Olivia Beckham

Finally after a week of being grounded, I get my phone and keys back. Feeling the need to get out, I text Makenna and Rachel and see if they want to go out and do something after dance practice. I need to get out and luckily my dad should be home in an hour so he can watch the kids for a while after practice and so I can go out.

Olivia: u guys want to go to the mall and hangout after practice?

Rachel: Sure! We haven't hung out in so long!

Makenna: Hey cuties! We should def hang out. We haven't hung out in so long, Ol!

We text for a little bit longer and make concrete plans before I turn off my phone and make sure I'm ready for dance.

Charlie still hasn't said anything about my parents but he's also been super distant since I got grounded. Maybe he's realizing that it's not worth the hassle to be with me and so he's trying to give me space to try and figure out the best way to end things.

I look at the time and see that it's about time for me to leave so I grab my bag, make sure my water bottle is filled up, and go outside to start my car. I come back in and tell my dad my plans for after dance and he gives me the OK.

Charlie is outside when I walk back out to my car and by the looks of it, he's planning on washing his car. In the middle of winter. Deciding I'm going to have to get used to ignoring him, I continue on my path to the driver's side door. But of course Charlie won't let me escape without at least making me aware that he knows I'm in his vision and thoughts.

"Olllllllllieeeee" he says in a singsong voice

"You weren't really gonna leave without saying anything to me were you?" He asks

"Umm sorry. I have to get to dance though. I'll see you after?" I ask in response

"Ok, are you avoiding me?"

"No, why would I be avoiding you?"

"Ollie it's not that hard to see you're avoiding me." he answers

"I've gotta go though so maybe we'll talk later kay?" I tell him

I hop in my car before he can say anything else and drive to dance.

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After Dance

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I pull my car into the garage and hop out, closing the garage as I do. I walk inside to see my mom sleeping on the couch. My dad had work at 8 so he's already gone. I go over to my mom and gently tell her that I'm back before she goes back to sleep on the couch.

I go upstairs and take a quick shower before getting into some comfy pajamas and getting ready for bed. It's already 11:30 so I collapse onto my bed ready for sleep. I look at my phone to see a text message from Charlie:

Charlie: Goodnight hedgehog! I'm talking to you tomorrow and you don't get any say in it by the way

Olivia: Goodnight Charlie

I chuck my phone across the room not wanting to deal with the world anymore and not particularly caring if it doesn't charge tonight. Then I fall asleep like a rock and I'm dead to the world for four in a half hours before I wake up at five am to go on a run.

After my run, I come back home and take another shower so I'm not sweaty for school. By the time I'm done with my shower and I've gotten ready for school, it's already almost seven o'clock. I go downstairs to see the kids all in different stages of getting ready; Leo is packing his lunch, Adrian, Ben and Emma are eating breakfast, Isabella is putting on her shoes, and Aurora is looking at books already done with getting ready. Sofia is still miraculously sleeping, but she won't be sleeping for much longer because she's going to get hungry soon.

15 minutes later they are all ready to go and the bus is pulling onto the street. I tell them all to have a good day with Sofia on my hip and watch as the bus pulls away from the curb. I walk back inside and continue getting Sof ready to go to Ms. Ava's house. When I finish getting her ready I grab a car seat of hers from the garage and strap it into my car before grabbing little Sofia and buckling her in. I get in the driver's seat making sure that I have Sofia's diaper bag and my backpack before pulling out of the garage.

After dropping off Sofia, I drive to school and after spotting Charlie's car, I park in the spot next to it. This has become our routine, even though most of the time if we drive separately it's because we have after school practices and if we don't, we usually ride together. I don't know what I will do if we break up and don't do this anymore because this simple tradition warms my heart.

I hop out of the car and get to my first hour with only 2 minutes before the final bell rings. I'm sitting in first hour when I feel my phone buzz:

Charlie: Let me walk you to second hour today don't try to bolt before I get there.

Olivia: Fine

I don't know why he insists on walking with me when he's been so distant lately, like he still wants to be with me.

First hour ends and I go and wait in the usual spot where he usually picks me up to see him already waiting.

