My world tilts on its axis and I start to fall.
I take a step to the side to catch myself only to realize that I wasn’t falling at all.
I start a few different questions at the same time without really knowing where I am going
“So… I don’t… what are you saying exactly?”
“Owen knows that you’re not his sister. He has known since you were about fifteen. And then in prison when you started writing him and you two really got to know each other…he fell in love with you. Hard.”
“No, you’re lying,” I say, shaking my head.
“I have lied about a lot of things, Olive, but I’m not lying about this.”
I touch the bun at the back of my head and stick the flyaway strands of hair back into it.
“Why would he tell you this?” I ask, shaking my head.
“Because we got high together and things like this tend to come out when you have expanded your consciousness a bit. Besides, he has always been my little boy. He has always come to me with everything, not like you.”
I don’t know how true it is or how much of this is just a figment of her imagination.
But I do know that people tend to say a lot and reveal a lot of secrets when they’ve had a bit too much to drink or smoke.
“So, what am I supposed to do with this now?” I ask.
My blood pressure rises with every passing minute until my head feels like it’s going to explode.
“I don’t know,” she says. Leaning back, she bends her knee and props her foot up against the wall. “I guess do what you were going to get this girl you found to do… talk to him. Remind him that there’s someone out there who loves him. Maybe he’ll come back to us.”
After my mom leaves, I wander the grounds of the hospital for about forty-five minutes.
I don’t know what to think about this. I don’t know if she’s lying or why she would if she were.
She has lied about a lot less and about a lot more important things but this one really feels like it’s out of left field.
And what if she is telling the truth? What then?
There’s a small rose garden where I find a seat. I’ve never thought of Owen as anything but a brother and that’s no different now.
Except of course, it is. Knowing how he feels about me and the possibility that it’s true makes me… angry. The rage roiling in the pit of my stomach surprises me.
I don’t know how to process anything of what she has said.
She’s not really my mother, so who is?
Owen isn’t my real brother, do I even have one?
They are both family, but are they?
And then there’s the other small but not at all inconsequential detail; Owen is in love with me.
When I asked whether this woman he cared about had a husband and a family and a boyfriend he said no. But still he couldn’t tell her how he felt.
Now, I know why; she’s actually his sister. Or has been for twenty-odd years.
Man, my family is fucked up.
If I had smoked, I’d be reaching for a cigarette right now.
Instead, I take out a piece of gum and pop it into my mouth. I make a giant bubble, filling it with as much air as it can fit and blowing in a little more until it bursts over my face.
“Oh, there you are!” Nicholas says, standing by the gate to the garden. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. You weren’t answering your phone.”
I give him a little nod as I try to peel the gum off my face. I look at him but I’m really staring somewhere past him.
There’s a large oak tree that the wrought iron fence wraps around and a little black bird is sitting on one of the lower branches.
“How’s Owen?” Nicholas asks, coming over and giving me a peck on the cheek.
“The same.”
“I’m sorry, but I think we should just wait and see. It’s going to be alright, Olive.”
“Yeah, I hope so,” I mumble, watching the bird take a few hops and then fly away.
“Hey, listen.” He nudges me. “Have you heard from Sydney?”
When I don’t respond, he adds, “You know, your roommate?” As if I would’ve forgotten who she was.
“No, not recently.”
“Well, you’re not going to believe this,” Nicholas says. “Sydney’s back.”
***
Thank you for reading TELL ME TO STAY!
I hope you enjoyed continuing Nicholas and Olive’s story. Can’t wait to find out what happens next?
One-click Tell Me to Run Now!
From the moment I met, Nicholas Crawford he has been an enigma. He’s a man with an unknown past and a mysterious future. He’s a criminal, a liar, a mastermind and the love of my life. I became a criminal for him and I rescued him and now it’s his turn to do something for me.
When I discover that everything I believed about my family is a lie, I need his help to uncover the truth. Who am I? Where do I come from? Why is there so much deceit?
I’m in a dark place and I’m all alone and he is the only person who can pull me out of it. He is my only hope, what happens if that’s not enough?
Decadent and delicious 4th book of the new and addictive Tell Me series by bestselling author Charlotte Byrd.
One-click Tell Me to Run Now!
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Connect with Charlotte Byrd
Sign up for my newsletter to find out when I have new books!
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Also by Charlotte Byrd
All books are available at ALL major retailers! If you can’t find it, please email me at [email protected]
Tell me Series
Tell Me to Stop
Tell Me to Go
Tell Me to Stay
Tell Me to Run
Tell Me to Fight
Tell Me to Lie
Tangled Series
Tangled up in Ice
Tangled up in Pain
Tangled up in Lace
Tangled up in Hate
Tangled up in Love
Black Series
Black Edge
Black Rules
Black Bounds
Black Contract
Black Limit
Lavish Trilogy
Lavish Lies
Lavish Betrayal
Lavish Obsession
Standalone Novels
Debt
Offer
Unknown
Dressing Mr. Dalton
About Charlotte Byrd
Charlotte Byrd is the bestselling author of many contemporary romance novels. She lives in Southern California with her husband, son, and a crazy toy Australian Shepherd. She loves books, hot weather and crystal blue waters.
Write her here:
[email protected]
Check out her books here:
www.charlotte-byrd.com
Connect with her here:
www.facebook.com/charlottebyrdbooks
Instagram: @charlottebyrdbooks
Twitter: @ByrdAuthor
Facebook Group: Charlotte Byrd’s Reader Club
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