#character fics

"Craig!" Olivia shouted walking through the open patio door, "Craig!"

Charging the corner into the kitchen, she glanced in the living room to find it deserted, much like the kitchen and patio. Where the hell was he?

"Cra..." She stopped halfway down the hall, bumping into J. "Where's Craig?"

"How would I know?" J shrugged a sulk etched into his face. Did this kid ever smile? "And how did you get in?"

"Lena's birthday, not hard to figure out. Has he been around or not?" Olivia crossed her arms over her chest, tapping her foot in annoyance.

"He said something about going to Deran's bar, did you try there?"

"Obviously." Olivia grunted.

Craig was not making this easy. It was like he'd disappeared on purpose, to avoid this. Whatever his game, it was highly unfair since he had a head start and had left no clues.

"Why do you need him, anyway?" J pushed past, Olivia followed him into the kitchen. Pulling out a beer, J offered one to Olivia.

"I don't see how that is your business." Olivia popped the top and took a drink. The cold liquid calming the anger, until she found Craig.

J shrugged and opened a cupboard, a bag of chips in his grasp, he pulled the shiny bag open and left them in the middle of the island cupboard.

"If it's important, I can tell him that you're looking for him. If I see him."

Disgusted, Olivia snorted and took another drink. The house was eerily quiet, in the same way an empty church or a forest could be. The Cody house was never quiet.

"I'll wait." Olivia answered, tipping the bottle back to her lips.

"Suit yourself, but I have work to do." J shuffled off.

If she waited, she could be here a while. Picking up her phone, Olivia dialed Craig's number - the tenth time in the last hour and a half. Why was he doing this to her?

He wanted to meet his son, she let him, and this was how he repaid that favour? Craig was still as self absorbed as ever.

It's Craig...

Olivia ended the call when the recorded message picked up. She could picture him seeing her number and sending the call to the recording. Craig was likely drunk in some bar or snorting a line off of some girl's ass. Both images made Olivia want to scream at him, telling him what a terrible human and parent he was.

That sort of behaviour had been fine when he was younger and had no real responsibilities. Everybody assumed Craig was the village idiot, because he kept leading them to that conclusion.

Sitting and waiting was accompanied by the clock ticking on the wall. Down the hall, J listened for any movement or signs of his guest leaving. If he waited her out, maybe?

Craig would do well to remember they had a job to plan, the last thing anybody wanted or needed was a hysterical mother wandering in here at all hours. After Olivia had shown up with Deran, it took no time for J to start the digging. He held to the warning, not telling Smurf, but it didn't mean that he couldn't start his own investigation on Olivia.

J would have to hand it to her, she had quite the colourful background with his uncles. Arrested once, getting off as a juvenile offender. Caught but never convicted three times, all on petty crimes. Then there was the drugs and alcohol problem, those appeared to stop around the same time Craig got her pregnant.

What had really riled J's interest to his Uncle's conquest had been the money. Shifting through the accounts, he had found one set up by Smurf on behalf of Craig.

Each month a set amount of money went in, only to come back out a few days later. When J tried to gather more, he was shut out, Craig was the only one with access - outside of Smurf and a bank in Connecticut.

Laptop in his hand, Olivia noticed J slinking into the kitchen. Sitting down across from Olivia, he typed away, glancing over the screen every now and then.

"You any good at jacking a car?" J's stare bypassed Olivia although his words hit where intended.

One of Olivia's crimes had been theft of a motor vehicle, the car in question belonging to Barry Blackwell. On the report, J had found that she'd been let off due to a third party claiming it had been a prank against Baz. J's imagination ran wild with ideas of what could have been in the car, if Baz bothered to report it stolen.

"Excuse me?"

"Heard you were good at it, thought I'd ask." J licked his lips, the taste of the alcohol lingering.

"If you want a car, then I suggest you steal it yourself." Olivia leaned in closer. "I'm not your errand bitch."

"Thought you'd say that." J smirked.

"I'm not playing this game, J. I don't have time for little boys and their pissing contests. Now, do me a favour, if you see Craig, tell him to drag his ass over to see me."

"Huh," J snorted. "I guess getting knocked up to keep him around is working well for you."

"Look, kid, I don't know what you think you know, but obviously you know shit." Olivia snipped at him. "I'm warning you, J; you don't want to go around making accusations."

"Or what?" J challenged. He was sick and tired of these assholes and their problems coming back for him to fix. As far as he was concerned, this was another cash drain.

Stiffening, Olivia gripped the empty bottle in her hand, the garage door banging shut catching both their attention.

"J?" Pope yelled through the house, stomping through.

"In the kitchen."

Pope crept in, his eyes hard and his jaw set. "I told you not to come here." He spoke to Olivia, ignoring his nephew. "Now is not a good time."

"Craig fucked up, I needed to see him." Olivia shrugged.

"You shouldn't be here, it's not a good idea. It's not safe for you here, Olivia." Pope shook his head in upset. "J, what did I tell you?" he scolded, "We have that pest control problem, did you finish everything?"

"I have company." J motioned to Olivia.

"I'm going, if you see Craig tell him I'm looking for him." Olivia replied sliding off the stool. "Good luck on the job, don't get caught because right now, I'd be tempted to let you all rot."