He gives me a smile and links my arm around his before saying, "Ready little hedgehog?"

"Yeah"

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After school

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I pull into my driveway after school and walk into the house to see both of my parents talking quietly in the kitchen.

"Hey" I say

"Hello" they answer in unison

I go upstairs to bring my backpack and shoes and put them away. I don't have dance today because midway through the day our coach texted that she's been puking all morning so practice is canceled. I start to walk out of my room when I get an incoming call from Charlie. I swipe to answer the call and as soon as I do, I hear the cheerful, "Hello! Guess what?"

"What"

"I'm coming over with my parents to talk to your parents and you about our relationship. I have a plan. Don't worry."

"What do you mean you have a plan. Is this a spy mission or something?"

He laughs, then says: "No I've just put a lot of thought and time into this"

"Should we even be doing this? Is it even worth it?"

He pauses before saying, "What do you mean?"

"Well I just mean like I can tell that you're not as interested anymore. Like since you realized that my parents are overprotective you've kinda taken a step back in our relationship. And I get it. I understand why you're doing it. But if you want to end our relationship then just tell me straight up. Don't beat around the bush and try to give me hints."

Silence. I pull the phone back from my ear to check that the call is still connected. It is.

"Charlie?"

"Yeah" he answers flatly

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm coming over. Bye" Then he hangs up.

OK. I look out my window which faces the street and strain to see their house on the side of me. I can see their garage opening which tells me that Charlie is keeping his word and coming over to talk to me.

I run downstairs and get to the door right as he knocks. I open the door and he grabs my hand and pulls me out before closing the door and leading me back to his house. He doesn't say a word as he drags me behind him and into his house. We go to the roof and he sits and I sit next to him. I don't know what to say or what we're doing here.

Charlie is the one to break the silence, "Did you seriously think that I'm not interested in you anymore?"

"Well I don't know. You've just been distant lately. I just thought that maybe it was just your way of trying to clue me in to the fact that you were done with this relationship.

He turns to face me and grabs both of my hands before saying, "I've just been preoccupied with trying to figure out how to talk to your parents. That's sometimes something that I do. I should've warned you but I didn't. I'm sorry. Whenever I work on something that's really important to me or just really big, I tend to give all my focus and attention to that one thing. I didn't realize that you felt that way. You have to tell me though so that I can be aware of your feelings. If I don't know then I can't help you. This relationship can't work on no communication Ollie. If you don't communicate then we can't figure out the problem. I wasn't ignoring you, I was just focused. Do you understand? Does that make sense?"

"Yea that makes more sense now. Sorry I jumped to conclusions so fast."

"And just so you know, if I ever want to break up with you, I won't beat around the bush or lay down hints. That's dumb. If you don't want to be with someone then just tell them." he says

He gives me a look asking if I understand and I give him a smile in return.

He lays down and looks at the stars and I feel my phone buzz in my sweatshirt pocket. I pull it out to see my mom texted me:

Mom: Charlie's parents are here. Are you guys coming back? Apparently they have something important to tell us.

Olivia: Coming

I nudge a content Charlie and relay what my mom said. He heaves a sigh and stays there a minute longer before sitting up and grabbing my hand then starting to walk back to the window.

We walk back to my house while I ask him what his plan is. Of course he won't give it up because that's typical Charlie. He likes the fun in mysteries and I had a feeling he wouldn't budge but I figured it was worth a try.

We enter my house to see my parents and Charlie's parents seated at the dinner table all talking animatedly about whatever they were discussing. They all looked over at us and fell silent when they saw us enter. We walk over to the table and sit, where I see the smile start to form on Charlie's face and I know we're in for a ride. He stands up. Why is he STANDING UP!

"Hello Dr and Mrs. Beckham, I would like to have a civil discussion with you about mine and Ollie's relationship." He starts.

My dad is the one to talk, "What's there to talk about? I don't want you dating my daughter so there is no relationship to talk about.

"With all due respect sir, your daughter and I are in a relationship so there is in fact, a relationship even if you disapprove of it."

"Why don't we explore why we don't like their relationship? It can't be all that bad." Charlie's dad says trying to stop the situation from escalating.

