by S. J. Sylvis
“You mean our problem,” I said, looking up from her hand.
Her brow crinkled, but her palm on my arm didn’t move.
“It’s our problem,” I urged. “Not yours. I’m in this with you, Pipe.”
I could tell she was getting ready to argue with me, so I grabbed her hand on my arm and squeezed. “Say it.” Her lips smashed together as I repeated the words. “Our problem.”
She scanned my face but kept her lips pressed firmly together. “Say it, or I’ll take that paint can and dump it on your head.” I inclined my head over to the paint.
She rolled her eyes, following my line of sight. “You would not.”
Oh, she knew very well I would.
“Try me.”
That was the wrong thing to say to a girl like her. Piper liked a challenge. Or so I thought. Regardless, when she didn’t say anything, I shot up to my feet. She did the same.
“Don’t you dare, Oliver Powell.”
Exhilaration had my feet moving to the paint can. I smiled cunningly over my shoulder, and her pretty lips tugged upward.
When I reached the paint, she hissed. “Ollie…”
Instead of grabbing the paint can, I grabbed the brush, blue paint dripping down to the cardboard cut-out below. “Say it.” I took a step toward her, and she smiled excitedly, taking a step back.
Her eyes were playful, and I was here for it. I thought I liked when she shot me a glare and spat something at me. I thought I liked the fire in her eyes when she rolled them in my direction, but this was so much better.
Piper was smiling at me. I wanted to bottle it up and keep it forever.
“Piperrr,” I sang out. “Say the words: It’s our problem.”
“It’s my problem; you’re just being very chivalrous.”
We were having a stare-off. Her back pressed along the wall, my legs moving slowly like I was on the prowl. There could have been a thousand people in the auditorium with us, and I wouldn’t have known the difference.
“That’s it,” I said, and her twinkling eyes grew wide. My strides were three times hers, so I took one long step and swiped the paintbrush over her cheek.
Her mouth fell open as a squeal came out. “Ollie!” She tried to run away, but I wrapped my arm around her upper body, and her back fell into my chest with a thud. Her hands came up and wrapped around my forearm, and I whispered into her ear, “Say it.” She wiggled so much I ended up getting more paint on her.
Her laugh echoed throughout the room, and I swore I felt my heart grow. What the fuck was she doing to me?
She fought me for a few more seconds as I swiped another bit of paint on her forehead.
“Fine! Fine!” she shouted, still laughing. “It’s our problem!”
I didn’t want to let go of her, but in the end, my arm dropped. She spun around quickly, her hair a chaotic mess in front of her face. A laugh erupted from my mouth as I took in the streaks of grayish-blue paint on her cheeks. Her smile was captivating, her eyes bright with humor. “I can’t believe you painted me!”
I raised my eyebrows. “You know very well I’m a man of my word, Piper. I said I would.”
She tried to hide her smile as she reached up and smeared the paint from her face. “So…” She eyed me closely. “Since it’s ‘our’ problem…” She used air quotes around the word ‘our’ that I completely ignored. “Does that mean I can come to the races on Saturday?”
A loud laugh came out of my mouth. “Nice try.”
She cursed under her breath. “You’re acting like you’re my father.”
I shrugged innocently. “Like I said, someone has to.”
She rolled her eyes and huffed. “Fine.”
That was easy.
Before I knew what she was doing, the paintbrush was ripped from my hands, and something cold was coating my face. Her laughter floated around me, and I couldn’t even be mad.
I loved this side of her.
I liked making Piper smile, and I thought it was the best distraction yet.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Piper
“So…” Hayley walked down the aisles of the dress store, scrunching her face at every other gown she looked at. “How did you rope Ollie into helping with the decorations yesterday—and today?” She paused. “Actually, how did you get most of the football team to help?”
I laughed, running my hands down a blue dress that would likely look amazing on her. “He came on his own and rallied all those guys.” I smiled. “I’m glad, too. Mostly everything is done with their help and yours. Thanks again for helping today. I know it’s not your thing.”
