32. WISH UPON A SHOOTING STAR.
“Make a wish”
Olivia was fond of the skies, especially how magnificent they lit up during the nights. And Gerald, her mother knew how much it made her happy, that he often brought up to the Milwood Stands. These stand was the Hollywood of Chicago and Olivia and her father would climb past billboards, holding unto the edges till they were sat. And Gerald will fasten one hand around his daughter’s—
—using the other to point into the skies that glimmered in a fistful of stars. “They’re beautiful” A five year old Olivia blurted out the very first time Gerald had showed her up here. “Of course it is, this is my place” He whispered and she scoffed lightly.
“I come here sometimes when the world becomes a bit noisy” Her eyes darted to the usually bustling roads that seemed to be a thousand feet between her swinging converses. “Or when i get into a fight with your mother and she chases me out of the house” They both chuckled and Liv brought her head to rest on Gerald’s shoulders and a silence crept between their laughters.
“What is this?” Olivia’s voice went low and he raised his hands in the air, measuring with only his thumb and index. “That is Sirius” They’re gaze was set on the twinkling above them and Gerald looked down at his daughter. “That is the brightest star in the constellation. It’s like you” His hands ran through her silky black hair then and Olivia had a large grin on her face.
“No, it’s like you dad”
She brought her head to rest against his shoulders again, this time her ponytail slipping down his thighs. And Gerald squeezed her arms lightly. I think that was the first time Olivia felt something and for the many years to come, she was still there.
She remained there, in milwood, and in her father’s arms that whenever she thought of him, that was the first memory that would spring in her head. It was the only one as beautiful as him.
He was her star.
They both were stars, to each other. And it was horrible when she lost him, almost like the skies above her had turned dark, with puffy clouds roaming close, swallowing Sirius and all the other stars. And it was difficult to find herself in that starless void—without Gerald, without the very first man that thought her love.
-
Moments like these, were times that she was reminded of him.
Olivia sat in the sands, her dress flowing all around her in the ruin of the approaching waves—waves that swept softly through her feet. And she bent her head backwards, a smile forming across her lips.
Her fingers grasped the wet, coarse particles and the air was filled with his scent once again. “Why are you silent?” Luke’s voice slithered through her ears, drifting back to reality and her eyes went with his. “I just found out i could marry your brother, it’s not exactly the prime of my life” She scoffed, they both did.
“I get it, Liv” He was the first person to shorten her name that way and she wasn’t complaining. She looked deep into his green eyes and how they glistened in the dark. “I don’t think you do” She replied, turning her face back to the skies above them and he looked to her messy hands, contemplating whether or not to reach for them. “It’s better, right?” He asked.
“What?”
“This place” He whispered, and she gathered the ends of her dress in her hands. “How do you know i was stargazing person?” She chuckled and she rested back against his arms.
“Everyone is. You know i don’t think anyone really hates the stare—“ There was a crack in his voice as she moved closer to him. “It’s beautiful, here.” She raised her hands in the sky, trying to match the location of Sirius and when she did, a gasp escaped her lips and she looked to Luke. “There.” She said.
“What are we looking out?” He scoffed, only inches away from her and she pushed a lump down her throat. “It’s the brightest star” She whispered, and his eyes looked at her before darting back to the starlight skies. She cleared her throat, moving slightly away. “Sirius, is what they call it. It means Savior” She added and Luke looked to her. “How do you know so much?”
“My father.”
“We loved these things.” She scoffed with half a smile across her lips and Luke nodded. “Is he still around, or he’s been Hanked” She chuckled softly before bringing her head to his shoulders. “The latter, i think. He was in an accident” She said.
“I’m so sorry” He was obliged to say and she tapped his large hands, the sands acting as a friction between their cold skins. The winds breezed into her hair, swaying the lengths from side to side and silence crept between them.
