Save You #2

26| Ladies

Olivia's POV

I just put down the wine glasses as the doorbell rings out. It's Thursday, I'm currently waiting for my girls to show up, but all I can think of is my boyfriend lying in his hospital bed all by himself. The fact that Zach needed a surgery after the kicks of my disgusting genitor seriously worries me and I'd much rather be with him and make sure he's okay than pretending to have a carefree evening with my friends. Sure, I love them and I'm always happy to see them, but honestly, the timing could be better.

"Livie, babe!" As soon as I open the door, the excited voices of Abbey, Hailey, and Sadie snap me out of my thoughts. "How is Zach? Gosh, you need to tell us everything that happened!"

"Come in first," I chuckle and step aside to let them enter. Nora is going to join us later since she has to wait for the girl who will take over the bar for her tonight.

Just a few minutes later, we're sitting on the couch, each with a wine glass in her hand, and three pairs of eyes are expectantly looking at me.

"So, Livie," Sadie takes a sip of her wine and raises her eyebrows. Her brown curls which she is wearing down for a change hug her face and her warm blue eyes are fixed on mine. "What happened to Zach? Why is he at the hospital again?"

I nervously look down at my lap. Besides Abbey, none of them knows the story about my father and I am not sure if I'm ready to tell them yet.

"He got in a fight when we went to Theo's bar the other night and unfortunately, his opponent kicked him into his stomach." I sigh thinking of Zach. I wonder what he is doing right now.

"And?" Hailey asks impatiently, shrugging her shoulders. "What happened then? Who was that guy?"

"The doctors needed to operate to stop the bleed at his spleen," I murmur without looking up, fumbling with my fingers.

"Shit, is he okay now?" Abbey joins in and wraps her arm around my shoulders.

"Mmh, yea. The operation went well and now he has to stay in hospital for observation for at least another week until he will be discharged again."

I grab my glass and take a generous gulp of the chilled white wine. Feeling the cool liquid running down my throat kind of soothes me a bit and helps easing my mind.

"Babe, can it be that Zach is a bit too aggressive lately?" Hailey asks cautiously, obviously scared to annoy me.

"He most definitely isn't, no," I huff and down the rest of my wine.

Abbey gives me a knowing side glance and then clears her throat.

"He was just protecting Liv, Hailey," she interposes. "I actually don't think he has a problem with aggression."

"But why does he need to start a fight then?" Hailey seems unconvinced and furrows her perfectly plucked eyebrows. Her green eyes shimmer with doubt as they look between Abbey and me.

"He wasn't the one starting the fight," I counter and bite the inside of my bottom lip while refilling my glass. "You could say he was the one who tried to end it actually."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Listen, Hailey," I sigh and force a smile onto my lips. "I know you just want to look out for me, but there's nothing to worry about. I don't want to argue over this. Can we just have a nice evening, please?"

Hailey sighs and slowly the left corner of her mouth pulls up as she nods. "Sure, babe."

Right in that moment, the doorbell rings. That must be Nora.