'Unconditional love means to love without the condition of receiving loved in return'
Third person's P.O.V
"What the fuck did you do to her?" Kayden demands, letting his temper get the better of him.
"Watch your tone when talking to me boy," Ryan growls in warning, unlike Rachel who is evidently intimidated by the boy half her age.
"I don't give a shi--" He is forced to swallow his words at the mere wave of his oldest brother's hand. That is the kind of power Enrique Ashford wielded.
"Conducted yourself appropriately," he advises the younger Ashford in a definitive tone. "Or leave," he adds. Kayden knows better than to argue with Enrique.
Once done dealing with his impulsive younger sibling, Enrique shifts his impassive gaze to rest on the soon-to-be weds. "Explain." Comes his laconic command.
"I think you too have forgotten who you're talking to, dear boy," Ryan replies with an air of arrogant indifference. Big mistake.
"Have I now?" Enrique frowns feigning ignorance. "If I wasn't angered to this extent by the violence directed towards Olivia, I might have found that amusing," he says ominously.
His mere tone is enough to snap Ryan out of whatever dazed fantasy he's living in and back to reality. A reality where Enrique wielded the power not him. But Ryan isn't a fool, he knows better than to let his emotion on display before them.
"She stepped out of line," he tells him nonchalantly. This only angered the brothers further.
"So you hit her?" Wesley--who was a silent spectator thus far--spoke with disgust evident in his tone and expression.
"She needed to be disciplined," Rachel gathered the nerve to say. "I'm her mother, I know what's best for her," she adds, trying to sound firm. 'Trying' being the operative word.
Kayden scoffs at her pathetic excuse. "What's best for her was being raised with her fami--"
"That's enough from you," Enrique silences him again.
"I'm going to go check on Liv. If I stay here any longer I might just do something you don't entirely approve of," Kayden directs his words toward the oldest. Enrique nod and with one last heated glare at the couple, he leaves the room.
____________________
Oblivious to the heated argument downstairs, Liv resorts to seeking comfort in the only person she has grown to trust. Graham.
Rubbing her stuffy nose, she grabs her phone and hits the video call against his profile thoughtlessly. She didn't need to think before calling him. Ever. That's what made their friendship so precious to her, he was there for her no questions asked and she was there for him likewise.
"Hey Liv, long ti--"
"What's wrong Olive?" His cheerful mood immediately transformed into worry at her disheveled state. The strange childhood nickname managing to brings her some comfort.
"Everything."
"It's going to be fine, eventually," he assures without the slightest clue as to what had caused her state.
But he knows better than to pry an answer out of her. She will tell him when she's ready. She always does.
"You don't know that," she chuckles at his confidence.
"Of course I do." She rolls her tear-filled eyes at his egoistic answer.
"Mum's changed." She confides in him.
"How so?"
"She slapped me." This comes to him as a surprise.
"She what?" He frowns, thinking--hoping--he heard her wrong.
"We had a disagreement. Ryan kept interfering so I..." She trails off, confident in his ability to piece the rest together.
"That's an ugly bruise," he admits in light-hearted humor.
"Gee thanks." She rolls her eyes.
"On the bright side you get the perfect opportunity to practice your makeup stills," he suggests.
She rolls her eyes. Again. "I don't have any."
"YouTube is a thing," he replies dryly.
"Whatever."
"Why don't you go watch a scary movie or something, that away cheers you up," he suggests knowing that talking with him can only cheer the girl who hates talking in general, so much.
"I don't like scary movies," she shrugs.
"From when are you scared of scary movies?" He raises a brow.
"They're stupid," she concludes. He doesn't lower his brow.
"Like when the girl goes into the haunted house and asks is someone there?" She heightens her pitch to sound akin to the stereotypical movie girl. "What does she except the ghost to say 'hi there, welcome to my humble abode. Hope you enjoy your stay'?" She scoffs.
But somehow this exchange manages to pull her quivering lips into a small yet visible smile and evoke a full-blown laughing fit from Graham.
"Welcome to my humble abode? Seriously?" He laughs out. She shrugs smiling.
"Thanks," she acknowledges--once he has sobered up--knowing she could always count on him to cheer her up even in the gloomiest times.
"Anytime Olive," he chuckles. A slight disturbance in his background immediately catches her attention.
"You're not home," she states.
"Yeah," he scratches the back of his head nervously. "All of us are Charlie's diner, Jorden is being deployed tomorrow so it's a farewell dinner," he explains to her.
"Graham!" She admonished, now swamped in immense guilt. "Idiot, go back out there and spend time with your brother," she orders sternly.
"You could have told me that before," she whines, feeling responsible for pulling him away from his family.
