Chapter 5 Everything Changes Again
POV OLIVIA
My heart had been racing from the moment the plane started descending.
The city lights glowed through the small window beside me while I held Jake tightly against my chest, feeling the weight of anxiety slowly crushing my lungs.
I was back.
After an entire year.
One year running away.
One year trying to rebuild myself far away from here.
The airport looked exactly the same.
The same illuminated runways.
The same constant movement of airplanes.
The same strange cold was spreading through my body as the plane finally touched the ground.
I swallowed hard.
Jake slept deeply on my lap, completely peaceful, unaware of the storm raging inside me.
But me…
I felt like I could fall apart at any moment.
As soon as the passengers were cleared to disembark, I slowly stood up, trying to control my trembling hands while adjusting Jake in the baby carrier strapped to my chest.
People hurried through the narrow aisles of the plane, grabbing luggage, speaking loudly, complaining about the exhaustion of the trip.
But I moved slowly.
Barely able to breathe.
Every step felt too heavy.
My stomach twisted more and more the closer I got to the exit.
Because this was real.
I had actually come back.
I took a deep breath the moment I stepped into the airport.
The air felt different.
Far too familiar.
My chest tightened instantly.
The smell of coffee coming from a nearby café.
The announcements are echoing through the speakers.
People are rushing from one side to the other.
Everything hit me all at once.
I pulled the suitcases while walking through the crowd, too nervous to think straight as I looked around.
Then I saw them.
My mother.
My father.
Standing near the arrivals area.
Waiting for me.
My mother’s eyes immediately filled with tears the moment our gazes met.
And that was enough to destroy me.
I dropped the suitcases onto the floor without thinking twice and practically ran toward them.
“Mom…” My voice came out broken.
She hugged me first.
Tightly.
So tightly I almost collapsed right there.
Her perfume instantly brought an overwhelming feeling of longing.
Home.
Protection.
Comfort.
My eyes burned immediately.
“Oh my God… my little girl…” she cried softly while stroking my hair.
I couldn’t answer.
I just cried.
Cried like I hadn’t cried in months.
Maybe in an entire year.
Because I missed them so much.
So much.
My father wrapped us both in a tight, protective hug right after.
And that destroyed me even more.
Because for the first time in a very long time…
I didn’t feel alone.
“We’re here, Liv…” he whispered softly near my ear. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
But none of us truly believed that.
My mother pulled away first, wiping her tear-stained face while her eyes immediately lowered to Jake sleeping in the carrier.
Then she smiled through tears.
A completely lovestruck smile.
“Oh my God… look at this little boy…” she whispered emotionally.
My chest warmed instantly.
Carefully, I took Jake out of the carrier and handed him to her.
My mother held him as if she were holding the most precious thing in the world.
And maybe she was.
“Hi, my sweet little love…” she murmured while caressing his tiny face.
Jake whimpered quietly, still sleepy, before partially opening his eyes.
My mother let out an emotional sigh.
“He’s gotten so big…”
My father immediately moved closer to.
Completely melted.
“He’s grown so much since the last time we saw him.”
And he really had.
The last time my mother had seen me in person was during my postpartum recovery.
She had been with me when Jake was born.
Held my hand for hours.
Cried with me when we heard his first little cry.
Helped me through the difficult nights.
The insecurities.
The fear.
The chaos.
The crying breakdowns I hid while pretending to be strong.
But after the first month, she had needed to go back home.
And I understood.
She had her own life.
Her own marriage.
The company she helped my father manage.
Especially because my father handled business alongside John.
Brian’s father.
Just thinking about that name made my heart falter.
I immediately pushed the thought away.
Not now.
My father draped an arm over my shoulders and pulled me closer while my mother remained completely enchanted with Jake.
“You’ve lost too much weight,” he commented worriedly, studying me more carefully.
I let out a weak laugh.
Humorless.
“I think first-time moms don’t sleep very much.”
My mother smiled through tears.
“You’re beautiful anyway.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
I missed them so much it physically hurt.
My father grabbed the suitcases while we slowly left the airport.
The freezing early morning wind hit my face the moment we stepped through the automatic doors.
It was cold.
Very cold.