Women. Pope would never understand them. His gut told him that all of this had something to do with Craig's big mouth, the less he knew the better.

Resentment toward J growing along with her anger at Craig; Olivia slammed on the front door on the way out. What the fuck was wrong with these people?

This was a mistake.

Oceanside for an entire summer, what was she thinking?

Corbin had been disappointed and refusing to speak with his mother, when Olivia left in search of Craig. He'd stormed upstairs, without so much as listening to what she had to tell him.

Her son would come around. Her step-father had tried to reassure her,  whatever.

Olivia pulled harder than necessary on the jeep door, flinging it open with a creak. Tonight,she'd go home and find Craig in the morning. Eventually he would appear and when he did...

The front gate opening caught her attention. Standing beside her suv, Olivia glared at the man walking through the gate and up the drive way.

"Livvy," Craig smiled and laughed, higher than a kite, he staggered up the drive.

"Don't you Livvy me." Olivia snapped, storming toward him. "Why? Why did you do that to me? To him? Huh? Was this some sort of power trip for you? You knew that I hadn't said anything, so you would?"

"Whoa!" Craig held out his hands, grasping her shoulders to hold her at a safe distance. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Corbin. You told him that you're his father!"

"I did what? Fuck, no. I didn't say a fucking thing."

"Then how...how did he?" Olivia pushed her hand through her hair, trying to frantically piece together this mystery.

"I don't know, maybe he figured it out? He's pretty fucking smart." Craig added a few pieces, "Not to mention he looks like me. Shit, what would you think if your mother left you with someone who could be your fucking clone?"

Theoretically it wasn't impossible for Corbin to piece together this puzzle. He was a smart kid, observant, and Olivia didn't give him enough credit.

In the moment, laying all of the blame on Craig and this being another fuck up on his part made her feel better. Somehow placing blame on Craig made Olivia's conscience lighter.

"I didn't know how to tell him." Olivia huffed "It was nobody elses right to tell him either. Were you around anybody else today? Huh? J had some bullshit to spew was it him?"

Idly Craig shook his head, they had been at the house to grab the bikes and left. Corbin had been with him and Deran the entire time, Craig had made sure not to let the boy out of sight for a second.

"Ignore him," Craig coached, "J's a dick. He's on some sort of power trip, because Smurf put him in charge."

"I did not get pregnant to keep you!"

"I never assumed you did." Craig pulled out a cigarette. "Shit happens, accidents and what not." Lighting and puffing off of the cigarette he handed it to Olivia. She looked like she needed a good shot of nicotine or maybe even tequila to calm her nerves.

"Do me a favour?" Olivia passed the cigarette back. "Stay away from Corbin and I. Until I get this shit figured out, can you do that?"

"Whatever you want." Craig huffed. "Isn't that how this works, anyway? You make the decisions and I have to go along with them?"

"I'm not doing this with you right now." Olivia continued to shake her head, as if warding off some sort of inner turmoil.

"Then when? Fuck now is a good a time as any. Come on, Olivia, let me have it. Tell me what a fuck up I am and what a shit person I've become. I know you want to." Craig taunted, his arms open for effect.

"Stay away!" Olivia pointed at him, her eyes hard and her jaw clenched.

"Whatever." Craig waved his hand, dismissing the argument. Walking away would piss off Olivia more than if he stood here and yelled. "Call me when I get to see my kid again. If not, don't bother."

"Craig!" Olivia shouted, stamping her foot in the same manner as a tantrum throwing toddler. "Craig, don't walk away from me!"

"Good night, Olivia." called Craig, ducking into the garage.

Rarely did Craig walk away from any sort of fight. Wisely he knew when he'd had enough with Olivia, if he shut her out and let her stew then she'd come to her own conclusions and move on. Moving on from him was something she seemed to do just fine.

just because this was how I kept seeing his ass sitting there, stirring the pot with Olivia’s emotions. 

“You uh, you surf pretty well.” Craig pulled down the top half of his wet suit. Tying the arms around his waist to keep them from getting caught, he laid his board down on the sand falling next to it.

“My mom taught me.” Corbin answered, sinking down onto the sand beside Craig. “She's really good at it.”

“Your mom is a kick as...she's an amazing surfer. You know, Deran taught her right?”

Corbin hesitantly nodded. His mom had mentioned a few times that it was Deran who had really taught her to surf. Something about their friend once considering going pro had been mentioned along the conversations. Corbin sat in the wet sand, the waves hitting the beach in a rhythmic motion.

“Do you like living in Connecticut?” Craig rested his elbows in the sand, stretching his legs out.

Craig asked a lot of questions.

“It's a nice place. The winter gets cold though, my mom hates it. I like playing hockey so I don't mind.” Corbin leaned forward, drawing random patterns with his fingers in the sand. “Sometimes I wish we lived here, it would be cool to have summer all year.”

"It's not too bad here." Craig shrugged, squinting against the sun. "Do you think your mom would ever move back?"

"She says that being here for a few months is enough." Corbin replied. Deran had taken off to talk to a friend that he'd spotted down the beach. Craig was an okay guy, although new people often turned Corbin into an awkward person.

Craig remained silent, his only acknowledgment a slight nod.

