GONE.
Everything in the house was gone in the matter of hours.
All you could hear were the echos of their footsteps as the ventured the empty house.
Nothing was left inside, absolutely nothing.
Gone.
"What the fuck, Julia." Conrad spat.
"I'm sorry." She apologized, "This must be such a shock. I-I spoke to your father this afternoon and-and he and I decided that it would be best not to drag this out any longer than necessary."
"I don't give a shit what the two of you decided on. You had no right to touch anything in this house. Those were her things!" He shouted.
Olivia stepped forward, holding Bingo close and gently grabbed Conrad's wrist.
And though his anger made him pull away from her touch, he did easy up a bit as her fingers laid bare on his wrist of only a second.
"Everything's in storage." Julia reassured, "I made sure that everyone was very careful with every single thing. I'm just doing what I have to do to sell this house."
"Bullshit. You could have said something. You could have warned us." He barked, "All you want to do is fight our mom constantly."
"Okay, enough." Julia turned, "You're not the only that's hurting here. And I'm not the one you should be angry with. Your mother could have warned you that this was going to happen. She just wanted to make me the bad guy, as usual."
"I'm so sorry that she was too busy dying to make your life a little easier." Conrad breathed, "You know, it sucks that our grandfather loved her more than you, but I'm not surprised."
Conrad didn't hesitate and he brushed everyone off who tried to stop him. And one by one, each of them followed the other out.
"Conrad." Olivia called, "Conrad... I know— I know this sucks, but—"
"Of course, Dad did nothing to stop her." He sighed, his phone pressed against his ear.
"Connie, what can he do?" Jeremiah asked.
"Jere!" He shouted, turning to face him, "He doesn't care about us! And this asshole won't even pick up my... calls."
He turned around once more, seeing Skye finally step out of the house.
"Did you know about this?" He asked, taking steps towards them.
Olivia stepped forward, placing her hand against his chest to stop his movements, "Conrad, do you really think they knew. I know this fucking suck, but do you really think Skye try to spike you like this?"
Conrad looked down for a moment before looking over at Skye.
"I didn't know anything, okay?" Skye reassured, "I swear I would have told you."
"Would you have?" Conrad asked, "Really? Because we haven't seen each other in ten years. Would a day at the boardwalk have been enough to make you betray your mom."
"Listen," Skye sighed, "I know we don't know each other very well, but I wouldn't have sideswiped you like this."
"Connie, come on." Steven called, "What are we gonna do?"
"I don't know."
"Okay, we can't just leave." Jeremiah said, "All right? The house isn't sold yet. We still have a chance."
"A slim one." Skye said, "I mean, full disclosure, Mom's realtor is expecting multiple cash offers, all over asking, no contingencies."
"Thank you, for the bleak as fuck assessment." Melody scoffed, "That's totally going to fucking help us now."
"Also, where are we going to sleep at tonight?" Steven asked.
"I think there are some sleep bags in the garage." Belly sighed.
"I'm not sleeping in this house." Conrad muttered.
"Okay, I... We don't have to. All right?" Jeremiah said.
"Okay, well, hotels are usually all booked up around this time of year." Melody said, "My place is isn't big enough for all of us."
Jeremiah turned, "Olivia?"
She shrugged, "My mom changed the password to the gate a couple of days ago after I went it last. I can't get it. There wouldn't be enough room for all of us anyway."
"I feel like I should... go." Cam muttered, "And I'd totally invite you guys to come stay with me, but it's a pretty small place, so."
"Yeah, maybe... maybe we should go, too." Taylor said.
"Don't go yet." Jeremiah said suddenly, "I know a place we can crash for the night."
With that said, Jeremiah led the group to the country club.
They made their way towards the front and Jeremiah continuously tried to use his workers pass from last year, but the light only flashed red.
"Shit." He sighed.
"Not a great plan." Skye muttered, "It's from Avengers, RDJ." They quickly explained.
"I understood that reference."
"I'm glad you two nerds are getting along, but can you keep it to yourself for right now?" Melody asked.
Jeremiah kept trying before Olivia grabbed the card from his hands.
"It's clearly not working." She sighed, "There has to be another way to get in."
"We can try the pool gate."
"Uh, we could also use my mom's key code." Cam said.
