Live your life, Olivia. Live it boldly and without fear. Live it for you and no one else, and know that no matter what your decision may be, I will always be endlessly proud of you.
Your biggest fan,
Uncle John
Droplets splattered against the paper as I looked up, blinking away the torrent of tears running down my face. Lukas stared at me, his eyes so full of concern. “That’s not really giving me a lot of hope for my own letter, you know.” I chuckled, but immediately delved into a hysterical sob. “Okay. No to the bad jokes,” he said, scooting closer. “Got it.”
“No, it’s fine,” I said, wiping my nose on the back of my sleeve. “I don’t know why I’m crying.”
“Because it’s a lot to take in at once. The letter, the company, all of it.”
My lip trembled as I murmured, “I don’t know what to do, Luke. Everything feels so out of my control right now.”
“Livvy, you’ve never had more control than you do right now. The company is yours to do whatever you want with. You can run it however you like.”
But that was the problem. What if I didn’t want to run it at all anymore? Sure, I could sell, but then what? The independent label created solely to give smaller artists a voice would be gone. The legacy my father left behind, the one my uncle protected, would be destroyed. The sacrifices I made wouldn’t amount to shit.
All the school productions, soccer practices, and ballet recitals I tearfully watched on a small screen while away at work would be for nothing. Unlike John, I looked back on mylife and saw a graveyard of poor decisions. It would be easier to name the things I didn’t regret at this point.
“I know it terrifies you, but you’re the one in control here. Only you can decide how to live your life.” Lukas squeezed my hands. “So, what do you want to do?”
Taking a deep breath, I met my brother’s gaze. “I need you to do me a favor.”
DUKE
Duke:
Thinking of y’all today
Duke:
Let me know if y’all need anything
Duke:
I can bring Charlie home if you need me to
I blewout a breath and tossed my phone on the dashboard. There was no use in staring at the damn thing. It sure as hell didn’t make messages appear out of thin air.
I would know. I’d been doing it all day.
The sky, a perfect reflection of my mood, was cloudy and grey. By this evening, there’d be a massive storm rolling in, which would scare away even my regulars. No one wanted to be caught on those roads in the dead of night while it was pouring rain.
Harper and I would be lucky to make it home before it hits at this point.
When the school bell rang, students poured outof the doors, hurrying to their parents’ cars. Harper’s auburn hair stood out amongst her classmates. She walked up to my truck, tossing her backpack on the floor before climbing into the backseat and buckling up.
She murmured a hello before turning her head and staring out the window.
“How was school?” I asked, starting the truck. “Did you have a good day?”
Harper shrugged. “It was fine, I guess.”
I didn’t consider myself an expert on much, especially when it came to my daughter, but I did know a thing or two about women in general. Like when they said something was fine, it was inherently not.
Drumming my fingers on the wheel, I tried again. “It doesn’t sound fine. Wanna talk about it?”
She was silent for so long that I assumed the answer was no, but then she surprised me. “Charlie got signed out of school early today. Her Uncle Lukas stopped by to get her.”