Here he was, on the beach, with his son - this wasn't how he had pictured this moment. Any time he had thought about it, there had always been more drama and angst involved.

Corbin was quiet in a subtle way. Olivia had been like that when she was younger. She would sit for hours, hanging around the house, and never say a single word. Other times there was no way to shut her up. Craig wondered if Corbin had the same trait, once he got comfortable.

"Just you and your mom?" Craig shouldn't be asking but he had to know. It wasn't as if he expected her to be a nun or stay alone forever. If he asked Olivia she'd give him some bullshit about his own conquests and shut him out.

"Yeah. My dad isn't around." Corbin told Craig part of what he already knew.

"My dad was never around either. You get used to it, I guess." Craig divulged the personal detail.

"What lies did your mom tell you?" Corbin turned to look at Craig, his face serious.

Craig scoffed. Sitting up and crossing his legs in the sand. "Man, my mother gave me all sorts of bull. Trust me, whatever Olivia has said, it's probably way more truthful than what I was told."

"How...how long have you known my mom?"

"Uh," Craig licked his lips, blowing out a huff. His hands brushing his hair out of his eyes. "Since we were kids, I guess."

Stony, Corbin sat looking out into the ocean. His attention captured by the sun and the surf, his thoughts swimming around like the school of fish that he and Deran had spotted earlier in the shallow waves.

Never would his mother leave him with somebody he barely knew. She was too protective. Olivia had been up to something, Corbin could tell by the sudden shift in her attitude. Sometimes his mom didn't think he noticed, but he did.

Always.

He knew her better than she knew herself sometimes. The sneaky suspicion was creeping in, growing the more he thought about it.

How dumb did his mom think he was?

“Can I ask you something?” Corbin broke his silence.

“Sure.”

“Do you promise not to tell my mom?”

Craig had heard that phrase more times than he could count. Brows raised, he squinted against the sun. “That depends, what is it that you don't want her to know?”

Did this kid not know who he was dealing with? Keeping things from Olivia could be dangerous, she had a way of finding out, always. Craig would rather have his balls scraped across pavement than keep secrets from that woman.

“My mom has plans for me to maybe meet my dad.” Corbin began, his brow furrowing and his eyes growing dark in frustration the same way Craig's did. “Do you think he'll like me? I mean...it's stupid. Never mind. Deran said he would but I think he says things to be nice, because he's my uncle ya know?”

“O-of course he's going to like you. I'm not the best at giving advice on father and son relationships, but I know your dad is going to like you. Deran is right, not only because he's your uncle.”

If this was the only day Craig ever spent with Corbin, somehow he wanted the boy to know he was enjoying it. Despite Olivia's weird way of throwing them into it.

“One time, I asked Deran if he was my dad. I thought maybe my mom was telling me a lie about who he was.” Corbin shifted around in the sand, leaning back in the soft ground.

“I promise you that Deran is not your father.” Craig laughed with a grin. “He loves your mom, but he's not into women.”

“That's what my mom told me. Sometimes she tells me things to stop me asking questions. Are you sure Deran has no interest in girls?”

“I am positive, Deran does not like girls. He's not your dad, but when you meet your dad, I still think he's going to like getting to know you.”

Most of the day continued to go as such : Deran making excuses to disappear or talk to random people that they bumped into. Craig noticed that his brother was giving them more space than necessary, although thankful he was annoyed.

He could only entertain Corbin for so long, before one of them got bored or Craig said something that would lead to Olivia wanting to punch him in the dick.

When Deran was around Craig noticed a change in Corbin. The boy would talk and laugh freely with his uncle present. Not surprising, Deran had that effect on people. He had an easy going way that made people like him. Craig could make people like him, but most of them needed to be looking for a party or a no strings attached fuck buddy. Without loads of drugs and booze, Craig Cody wasn't all that entertaining.

"When we're finished lunch, let's go get the bikes." Craig watched Corbin's interest shift from whatever Deran was talking about.

"You ever ride a dirt bike?" Deran wiped his hands on a salsa stained napkin.

"No, but I've always wanted to. Can I?" Corbin was practically bouncing. Sitting in the hood of the scout, his eyes were wide with excitement.

His mom would have never let him ride a dirt bike. She always had excuses as to why he couldn't do “dangerous” things. Corbin was vibrating as Craig and Deran discussed the potential of taking him out for a ride.

It was early evening when Olivia heard the car in the drive way. Loud, thumping rock music gave away the intruders. Closing her laptop, she went to greet her son. They had held out longer than Olivia imagined they would.

All day she hoped that when Corbin came home, he'd be exhausted from trying to keep up with Deran and Craig.  They could both use a nice sound sleep followed by sleeping in the next morning.

"Hey!" Deran greeted Olivia with a wave, pulling Corbin's board from the back of the scout.

"Evening, gentlemen."

"Hey mom." Corbin tried to fight a yawn.

“Did you have fun?” Olivia asked wrapping her arm around Corbin's shoulder.

“It was cool.” Corbin tried his best to play it off calm and collected in front of his mother. "I had fun."

"Yeah you did." Deran held out a fist to bump. “He nearly pissed himself with excitement, when we let him ride.” A grin spread ear to ear on Corbin's face.