Hayley rolled her eyes. “Ann and Headmaster Walton cornered me the other day during school hours to tell me that I needed to do more ‘teen-agey’ things, especially now that I was in a safer environment.”
I laughed. “I’m sure you loved that conversation.” I pulled a dusty-blue strappy dress off the hanger. “But it’s true.”
“What is?”
“You do need to do more teen-agey things. You missed out on a lot.”
Hayley’s shoulders fell. “I know, but we’ve all got our issues. No one’s childhood is perfect, right?”
Oh, she was right, alright.
“How are you doing with the whole Jason thing? I’m still concerned that you’re involved with Tank. Christian is, too. He’s worried about Ollie.”
I stilled. Every part of me wanted to spill every last dark secret to my best friend. Every single one of them. But I couldn’t because they weren’t my secrets. “You’re breaking our agreement.”
Hayley’s hand paused on a dress. “What agreement?”
“The agreement of not talking about Jason, or the races, or you paying for your mom to go to rehab.”
Hayley’s dark brows knitted together. “We didn’t agree to that.”
I laughed. “Worth a shot.”
Hayley’s laugh was light as she turned around and looked at a few more dresses. Just when I thought she was going to drop it, she intoned, “Piper?”
I took my gaze off the pretty purple dress that I was holding and took in her expression. Hayley’s features were drawn into a frown, her bright eyes crinkled around the edges. “Do you remember that time in your car when I was being super stand-offish, and you looked me in the eye and said, ‘This is what best friends do. We tell each other everything and then dissect it together’?”
I swallowed my guilt. “Yes.”
Hayley erased the few feet that stood between us and rested her hands on my shoulders. “I’m here for you, okay? I get what it’s like to hold things in. It gets…” She slowly dropped her hands after giving my shoulders a light squeeze. “It gets lonely.”
But these weren’t my secrets to tell.
I gave her a soft smile, and she continued walking down the aisle, pulling out a few more dresses. I wanted to say something, but the words were stuck. I was too busy shoving down my guilt to come up with anything good to say.
My hands stilled on the soft fabric of a rose-colored dress when she yelled over her shoulder, “Also... I know there’s something more going on with you and Ollie.”
My entire body grew warm.
“Don’t try to deny it; I just want you to know I’m here when you’re ready to talk.” Hayley smiled as I nodded in relief. I wasn’t necessarily about to deny something going on with Ollie and me; I just wasn’t sure what exactly to say. Thankfully, though, with Hayley, I didn’t usually have to say anything. She understood me, and I understood her. She knew that I'd come to her when I was ready.
The rest of the shopping trip went smoother after our conversation. Hayley and I stopped talking about the serious things, and we just had fun. Something I thought we both needed. It all felt very normal, which wasn’t something we had often.
“Christian is going to pass out when he sees you.” I cocked my head to the side, running my gaze down Hayley’s body once more. She was wearing a navy-blue dress that hit mid-thigh. The bodice was lacy an
d cut very low in the front. “Then, he’s going to wake up and demand you take that scrap of fabric off. Mark my words. That’s exactly what he’ll say.”
Hayley threw her head back and laughed. “He knows very well he can’t boss me around.”
“But he’ll still try.” Hayley and I continued to laugh until my laughter was cut short. A familiar voice hit my ears. “Just grab it, and let’s git.”
Sky. I’d recognize that voice anywhere. The twang and wrong usage of the English language was evident from my first run-in with her, and it was just the same now.
“Alright, I’m gonna change,” Hayley said, doing one more turn in the mirror.
I mumbled, “Okay,” and silently retreated backwards, trying to get out of the way before Sky saw me.
But then I heard her twang again. “Hayley fucking Smith. Is that you?”
I could see Hayley from where I was standing. Her eyes widened for a split second before the recognition hit her. “Skylar. Wow. It’s been a while. How are you?”
How are you?
“I’m finally out of the system, so better than when you ran around with my group. I heard you were up with the rich folk now.” Sky’s hair was still a tangly mess, and the dark circles under her thick, black-lined eyes were almost haunting. But according to Hayley, the system did that to you. It’d eat you alive until you were of age, and then it threw you back out to the wolves.