"Wait, are you sure?" Belly asked.
"Yeah, it's fine. She's the manager at the restaurant here, so..." Cameron said, stepping forward to enter the code.
"I mean, wouldn't she get in trouble, though, if, like, someone checked the logs?" Skye asked.
"No, no." He reassured, "She works the randomest hours, so that alone shouldn't raise any red flags. So long as we don't make a mess, like, at all. should be good."
"They won't even know we're here." Jeremiah smiled, "Thank you for not being on that whale boat, Cam Cameron."
They made their way inside, thanking Cam as they made their way inside.
Each of them had been assigned to a job and Olivia had been left alone to find something comfortable for them to sleep in.
She and Jeremiah walked side by side as they made their way down the halls.
"It's kind of creepy at night, don't you think?" She asked, "I feel like I'm in Scream or Scooby-Doo."
"Oh, really?" He asked, "Who'd be Ghostface?"
"Out of all of us?" Olivia asked, "Skye and Melody a 100 percent." She smiled, "I think people would suspect that it'd be you and Conrad, but, you know, always suspect the unexpected. You never know, some adventures are worthwhile."
Jeremiah chuckled, the sound filling the quiet halls as they continued their walk, "Yeah, I guess you have a point there. Though, I promise I'm not secretly plotting to scare anyone tonight."
"I trust you, Jere." Olivia reassured, nudging his arm.
They reached a dimly lit corner, and Jeremiah paused, turning to face her. The soft glow of the moon spilled through a nearby window, casting a gentle radiance upon Olivia's face.
"You know, Liv," He said, his voice tender and sincere, "I've missed you."
Olivia sighed, glancing down at her hands, "I've missed you too, Jere. And I know things got pretty weird, but I've always wanted to be there for you."
Jeremiah took a step closer, his heart beating a little faster as he looked into Olivia's eyes. "I appreciate that, Liv. You've always been there for me and I can't tell you how much that means to me."
Jeremiah's heart was racing, torn between wanting to express his feelings for Olivia and the fear of potentially jeopardizing their friendship. He knew he had to tread carefully, for he didn't want to risk losing her again.
As Jeremiah looked into Olivia's eyes, he saw the same warmth and understanding that had drawn him to her in the first place. She was a beacon of comfort and trust in his life, and he cherished every moment they spent together.
Olivia's smile returned, brightening her face as she gazed at Jeremiah. "You're like, my best friend, Jere," She said softly, "it's a lot to."
Jeremiah nodded, his heart swelling with affection for the girl standing before him. He couldn't deny the feelings that had grown.
"I'm lucky to have you." Jeremiah replied.
"Me too." She smiled, "I-I should get to looking. I'll see you soon."
She turned, leaving Jeremiah alone, thoughts and all.
He only nodded, licking his lips and made his way to the screening room.
OLIVIA WASN'T left alone very long, at least, she didn't think she was.
She heard the door creek open and Conrad stepped inside, brushing his hair out of his face as he approached her.
"Hey, came looking for you."
Olivia gave him a soft smile as she dropped another pillow into the basket.
"Looks like you found me." She smiled, "You know, I haven't been here since the deb."
"Really?"
"I don't see any rhyme or reason to come back here... unless we're in another situation like this."
Conrad only nodded, "Yeah... another situation." Her muttered.
Olivia said, turning towards him with her hands pressed against the countertop, "There's not a lot we can do now, Conrad. We can... only hope of the best at this point."
"That's the thing," Conrad said, standing closer to her, "Did you know that Liam Meyer got his judge involved to access his trust? If I a guy like that can do it so could Jere and I."
"Do what, Conrad? Sue your dad?"
"I don't know. Maybe." He smiled, "He refuses to fight Aunt Julia on this. And I already told him I'm not giving up until I save this house."
Olivia nodded, "Doesn't hurt to try, I suppose, I just want you to know that you don't have to do any of this alone."
"I know."
Olivia turned once more, grabbing the basket from the floor.
"Hey, Liv?" He called, "Did you ever dance at the deb?"
"Uh, no... no I didn't."
Conrad nodded, pulling his phone out of his pocket and soon the sounds of Taylor Swift's Enchanted (Taylor's Version) blared through his phones speakers.
