UNEXPECTED DEVELOPMENT

'Where's Oliver?' Maria thought the moment she stepped into the office. Oliver always got to work before Maria did. Seeing his chair empty just didn't sit right with her. She glanced at her watch just to confirm the time again. It was 8:00. 'Maybe he got out of bed late today.' That was the only explanation Maria could think of. Maria shut the office door and walked over to her chair, sinking into it. She was highly grateful that her legs could finally get some rest. Her thighs were sore and her back felt like it would break if she moved too much. Last night for like a lucid dream to Maria. Her estrogen levels were at its peak. Sex with Trevor felt way better than Maria had expected. Maria brushed her fingers over her lips, reminiscing how good his lips felt against hers. Scenes from last night began to dance around in her head. 'Why am I remembering all this now' Maria thought as she tapped her cheeks lightly in an attempt to stop herself from thinking too much about it. Sighing softly, Maria reached for the case file in her table. She opened it slowly. Maria hated thinking about the recent events and disappearances. Everything seemed like a normal murder case until Maria saw…. It. What made it worse was the footage she watched. After seeing that, she knew exactly what was going on. The sad part of all this was the fact that Maria couldn't tell anyone about it. She closed the file and tossed it aside. Maria hoped desperately that no more cases would come up. She let out a sharp breath through her nostrils and rubbed her eyes. 'I need coffee'

Oliver's vision was hazy. He blinked twice trying to recover his sight. He swallowed and felt his throat sting a little. ' I need water' He thought. Oliver slowly sat up on the sofa. He immediately felt a sharp pain pierce through his skull. He groaned and held his head. I think I drank too much, he thought. The empty bottles of alcohol on the table and floor was enough evidence. Oliver got up slowly. He swayed a little to the left as he struggled to gain his composure. When he had finally stabilized his legs, Oliver made his way to the bathroom. He stood in front of the sink and splashed water on his face. The water was cold and it make him feel wide awake. He looked around and saw that this bathroom wasn't the one he was familiar with. Oh yeah, I'm at a hotel, Oliver thought as he trailed his eyes everywhere. Everything that happened yesterday came back to him. He clenched his jaw as his whole body began seething with rage. The next moment, sadness washed over him. Oliver had ended things with Kenna. He felt like he had made the right decision. But he still had feelings for her and he missed her. Oliver looked into the bathroom mirror. His face was a mess. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. Taking one last look at his reflection, Oliver sluggishly walked out of the bathroom. He picked up his phone and checked the time. It was 2:37pm. Oliver knew he had missed work today, but he didn't care. Nothing mattered to him right now. "I need a drink." Oliver said.

"Come on, come on, pick up the phone Oliver." Maria said softly.

It rang a few times and then switched to voicemail. Sighing with frustration, Maria tossed her phone aside. She had called Oliver several times but he wasn't answering. Maria was getting worried. Oliver had never missed work, but he did today. Maria curled herself into a fetal position, hugging herself tight. 'What if- no no no Maria you can't think like that. Oliver's fine. Maybe he's sick, but if he was he would have called in' Maria couldn't help but ideate different scenarios. All her worrying and fussing could easily be solved if she just went over to his house to check up on him, but she couldn't do that. His girlfriend seemed like the feisty type and getting into a squabble with her, was the last thing Maria wanted. Pulling the covers over her body, Maria shut her eyes in hopes that her brain would stop worrying and finally let her get some sleep. Maria's heavy eye lids were forced open at the sound of knocking. She blink twice before sitting up on the bed. Rubbing her eyes, she looked at her small alarm close beside her. It was 2:56am. Maria broke out in cold sweat when she recalled the nightmare she had a few weeks ago. 'I'm not dreaming, right?' Maria thought. She decided to give herself a small pinch on the cheek. The sharp pain confirmed that this was in fact reality. She let out a sigh of relief. 'But who could possibly be at the door?' Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of knocking again. Tossing the covers aside, she lazily got out if bed and headed to the front door. Maria swallowed hard before looking in to the peep hole. Please don't be a scary looking monster.' She thought. Relief washed over her when he saw Oliver standing at her door. The next thing she felt was anxiety and curiosity. Why would Oliver come over her at this time of the night.

"Maria, open up." His voice was slurry and tired. 'Something's not right' Maria noticed Oliver's demeanor. She quickly opened up the door for him. He looked at Maria was droopy eyes.

"Oliver! What are you doing here? I've been calling you since morning but you didn't pick up my cal-"

She was interrupted by the strong smell that emitted from Oliver.

"Have you been drinking?" She said waving a hand in front of her nose.

Oliver just stood there, swaying back and forth slowly. His droopy eyes were focused on Maria. His intense gaze made her feel self conscious.

"Why don't you come in? It's cold outside and with how lightly you're dressed, you must be freezing."

