Candescent

Chapter Seven, Olivia

MEETING WITH ELLIS IS NEVER a good idea. Granted our last tangible conversation was weeks ago but the ease with which our conversation turned into something entirely different scares me. If it had been this way before I took a chance with Mitchell, he wouldn't have to be collateral damage.

All I did was agree to a civil conversation, but somehow we got tangled in the mess of emotions and longing. How long have I been suppressing the urges that so easily took control of me that night?

It's pretty obvious what I have to do — avoid Ellis King at all costs. Will it be easy? If he leaves me alone, sure, but I have no reason to believe that'll happen. We haven't crossed paths for a fortnight and he hasn't tried to reach out to me yet, but the ever present ghost of his touch against my skin leaves me with a sinking feeling that that's surmount to change.

The outcome of the night was an inconvenient deterrent, because I spent the last six weeks trying to psych myself up enough to clear things up with Mitchell and just when I thought I was ready to go for it...

Bottom line is that I have to try my hardest to stay far, far away from Ellis. The King family is one that incites recklessness and bad decisions. Worst part? I'm not even sure I regret it. It's been more than a long time coming — though it could not have been a worse time. With the stress of my upcoming bake sale and the wedding fallout, this might just be the last straw that breaks the camel's back.

The bakeshop has always provided me with a chance to escape from the frustrations and harsh expectations that come with adulthood, so I figure that the perfect way to deal with the events of my last encounter with Ellis is to lose myself in the sweet aroma of freshly baked treats, but even in here, surrounded by bags of flour and sugar and piping bags loaded with colorful icing, I can't escape the thoughts that have made a home in my mind.

Every cake I decorate seems to mirror the layers of my own perplexing emotions. Desperate for clarity, I busy myself with perfecting my intricate designs. Icing cakes is an art that is mine to wield. Cake Boss has nothing on me.

While I'm grateful for the influx of paying customers, I have to admit that today's been hellish.

A regular cutomer by the name Lois sets her bag on the till, a cheery expression on her face. "I'm here to pick up the cake," she says.

I smile back. "I'll just be a minute."

Lois's cake is, in my opinion, the best I've made in a while. With all the stress of hurried wedding planning, I didn't get much of a chance to destress like I needed to, which might attribute to my impulsive non-decision to end my relationship with Mitchell. It's a three-tiered multilayered cake covered in creamy frosting, with each of the layers a different color and flavor. It took me a long time to get right, leaving me with enough unused cakes that I simply decorated and put on display this morning. It's barely noon, yet more than half of them are gone.

Lois gasps in awe when she sees it, her hands flying to cover her mouth and muffle the shriek that follows. "You've outdone yourself this time, Olivia," she croons. I merely smile. I have outdone myself. It would explain why I'm so tired, though it doesn't tell why my abdomen hurts like I just did a hundred reverse crunches.

"We'll box it up and take it to your car for you," I tell her, "but you'll have to excuse me."

It could just be your period, I tell myself, though doubt creeps in. My period has never been painful. While Jess writhes and whines for about four straight days a month, I find that I'm a lot more invigorated while menstruating, and as for cramps? They've never been a problem. So what are the chances that this is because of that?

My family has a history of uterine complications; my grandma had adenomyosis, and my great grandma died of cervical cancer. While I'm not exactly worried that I've unluckily inherited some mutant gene from either one of them, this experience is for sure puzzling. I can't have cancer — I feel fine. My mom doesn't have any womanly complications, and neither does Jessica. I'm fine.