Olivia smiled, bowing her head down before looking up at him.
"You listen to Taylor Swift?" She asked.
"No, but I have this playlist... I just have a playlist."
Olivia sat the basket down and stepped towards Conrad. She quickly swiped his phone from his hands and as he tried to wrestle it back, she laughed.
"Liv's favorite songs." She read with a smile, "Conrad Fisher, don't tell me you made a playlist for me?"
"Do you know any other Liv's?" He asked, snatching the phone back, "Now, do you want to dance?"
Olivia gave him a soft smile and reached out for his hand. He took it within hers. With their fingers intertwined, Conrad led Olivia away from all the clutter and towards a more open space.
The music continued to play softly in the background as Olivia and Conrad began to sway to the rhythm of the song.
Conrad pulled Olivia close, his arms encircling her waist as they swayed gently to the music.
Olivia rested her head against Conrad's chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart as they moved in harmony to the music.
Conrad's hand traced gentle circles on her back, his touch sending shivers. He rested his cheek against the top of her head.
The soft caress of Conrad's fingers on her back, the warmth of his body against hers, and the tender melody of the song wrapped them in a cocoon of intimacy. Olivia felt a sense of peace she hadn't experienced in a long time, as if all the uncertainties of life had momentarily melted away.
In that intimate embrace, Olivia felt a sense of vulnerability she had rarely allowed herself to show. Conrad's presence had a way of breaking down her walls.
As the song neared its end, Conrad's grip on Olivia tightened ever so slightly, as if he didn't want the moment to end.
She felt the same, but if she stayed their any longer she knew that she'd be doing something she couldn't later explain.
So, whether she wanted to or not, she backed away from his touch, his fingers still laced with hers.
She gave them a small squeeze and Conrad let go. She gave him a small smile, her hand flexing as she lost his touch.
"We should probably get to the others before they warrant a search party." Olivia muttered.
"Yeah..." Conrad muttered, grabbing his phone, pausing Sabrina Carpenter's because i liked a boy, and helping her pick the miscellaneous items that she had gathered.
"Thank you." She smiled.
"Anytime, Liv."
The two of them smiled and headed back, they were the last of the two to arrived and Olivia passed around the pillows that she had found, reassuring the others that they were clean.
Olivia settled in her seat next to Melody and the only sounds that could be heard were the movie and Taylor stabbing an apple. She was trying make a hole large enough for her to smoke weed that she found.
"Okay, c... can you just be a little more neat, please?" Cameron asked.
"It was literally the only thing he asked for you, you cunt." Melody muttered.
Taylor turned, her brows furrowed, "Do you have a problem with me?"
"I have problems with almost half of you bitches, but yes, my main issue is you."
"Want to talk about what I've done?" Taylor asked, "Because I can gladly talk to you."
"You're lucky I'm not getting up to beat your ass, bitch."
Olivia sat up, "Why don't we go outside, yeah?" She grabbed her things, ushering the others to stand, "She can smoke her weed and Cam won't have some sort of fatal heart attack on front of us."
The group silently agreed, turning the moving off and making their way towards a more secluded spot at the country club.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Olivia asked.
"Look, I can't keep pretending that she or any of them for that matter are my friends." Melody said, "I've been nice, or I tried to be nice to her for as long as I could and I can't do it anymore."
Olivia nodded, "What happened between Taylor and I was a year ago. I should be the only one affected by it."
"You should've beat her ass when you could've." Melody muttered, "Has she even apologized? Does she think the two of you are just buddy buddy? Or does she still think that your "not Jeremiah's type"?"
"I don't know what she thinks and I don't care." Olivia answered, "I'm not with him anymore and I've learned not to give a shit about Taylor."
"That doesn't answer my question." Melody rolled her eyes, "She hasn't fucking apologize has she? That's my problem. She came her for Belly, right? She's not here for them, she's not here to apologize. I'm done being nice to her, I'm sick of her fuck shit."
Melody turned, walking backwards as she rested her hands against Olivia's shoulders, "If she doesn't apologize soon, I'm going to rock her shit, but I'm going to smoke that rich people weed first."
Olivia laughed, pushing Melody's hands from her shoulders.
The walk soon stopped as the girls and Skye finally approached the boys who had been repeatedly shouting the word "push".
