by S. J. Sylvis
I was stunned. Unable to speak. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that she had a brother. Who? How old was he? And what type of person was he to let his sister pay back money he owed to a guy like Tank?
I allowed myself five seconds to take in the information, and then I piled it away in my back pocket for later. Piper was on the verge of tears, and I wasn’t sure if it was because she was angry with me, upset about her brother, or if it was the fear of some chick coming to scare her this morning. Maybe it was all of the above. Regardless, this wasn’t the time for me to ask questions or prod her more. She was crazy if she thought I was letting her handle this on her own, though. Blackmail or not, I wasn’t backing down where she was involved. She should have known that by now.
“Go to the girls’ locker room and stay there until I get back.”
Piper looked up from staring at the grass. “What? Where are you going? And I can’t just skip class!”
“I have it handled, Piper. Does your house have a code to get in? What is it? I’ll grab you a skirt and come back and bring it to you. I’ll handle Headmaster Walton.”
Piper looked ready to argue, and I tilted my head, silently telling her that it wasn’t going to work. Reluctantly, she obliged. “Top drawer of my dresser. I’ll text you the code. The cleaning lady might be there, but just tell her I sent you. Call me if she doesn’t believe you.”
“Okay, go.” I nodded my head to the side door of English Prep and turned around to head to the front to butter up Headmaster Walton with a believable story about why I needed to leave English Prep for a few. You couldn’t typically sign yourself out of school without a parent, but he loved Christian and me, and so did Ms. Boyd. This would be a breeze.
Before Piper disappeared inside the school, I called out to her, “You know this conversation isn’t over, right?”
She paused with her back to me, her ripped skirt still swaying with the breeze, but then she trudged herself through the doors without even sparing me a glance.
This wasn’t over, and she knew it.
Chapter Thirteen
Piper
Twenty thousand dollars. Those three words had been on repeat in my head since Saturday night. That, and the encounter with Sky earlier today. My life had done a total 360 in the last few years, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise that I barely recognized myself in the mirror anymore. My life used to revolve around the occasional family dinner that my parents would deem necessary after weeks of being away at work, leaving Jason and me with our nanny who, in a poor attempt, would try to make us feel loved by playing Scrabble with us each weekend. It worked for a little while. But as soon as Jason got a little older and he became distant, that was when I started to change. I became independent. Jason shut me out, my parents were gone more than ever, and soon, everything was flipped upside down. And here I was, a new person. I morphed into a girl that lied to everyone she cared about and contemplated breaking into her father’s safe to save someone who probably didn’t even deserve it.
My eyes traced over my reflection in the side of our spotless, stainless steel fridge as I stood there eating my organic, microwaved dinner that our housekeeper stocked the freezer with a few days prior. Sure, I had the same bright-green eyes and red hair. My nose was still lined with a few faint freckles, but the girl inside was vastly different than who she was a year ago.
Everything fell apart the second my parents tore me away from Wellington Prep. It was like they had a vendetta against that side of Pike Valley, as if Wellington Prep was the reason for my brother’s mistakes—not theirs. Not the fact that, instead of getting my brother help, they just turned a blind eye and buried themselves even further into their careers, acting like everything was okay—all just to keep their appearances clean and pristine. That was why they tore me away from my old school in the first place. Jason had ruined our name. Painted them as bad parents. It was why I’d kept it a secret for so long—that was what I was taught to do.
I turned away from my reflection with frustration as Ollie’s face popped into my head. Ollie knew. The shock that rippled onto his face earlier was blatantly apparent. I told him who Jason was. My secret was no longer a secret. And maybe it never should have been, but the mere thought that someone was getting a peek into my life made me uncomfortable. All I wanted was to fix my brother’s shit discreetly and go about my business, pretending that my life was normal. I only had a few more months until college. Once I got to college, everything would be better—at least that was what I had been telling myself since last year. I’d be several hundred miles away. I wouldn’t have to worry if Jason was going to pop up randomly one day, asking for my help. I wouldn’t have to feel guilty, either. Sorry, I’m four hours away from home. I can’t come get you.
