Chapter 11: Olivia Packs Nathan's Gifts

A definitive turn of the key in the lock occurred as Olivia entered the quiet of the apartment. The darkness swallowed her whole. So, to stand in the entryway without moving, one hand hovers beside the light switch. In part, she wanted to stay in the shadows, for the darkness to reflect her mood. She flicked them on with a sigh and forced herself into reality. The living room mocked normality. Everything was the same now as it was earlier this morning—before the world broke. Before she signed away her heart with a few strokes of a pen,. Olivia's eyes strayed upward to the bookcase. There sat a small, but exquisitely carved, wood-inlaid box. Nathan had given it to her for their half-year-ending day. 'To keep your dreams in,' he'd said with that half-boyish smile that had already placed him in her heart. It would now serve a second function. Olivia set the box onto the coffee table, her hands shaking. She took a breath and prepared herself for what was to come. More than packing up gi