OLIVIA
Chapter Ten
The sound of hushed whispers
seemed to be all around Olivia. She felt odd and couldn’t seem to quite figure
out why. She tried to move, but her body felt heavy and uncoordinated. She tried
to open her heavy-lidded eyes and did manage to a fraction, although everything
was blurred.
"I think she’s coming
to," a deep male voice said close by.
She felt her hand being lifted
and then she felt her cheek being stroked. "Olivia, it’s Cal. Can you hear
me?"
She turned her head toward the
sound of his voice and tried to open her eyes again. Ever so slowly, she
managed to finally open them and focus on her husband’s concerned face.
"Cal?" she questioned
groggily. "Where am I?"
"In our room," he answered.
"Why am I here? What
happened?"
"I don’t know, my dear. You
were found outside unconscious. You were brought upstairs and the doctor was
summoned immediately. I was hoping you could tell us what happened."
Olivia searched her mind, but
couldn’t seem to remember. She slowly shook her head. "I don’t know…I
don’t know what happened. I can’t remember."
Cal’s features darkened
momentarily, but he brushed it off quickly. "Perhaps it will come back to
you later. The important thing is that you and the baby are all right."
"The baby," she
whispered frantically, and placed a protective hand on her stomach. "Is
it…all right? Is everything all right with the baby?"
"Yes. The doctor has given
you a thorough examination and everything is just fine. You gave us quite a
scare, Olivia."
As everything became clearer to
her, she looked around her and saw her parents and sister, as well as Cal’s
parents and her doctor. "I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened. I went
outside for a breath of air and that’s all I can remember."
"As I said, the main thing
is that you and the baby are all right," Cal repeated as he stood. "I
think you should rest now."
She nodded as he stepped back and
her mother came forward to take her hand. "Olivia, we were so afraid
something terrible had happened. Thank goodness you’re all right."
"I’m fine, Mother. I just
feel very tired."
"Of course." She bent
to kiss her forehead. "We’ll leave you now, darling. I’ll call tomorrow to
see how you’re doing."
Her father and sister hugged her,
as did Cal’s mother. When Nathan Hockley came by her bed, she felt a sense of
dread wash over her, as if a dark cloud had come overhead. He smiled at her,
and she stared back at him, wishing he would go away. She didn’t understand
this feeling, but it was there nonetheless. He saw the change come over her and
his smile gave way to a puzzled frown. She quickly averted her eyes until she
knew he had left her bedside.
Dr. Covington stopped beside her
before leaving as well. "I’ll come back tomorrow to check on your progress.
But, as I told your husband, you’re young and healthy and I don’t foresee any
complications. Just rest, my dear. That’s the main thing."
Olivia nodded at him as he turned
and left the room. Once she and Cal were alone, he came back over to the bed
and sat down beside her. He smiled at her, but there was something dark and
cold in his eyes. He leaned forward, lifted one of her long golden curls, and
wrapped it around his finger. "All right, Olivia. It’s just you and me.
We’re alone. Now, tell me what happened out there on the terrace."
Olivia looked up at him and shook
her head. "I told you. I can’t remember."
He stared intently at her for a
moment and then gave her a cynical smile. "You don’t expect me to believe
that, do you? Something must have occurred, something you’re trying to hide
from me. Now, I will ask again…what happened?"
She stared wide-eyed at him, her
heart pounding in her chest. He didn’t believe her? She licked her dry lips to
answer him. "Cal, I honestly don’t know. I went outside to get some air
and the next thing I know, I’m right here. You have to believe me."
He gazed coolly down at her for a
breathless moment. "Very well, Olivia. I shall take your word for it, but
if I ever find out that you’ve lied to me, I won’t be as understanding. Is that
in any way unclear?"
Olivia couldn’t speak, so she
only responded with a nod of her head.
"I’ll send Angelina in here
to stay with you. We still have guests to attend to who haven’t left yet."
He stood and straightened his suit, taking great care to smooth everything out.
"Stay in here and rest. I don’t want you to exert yourself. If you need
anything, Angelina will take care of it."
"Yes, Cal," she
answered quietly.
She watched his retreating form
and felt a sense of relief when she was finally alone. She was hurt at Cal’s
reaction, but worse than that, she was becoming accustomed to it. His cool
attitude towards her was not what she needed; she needed comfort, reassurance,
and most of all, his love. But she was beginning to truly believe that she never
had it.
A sense of foreboding and sadness
gripped her. She felt the same feeling when Nathan Hockley came near her, but
she couldn’t figure out why.
As she lay there in the quiet, she
went over in her mind all that had happened, but she simply could not remember
why she had fainted. The very last memory she had was standing on the terrace,
and the next thing she knew, she was lying here with everyone around her.
Why couldn’t she remember? It was
as if a piece of her memory had been removed. It was very disconcerting. And
Cal’s accusation that she was keeping something from him was unfair. She had
never lied to her husband, but she doubted she could say the same for him.
Angelina came in a short time
later and helped her undress and get ready for bed. Hours passed, but Cal never
came back to their room. Eventually, she fell asleep, and it was only when the
morning came that she realized that he had never come back and she had spent the
night alone.
Olivia slid from the bed and
wrapped her dressing gown around her. She felt a little unsteady on her feet,
but after a few minutes it passed. She made her way to the hall, where the
early morning light filtered through the high, cut glass windows. Everything
was so quiet--almost too quiet.
She came down the staircase,
doing a cursory check of the foyer and the outlying doors for any signs of
anything amiss. As she rounded the bottom of the stairs, she heard soft music
coming from the library. She turned and walked slowly and silently towards the
doors. When she reached them, she listened for any movement from inside but
didn’t hear anything.
Grasping the brass handle, she
turned the knob and opened it quietly, peeking inside as she did. Her breath
caught in her throat at the sight she saw.
There, on the long, leather
couch, lay Cal, and wrapped his arms was a beautifully framed photograph of
Rose DeWitt Bukater.