"All right. All right," Jeremiah sighed, "this thing is officially dead. Why don't we crash up there for the night?" He suggested, pointing towards the hill.
"Well, that would be perfect timing because I have discovered the secret of the apple bong."
"You know, that's surprising." Cam smiled.
Skye looked over, "I have layers."
"Great!" Jeremiah clapped, "Start unpacking."
Olivia, Skye, Melody, Belly, and Taylor all sat on top of the blanket as Taylor lit the apple bong to smoke out of.
Olivia wasn't paying much mind to their conversation, but finally looked up as Steven approached, taking the apple from Melody's hands and taking a bite out off it, spitting it out towards them.
"Wait, wait." Cameron called, "He knows he's going to have to clean that up, right?"
"We'll make him clean it up." Conrad reassured, setting the food that he, Skye, and Cameron packed, on the sheets.
"Wanna keep playing truth or dare?" Cam asked.
"We're playing truth or dare?" Olivia asked.
"Where have you been, space girl?" Melody smiled, "Wanna join us?"
She simply nodded and the game commenced. It was Skye's turn to chose. They closed their eyes, pointing and moving their finger, until it landed on Olivia.
"Olivia," They smiled, "I dare you to, uh, kiss Jeremiah."
Olivia held her lips together before glancing over at Conrad and over towards Jeremiah.
"You know, aren't we too old for that kind of shit?" Jeremiah asked.
"Okay." Melody muttered, "Cam, truth or dare?"
"Truth, please."
"Interesting." She smiled, "What's your biggest regret?"
He chuckled, "Um... I'd probably say, um, not spending enough time with my sister before she died."
"I'm sorry." Melody frowned, "I-I didn't know."
"It's okay." He reassured, "It was ten years ago. She was sixteen. Um, I was just a kid. I really looked up to her. Mm, I still look up to her."
"Does it get any easier?" Jeremiah asked.
He nodded, "Yeah. It's always there, you know. But, um... the pain starts to, uh... you know, feel more like a scar than it does a scab. Like, sometimes something totally random will set you off. Like, um, a song she used to play for you, or um, little yellow tree air fresheners she had in her car and the..." He let out a breathy laugh, "pain just feels brand-new again. But, um... everything... everything goes back to normal. Eventually. Whatever the hell that means."
"Hell, the fuck if I know." Jeremiah added.
"I'm sorry." Conrad muttered.
"No." Cameron turned, "I'm sorry about your mom. She was really cool."
Taylor soon yawned, loudly.
"Sorry, Taylor, where did we lose you there?" Cameron laughed.
"Oh, my God. No, you didn't lose me at all. No, I really love talking about mental health. Like, you should look at my TikTok. It's, like, 70 percent therapist." She said, "I'm just, like, really fucking tired right now."
"Yeah, I guess it is getting kind of later." Jeremiah sighed.
"I'll, uh, I'll go get you some blankets." Steven muttered.
He soon returned, tossing blankets towards the others.
Olivia laid hers flat and a shadowed soon hovered over her. Bingo was dropped onto her lap and she looked up.
"He was scared." Conrad said.
"Was he?" Olivia asked, "I'm so sorry I left you behind." She smiled, holding the beat close.
Her phone soon rang, she furrowed her brows and the unknown number calling and she stood up, leaving Bingo on her blanket.
"Hello?"
"Olivia?"
"Who's asking?"
She crossed her arms, stepping away from the others as she waited for the voice to reply.
"Livvy? It's me."
She felt like her voice had suddenly escaped her. How the hell did her father get her number? How the hell did he—
"Olivia?"
"What do you want?"
Harry sighed, "Jessie hasn't heard from you in awhile... said something about your friend Violet?"
Olivia ran her hand through her hair, looking back at the others before speaking.
"I'm going to hang up." She said, her voice shaking, "You don't have the right to worry about me now."
"Olivia... I'm sorry."
"What are you sorry for?" She asked, "I still like girls as much as I like guys. That hasn't changed." She said, "How'd you get my number in the first place? How'd you find my fucking address?"
"Olivia, I know I fucked up. I know, but I'm... educated. I'm a better person. I—"
"Bullshit." Olivia scoffed, "Look, I'll talk to my mom, but don't call me again. It's the least you can do for me."