“You let my son ride a dirt bike?”

“He was fine.” Deran shrugged, smirking. “He didn't go fast and we kept him in the parking lot.”

"You need to relax, mom. I came home in one piece." Corbin countered.

"Well then, I guess that's all that matter." Olivia rolled her eyes.

"I'd love to stand around and watch someone else argue with their mother, for a change, but Craig and I need to head out." Deran clapped his hands together. "Tomorrow night, bonfire at the pointe. Both of you, be there?"

Olivia nodded. "I think we can both make it."

Waving Deran off, Olivia didn't bother to stand around too long and watch him leave. Corbin had his bag on his shoulder, sunburned and tired, the boy looked like he was ready for a bath and a nap.

“Alright, you need to go shower, then come down for dinner.” Olivia followed Corbin into the house. “And throw your clothes in the laundry, please.”

“Why didn't you tell me?” Corbin lingered inside the door.

“Tell you what?”

“That Craig's my dad.”

Oceanside, California a little under 3,000 miles from the city Olivia Ealey had called home for the last eight years. As a girl it had been difficult to imagine ever leaving Oceanside, striking out in the world on her own, never in her wildest dreams did she see herself living the slow and steady New England life. Visiting Connecticut as a child Olivia couldn't wait to return back to the sun and surf. Who knew a place with four seasons would be such a save haven.

Cheap drug store sunglasses hid her eyes, she'd picked up the yellow shades somewhere around Toledo, Ohio. They had been serving her well and despite the bright colour they didn't look half bad on her. Head against the window of the truck, she watched as the streets grew familiar and the scenery updated itself from when she had been a girl, riding her favourite purple bike through the same neighbourhood. Back then there had been less stress and even lesser concerns for what was going on in the world around her.

“You still with me?” Deran Cody's familiar and calm voice prodded into her thoughts.

“Huh? Oh yeah, sorry I'm such shitty company. I'm still tired from the drive.” Olivia smiled at her acting chauffeur.  

“Why did you drive, anyway? Flying would be cheaper and faster.” Deran reasoned turning onto the street of their destination.

Olivia shifted around in her seat, turning away from the window to face her oldest friend. “Because, you don't get to see anything when you fly. Besides, it's summer, and what better way to spend it than a road trip?”

“We clearly have different ideas of fun.” Deran mumbled with a teasing laugh.

“You should try it, I think you'd like it.”

“If I can ever get away from the bar, maybe I'll drive over and visit for a few weeks.” Deran added, flipping the signal light to indicate his turn into the drive way. “Who knows, maybe I'll like it so much I'll never come back?”

“You'd come back, the surfing there is fucking awful.”

An avid surfer, Olivia wasn't thrilled with the waves on the east coast, but they would hold her over until she could return on her visits to California. Deran would take one look at the Atlantic waves and be back in the Pacific before dinner time.

Sitting in the drive way, the truck's engine faded from a soft roar to dead silent, when Deran turned the keys. Olivia hadn't been inside of these gates in nearly five years, the last time she had walked out of the Cody Compound had been a terrifying and liberating moment. Allowing herself to break free from the tiny strings that this family could hold over a person.

“You coming?” Deran glanced over, a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. Olivia hadn't noticed him open the driver's door, while he continued to sit beside her.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah,” she sniffed hard and nodded.

A vibration coursed through Olivia when she shut the truck door behind her, the heavy door making a louder thud than she felt it needed to. Following Deran around the garage, into the pool area, Olivia took note of the tiny details. The house was the same as she remembered, new curtains and more beer bottles laying around, but it was as if this place never changed. Deran's mother was particular about how she liked things to be around her home, even when she was behind bars at the local lock up.

“Where is everybody?” At the Cody house, there was always somebody around. No matter what, you were never alone and Olivia never forgot that detail.

“Inside.” Deran nodded toward the lavish sliding glass doors.

Growing up three houses down from the Cody house had been an experience. Olivia, like every other Oceanside native, had heard all of the rumors and the gossip. Wild parties, endless drugs and booze, the speculations that surrounded the family and their ... business. It was a free for all and at the helm of the ship  Janine “Smurf” Cody. Ruthless, cunning, backstabbing, and terrifying – all while smiling and being the perfect neighbour.

Directly under Smurf, until recently, had always been Barry “Baz” Blackwell. Adopted into the family, he ran the show. Keeping his brothers in line and keeping compliant with Smurf. Next came Andrew or Pope – Olivia was never sure of where that nickname had came from. Trouble through and through, Pope was loyal to his family and had a reputation of being the Cody to stay away from.  Olivia had heard that Pope's twin sister, Julia, had passed a few years back, leaving her teenage son in the care of his grandmother and uncles.

After the twins and before Deran came Craig. Craig Cody was something else, deadly good looks, and a lovable dumbass to boot. He tried hard, yet never seemed to get himself clean long enough to live up to his potential. The real source of Olivia's problems since she had hit eighteen.

Olivia had met the youngest son, Deran Cody, on their first day of second grade. The soft and shy, baby of the family had been sat next to her because Miss Rosen felt they could help one another. Over the years the two remained friends, entering high school together, partying, surfing, and getting into general trouble. No matter how hard the law fell on them, Deran never rolled on Olivia.