Who was I kidding? I’d still feel guilty.
Placing my dinner on the counter, I pulled out a piece of paper and flung my damp hair over my shoulder. The clock on the stove read 8:58. My homework was done for the evening, I had already showered, and my linguine was half-eaten. This seemed like the perfect time to come up with a list of ways I could somehow make twenty thousand dollars within a few days without Ollie’s help.
My stomach continued to twist as my thoughts drifted toward him, and then it dropped completely when there was a knock on the front door.
I gasped as the piece of paper flew out of my hands and floated to the floor.
The first person to come to mind was Tank. He was like a bad dream that lurked in the dark shadows inside my bedroom before I fell asleep, reminding me that bad things were on the verge of unleashing. He’d already sent his girlfriend to scare me at school; I wouldn’t put it past him to send someone to my house, too. I tried taking a deep breath as I walked through the long hallway to get to my front door. I eyed the alarm on the far wall, noting that it said Armed. At least I did one right thing today.
My calves stretched as I reached up on my tiptoes to peek out the peephole.
“Open the door, Piper.”
My breath caught as I saw Ollie standing with his back against the side railing of the porch with a black hat backwards on his head, looking as casually hot as he always did. My feet fell flat to the hardwood with a slap. What is he doing here?! I brought my hands up to my damp hair and ran my fingers through the wet strands. Wait. Who cares what I look like?! I was pretty sure Ollie had seen me look much worse.
The heavy door creaked as I slowly swung it open, half hiding behind it. “Ollie, go home.”
A throaty chuckle left him as he flew past me, the door opening even wider. The beeping of the alarm was ringing in the background as I stood with my mouth gaping. Why I was surprised that Ollie just rushed into my house like he owned the place was beside me. It was Ollie, after all.
“You gonna get that?” Ollie nodded his head to the beeping coming from the side of the wall as I stared at him. He shook his head and gave me a chaste eye roll as he stalked over to it and punched in the numbers. At that moment, I knew I shouldn’t have given him the alarm code earlier in the day, but he did grab me a new skirt from my house and handled Headmaster Walton, so…
“Ollie, what are you doing here?” Ollie stood back along the wall with his eyebrows raised to the brim of his hat. His mouth was slowly creeping into a smirk, and I felt my face flame.
“What?”
His head tilted to the right slightly as his fist came up to rest on his chin. “Are you…?” He scanned me from the top of my head all the way to the tips of my toes, and I tried my hardest not to shift on my feet. I hated more than anything that Ollie’s stare did things to my body. His look heated me up from the inside out. “Piper, are you wearing my shirt?”
“Wh—?” I snapped my head down and almost died right then. Looking back up at me was the face of a bulldog on a navy shirt with big block letters that said ENGLISH PREP in white. Oh my God, I should have burned this shirt! “I…”
The sound of my gulp echoed in the empty foyer as Ollie continued to stare at me f
rom across the hallway. My ears felt hot, and my face was surely one match away from actually erupting into flames.
“I can’t believe you’re wearing my shirt. You little thief.” He shook his head lightly. “Did you steal it that night you and Hayley stayed at my house?”
I totally did. Hayley and I stayed at Christian and Ollie’s the night she was attacked after one of the football games. It was a comfy shirt; of course I took it with me.
Speak, Piper. Deny, deny, deny.
Ollie pushed off from the wall, looking more smug than I’d ever seen him. “You did. You stole my shirt.” He sighed. “Naughty, naughty Piper. I knew you weren’t a good girl.”
My eyes narrowed, and I could tell by the instant spark in his eye that he enjoyed the rise he was getting out of me. “Well…” He chuckled, glancing away for a moment. “I kind of already knew you weren’t one of the good girls.”
I crossed my arms over the stupid shirt, ignoring that little snide remark. “What do you want, Ollie? Or did you come here just to feed your egotistical personality?”
