It seemed that no matter how many times Olivia stepped outside, the brisk Chicago air shocked her, sending shivers down her spine. She pulled her coat closed and held it against her body as she walked onto the sidewalk. It wasn't that cold out, but when the wind blew, it felt ten times colder. She walked quickly, her heels making a quick click noise at each meeting with the concrete.
"You're such a coward," she muttered under her breath as she speed walked down the familiar street that her apartment was on. She might have been walking physically, but mentally she was running. Running back to her apartment in Chicago, running away from Elliot and everything that was familiar to her in New York. She pushed open her apartment building door quickly and as she stepped inside the building, the door slammed loudly behind her. Just like Elliot had slammed the door in her face before.
"Stupid boy."
Olivia fumbled with the keys in her pocket before pulling them out and putting the only silver key on the keychain into apartment five twenty-nine's doorknob. She turned the key and opened the door, both familiar and unfamiliar scents hitting her nostrils as she inhaled. As much as she liked this place, it was never home to her. It was just a place to sleep, to eat, to remember what she had back in New York.
The day's earlier events hit her and she chuckled when she saw her nice collection of blue Best Buy polo shirts folded neatly on her floor, left over from when Elliot helped her pack. Today, after talking with her landlord and paying a nice amount of money to break her apartment lease, she went to "work". She walked into her General Manager's office after missing two days of work and he was less than pleased. She knew he expected a good explanation from i Jenna /i . She also knew he wasn't expecting her to ask for a two week vacation starting immediately. Once he agreed, she handed him her two week notice papers. It was hard for her to do, even though she didn't really like the job. She felt like a quitter, to just hand over part of her life like that. But she quickly remembered that it wasn't her life anymore. Jenna was just another one of her fake identities, like Persephone. In order to completely understand herself, she needed to cut all ties with these fake personalities. It was easy to disassociate herself with Persephone, she didn't agree with anything that she was supposed to be interested in and frankly, she found the supporters odd. But Jenna was just a normal woman trying to make a life for herself. Jenna wasn't over the edge and extreme, she was a way for Olivia to be the relaxed person she never was in New York. As dumb as it sounded to her, Olivia had made up parents for Jenna. They were happy and had Jenna because they wanted to, not because of rape. In a way, it made Olivia feel better about being Jenna and not herself. Jenna was her way out of her own messed-up life but now that was over. Olivia's messed up life was back.
But in a way, she liked it messed up. It was fun not knowing what was going to happen next, what the next creep would say, the next thing Elliot would find to complain about.
She missed Elliot, in a totally non-sexual way. Hell, who was she kidding, she missed him in a sexual way even though they never did anything. He might have been just a stubborn man, but he was her stubborn partner and she loved him in more ways than one. She knew he would be the one reason why she returned to New York forever.