“J where's Craig?” Deran's voice bellowed through the halls, searching for his brother. “I have something for him.”

The boy, J, in the kitchen remained glued to his seat shrugging in reply. When he bothered to look up from his laptop, his eyes glued to the woman in the kitchen.

“J this is Olivia.” Deran caught the introduction. “Olivia I think you remember J?”

“It's been a while.” Olivia added with a small wave. She had met Josh once or twice, when he was a small child. “You grew up, J.”

“Yeah, I guess that happens. Why do you want Craig?” J ignored the woman in the house. His attention directed to Deran.

Placing three bottles of beer on the counter, Deran slid one to Olivia and one to J, before taking the third. “Because Olivia doesn't have much time for a visit.”

Rolling his eyes, in a true teenage fashion, J took a long drink of the beer and licked his lips. Olivia remembered being that age, she also remembered what it was like being a teenager in the Cody house. Smurf didn't have may rules and it made you believe that you were King, or Queen, of the world at times.

“He's out, had to run an errand. Call him, if you're so desperate to see him.”

Nagging wasn't Deran's style, a single text demanding his older brother come to the house was good enough. Craig was a curious creature, never had curiosity failed to get the best of him; he'd show. Sooner rather than later, too.

Long dark hair, wild as ever, Craig strode into the house in his usual gate – a striding walk that made his size look somehow graceful and like a clunky neanderthal all in one motion. His bright blue eyes were cast down on the screen in his hand, he was grumbling about whatever urgent meeting Deran had called him to. Since his mother had landed in jail, these damn meetings seemed to happen every hour.

“Dude, shut up.” Deran groaned loudly, a beer ready for his brother. Craig would need something stronger later, for now this would do. “Now, be polite and say hello to our guest.”

A double take in Olivia's direction, Craig froze for a fraction of a second. Olivia hadn't been in this house, or anywhere near him really, in years. The last time they had been face to face, she had walked away and told him he wasn't welcome in her life.

"What is she doing here?" Craig skirted cautiously around the woman in the kitchen.

Like a scared cat, he shifted around on the tips of his toes, ready to make his escape if the need arose. Craig was not in the right frame of mind to be dealing with Olivia right now. Talking, hell thinking about Olivia, took a great deal of preparation and mental capacity that he did not possess.

"Craig Cody." Her lips drew into a tormenting smile. "Long time no see, I half expected you to be dead by now."

Craig scoffed, clutching his beer. "Not for your lack of trying, Livvy."

"Alright children." Deran stepped between the stand off taking part. "No bloodshed in the kitchen, Pope is pretty anal about anything that stains."

"How is Andrew?" Olivia turned her attention away from the bastard Craig.

"Pope is...Pope?" Deran shrugged, running his hand through his newly cropped hair. "He hasn't murdered us, yet, I guess you could say he's been in a good place."

Olivia nodded in understanding, the last time she'd talked to Pope was right before he had been carted off to prison. She'd always liked Pope, partly because he was an interesting person and because she had a healthy amount of fear. He was wild and unpredictable, she'd never witnessed it but she'd heard the stories.

“He has to be, now that he has Lena.”

“I heard about that. I'm sorry about Baz.” Olivia's words were a general statement to the room.

Deran muttered a thank you, J ignored her, and Craig took the conversation in another direction. Not wanting to dwell on the depressing aspects of Baz's death.

“Are you going to be around for a while?” Craig's voice was almost cautious. Olivia nodded, commenting how Deran was her ride and she was around until he left. “I uh, I have to shower and make a few calls. We can talk after?”

“Sure.” Olivia knew that the shower was an excuse for Craig to distance himself until he got some control over the situation of her presence. His control coming in the form of several lines going up his nose. His calls to dealers looking for more, perhaps one to his latest fuck buddy to tell her that something had come up and he'd be late.

J ignored the woman that had shook his uncle to the bone, his attention switching between his laptop and phone. Deran tried his best to make light conversation, telling Olivia about his bar and catching her up on this and that from his daily life. They were comfortably chatting about the current surf situation and which day would be the best to hit the waves, when the infamous Pope appeared. His eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. Olivia could never get over how well put together he always looked, despite his blank stares and slow, almost predator like movements.

"Olivia." He spoke calmly, a hint of a smile breaking his face.

"Andrew."

"Passing through?"

"Something like that." Olivia nodded, sliding off of the counter top. "Good to see you. Craig told me you've cleaned up. Looking after Lena now."

"Craig says a lot." Pope answered dully.

"He does have a rather big mouth." Olivia chuckled, pulling another beer from the fridge and handing it to Pope.

"Gets him into trouble, sometimes. You have a place to stay?"

"Yep, I'm staying with my mother. Don't worry, you don't need to take care of me." Olivia winked. "Not anymore."

"Alright." Pope nodded, his head bobbing without really moving. "Stay as long as you want, but don't expect me to help cover Craig's murder."

Glancing between his uncle and the strange woman who had showed up a few hours ago, behind Deran; J found the perfect time to speak up. "You and Craig have some debts to settle or something?"