He stared at me, still from across the hallway, wearing a dark-gray t-shirt and jeans with a smile that could dazzle me right off my feet if I let it.
A troubling thought seemed to flash across his face as his smile fell, and it surprised me at how much it bothered me to see him not smiling. I looked away quickly, annoyed.
Ollie’s voice was softer now, less playful. “I just came to check on you.”
I flashed him a look. “You’re lying. You want to know more about Jason.”
He shook his head, looking down at the floor for a second. “That’s not true. You know I’m not a liar, Piper. I came to check on you. It bothers me that someone came to the school to mess with you—especially on Christian’s and my watch.”
I snickered. “On your guys’ watch? What are you? The bodyguards of English Prep?”
Ollie’s naturally cheerful personality was replaced with something fierce. The planes on his face were drawn tight. “When it comes to you and Hayley, yeah, pretty much. I do remember, not too long ago, when you both were run off the road in what seemed to be a high-speed chase. Oh, and again, when Hayley was actually taken.” My heart thudded in my chest at the thought, but it burned with heat as I thought of Ollie feeling protective over me. I wanted to close the vulnerable part of myself off so I could bask in the warmth of his protectiveness, but I quickly shut that down.
I hated that I was like this. That I so desperately wanted to be alone. Invisible. Letting someone in was very difficult for me, and I recognized that. I guess it was the lack of love and attention my parents gave me growing up. Or maybe it was because Jason kind of just left me hanging—by myself. Regardless of the reason, I thrived in my independence. I didn’t need anyone’s help. There was no way I was getting close enough to Ollie so he could just leave me, too.
“I’m fine,” I finally answered, not daring to look him in the eye, too fearful he’d see right through the wall I threw up.
Ollie ignored me as he pushed off the wall, more than likely frustrated with my fake answer, and headed for the kitchen. “Alone again?” he asked over his shoulder. I watched as he took long strides down the hall, and again as he sat down at the kitchen island, waiting for me to follow.
“I’m always alone,” I mumbled, walking around the counter to stare at him. The island was a nice barrier between the pair of us—made me feel a little more grounded. There was just something about being alone with Ollie that stirred things up inside, things that I’d rather push away.
Ollie leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, tightening that steely jaw. “Precisely why I’m here. Do your parents ever come home?”
I shrugged as I stood back along the cabinets lining the kitchen. “Sometimes on the weekends. Just depends on their schedules.”
“And what about Jason?”
I swallowed to keep myself from cringing. I knew we’d have to touch on this subject eventually. “He’s not allowed to be here.”
Ollie raised one eyebrow as he leaned his long arms on the bar top. “Not allowed?”
I shook my head. “No. My parents kicked him out a little while ago and banned him from ever coming back to the house.” The secrets were coming out of my mouth effortlessly, and I was surprised at how good it felt. If I even mumbled Jason’s name to my parents, they’d instantly shut the conversation down. Jason was a no-talk zone with them—or anyone, really. He was cut out of our lives, forgotten. So, this actually felt good. Wrong, but good. “He stole from them the last time he was here, and when you add that to everything he’d ever done wrong...my parents were done. That was where they drew the line.”
I looked away from Ollie’s intense stare as I got sucked into the things I’d managed to bury over the years. A little bit of guilt started to seep in. I always felt the need to defend him. “My brother wasn’t always like this. He used to be good. Normal. We were best friends once.” A shaky sigh left my mouth as I pushed my back even further into the cabinets. “But he got in with the wrong crowd, and well…here we are.”
I heard Ollie shift, but I kept my gaze trained to the floor. “Yes...here we are, raising twenty G’s to pay back a drug dealer.”
My stomach dipped, and I stood up straight, placing my attention on him. “There is no we, Ollie. You aren’t getting involved. These people—”
He interrupted me, throwing his hands out. “Are bad fucking news, which is why I’m so intent on helping you. I don’t like that you’re near these people.”