Maybe that was why she hung around Tank.
Hayley shrugged. “I go to English Prep, but it’s not because I’m rich.”
I still stood back to the side, hoping Sky wouldn’t look my way. It wasn’t that I was afraid of her—well, okay, that wasn’t true. I still got a little twitchy walking to my car after school, as if she’d show up out of thin air again and pull me back by my uniform blouse. But right now, it was more that I didn’t want to have to tell Hayley about my little run-in with her. That was just another thing to add to the “Things I’ve Kept from Hayley” list.
Sky blew a bubble with her pink gum. What was she even doing in here? “English Prep? No shit? I was just there a couple of weeks ago.”
Hayley looked confused. “Why?”
“Oh, I was there delivering a message from my man to this little rich redhead bitch who owes him money. She looked like she was going to shit herself.” Sky laughed, and it pissed me off.
I stepped out from behind the dressing room door. “She’s referring to me.”
Hayley’s confusion quickly turned to anger. If there was one thing I knew about my best friend, it was that she loved fiercely. She didn’t cling to people often, but when she did, she clung for life.
Sky’s mouth turned into a snarl when she saw me standing there with my dress draped over my arm. “You again?”
I bit the inside of my cheek as I walked over to Hayley. “Come to try and scare me again?”
“Depends if your little boyfriend knows how to follow directions.”
I hid my confusion.
“Directions for what?” Hayley asked.
My spine straightened as I kept my gaze on the girl in front of me. I almost felt bad for her. What a shitty life she must have had to end up with Tank.
“As long as Jason comes out unscathed and you leave us the fuck alone after this is done, everything will be fine.” I hardly recognized my voice as the words came out. I sounded confident and angry. And I was. A wave of protectiveness came over me when she mentioned Ollie.
Sky’s dull eyes sparked when my voice rose. Even Hayley glanced over, clearly astounded by my outburst.
Another voice sounded from behind me. “Wow. So she does have a backbone.”
I spun around quickly and found Madeline standing with several red dresses hanging over her arm. Her platinum hair fell in luscious waves, framing her perfect face. It was a shame she was so callous as she truly was pretty.
“A bigger backbone than you, some would say.” Hayley’s tone was neutral, but I knew deep down she was holding back a snarl. She and Madeline didn’t get along, but did anyone get along with her?
“It seems we hit a sweet spot with this one.” Sky casually walked past me, her unkempt hair brushing my arm because of how close she was. I didn’t move a muscle. She was trying to intimidate me, but it wouldn’t work. I was too riled up.
Madeline raised a perfectly arched eyebrow when Sky came to stand beside her. Why is she hanging out with Sky? Something didn’t add up with her. She was always appearing in places she didn’t belong and clearly hanging out with a bad group of people.
“Sky, tread lightly,” Hayley warned.
“Oh, so it is true, then. You are with the rich folk.”
Madeline stayed quiet, and it surprised me. Did Sky not know that her new BFF was rich also?
Madeline and I locked eyes as Hayley and Sky did. Something unreadable crossed Madeline’s features, and she immediately dropped her gaze. “Come on, Sky. Let’s just go.”
Sky huffed, moving her stare from Hayley. When she sliced her gaze to me, I got goosebumps. “You better hope your little boyfriend keeps his word.”
Panic was settling into my belly. What word?
I kept my mouth shut and my face unmoving as she twisted around and walked toward the door. Madeline was turning on her heel to do the same, but I stopped her at the last second. “What did you get yourself into?”
Hayley’s arms crossed over her dress, waiting for her to answer.
For a moment, Madeline looked like she wanted to confide in us. Her pink lips fell, and her light-blue eyes dropped to the floor. But then she snapped to attention as Sky yelled for her.
I watched her push past the vulnerability as her words cut through the air. “None of your fucking business.”
Then, she dropped the dresses to the ground in a lumpy pile, and the bell chimed as she and Sky left the shop.
It only took Hayley half a second to look at me.
“You have some explaining to do.”
And it seemed Ollie did, too.