"Huh?" Olivia turned to face J, a smile creeping across her face. "Nah. It's not like that. The first time I ever shot a gun, Deran was teaching me. My aim was a little off and as I pulled the trigger, Craig happened to walk by. Bullet nearly took him out at the knees."

"Yeah that time was an accident. I'm still questioning the night you threw the knife at him." Deran felt the regret boil the second he'd brought that up.

"He deserved that. I told him I was pregnant and he left to hook up with that whore he'd met at the bar.” Olivia's eyes went dark and her nostrils flared. Deran fell silent, his gaze falling to the floor. He remembered that night, vaguely. “Excuse me.” She grabbed another beer from the counter and bee lined for the back patio.

From the kitchen J and Deran watched Olivia pace the smooth stones, one hand running through her hair and the other clutching the brown beer bottle. Deran would cut her off from any more alcohol, as soon as he could, he didn't want to return her a drunk and sobbing mess.

Olivia's head jerked up when one of the glass doors slid open, clean jeans on and a towel around his neck Craig strode out onto the patio. Nine, almost ten years, and they had never had a serious conversation. Craig knew he had a son, Olivia had told him, then she took off for the east coast and if he was lucky she'd send him a text every now and then.

“I don't want to be angry.” Craig's voice floated through the open window into the kitchen. “But we need to talk about a lot of things.”

Reaching over to the window, Pope grabbed the latch and pulled it firmly shut. He'd allow J and Deran to stand around and gawk out the window,  however hearing wasn't an option as this wasn't business that needed full family involvement.

“Am I going to have a problem, with her hanging around?” J's gaze went straight out the window to the  pool where the mysterious woman sat across from Craig.

“With Olivia? No.” Pope's dry voice did little to ease the newest Cody in charge.

“She's trouble, but not in the same way as most of Craig's hook ups.” Deran added from behind the door of the fridge. “Smurf has you believing that you're calling the shots,  but you're best to stay out of business with Olivia. Oh and J, don't tell Smurf she's here. It's not something she needs to know about.”

“For everyone's safety, there are some things that Smurf doesn't need to know.” Pope added to Deran's warning.

Olivia would be gone before the end of the week, no doubt, another pack up and leave without so much as a goodbye. She'd send Deran, possibly Craig, a text from somewhere around the mid-west. When she was far enough away from the Cody's to relax again. Until then the worry about Smurf and the strife she'd bring wasn't what Olivia needed on her mind.

“Olivia has been avoiding me.” Craig made his declaration, hands on his hips.

“Can you blame her?” Pope looked over his shoulder at him, little to no interest in his tone.

“Dude, she's been busy. Lay off.” Deran defended, as Craig knew he would.

“Busy? Ah yeah?” Craig pressed, leaning against the counter top, he singled out Deran. “And how many times have you saw her, since she was here? Huh?”

Deran had met Olivia the last three mornings, the surf was good, and they'd had a standing appointment with the cove. Craig knew it, everybody knew it. They had been meeting there since they were kids, setting out before the sun was up.

“Once or twice.” Deran shrugged.

“Once or twice.” Craig repeated, his annoyance growing. She'd told him that they would discuss him meeting Corbin, how were they to discuss shit if she didn't return his calls. “And how many times have you saw Corbin?”

“Once or twice.” Deran kept his answer.

Cornering Deran had been the only way Craig knew how to deal with the news Olivia had delivered, since then Craig had been doing everything he could to try and intentionally piss off his little brother. Whatever, Deran had better things to do than watch Craig throw a tantrum. If he wanted to see his kid, the rules were simple. Grow a pair. Get somewhat sober. Go see him.

“Once or twice. That's real fucking nice.” Craig slapped his hands together.

“If you're that upset go talk to her.” Pope chimed in with the obvious. Craig obviously knew where she was. “Stop being a big baby and go talk to her. But be nice, otherwise you're going to ruin it.”

Pope's advice to talk with Olivia had been straightforward and didn't leave much room for interpretation, unless you were Craig. Parked on the side of the street, he had a clear view of the house. Parked next to the garage on a spare patch of land was a small air stream trailer, a jetset blue Jeep Renegade – with Connecticut plates. A well manicured lawn with the perfectly maintained walk way made the two story house look homey and inviting.

Through the windows Craig couldn't see too much, only a few shapes and shadows through the sheer curtains that were expertly covering the windows. If he sat here long enough he may gather the courage to text Olivia, asking her to come out and meet him.

He'd invite her out, driving down to the strand, or maybe they'd drive and drive until they reached he hills. He'd vent about Smurf and J, tell her about life in general, and how much he had missed her. In return she'd tell him about life on the east coast, how she missed him, and what she hated the most about winters. They'd be free and able to talk and talk. Eventually, he'd ask about Corbin and Olivia would tell him everything he needed or wanted to know. Craig would turn around, driving her back, before he left she'd lean over the side of the scout and kiss his cheek. Waving him off in the rising sun.

Holding his phone, Craig sat watching the house. What if he asked her to come out and she didn't want to see him?

Lime green wasn't the best colour to try and hide, especially sitting on the side of the cul-de-sac. Craig Cody had never been the brightest man, despite that, he was a career criminal surely he had enough sense to know they could spot him from space in that thing. Had his mother taught him nothing?

