I’ve lived my mother’s life for twenty-two years. The label’s. The masses of faceless strangers who think they know me, even though I was no one. Maybe it’s time for me to start living my own life.
I press call.
My heart pounds as I wait for an answer. He’s probably sleeping. Should I leave a message? It might be the last thing I ever say to him. What do you tell the person who saved your life while you ruined his?
“Hadley? Thank god. How’s Genevieve?”
Oliver.
Tears spring to my eyes.
My throat closes.
He’s… my world softens and hardens at the same time. I’m falling and soaring. Breaking south toward arms that I know are strong enough to catch me. No injury can take that strength away from him.
“Oliver…” I breathe his name like air. I hear the relief in my voice, the longing.
“Genevieve?”
My eyelids can’t hold the tears anymore. They crash down my cheeks, searing a path at the sound of my name on his lips. It’s the sweetest lyric, the perfect song. I want to hear it all the time. Over and over and over.
“Yes… it’s… it’s me.” I have to gasp the words out. They’re stuck in my throat. I’m so sorry. None of it is true. I love you. I love you so much.
“I’m glad to hear from you. I thought…” The pain in his voice. I shake my head, desperate to reach through the phone and touch him. He must have believed those lies. That I would actually think he was anything short of amazing.
I need the words to come out. I need him to know. Just say it! Tell him, Gen. Be brave for once in your life. “Nothing they’re saying is true. I’m so sorry. I… I love you.”
Nothing.
Then: “You love me? Wait… does that mean you want to see me?”
“You’re all I want,” I rush out. “Always. It was my mother who said that stuff, I swear. I just found out about it… I need you—want you. So much. But—”
“Gen—”
“Please. Don’t say anything. Just let me get this out. I might not have another chance and I need you to hear this before we part ways. I’m not good for you. I see that now. You deserve the most beautiful things in life, and I give you the ugly. I probably shouldn’t haven’t called. I should have let you walk away, but I needed you to know the truth. For once in my life, I want to be part of something real.
“I also want you to know how much you’ve changed my life. You inspire me. You met a girl who was drowning and showed her the shore. Well, I’m ready to swim for it. I am. You helped me find the woman in the mirror and now that I’ve met her, I think I’m going to love her. Genevieve Fox fell last night, but it’s going to be Viv Hastings who gets back up. I’m going to fight for her because she’s worth the pain. I’m worth the pain. No matter what they say, you and I will always know the truth. That my journey couldn’t begin until Genevieve’s ended. So watch for me, Oliver. Promise me. Viv Hasting’s first song is yours.”
Silence.
“Oliver?”
My stomach drops when I look down at my phone. The call was ended? Just a second ago, which means he heard my speech. Which means… Sadness wells in my chest, a deep longing for something lost, but strangely, the panic is gone. As soon as I said those words, a heaviness lifted that has been pressing on my shoulders for as long as I can remember. Yes, that’s it. I feel light. Free. I feel hope and anticipation for what’s to come. After a lifetime of dreading tomorrow, I can’t wait to see what it brings. Oliver may have guided me to the girl in the mirror, but it was me we found. I was always there, I just needed a spark to see her. I’m sad he won’t be taking this journey with me, but it changes nothing. Even if I have to go it alone, at least I know it’s finally mine.
Genevieve Fox fell from the mountain, but it will be Viv Hastings who climbs back up.
I hear Hadley return with our snacks and wave toward the small table by the bed. “You can just put it there. I want to finish reading this.”
It’s the best of all the articles so far in that the writer at least tried to stick to the facts. I don’t like calling them “reporters” because they rarely report anything when it comes to me. They speculate. They make up narratives that would rival fiction authors. They peddle entertainment, so writers seems more accurate. “I really wish they hadn’t released which hospital I went to, though,” I mutter. “Seems irresponsible.”
“Then how would I have found you?”
I freeze. My fist clenches around Hadley’s phone as my gaze shoots to the door. It can’t be. No. Because… No. “Oliver?” His name comes out as a whisper, weird because it’s an entire symphony in my soul.
He smiles, those warm brown eyes filling with everything I love about him, and now, everything I love about myself. Gosh, he saw me when I didn’t. Fell for a woman I didn’t even know. “I’ve been in the parking lot for about a half hour. I wasn’t sure if I should come in. I figured you’d refuse to see me, but I couldn’t stand not being close to you. When you called just now…”
I