I didn’t like that he was near them either. “Why were you even racing that night?” I crossed my arms over his shirt as I walked closer to him. He peeked up at me through his thick eyelashes, the blue in his eyes sucking me in like a storm over the ocean. He shrugged but kept his mouth in a straight line, not answering me.
Our eyes were locked and loaded. I gave him a look that said I wasn’t backing down, and he gave me one right back.
“Why were you racing?”
He clicked his tongue and gave me a half smile. “I was bored?”
I narrowed my gaze. “I told you about Jason...the least you can do is tell me the truth.”
Ollie looked away, his chest puffing out with a deep breath. I knew he was thinking of changing the subject or skirting around the real reason, but that wasn’t going to work. I wanted to know why he was racing.
An idea hit me after a few seconds of watching him nervously crack his knuckles. A sly smile had my lips moving. “A secret for a secret?”
Those blue eyes flew to mine, and he cocked an eyebrow. After sighing again, he adjusted the backwards hat on his head, giving me a glimpse of his light hair before relaxing back in his seat.
“Don’t you ever just need an escape?”
My mouth fell into a frown at the sound of his voice. For a moment, I forgot that I pretended to hate him. We were almost face to face, the kitchen island no longer in between us. The barrier had suddenly vanished. It was always like this with us. Things got stirred up between us within a moment's notice. The chemistry pulsed. Our emotions ran high. I blamed it on that night at Andrew’s. Like some twisted spell was cast over us in that room, forever tethering us together. He was raw that night, spilling his secrets to a complete stranger, and looking at him now, I got the sense that he felt the exact same way. As if nothing had changed in the last year we’d pretended to be at odds with one another. The secret he held close still ate away at him.
I could always tell when the thought would cross his mind, whether it was someone mentioning how he and Christian didn’t look alike, or when Eric would compare Ollie’s chipperness to Christian’s broodiness. Each and every time, I’d watch Ollie’s behavior. His smile wouldn’t reach his eyes, his laugh wouldn’t echo throughout the room, and above all else, he’d look lost.
“Is that why you’re here tonight?” My voice came out like a lullaby. Soft and welcoming. The air quickly changed between us, and for once, I wasn’t trying t
o hide behind my masked hatred or basking in an old grudge. There was a weird pull in my heart that ached with the need to rid him of his problems. Strangely enough, I wanted to pull him in instead of push him away.
He cleared his throat, and I quickly snapped back to reality, shaking off the warm and fuzzy feeling I was getting. “I’m here because I was worried about you and because we need to figure things out. I don’t like not being in control.”
I began to shake my head to protest, but he slapped his hand on the counter. “I’m fucking racing regardless, Piper. Go ahead and say you’ll tell Christian he’s not my real brother.”
All of a sudden, the tall chair scraped the floor as Ollie stood up. My arms quickly uncrossed and fell from my chest as he crept toward me. I began walking backwards to the cabinets, trying desperately to put some space between us. Ollie was tall, much taller than me, and with the look of desperate determination in his eye, it felt like he grew ten more inches. The heavy tension was back as he pinned me to my spot and almost spat the words, “Tell me you’ll blackmail me and tell my dirty little secret. I don’t care.”
I could never. I was bluffing the other night, fueled by the intense need to cover up my problems, and he knew it.
Ollie was within spitting distance, erasing almost all of the space between us. If I reached my hand out even a fraction, I’d be touching his rising chest. My head continued to tilt upward as he came closer to me, caging me in with his heavy presence. In this moment, I very quickly learned there was more than just one side to Ollie. There was the light and fluffy Ollie, the one who teased and joked and smiled so brightly he lit up an entire room. And then there was this one, the fiercely protective, determined beyond belief, and intimidating Ollie. It was a little bit like getting a glimpse of his older brother. They may not have shared a father, but they sure shared something. His determination was unwavering. He wasn’t going to take no for an answer.