Her words didn't get through to him as he still stood there fixed in place like a statue up for display in an art gallery. His stare felt like they were burning holes into Maria body. 'is it what I'm wearing?' Maria thought. She looked down at herself to examine what she had on. She wore a cloth which had a very tiny hand. Her torso was clad in shorts, which revealed her thighs. Maria flushed when she realized what she had on. 'I should've thrown on my robe before coming to the door' She thought. Oliver took a step forward slowly. Maria moved back a little to give him enough space to come in, but he kept walking in her direction. "Oliver?" Maria said moving back slowly.

He walk over to until they were and inch apart. Maria heart was pounding so fast.

"Oliver, what's the ma-"

she was cut short when Oliver rested his whole body weight on her. This made the both of them fall flat to the ground. Maria was thankful for the soft rug that broke their fall. Her back would've been in grave pain. Oliver raised his head to look at Maria. He whispered her name softly which made her entire body shiver. Oliver reached for neck and began biting and sucking on it playfully.

"Oliver what are you-"

Oliver swallowed her words when he crashed his lips against hers roughly. He stuck his tongue into her mouth hungrily. Maria could taste the alcohol as their tongue intertwined roughly. Maria knew how wrong this was but her ability to think straight had been thrown out the window a long time ago. She felt Oliver's cold hand slip into her shirt.

"Oliver, stop. What's gotten into you?" Maria said finally coming back to her senses.

She held Oliver hand to stop him from going further up in to her shirt. Oliver looked at her, his eyes blinking sluggishly. He stared at her for a moment, then placed his head on her chest.

"Oliver?"

She looked at him and saw that his eyes were closed. 'He's asleep' She thought. Maria raised her hand slowly, hovering it above his head. Placing her hand on his hair, she stroked it softly. His hair is so soft. Maria thought. She had always wanted to touch his hair. Maria would have enjoyed this moment, but Oliver's body weight was crushing her and restricting her breathing. Just how much does this man weigh?' she groaned and slowly pulled herself from under his heavy body. There were a lot of questions she wanted to ask and she was going to do that when he was finally awake and level headed.

Oliver groaned and turned to his side. The splitting ache in his head was getting worse. He opened his eyes slowly. 'Did my hotel room always look like this?' he thought As he stared at the unfamiliar room he was in. Oliver sat up on the bed, looking at his surroundings more carefully. Yeah, this is definitely not my hotel room. He thought. Oliver rummaged through his pocket in search of his phone. Dang it. Where the hell is my phone?

"Oh, you're finally awake."

The sound of Maria's voice caught his attention. He looked and saw Maria standing at the door. She was in a robe with a mug in her hand.

"Maria, what are you doing here?"

She gave him a puzzled look.

"Because this is my house?"

Oliver was speechless. 'What am I doing in Maria's house?'

"You showed up at my door step by 2am in the morning. You looked like you were very drunk."

Maria said before Oliver could ask the question. "Oh…."

Oliver couldn't think of an excuse to give her because he didn't even know why I he came here. Maria tilted her head at him.

"I'll go get you a glass of water. You look like you need it."

Oliver nodded. Maria disappeared through the door and came back minutes after with a glass of water in her hand. She handed the glass of water to Oliver and plopped down on the bed beside him. Oliver drank the water in large gulps until he emptied the glass. He let out a small breath, relief that his dried throat was finally feeling much more alive now.

"So, can you tell me what made you drink yourself to stupor? And why exactly you didn't show up to work yesterday?"

Oliver sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't want to bother Maria with his personal issues but he owed her an explanation for the fact that he showed up at her house.

"Yeah, I do owe you an explanation." Oliver said turning to look at Maria.

She listened intently as Oliver narrated the whole ordeal to her. From seeing Kenna with another man, to breaking up with her, He told Maria everything.

"I was so sad that I drank too much and ended up missing work… I'm really sorry." Oliver said with a remorseful look on his face.

Maria was having mixed feelings all about this. He was sad that Oliver had to break up with his girlfriend, but at the same time, she was happy that Oliver was finally single.

"I'm really sorry to hear that."

And happy. Oliver gave her a small smile.

"Thanks, but I'll be fine, eventually."

Eventually when you become mine. Maria bit her inner lip as she tried the stop herself from giggling. She couldn't believe how happy this made her feel.

"I moved out of her apartment. I'm staying at a hotel for now until I get find another apartment."

"You were staying at her apartment?"

Oliver nodded.

"She insisted I stay with her when we started dating." Maria's eyes lit up as an idea popped up in her head. It was reckless and mostly likely dumb but Maria couldn't stop herself from thinking about it.

"Oliver, I have a suggestion." She said, her eyes filled with fervour.

"What is it?"

"Since you haven't find an apartment yet and you can't stay in a hotel for too long? Why don't you stay at my apartment until you find one?"