Page 51 of The Final Straw

Bre whistles softly. "Well, that went better than expected." She stands, gives me a quick hug, and hurries after Van, calling over her shoulder, "Sorry, babe! I drove him here."

I get up and lock the door behind her, sealing myself inside the apartment. I lean my back against the door and close my eyes, sliding to the floor.

What in the hell am I going to do?

The silence is heavy, and I stay slumped against the door. Van loves me. He wants to be with me. But Kipp and Grady... they’ve come to mean so much to me in such a short time. I can't just cut them out of my life. The thought is unbearable.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, pulling me out of my thoughts. It's a text from Grady.

Grady: Hey, how are you holding up?

I stare at the screen, my fingers hovering over the keyboard. How do I even begin to explain what just happened? My hands shake as I type.

Me: I'm okay, I guess. Just had a tough conversation with Van.

A few moments later, my phone buzzes again.

Grady: Do you want to talk about it?

I take a deep breath, feeling the tears welling up in my eyes again. I need to talk about it. I need someone to help me make sense of all this.

Me: Yeah, I do. Can you come back over?

Grady: Of course. Kipp is dealing with the Jessica shit so it’s just me. Is that okay?

Me: Yeah that’s totally fine.

I set my phone down and wipe my eyes. Maybe he can help me figure out what to do. I walk around the apartment, trying to distract myself by tidying up, but my mind keeps drifting back to Van's words. He was going to propose.

There’s a knock at the door, and I rush to answer it. Grady stands on the other side, concern etched on his face. He steps inside and pulls me into a tight hug.

"Hey, it's going to be okay," he murmurs against my hair.

I cling to him, letting the tears fall. "I don't know what to do, Grady. Van still loves me. He was going to propose. But I can't just let you and Kipp go. You both mean so much to me."

Grady pulls back slightly, looking into my eyes. "Olivia, we’ll figure this out together. You don't have to make any decisions right now. Just take your time and follow your heart."

I nod. "Thank you. I just... I feel so lost."

He leads me to the couch, sitting down beside me and holding my hand. "Let's talk it out. Tell me everything that happened."

I tell him what happened after they left, my emotions raw and unfiltered. Grady listens intently, his hand never leaving mine. When I finish, he squeezes my hand gently.

"Olivia, we want you to be happy. If being with Van makes you happy, then we’ll support you. But if you want to find a way to make this work with all of us, we’re willing to try."

His words bring a new wave of tears to my eyes. "You really mean that?"

"I do."

I appreciate his words, but he’s only one half of his marriage. His husband isn’t here to agree with him.

“Kipp’s not here though. Are you sure he thinks the same? He already had a woman fuck him over, he might be hesitant. Plus, my ex is now probably going to put his daughter behind bars. I know he says he’s on our side, but still, that’s… a lot.” Kipp’s feelings are just as important in all of this

Grady nods. "Let’s ask him.”

He pulls out his phone and sends a quick text to Kipp. A few minutes later, the phone rings and Grady answers it, putting it on speaker.

"Hey, Kipp. Olivia and I are here. We need to talk to you about something important."

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