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There was something about the hallway that always made the hairs on her arms stand on end. Olivia looked back over her shoulder out of habit; her hair fell off to the side as she gazed up at the security camera.
Every 2.35 seconds.
But she didn’t give it that long. A fleeting glance at most before she shook her head as if to clear it and punched in the final number. Then pushed down on the lever the split second the deadbolt released.
Upon entering, Olivia hung up her shoulder bag and coat then kicked off her flats. Using her toes, she pushed them out of the way under the small entry table. For something on the fourteenth floor of a high-rise in the middle of downtown, the studio apartment was modestly sized and utilitarian. Still, all of the furniture and appliances were top of the line and seemed to have never been used until her arrival.
In front of her was an L-shaped sofa that cornered off a little nook for watching TV. Between that and where Olivia stood was a door that led to a large bathroom, complete with a pedestal sink, medicine cabinet, a washer and dryer, and a surprisingly extravagant shower with a rainfall fixture. Off to the immediate left was the office and kitchen; an island with three cabinets and three drawers on each side separated these areas from one another. And on the far side of the room was a king-sized bed, a small night table, a safe, and oddly enough, a row of metal lockers that had been repurposed into wardrobes.
Olivia set the takeout in the refrigerator and continued on across the long rectangular room. Opening two of the four lockers, she placed the hangers she had bought inside. Olivia didn’t have many belongings with her, but since Seven had sworn she could open any drawer or cabinet in the apartment except for the ones in the office area, it was about time she made herself comfortable. It was troublesome to live out of her suitcase, and after two weeks, Olivia was done pretending she might wake up one day and decide to disappear. Especially since V had finally set a date for the RFA’s charity event.
Deciding to hang her clothes up later, Olivia went to the balcony. It had rained that day, but now the sky was clear. Deep pinks and purples and opalescent navy blues painted the sky. Leaning into the balustrade, she gazed up at the forming constellations; in her right hand, her phone vibrated.
She always had it on her now. Checking her emails or the RFA chatroom at regular intervals throughout her day or when sleep evaded her. Turning it over, Olivia was surprised to discover the call was coming from the one person she didn’t expect to hear from.
Her thumb hovered over the touchscreen.
He hardly ever answered her calls and never returned them. This would be the first time he had. Perhaps it was because she didn’t waste her time leaving a message earlier.
No.
The call was probably because he had news on the hacker situation. That’s all. So, on the fourth ring, she finally answered.
“Hiya,” she greeted.
“Olivia! Hiya, hey, hey! I didn’t think you were going to pick up.”
“Pfft. I’d never ignore Seven O Seven! Sevenny! Sevv! Lovely Seven!”
“Lo—lovely?” A pause, then a chuckle. “A compliment? Thank you, sweetie. Did you eat?”
“Ya.”
“Ya?”
“Ya,” Olivia assured, smiling. “I even got some takeout for later.”
Another laugh. “Good job. By the way, I didn’t wake you did I?”
She scoffed. “You know you didn’t.”
“You got me there. Although, I wish there were a camera in the apartment,” Seven said quietly, more to himself than to her.
Olivia could feel her heart begin to race, but she knew she imagined the hint of longing in his voice. He had emphatically denied he was interested in anything more than general friendship. The jokes and the flirting were just for fun. And really, it had been so long since she indulged in even just that Olivia didn’t mind.
Something was better than nothing.
“Forget I said that,” he continued when she didn’t immediately respond. “I just— that way I can see what you’re up to instead of staring at an empty hallway.”
“Well, at the moment I’m on the balcony so it wouldn’t do you much good anyway.”
“What are you doing out there?”
It was an innocent question, but she couldn’t help but parse into his tone because once again it didn’t seem casual. Feeling that prickling sensation of being watched, Olivia turned her head toward the glass door. There was no hardware on it, so she had to securely prop it open to enjoy this specific amenity or risk being locked out by bulletproof glass in a space where only two people she had never met could help her. It was stupid really, even more so when she considered how she gained access to the apartment in the first place… and then those texts from the night before.
