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John laid his back against the wall as the needle was stabbed in his arm and he was given the transfusion.
He shifted as he felt the familiar, though recently less common, vibration in his pocket, quickly followed by the chorus of ‘Shut up and dance’ by Walk the Moon.
He shoved his hands in his pocket and took out the phone, staring at the photo before accepting the call.
“Hey. Liv.” He said quietly, left arm still.
“Hey, John,” Olivia's soft and raspy voice almost brought him to his knees. “I, uh… I saw you on the news.”
John held his phone with an iron grip. “Yeah?” He mentally slapped himself. “Sorry, I'm distracted, I'm getting a blood transfusion.”
She paused. “We're you hurt that badly?” She sounded genuinely worried.
“No, it's actually a kink thing,” He smirked.
“...”
“Please don't hang up on me.”
“John,” He could almost hear her eye-roll. “What happened?”
“It's a long story.”
“I've got a better minutes plan now.”
“Touché.” John sighed. “Can I ask about Freddie? Or is this a story for a story kinda thing?”
Oliva clicked her tongue. “He's fine, John.”
He fought back tears. But then she said:
“He misses the song you to sing to him.”
John lifted an eyebrow. “Which one?”
“I think it was from one of the Pink Floyd guys—
“Oh, ‘The Powers That Be'” He said. “Yeah, It's on the CD rack if you need it”
“It reminded me of your dad.” She let out. John chuckled.
“Yeah, it does the same to me. It's like I'm in his beaten down pointer again…” He looked down
She moved on. “... So, a New Avenger huh?”
“Yeah… uh, it's just a thing Val made up on the spot.”
“I figured.”
“The pay will be better, you can finally get that refrigerator with a bluetooth speaker…” He saw the blood vile had emptied and cleaned his arms with a cotton ball and put on a band aid.
“Yeah, uh, I'll give you the P.O Box address…” Her voice cracked. “John?”
“Yeah?”
“Why didn't you hold Freddie that day?”
John took a deep breath. He scratched his forehead. “Liv—
“You weren't eating, you weren't sleeping, you weren't taking your meds…. You were spiraling and killing yourself slowly.”
She paused .
“But you had been doing that before and trying not to break in front of him… so… what happened?”
“...”
“Hello?”
“Liv, if I tell you this. You won't see me the same. You might even want to kill me.”
“I already kinda wanna do that.”
“Fair enough.” He looked up. “I just… when I saw him. I saw Lemar…”
“... John…”
“I know it's impossible, but they have the same smile. And they keep stumbling when they walk towards me but they don't stop… and I couldn't see him… and I know I'm a terrible person for that but… I couldn't handle it anymore.”
She sighed. “John… I lost my friend too. I just didn't have it in me to give up. ”
He nodded as the tears fell. “I know… and I'm sorry I wasn't the father Freddie deserves.”
“I just… I wish I knew how to go from here.”
“I know. Me too.”
“...”
“...”
“John?”
“Liv?”
“Tell me what happened with Valentina.”
“Alright…” And so he did. It was dawn when he finished. “And that 's it.” He breathed out.
“Were you scared?”
“Yes.” He blinked.
“... I… I don't know what I would've done if I never saw you again.” She sighed. “I might have gone insane.”
“... I'm sorry.”
“Let's start over.”
He frowned. “With the story?”
“With us.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“Hey, I'm John.”
“Hey John, I'm Olivia.”
“It seems we share a child together.”
“It seems like it, how curious.”
“It would seem pertinent for us to exchange information and decide on what's best for the kid.”
“Seems like we have no choice. Would you be interested in discussing this over coffee?”
“Yes, that seems pertinent.”
They arranged the details.
“Would the kid be joining us?”
“I'll check his schedule and get back to you.”
“Great, see you there. Love you.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“Love you too.”