"It's alright, that idiot is too busy being the center of attention to have time to spend with me anyway," he grumbles.
"Aw, are you feeling neglected?" She teases, now in a much better mood than before this call.
"Bye Olive," he rolls his eye with affirming or denying the allegations.
Not long after the call is disconnected, a knock is sounded in her room. She ignores it.
"Liv, I know you're mad, but just open the door and hear me out?" Kayden's voice appeals his case from the other side of the door.
Now no longer having tears blurring her vision and anger mixed with sadness clouding her mind, she concludes that in none of this does he stand at fault and so proceeds to open the door.
"Look I just--" he's caught off guard when the door is pulled open from the other side. "Oh you open it," he mumbles more to himself while rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
"I didn't think you would actually open the door," he admits with a nervous chuckle.
She raises a brow at him. He sighs.
"Can I come in?" He asks nicely. Not something he would usually do, she mentally notes before stepping aside and letting him in.
"Does it hurt too much?" He asks his concern-imbued gaze resting on her bruised cheek.
"I'll live," she mumbles.
He calms himself, his anger towards those two growing by the minute.
"I probably will have something that will help with that," Kayden mumbles under his breath while assessing the damage done.
"I get into fights a lot," he shrugs answering her questioning gaze.
"Why?" She asks.
"I don't know," he replies casually.
"Why?" She repeats.
"Probably 'cause I have anger issues," he admits tentatively.
"Hold on, letting me grab something from my room." With that declaration, he leaves only to return momentarily with a tube of ointment in his hand.
"This might sting a little at first," he warns, she just nods, uncaring about the pain.
"There all done," he announces before washing his hands and returning to the room.
"Um...so?" He asks, finding himself in an awkward place. This isn't his area of expertise.
"I'm not really good at this," he admits motioning between them. "You know talking things out?" He adds in clarification.
"Why?" She repeats.
"Are you really going to make me question my life choices at two in the afternoon?" He replies flatly.
She shrugs.
"We really need to establish verbal communication between us," he whines, floppy down on the bed sounding defeated.
"Wh--"
"Don't you dare," he warns pointing his index at her, with a narrowed gaze. But his words hold a playful note to them. This was more of an area he excels in--teasing and annoying people.
"I could say I'm sorry," he starts off on a more serious note. "About that," he motions with the wave of his hand towards her cheek.
"Bu--"
"It wasn't your fault," she finishes his sentence.
"Exactly," he remarks, snapping his fingers to make a point. "So tell me how do I make it better?" He inquires sincerely.
"You don't have to," she dismisses.
"I want to," he shrugs. "So spill, what will take to cheer you up?" He persists.
"Lunch is one option since it's understandable if you don't want to sit at the same table as them," he prompts.
"I'll be fi--"
"Don't worry neither do I," he assures her.
"Aren't you mad?" She asks finally, unable to suppress her curiosity any longer. He frowns at her question.
"At you?" He asks, she nods affirmatively. "Why would I be?" He counters questions.
"The beach," she reminds him, with a little hesitation. "And earlier at the door," she adds.
He chuckles. "I've got a lot of time to exact my revenge for that," his words hold promise, but his tone remains nonchalant. "But later," he adds quickly.
"Right now you're sad," he points out. She stifles her smile, instead she rolls her eyes.
"And I feel bad--" he adds.
"Aw you ca--"
"--to spoil my enjoyment by annoying right now, even just a tad," he smirks.
"Wow, you know which words rhyme with sad," she praises him in sheer sarcasm. "Impressive," she adds flatly.
"I know, I'm in a league of my own altogether," he replies boastfully earning an eye roll from her.
"Keep rolling those eyes they might just get stuck," he remarks.
"Great, won't have to see your stupid face anymore then," she retorts.
"Words hurt you know?" He mumbles feigning offense.
"Wish they could kill," she shrugs.
"Depending on which words you say to whom, they might." She hears him mumble under his breath in a tone foreign to her. Following her instincts, she decides against raising attention to it.
"Cotton candy."
"Excuse me?" Kayden asks, confusion evident on his face.
"You asked what would cheer me. Cotton candy will," she explains.
"Is that so?"
"Back home Graham and I would always go get cotton candy anytime either of us was sad." Olivia takes herself by surprise when she shares this. Why did she? She doesn't know.
"That boy again," Kayden rolls his eyes in distaste.
"He's my best friend, stop complaining," she demands much to the 21-year-old's amusement.
"And what makes you think you have the authority to tell me what I can and cannot do?" He asks bopping her nose, earning him a weird look from her.
"Let's just go," she grumbles knowing he's right yet refusing to admit it to his face.
Author's note:
Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
This book is now at 10K reads!!!
Thanks for reading!
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~Kia