She didn't wait for a response and hung up the phone, sliding it into her back pocket.
She rested her hands against her knees, throwing her head down. She didn't need this. Not now.
She finally stood upright and looked down the hill to see Jeremiah getting things off of the golf cart.
She sighed, making her way down and she quickly caught his attention.
"Hey." He spoke.
"Want to go finish the movie?" She asked.
"It's kind of late."
"I know, but maybe it can take our mind off some things, you know."
But Jeremiah stood in his place as she rocked back and forth on her heels.
"Okay... do I... do I stink or something? Do I have bad BO?" She asked, completely changing the subject, anything to get her mind off the conversation she had with her father, "I haven't seen you turn down a kiss since we started dating."
"Don't-don't do that"
"Do what?" She asked, "I'm just trying to talk to you. I mean, you seemed so down to talk not even thirty minutes ago."
"Just stop." He sighed, "Okay?"
"Did I fuck up or something?" Olivia asked, "I'm sorry."
Jeremiah paused, throwing the blanket back onto the cart, "If I kissed you, I don't know that I can ever stop."
Olivia looked down, taking a deep breath, "What do you mean?"
"I don't know, Liv, it's complicated." He paused, "That thing you said earlier. About "adventure is worthwhile"? Did my mom tell you about that?"
"Uh, no... I, um, saw on your graduation cap. Your mom sent my mom a photo." She answered, "And I so would've been there if I wasn't graduating that same day and giving my riveting speech."
Jeremiah laughed, looking over at the girl, "Are you okay?" He asked.
"Um, no, not really." She answered, giving a wonky smile, "My dad... came home after this party I went to and he just called me, so. I'm kind of... all over the place, I guess."
"I'm sorry, Liv."
"You know, I could always talk to you about my dad." She sighed, "Whether it was good or bad. You always listened. Even if you didn't want to."
"I wanted to."
"Please." She scoffed, "There's nothing interesting about Harry Lovell. Expect me."
The two of them laughed and looked over at each.
"I don't think I ever really thanked you for that. So, thank you. I really needed it."
Olivia took small steps forwards, her arms slowly stretching out and Jeremiah stepped into the hug, along the girl to hug him as tightly as she needed.
"Thank you, Jere." She muttered.
"Anytime, Liv."
He stepped back, not pulling away from the hug.
"Shall we?"
Olivia chuckled, separating herself from him as they made their way up the hill.
"Goodnight, Liv." He smiled.
"Goodnight, Jere."
JEREMIAH WAS the first to wake up out of the bunch.
He slept near Belly and she was still sleeping by his side.
He looked over, Conrad and Olivia sleep close to each other, her glasses nowhere insight. They had been carefully resting on top of Conrad's head. The boy grabbing them off the girls face as she slept.
"What's going on out here?" A voice called, waking the others.
Olivia squinted, touching her face and not feeling her glasses.
At this point, she wasn't listening to what anyone was saying and was steadily looking for her glasses.
Conrad stood, stretching up and felt the glasses falling from his head and quickly grabbed them.
"Liv." He called, his voice tired, "Here."
She squinted, slowly standing up and grabbing the glasses from his hands.
"Thank you."
With that, they cleaned up their mess and made their way towards the cars. Conrad said he would drive Olivia's car.
They finally made their way back to the house to find Julia and Sandy standing outside of the house.
"Look who it is." Jeremiah smiled.
"Hi." Sandy spoke.
"It's okay. I'll handle it." Julia reassured Sandy.
Sandy soon left and Julia faced them.
"Oh, I wished you boys had gone home when I asked you to."
"You're not getting us to abandoned our house, Julia." Conrad teased.
"It's not your house, Conrad. And, um... it won't be mine for long, either."
"Julia, please." Jeremiah called, "We have an idea, okay?"
"A buyer has made an offer on the house and I've officially accepted it." Julia said, "I have to go to Boston to finalize the details, but, um, it's done. The house is sold."
They had officially lost.
— lucy has something to say !!
i want to clarify that the last chapter that if anything romantic happened between jere and liv that it was a flashback :)
fun fact: this act was almost called die for you by joji but i changed it because haha and guess what they played the song in this episode... i was gagged
bye :))))