Chapter Thirty
Ollie
The trailers that lined Pike Valley Trailer Park were something out of a horror film. It was hard to believe that people lived in conditions like that. The first one on the right was yellow and drab with a few broken pieces of siding hanging loose off the side. The next one was just as bad. It was gray in color, but I was pretty sure it hadn’t started out as that shade, and it had several broken windows with cardboard duct-taped over them. They were all like this—run-down, dirty, and full of filthy people who were barely surviving.
It made my skin crawl thinking back to when Piper was stuck inside Tank’s bathroom. The second I stepped foot in his trailer the other day, it was like cold water being dumped on my head. Chills ran over my flesh. A place like that wasn’t a place for her. She was too clean, too delicate.
While I was there, I couldn’t even stomach looking in Jason’s direction. After all, he was the reason Piper was in the trailer in the first place. When Tank asked me to sit down beside Jason, it took everything in me not to reach over and punch his crooked nose.
But I knew I had to keep my cool. I needed to act unbothered by the entire situation.
Sure, Tank, ol’ buddy, ol’ pal, I’ll throw the race on Saturday so you can cheat more people out of their money. I’m on your side, bro.
Men like Tank were weak. They liked to scare people into following their command so they could have some sort of control in their lives. But those who followed others purely out of fear weren’t true followers.
Plus, couldn’t Tank sense that I wasn’t a follower? I was a leader, and soon, he’d understand that.
The clock on my dash read 4:05, and just like every day this past week, Tank left his house and climbed onto his shitty motorcycle and sped down the gravel lot, pebbles flying in every direction as he zoomed away.
I had approximately forty minutes to get this over with.
As I climbed out of my Charger, hidden just behind a few older, broken-down v
ehicles, I felt the warmth from the sun on my back. The nice thing about Cali in the winter was that it was still somewhat warm during the day, but cooler in the evening. I cracked my knuckles as I walked past a few dying plants in broken and chipped pots and jogged up the rickety porch stairs. The door to the trailer creaked loudly as I opened it, and it slammed with a thud the second I was through the threshold.
The inside of the trailer was filled with stale smoke; a hint of weed lingered there, too.
I found Jason immediately, sitting on the couch, slumped back, relaxing in a stretched-out T-shirt and ripped jeans. His brownish-red hair was long, covering his ears. He’d definitely seen better days.
“Out,” I said to the other people in the room, keeping my fists closed by my sides. Intimidation wasn’t my strong suit—at least not compared to my brother.
Unless, of course, Piper was involved.
Piper caused me to morph into something else entirely. My blood spiked with adrenaline, and if I had to use my height and strength—thank you, football conditioning—to pound the hell out of the few other people in the room just to get Jason alone, I would.
“Who the fuck are you?” The guy standing in the corner of the room jumped to his feet.
I was hoping I didn’t read the situation wrong the other day when I was here, and he wasn’t packing a gun or something. Although, I was sure there were weapons somewhere around this filthy shithole.
The other guy sitting beside Jason sat up a little taller, answering the question. “He’s the one that was here a few days ago, talking with Tank about the race on Saturday. He’s makin’ him good fucking money right now...” He chuckled, flicking his hair-cut-to-the-scalp head to Jason who was now unmoving as he stared at me. “Because of this idiot.”
“Get out,” I demanded again.
The smile dropped from the man’s face. “Who the fuck are you to come in here uninvited and demand we leave? We have orders to stay right the fuck here with this pansy bitch.”
Ah, right. Jason is their little pet.
My feet carried me farther into the room. I knew I was potentially outnumbered, but confidence was the key in this situation. I laid it right out for them. “Here’s how this is gonna work. You two are going to go outside for a few minutes so I can talk with Jason.” I paused as the guy standing in the corner crept around the couch and headed for me. I easily had a foot of height over him and could probably take him down easily. “Or…I can get my guy who’s currently waiting down the street to come arrest you two fucks on drug possession. I know very well that you both have drugs in your system, and you”—I smirked at the one sitting beside Jason with his shoulders tight around his neck with fear—“are currently holding a little baggy of something in your jeans pocket. Am I right?”