though I had already run a marathon.
“What’re you doing here?” The sound of Eli’s voice nearly caused me to double over.
I spun around to face him, his eyes catching me off guard—just like always. “I was just dropping my things off.”
He nodded, his lips in a flat line as he let out a heavy sigh. “I prefer people not coming into the office after hours. I know it’s a code lock, but it’s just better not to.”
I chewed the inside of my cheek, irritation looming. “Okay, I will make sure that next time I just carry all this heavy shit all the way home then.”
He raised an eyebrow, an amused smirk on his face. “You could just get a lift.”
“That costs money that seems ridiculous to spend when I’m perfectly capable of just walking. I have two legs, oughta put ’em to use. Saves me a gym membership too.” I laughed at my own joke before realizing that Eli was less than moved. “Anyway.” I cleared my throat. “You won’t have to worry about me stopping by after hours.”
“Just let me know if you are.”
I nearly laughed at the comment. “Uh, yeah, sure.”
“What was funny about that?”
My eyes widened, realizing I must’ve smiled. “Nothing, nothing is funny about it.”
“Then why did you look like you were about to laugh?”
“I was still cutting up over my joke about my legs, that’s all. I should probably get a membership to a gym—I’m just too lazy.”
And now I’m rambling.
“Uh, okay.” A dimple appeared in his cheek as he smiled—this time showing some amusement.
“For sure. I’ll see you Monday.” I nearly hid my face as I went to walk past him, knowing that my cheeks were bright red. No matter how he treated me, I was still so attracted to him.
His grip on my wrist stopped me from getting far. “Olivia...”
“What?” I turned to gaze up at him. “If this has something to do with the music video or whatever, can it just wait until tomorrow? This day has been exhausting enough. Let me at least get some sleep before you knock me down any more.”
“What do you mean?” His brows furrowed. “I’m not going to ‘knock you down.’ I just wanted to say that—”
Bile shot up the back of my throat and my hand flew to my mouth, stopping him short. Shaking my head, I ripped my arm from his grip and raced to the bathroom across the office.
“Olivia? Are you okay?”
I barely made it to the women’s toilet before I vomited, my stomach knotting up as I heaved. I didn’t stop until I had lost all my lunch, my stomach completely cleared of all its contents.
“Oh my god,” I groaned, reaching for the toilet paper to wipe my mouth. “I am never eating there again.”
“Are you okay?” Eli called from the other side of the bathroom door. “You sound like you’re getting sick.”
“Just bad takeout,” I choked out before washing my face. My stomach felt better in the moment and I let out a breath, gathering my wits about me before heading to the door. I swung it open, Eli standing right there.
I pushed past him, leaving him standing there with a strange look on his face. “See you Monday, Eli.”
12
ELI
I stared at a recent Instagram post of Olivia’s, a picture of her and Zena at one of the local dive bars close to the set. Her hair was pulled up into a sleek ponytail, showing off her beautiful heart-shaped face. I stared at her curves beneath a tight black top and light-wash jeans, paired with black heels. Her blue eyes stared back at me like daggers, stabbing right into my soul.