"Give me one good reason why my daughter should be dating your son!" my dad suddenly says, the anger clearly evident in his voice.

"Let's calm down and discuss this in an adult manner; Max there's no need to get fired up about this." Charlie's dad speaks again.

"I know you have concerns about our relationship, so that's why I made a pros and cons list of why we should be in a relationship. Starting off with the cons: if we break up then it becomes awkward for everyone, it could take a toll on our mental health, we will have to make many compromises, we will fight and have disagreements, but this is part of a relationship. Which brings us to the pros: we like to spend time together, science shows that you actually live longer if you're in a relationship with someone you love, you have support, relationships reduce stress, it reduces depression and avoids the feeling of loneliness. There are so many more pros to being in a relationship but I won't bore you with the details. The point I'm trying to make is that being in a relationship far outweighs not being in one. A relationship is meant to be something that uplifts and helps each other, not one that breaks them down. A relationship is a good thing Dr. Beckham and I intend to make this relationship the best I've ever had. Thankyou for listening to my reasoning." With a smile on his face, he sits back down.

His mother talks next: "We have a proposition for you. I know we don't know each other well yet. So, instead of not letting our kids be together, why don't we go on a vacation together?" She pulls out her laptop from the bag beside her before continuing, "I looked up cruises a little while ago for our family to go on and I came up with an idea that both families should go on this cruise together. This would give our families an opportunity to be able to bond and form connections and mutual trust. What do you think?"

Silence. No words were spoken for at least two minutes. It was my mother who had enough courage to speak first: "We will need to discuss this privately. It is not a terrible idea but we need to talk about details. As for your relationship, I will allow it but we're going to have rules and guidelines. First, you tell either us or Charlie's parents where you are or where you're going at all times. Second, you need to be able to be flexible. We all have busy lives so this can't take away from your home responsibilities. Third, you need to keep us updated on your relationship status. If you guys break up, we wanna know about it. That's all"

"Those work. And don't worry we won't be breaking up so you don't have to worry about number three." Charlie says with a huge grin on his face. That smile looks like it could kill. All I do is sit there and watch as this confusing situation gets even more confusing and now I'm entirely confused. My parents were totally against me being with him before and now they're considering a cruise with his family?

"I'll be right back." I say, already pushing back my chair and making my way out of the room.

I go upstairs and into my room and sit on my bed. This is the most bizarre situation. It's like my parents went to therapy and yoga and came back new people.

Since I don't really want to go back downstairs yet, I decide to get Sofia who's up from her nap but playing happily in her crib. I bring her downstairs and walk into the kitchen to give her a sippy of juice all the while hearing the parents talk to each other. I couldn't hear what they were talking about because I was too far away but I did feel it when Charlie walked up from behind me.

"Trying to avoid the parents aren't you little hedgehog."

Turning around, I give him the stink eye before bringing little Sof out of the kitchen and into the living room. I pull some toys out of her toy bins and hand them to her before setting her down on the floor and laying myself down next to her. Charlie sits down next to me and looks at me, excitement radiating off him.

"We did it Ollie! Doesn't that make you happy?" he asks

"I don't know Charlie. This is weird. Last week they hated the idea and now they want to go on a bonding trip?"

"Maybe your parent's just needed time to adjust and realized that they handled the situation last week badly. Don't think too much about it Ol. Just accept the win." he says softly.

Deciding to do what he says, I close my eyes and listen to Sofia's happy sounds and focus on the heat I can feel from Charlie's body seated next to me.

Everything will work out. I will make sure of it. Even if my parent's weird behavior is freaking me out, I won't let it mess up what me and Charlie have together. I'll take the win.

We lay here for a little bit, Charlie's parents coming in once to tell him they're going back home and asking if I wanted to join them for dinner. Charlie convinces me to come and my parents approve, so now we're walking over to his house to have dinner and I really don't want to break his heart by telling him I'm not hungry so I just have to go along with it and hope for the best.

Because everything will work out ok. 

That's what I have to keep telling myself.

 And I'm hoping that someday I can start believing it.