The parking lot was relatively empty at that hour, and the silence of the night made everything feel even more melancholic.
My mother carefully placed Jake into the car seat in the back while I got into the car, feeling my entire body weighed down by exhaustion.
“You installed a car seat in the car?” I asked automatically, unable to ignore the detail.
My father smiled faintly while starting the engine.
“The moment your mother told me you were coming back, I went to buy one.”
My heart tightened emotionally.
They had thought of everything.
Even after the way I left.
Even after the distance.
They were still there.
Loving me the same way.
As soon as my father pulled out of the airport parking lot, silence settled inside the car for a few seconds.
The soft sound of the heater filled the space while Jake slept peacefully behind me.
Then the question escaped before I could stop it.
“How’s Laura?”
My mother glanced at me for a second.
And her expression alone was enough to make my stomach sink immediately.
“She’s the same…” she answered quietly. “No better… but no worse since the call.”
I slowly closed my eyes.
My chest burned.
That wasn’t good.
But it wasn’t bad either.
And at that moment, even the smallest stability already felt like a miracle.
“Julia is devastated,” my mother continued softly. “She hasn’t left the hospital. I talked to Ava earlier… she’s afraid her daughter is going to get sick like this.”
I felt like crying again.
Because I could picture it perfectly.
Laura was everything to Julia.
Everything.
Her daughter.
The center of her universe.
I nervously intertwined my fingers in my lap.
“Tomorrow morning I’m going to the hospital.”
My father nodded silently.
The rest of the drive passed in exhausted silence.
I watched the streets through the window while old memories surfaced at every corner.
Familiar places.
Restaurants.
Stores.
Roads that had once been part of my routine.
Of our routine.
My chest tightened every time thoughts about Brian tried to surface in my mind.
I immediately pushed them away.
This wasn’t the time for that.
But it was impossible not to think about him.
Did he still live in the same house with his parents?
Did he still go to the same places?
Did he still drive the same car?
Did he still…
I shook my head lightly.
No.
I needed to stop that.
When we finally arrived at my parents’ house, a strange ache settled in my chest.
Everything looked the same.
The same porch lights.
The same illuminated windows.
The same rose bushes near the entrance.
The same feeling of home.
My father grabbed the suitcases while I carefully lifted Jake out of the car seat without waking him.
Walking into that house again after so long almost made me cry once more.
The smell.
The comforting silence.
The photographs on the walls.
Everything hit me at once.
“Your room is exactly the way you left it,” my mother said while we climbed the stairs.
My chest tightened instantly.
Because a part of me had never believed I would come back.
“Thank you, Mom… for everything.”
She gave me a sad smile.
When we reached my old bedroom, I automatically smiled when I saw the portable crib beside the bed.
A light blue blanket was folded neatly inside it.
My heart melted.
“You really thought of everything…”
“We couldn’t wait to have you both close to us again, sweetheart.”
The emotion in her voice almost made me cry again.
I grabbed the small bag hanging from the suitcase and took out a clean outfit and a diaper for Jake.
I opened the changing pad on the bed and carefully started changing him.
My entire body ached from exhaustion.
Physical.
Mental.
Emotional.
I was completely shattered.
Jake opened his eyes for a few seconds while I changed his clothes.
So calm.
So innocent.
My chest tightened again.
As soon as I finished, I sat on the bed holding him in my arms for a few moments.
Watching his peaceful little face.
Without imagining that in just a few hours, his life might completely change, too.
Because I knew.
Deep down, I knew.
Coming back to that city meant reopening wounds that had never healed.
“I’ll let you two rest,” my mother said softly.
She kissed the top of my head first.
Then Jake’s tiny face.
And quietly left the room.
Leaving only my little boy and me in that heavy silence.
I carefully laid Jake down in the portable crib beside the bed and lay down right after.
Exhausted.
The silence of the room felt unbearably heavy.
I closed my eyes, trying to rest.
Trying to prepare myself emotionally for the next day.
To see Julia.
To walk into that hospital.
To face all that pain.
But deep down…
One single concern continued crushing my chest silently.
Brian.
Because I had no idea how long I would be able to stay in that city without running into him.
