You Looked Down on Me Once Now You Look Up (Patricia and Oliver) novel Chapter 795

Maybe it was just winter static in the air.

Patricia leaned against the headboard, sipping her water. Oliver, without even thinking, reached over and brushed her hair back from her face. It was an ordinary thing, really, but in that quiet moment, it felt charged with something more.

Patricia finished her water in a hurry and set the glass aside.

"You want more?"

"I'm good."

"I’ll be in the living room. If you need anything, just call me. Or text if you don’t want to get up."

"Okay."

...

Just like Hector said, a week wasn’t enough for Oliver to win his way back in. If Maggie hadn’t been there smoothing things over, he probably wouldn’t have even made it past the front door.

Ever since that first night, Oliver had gotten used to crashing on the sofa. But with a place full of girls, his presence was starting to feel awkward. It was fine for a day or two, but this couldn’t last. Chelsea started avoiding home, only popping in to grab clean clothes before disappearing again.

Another day came. Patricia, almost like she could read his mind, waited for him downstairs by the elevator right around dinnertime.

Oliver strolled in, surprised to see her standing there.

"Why aren’t you inside?"

"Waiting for you."

He couldn’t help but smile a little, reaching for her hand. But before he could touch her, Patricia’s voice cut through the air, cool and direct.

"It’s not really convenient for you to stay here."

Her words stung. Oliver swallowed and forced a small nod. "Yeah, it’s not ideal. If you want to stay with your aunt and Chelsea, we could all move to Cloud Peak, if that’s what you want."

She ended the call and turned to Patricia. "Oliver’s not coming tonight. Let’s eat."

Patricia kept her face calm, but something twisted in her chest as she quietly agreed.

For a whole week, Oliver didn’t show up. It was like they’d hit reset, back at the beginning.

Saturday came, the day of her prenatal checkup. Patricia woke early, but as she bent down to put on her shoes, a dizzy spell hit hard. Nausea crashed over her in a wave. She ran to the bathroom and threw up until she was empty and shaking.

When it finally stopped, she slumped to the floor, forehead pressed against her arm, breathing shallow and weak.

It took both Maggie and Marian working together to help her onto the sofa.

Downstairs, Oliver had been waiting since morning. When Patricia and Maggie didn’t appear, worry gnawed at him. He pulled out his phone and called.

Maggie answered, her voice sharp with panic. "Oliver, come up here. Now."