“It’s not your fault”
“Does this help, or it’s too much?” Her eyes were fixated on the one star as slowly his hands inched closer to hers. She closed her eyes, allowing him to fully grasp her soft palms. “This is enough” She replied, only audible to him and Luke held unto her. “You’ve done enough” She continued, and he scoffed, his voice overshadowed by the rising tides and his lips brushed lightly against her eyes. “I’m glad” His hot breath raised the hair along her neck as she rested into him—like a home.
-
“Where is everyone?” Raznak halted by the table, his gaze falling to only Amanda who had her hands intertwined. “Damien said he needed some air and Olivia was a bit light headed, she was accompanied by my other son” She replied and he took a seat next to her. “Could it be—“
“Could it be that she’s with child?” He muttered what was an obvious joke and Amanda took a sip of her champagne. “I very much do not think so” She answered and he scoffed. “You know if not for the media, i’d have my doubts about them. You know, whether or not they really love each other, at least enough to get married” His voice went low.
“But that was until i saw their recent photos in the rain, and it reminded me of something, Amanda” She cleared her throat, restive in her seat. “I think we should reconsider your deal, Raznak. I don’t think Damien would want you heading the company as well as being a primary shareholder. You made it clear when Hank was alive how much different your intentions were with the company” She interrupted and Raznak heaved a deep breath.
“It’s my money, Amanda. And your son has a tough decision to make. And soon because i don’t have the luxury of time.” His voice went dark, and so did his eyes on her. “You know he’s just like me, Amanda and he’s going to make the right decision to finally come out of his father’s shadows” His hands reached for hers across the table and Amanda pushed a lump down her throat. “And that girl—“ He paused.
“Olivia”
“Olivia right.” He clenched her hands. “She’s just like you, you know that and they remind me of us” Amanda pulled away from him, her eyes turning glassy as she looked away. “Not right now, Raznak” She looked over her shoulders and he let out a stiff chuckle. “They’re gone. It only means one thing” The music played lowly behind them as he smirked.
“It leaves us two.” Their eyes matched, and for a second Amanda felt as though her heart wanted to leap from her chest the moment he reached again for her palms. And she pushed a lump down her throat, forcing a smile to her lips.
-
“Damien.”
His hands brushed against the metal railings as he heaved in a lungful of fresh air. His eyes shot open, recognizing that voice behind him and he was quick to turn around. “Amelia” He confirmed, seeing her in a crystal lace dress and a purse in her hands and she inched closer to him on the rooftop.
“What are you doing here?” His voice was husky and she didn’t halt until she was a few steps closer. His lips twitched. “What are you?” Their eyes met and she let her shoulders fall.
“I’m asking you, the same reason you’re here.”
“I followed you, Damien” He scoffed at how unbelievable she was. She pushed a lump down her throat with the air running through her hair. “It didn’t work out, right?” She shrugged her arms. “Whatever shit you were planning with Olivia, crumbled to the ground right?” She had a smirk across her lips and he just scoffed. “When are you going to stop?” He asked her and she stepped back a little bit.
“Stop what?”
“This obsession, that you have with me. This infatuation with the idea of us you romanticize in your head” She laughed, managed to remain firm in her ground although he inched closer. “I’m not obsessed with you, Damien Archer” She gritted through her teeth and she raised an eyebrow.
“You said it yourself, you followed me here.” He replied. “Half way across Europe, here you are just to stand in front of me to tell me once again, that i suck” He scoffed and she looked up at him. “I followed the story. And you are the story, Damien”
“That’s bullshit” He spat in her face before pulling away. “You can call it whatever you want but all i see this obsessive compulsion to have me—“
“Shut the fuck up, Damien” She threw herself at his back but he was quick to grasp her by her neck, pinning her against the railings his hands once rested on. His ring stroked the edge of her chin as she gasped softly. His grip grew tighter as her feet demagnetized from the grounds. There was a whole city beneath them and Damien had rage in his eyes. “Tell me, Amelia how you could love a man that only hurts you?” He asked and her slender fingers gripped around his large arms.
She fell back to the grounds and Damien turned his eyes away. “I want you to leave tonight” He muttered beneath his breath and she walked right in front of him, striking him with a finger. “Not until you tell me what exactly is going on. Not until you tell me why you chose her” There was a crack in her voice and Damien felt tears sting the back of his throat.
