Love on Ice

Chapter 14 - Olivia

I'm snapped from my sleep by aggressive knocking at the front door.

Shit.

I look at the clock on the fireplace which reads 910pm.

Fuck.

Who the fuck is knocking on the door this late?

The TV is playing quietly in the background and there's a few lamps on around the living room.

Shit.

You'll be able to see someone's home.

The knocking starts again and it snaps me out of my panic.

I run to the door and grab the baseball bat from the umbrella holder to the side of the door.

I hold it in my left arm, hiding it behind my back as I slowly open the front door.

I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding and am relieved to see its just James standing on my front porch.

His incredibly angry face soon turns into a look of relief as I open the door further.

"James?" I ask.

"Jesus Christ Olivia, thank God you're okay," he says rubbing his hand over his head.

"What? What's going on? What do you mean?" I ask, confused.

"You said you were going to text me when you got home Liv, and you never did," he sighs.

SHIT.

FUCK.

I FORGOT TO TEXT HIM.

"I tried texting and phoning you Liv but you didn't reply, I'm sorry for coming over here, I just had to make sure you were okay," he says.

He looks almost embarrassed.

"Oh god James, I'm so so sorry, I got home and Megs phoned and she was talking to me for ages and then I fell asleep on the sofa and I completely forgot to send you a text. Fuck, James, I am so sorry you came all the way out here just to check on me," I ramble on.

By this point my hand which opened the door is rubbing over my face as I speak and my left hand has dropped to my side.

I look up at him when I get to the end of my rambling and see his face is morphed into a slight smirk, side of his lip raised and his eyes on...

"Olivia, why are you holding a baseball bat?" he asks, now looking me back in the eyes.

I look down to my left hand and realise I forgot I had picked it up.

"Oh...erm...I didn't know who it was calling round this late. Megs is out so I'm home alone and erm, yeah just kind of grabbed it," I say, laughing in my head at the thought of actually taking on an intruder with it.

James lets out a small chuckle and looks at me with a raised eyebrow, "I thought you knew self-defence?" he asks.

I laugh, "yeah well you can never be too careful right" I say.

We stand in a moment of silence just staring at each other.

God I feel so bad he came all this way.

"I am so sorry James, for making you come all the way out here," I break the silence.

"It's fine Liv, I was headed into the office anyway and thought it would be worth just checking in on you. I'm glad you're alright and safe," he replies.

"Work? This late?" I ask.

Why am I suddenly concerned about his working habits?

"Yeah, I got some info on a case I need to look over," he responds.