It was getting late, the sun had set and the sky was that rich blue that crept into black, the first few stars of the night were beginning to show. He had been sitting there for the better part of two hours, Craig wasn't known to be a patient man.

“Olivia.” her mother sauntered into the den where her daughter and grandson were on the sofa, watching whatever sitcom was currently running. “Mind taking out the trash?” She nodded toward the door. “Now?”

“I can do it.” Corbin sat up.

“No, you're going to get ready for bed. I'll do it.” Olivia kissed the top of his head, messing up his shaggy brown locks. She had been at him for months to cut his hair, but he liked it long. The apple didn't fall far.

Glancing out the window, Olivia sighed. She could have gone out by now, she should have gone out by now. Craig was stupid enough to sit on the side of the street, no doubt having put a pound of coke up his nose by now, waiting would do him some good.

Across the street the door opened, a quick flood of light emerging from the house, in the middle was a distorted shadow, and then the porch light illuminated the front of the house. Motion censored. Craig should have known, Carolyn Bridges was always a bit of a hippie. One of the keep the planet clean and energy efficient types.

Through the shadows of the street lights, Craig shifted uneasily in the driver's seat, he had a clear view of Olivia. Marching toward him, her eyes locked on his the closer she got. Wrapped in a soft shawl, her flip flops smacked against the pavement on the way to the car.

"When did you take up stalking?" She asked tapping the hood of the scout.

Sitting up, Craig leaned over the door, his hair partially blocking his view. "I was in the neighbourhood."

"Sure. Right." Olivia nodded halfhearted. "Get out of the car, Craig."

Olivia stood with her hands on her hips, waiting for Craig. He was moving at a snail's pace, for somebody with legs that long he sure took a while. Standing beside the scout, Craig shoved his hands in his pockets waiting for the scolding.

"Come on." she nodded toward the air stream parked in the corner of the yard.

“Huh?”

“Come on, I want to talk. But not out here.” Olivia gestured to the wide open street. In code it meant she didn't want nosy little boys gawking out bedroom windows. Olivia was buying her time on Craig and Corbin. Craig could be staved off until the right time. Corbin on the other hand was best left in the dark, until the time was right.

“He's home?”

“Yeah, but you're not going inside. Not right now.” Olivia pulled a key from her pocket, unlocking the trailer.

“Nice set of wheels ya got.” Craig commented looking over the small Jeep.

Olivia hummed. She liked it. “It got us here, it'll get us home. Gas is great in this thing.”

“I can't believe you drove from fucking Connecticut? Are you insane? What if you'd broke down?" Craig turned, looking down at her.

Olivia sighed, rolling her shoulders to relieve the tension that was mounting. "But we didn't. Besides, if we had I would have called triple A."

"You couldn't be normal for once in your fucking life? Who takes a kid, an old trailer, and drives them across the country?"

"You'd be surprised how many people drive across the country. It's a great way to spend a summer vacation, besides this isn't old. It's vintage. And who are you to talk? Huh? You do shittier things every day, need I remind you that is why I have custody and you have never been allowed to meet my son?"

"Our." Craig mumbled, wisely shutting his mouth when Olivia glared at him.

Not another word, Craig ambled into the trailer behind Olivia. Stooping to clear the ceiling, they did not make these tin cans for tall people. Inside was cozy, if Craig were the type to use that word. A large bed lined the back wall, with a bunk in the front. Cupboards, a sink and stove lined one side. A small table with bench seats and a fridge along the other. The bright yellow and white paint scheme were set off by rich reds and warm browns. Craig was impressed.

“Welcome aboard.” Olivia moved some magazines off one of the benches making room for Craig.

“It's...nice.” Craig commented flopping onto the bench, the cushions were thick and comfortable. He thumbed through the stack of magazines on the table, gathering that they had been brought to entertain Corbin. There was a lack of electronic entertainment in here.

“Thanks, my dad helped me restore it. We took it all back to the original interior, only took six months.” Olivia boasted. “This is the first time we've had her out, really had her out.”

Craig lazily nodded, flipping through the latest issue of Motocross Action. Olivia had always bitched and whined about his bikes, she hated them. Craig had heard every excuse.

“Ugh, Corbin is obsessed with that magazine.” She groaned shaking her head.

“Does he have one?”

“Fuck no.” Olivia scoffed leaving her post holding up the counter. What kind of mother did Craig think she was? Smurf? Hell no. She had sense. "So," Olivia stood on her tip toes, reaching into a small space over the cupboard. Craig leaned back on the bench seat, enjoying the view. It was a rookie move, watching her shorts ride up. "May I ask why you're casing my parent's house?"

Grunting she gave a small jump and snatched the baggie she had been feeling for. Clutched in her hand, Olivia smiled triumphantly, showing Craig the bag of loose green. Sliding a pack of papers from her back pocket, she made herself comfortable on the other side of the folding table.

"I wasn't casing the place." Craig placed a shiny zippo on the table, his offering to the cause. Olivia's tongue darted across the edge of the paper, expertly rolling the joint. Her silence was stronger than words.