“I said leave” He yelled, her heartbeat erratic as she closed her eyes. “Give it up” He croaked, a centimeter between them. “Give me up.” He added. “Just like everyone has” Her eyes opened, for a moment catching a tear in his before he brushed past her shoulders, heading towards the door.
“Marriott” Her voice halted his steps, and he threw his head over his shoulders. “I leave tomorrow. I’m staying a few blocks from here at a Marriott hotel.” She cleared her throat as his hands clasped around the edge of the door before pushing it open. Her knee knocked into each other as she stood there, the air breezing into her face and drying her tears.
-
“There.” Luke pointed at something in the skies and Olivia’s eyes darted towards it. “Is that sirius?” He asked and a furrow went through her brows as she shook her head.
There was a light that flashed across from them, leaving only a trail of white mass in the dark clouds and she looked to the man beside her. “It’s not an ordinary star” She whispered.
“It’s a shooting star.”
Luke immediately sat forward, clenching his knees. “Then make a wish. Make a wish then” He pushed and Olivia shrugged her shoulders. “Come on, it’s not as if—“ She halted just his hands met her arms and her eyes went to it.
“Where’s your little faith?”
“You’re the stargazer, remember?” They briefly chuckled before her eyes turned to the skies and Olivia muttered words beneath her breath, before closing her eyes. In that moment, Luke had seen her. With her red hair, and her long eyelashes, and slender arms—she was magnificent in that dress of hers.
Like a clothed star.
It was the first time he’d seen her. Not the first time he met her but the first time he actually saw her and realized how much he cared. The first time he looked at her and knew he wanted her around—but there was his brother, Damien and she had his ring across her finger. But he’d forsaken that, alongside every other matter that seemed to exist around them.
And only in that moment had he seen something utterly beautiful, and worthy. The moment she opened her eyes, he pushed a lump down his throat as it locked with his.
“What did you wish for?” There was a crack in his voice as she realized he still held her left palm in his. And she looked to it, before her eyes fell on his lips. Luke was caught up in the moment so much that he leaned into her. She didn’t have to answer his question—she couldn’t. Because he’d sealed her pursed lips, leaving eyes wide with shock. As her lips met his, the world melted away and those eyes closed.
His warm breath felt like winter, alongside the cold Vienna sea breeze. His hands moved up and down the length of her back, the need to touch every part of her, all consuming and she was overcome with all these emotions.
“We shouldn’t be doing this” She muttered, her heart racing in her chest as she wound her fingers through his hair. Luke was lost in the passion of the kiss as he enclasped her jaw in his hands—heart thrumming against hers until she finally pulled away from him, gathering her dress in her hands.
And she looked down at him with tears in her eyes, and a heart that had never raced so fast in her chest. She heaved in a deep breath as their eyes met. “What the fuck” She cussed as Luke stood to his feet, and the sudden silence fell between them, mixing with the tension in the air.
And they just froze, beneath the shooting star.
-
Damien climbed up the stairs, looking at his phone for at least a call from Olivia but there was none. He finally reached the floor of the gala and he only had to walk past the paparazzi that stood by the door but the moment he pushed it open, he was met with the most agonizing sight that one could witness.
And he halted, his firm grasp vibrating against the door handle.
Olivia wasn’t there, and the chairs all around them were empty, Raznak had his palm around his mother’s chin and slowly they leaned into each other. Amanda closed her eyes, sealing lips with the man her son hated the most. Damien died a little bit inside as he froze in that spot as well. The door closed between him and he was drawn back into the hotel corridors.
He was filled with all the rage, and anger that a man could bear, so much so he imagined running a knife through Raznak’s chest, and watching him gasp for breath like his dad.
It was an eventful night, one would say, crowned by a rare meteor shower—alongside all the luck that could come with it and leaving these people with an aftermath to deal with.
But the night wasn’t yet because there’s still so much left of it.
To be continued…