Chapter_42
The silence between them hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. Olivia could feel the tension simmering just beneath the surface. Tyler was trying to keep things civil, but she could sense the undercurrent of unspoken emotions. She wasn’t sure how to navigate this delicate situation, or if she even wanted to.
As they ate, Olivia’s mind wandered, her thoughts filled with questions and doubts. Was this temporary? Was she truly meant to stay here until Naomi got better? And, most importantly, what was Tyler’s real intention in asking her to stay?
She took a small bite of her breakfast, her gaze shifting between the dishes and Tyler, who was still immersed in his newspaper. He didn’t seem particularly concerned with her discomfort, but then again, he never had been.
Tyler eventually broke the silence, his voice calm and measured. “I usually have work to attend to and social commitments, so I won’t be home most of the time. Is that okay with you?”
Olivia hesitated for a moment, considering her answer carefully. She knew she had no other place to go, and she didn’t want to seem ungrateful. She could handle being alone—she had before. “I… It’s alright, I have school anyway,” she said, trying to sound casual, though the words felt hollow in her mouth.
Tyler gave a nod but didn’t respond further, his attention quickly drifting back to his newspaper. Olivia couldn’t help but feel like a guest in his life—an intruder in his world. Everything about this house, about him, felt too foreign, too out of place for her to truly settle into.
The minutes passed by in relative quiet, with only the sound of silverware clinking against plates and the occasional rustling of the newspaper. Olivia tried to distract herself by picking at her food, but her mind kept racing. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was caught in the middle of something much bigger than herself, a situation she didn’t fully understand.
Finally, Tyler set his newspaper aside and stood up. “I’ll be gone most of the day. If you need anything, ask the staff,” he said, his tone still distant, though not unkind.
Olivia nodded, though she wasn’t sure if she was meant to follow him or if he was simply leaving her to figure things out on her own. She watched as he grabbed his coat and left the room, the door clicking softly behind him.
As the silence settled back in, Olivia felt a sense of isolation creep in once again. She wasn’t sure what the future held, or how she was supposed to fit into this strange new chapter of her life. All she could do was try to make sense of it, one step at a time.