I am going to corrupt you.
“Luciel?” Olivia said, grimacing at how her voice sounded very small to her ears.
“What is it Olivia?” he replied quickly; calm and more attentive than she had ever heard him yet.
“Can you change the access code again or is that something V has to authorize too?”
Seven made a sound of acknowledgment. “It’s something to run by V. I’ll call him, and by the time I’m caught up with everything here, I’m sure I’ll have the green light to change it again. But for now, you’re safe. I can guarantee that.”
“Sorry to give you more to do on top of everything else,” she muttered.
“Nah, don’t be. I just have to try harder! It’s cute that you worry for me though. So touched,” he said, his voice soft. Inviting even. But perhaps Olivia just imagined that too.
“Anyway, back to my original question, what are you doing out there?”
“Enjoying the view,” she said, shrugging a shoulder.
“What do you enjoy about it?”
“I’m not sure exactly,” Olivia admitted. “It’s quiet up here, but it’s different from the type of quiet I’m used to.”
“And what kind of quiet is that?”
She chuckled. “You’re asking a lot of questions tonight.”
“I wanna get to know you better!” Seven protested.
“I thought you knew everything about me?”
“I do!” Seven said, laughing, then abruptly stopped. “Wait. Well, no, I don’t. Not like I want to. For instance, I know why you moved here, but not why you chose to do so.”
Hanging her head, Olivia pressed the phone into her shoulder a moment and sighed. Having conversations with Seven was difficult. He knew her entire history, and as a result, his questions always seemed to hit her where it hurt most with scientific precision. There was no way to deflect or avoid answering without being flat out rude. And to be honest, she didn’t want to do any of those things.
Olivia cared for him, more than she deemed wise, but it was comforting to feel like someone cared about her again in any capacity.
“SKU was where my father went to grad school; my parents were always very supportive of me doing whatever I wanted in life, but my brother was very gifted and I felt the need to... prove myself, even with them gone, so here I am,” she said with a sigh.
A beat of silence then two things happened at once. Olivia’s phone vibrated and Seven started rambling.
“Whoa. Wait a minute,” Olivia interrupted, smirking. “Let me look at what you sent first.”
“No, put me on speaker first,” he insisted.
“Okay,” she replied quietly, then did as asked before proceeding on to her messages. “You’re on Seven.”
He very pointedly cleared his throat. “Earlier, I tried to remember your voice while working, but I couldn't. It was super weird since I have a super good memory. That’s why I decided to give you a call. It’s all good now that we’ve been talking; your voiceprint has kicked back into my brain space— but why couldn’t I remember it before? Maybe it’s a side effect of all the Ph.D. Pepper. Ugh. Do you like the picture? Do you feel better? Are you smiling?”
“I am,” Olivia hummed, appreciating his efforts to cheer her up and distract her from the cold contrasting emptiness she felt inside.
It had been nine months since the accident. Olivia had dedicated her life to being the perfect child to the perfect parents, the bright and promising daughter to compliment her cello-prodigy brother, but now that she was without them, she wasn’t sure who she was anymore. Leaving the UK, and their graves behind, was step one to figuring that out.
It seemed a group of misfit strangers she only spoke to through an app was step two.
“I think you look better in dresses than I do,” she mused.
Seven laughed then, seemingly startled. “I think you’re crazy. Olivia, seriously what is wrong with me? I think I’m going crazy too. I feel like— I don’t even know who I am anymore. I just— I want to go to the moon. Leave all this behind and start over.”
“If you go, take me with you,” Olivia murmured.
“I would, in a heartbeat. Are you looking up at it?”
“I am.” It was a crescent moon, partially veiled by a passing cloud. “Are you?”
“Give me a minute,” he said.
She waited, barefoot and silent for him to join her. And when the sounds of movement died on the other end of the line, she knew they were together.
“Now that I’m here with you, I never want to leave.”
“Then don't.”
Seven chuckled, but with a bitter note. “I still have lots of work to do, so I need to hang up, but thanks for going to the moon with me.”
“Anytime,” Olivia said, then she was alone once again.