“My mom said she saw Pope, not long after Baz,” Olivia didn't bother to finish the sentence. What Carolyn hadn't told her daughter was that she saw the eldest Cody often. Andrew would come by the coffee shop that Carolyn owned. Once a week he would come in, sit in the same corner, and have his coffee.

“He told her that you were in Mexico. Doing a job?” She wasted no time getting to the good stuff.

Deran would tell her what Craig was up to, when she needed to know. Or if it was something that would suddenly leave her son fatherless, in another sense of the word. Most of the time, Olivia didn't want to know what they Codys were up to. If anything went sideways, she was better off never knowing. Mexico had never come up during her calls with Deran.

If Craig missing for a few weeks didn't filter into conversation then it meant one of two things. He was doing a job or there was a woman. Craig and Olivia were long over, never to begin again; Deran had decided that keeping those details from Olivia were for her own good. In some twisted way.

“Nah.” Craig answered shifting around out of awkwardness. “I was down there trying to get a business going, tequila.”

“A tequila business? Really? Wow.” Olivia laid one joint on the table, rolling another.

“Yeah, a friend and I went down. Didn't really get anything off the ground, but that's business.” Craig scratched his nose. He hadn't told Olivia about Renn and he sure as hell wasn't going to tell her about Nicky, although he was sure Deran had told her plenty.

“A friend.” Olivia wiggled her eyebrows. “Female friend?” Craig blushed whether he was aware or not. “Ah! You got a girlfriend, you're not telling me about, Craig Cody?” She teased.

“You uh, you seeing anybody?”

“I've had a boyfriend here and there.” Olivia answered sliding the first joint across the table. “You know how it is, every now and the you need to scratch that itch.” she winked.

“They all okay with Corbin?”

“Of course, I wouldn't bother to have someone around if they weren't good with him. Or if he didn't like them.”

“Good.” Craig's brow was furrowed and his eyes on his hands. “I'm never sure what to tell people, guess I don't tell them anything.”

“So you've never told your girlfriend? What's she going to think?” Olivia wasn't entirely surprised that Craig would keep this detail to himself.

“Naw, she isn't the mommy type. She wouldn't be a bitch about it or to him, but she isn't into the whole happy family, let's have kids thing. You know?” Craig tapped his knuckles on the table top. “Besides, we're not serious and she's out of town.”

“Hmm.” Olivia hummed picking up the joint and lighter.

She had never wanted to be that type either, funny how things change your plans. Lighting the joint, she waited for the right moment to take a puff.

“You been at Smurf's much? I thought about dropping by the other day, but wasn't sure you'd be there.”

Craig barked a laugh. He had been avoiding Smurf's as much as he could, all while watching the place like a hawk. Coming home to find Deran's father there had thrown a wrench into everybody's plans.

“Fuck no. I know that Deran talked to you and..."

"I know about Billy showing up." Olivia exhaled, the pungent smell of weed filling the trailer, in a white cloud. "Deran told me."

"Yeah, well, it's not a good idea for you to come around, Livvy. Not while that asshole is there."

"Then I won't come by the house." Oivia shrugged passing the joint to Craig.

Craig never thought he'd see this scene again, sprawled out with Olivia, huddled up in some space hiding from the outside world. A joint being passed back and forth between them, while all of their troubles left.

"Smurf if going to shit a brick, having Billy in her house." the idea of Smurf having no control over her household was tickling - perhaps it was the high.

"The good news is, she won't be worried about you showing up, now."

"Smurf doesn't have to worry about me. I don't want trouble, I'm simply here on vacation with my son." a coy smirk crossed Olivia's face. “You know that I'm harmless.”

Craig rolled his eyes. Olivia was harmless in the way a spider web was to a mosquito. She was there, taunting and waiting, one slip and you were caught up. She knew too much and Smurf didn't have the balls to do a damn thing about it. Not even Smurf was willing to cross the step-daughter of a District Attorney. Olivia had solidified her spot in Smurf's good graces, when she had her step-father go to bat for Pope. Andrew got off light with the jail time that he'd done, all thanks to Doug Bridges.

“Corbin and I are here for a nice vacation. I don't care about Smurf and her shit. If it weren't for Corbin, I doubt I'd even have the time for you.”

"Were you serious about me meeting him?" Blue eyes hooded and sincere, despite the glassy high. Craig wrinkled his nose, taking another puff from the joint, holding it out to Olivia. “I want to meet him, Livvy. Let me fucking meet him.”

Tilting her head to take a closer, more in depth look, Olivia took a puff, holding the smoke in her lungs. Blowing out a breath of smoke, she could see it now. The resemblance between Craig and her son. Corbin had the same hooded eyes, bright blue and sparkling. His nose and smile, all Craig. Even his wild mess of long hair, was Craig.

"Yes, but first there are some rules." Olivia leaned forward, hovering over the table and Craig. "It's late, we'll talk about this later. Go home."

Standing Olivia walked to the door, pushing it open with a grunt she stood holding the metal door. Taking the hint Craig slowly gathered himself and rose to his feet, stooping until he was out the door and could return to full height.

"Can I..."

"Night, Craig." Olivia waved and pulled the door shut.

Left in the yard, Craig cursed and kicked at the paved drive way. So that's how she was going to do this? Invite him in and then toss him out? Who did she think she was, anyway?