Tyler released her and held his hands up. Tears pooled in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Olivia. It’s just…this is driving me crazy.”
Olivia nodded. “Maybe we should talk about this after you’ve gotten some sleep.”
“You won’t take my calls,” he reminded as he ran both hands over his face. “I don’t want to lose you.”
Olivia swallowed hard and inhaled a shaky breath. “We’ll always be friends, Tyler.”
“I don’t want to be friends,” he growled, punching the wall.
Olivia jumped as Tyler’s fist connected with the wall a few feet from her. She gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.
“Everything okay here?” Derrick called from behind her.
"Pretty sure this isn't your business," Tyler glared, balling his fists as he stared past her. Tyler pushed past her and staggered toward Derrick.
No. No. No.
She whirled around, horrified. Tyler swung first. Derrick easily stepped out of the way and pushed Tyler back. Tyler snarled, running forward, he wrapped his arms around Derrick and drove him into the wall.
“Stop,” she cried as Derrick swung and connected with Tyler’s nose. Blood sprayed out and Tyler groaned, cupping his face.
Tyler swore under his breath and dove at Derrick again.
Please stop! Derrick caught Tyler’s arm, he twisted, kicking the back of Tyler’s leg, bringing him to the ground.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Jack called, tapping Derrick on the shoulder as he and Elena rounded the corner.
Derrick released Tyler and took a step back. Olivia buried her face in her hands as she tried to control her breathing. What the hell just happened?
“We’ll take care of Tyler,” Elena said, placing a comforting hand on Olivia’s shoulder. “Go catch up to Derrick.”
Olivia looked up. Derrick was gone. Where did he go? She needed to find him, and make sure he was all right.
***
Derrick stopped at a sink in the hallway and wet a paper towel to put over his bloodied knuckles. He blotted at the abrasions, annoyed.
“Derrick?” Olivia called. Her boots clicked on the tile floor as she approached. “You okay?” she asked, coming to a stop in front of him. She sighed heavily as she took his hand in hers. Shaking her head, she took the towels from him and dabbed at his hand.
“I’ll be fine. You? Did he hurt you?” he asked concerned. His eyes roamed over her, ensuring there were no injuries. If Tyler hurt her…
"I’m fine,” she assured. "Tyler wouldn’t hurt me." She tossed the napkins into the trashcan then gently ran her fingertips over his knuckles.
"He was going to hurt you. I saw the way he was acting. He wasn’t in his right mind,” he argued.
"He was drunk and stupid. He wasn't going to actually hurt me Derrick."
He frowned. Is she serious? Obviously, she didn't see what I did.
"Not going to hurt you? He already did," he pointed out gently laying his hand over her forearm. Red blotches marred her creamy skin where Tyler had held her.
She hesitantly looked down at her arm. "I didn’t realize,” she started. Her bottom lip trembled. “It’s not that bad. It’s not going to leave a mark. Violence with more violence doesn't really solve anything."
Wait. What? Tyler could have really hurt her. The thought of Tyler putting his hands on her like that made him want to turn around and put Tyler in the hospital. This night had already been bad enough without her getting on him for coming to her rescue. "Well, sorry, sweetheart, but when I see a guy manhandling a girl, it doesn't exactly make me want to play nice," he snapped.
"I don't think beating a drunk guy senseless is the right approach either," she hissed.
"If your friend hadn't shown up, I would have beat him more than senseless," he said, knowing his temper was getting the best of him. He needed to back off before he said something he would regret. This night was just trying his patience.
She scoffed and took a step back. "Tyler is someone that I love and care about even if—"
"I see," he interrupted. She loved Tyler. Maybe he was just a distraction until they made up. That’s what he’d been before. A distraction—a mistake. Well he didn’t want her to have any more regrets. "So what is this?" He motioned between them with his hands. "One last hurrah before you settled down with him. You needed a little fun before settling into the mundane married life?"
She gaped at him, her mouth dropping open in surprise. The look quickly changed to one of anger. Red tinged her cheeks and crept to her ears. "Seriously?" she asked shaking her head. "You think I would use you like that?"
He shrugged. It wouldn't be the first time a woman had used him. This was why he didn't do relationships. They always led to disappointment. "Just go Olivia. Go check on your boyfriend." He snapped.
She frowned, her mouth opening and closing. She blinked at him as she took a step back then spun on her heel and ran toward the exit at the end of the hall. Part of him wanted to go after her, but he was too afraid that his fears would be right. It was better this way. If he didn’t let her in, she couldn’t hurt him. His heart clenched at the thought. It was already too late for that.
Chapter Eleven
Olivia slid into a pair of pink sweats and matching hoodie, hoping to have a lazy day at home. It was early, but she couldn’t sleep and after yesterday, she wanted to relax and sort through everything that happened in the past twenty-four hours. She picked up her cell and set it to silence. Tyler had called three times already. Derrick hadn’t called once. She sighed, dropping her phone onto her bed.
What happened last night? Does Derrick really think I’m going to get back together with Tyler? Maybe I should try to call him. She picked up her phone and stared at the blank screen as she juggled the device between her two hands.
Just do it already.
She mashed her finger down on the phone and pulled up the menu. Scrolling through her contacts she found Derrick’s name. Her finger hovered over his name for a moment.
A loud bang rumbled against her front door. Olivia jumped in surprise, dropping her phone. She whirled around to her closed bedroom door. Who in the world is knocking so incessantly on my front door?
"Olivia? Are you in there?" Tyler hollered.
She froze. After last night, she wasn’t sure she wanted to speak to him. Not yet anyway. He was obviously taking the breakup hard, perhaps not seeing him at all would be best. She held her breath as he beat on the door again.
"Olivia?" he yelled as he continued to pound on the door.
She slumped down on her bed and hoped he would go away soon.
***
"Are you sure you’re okay?" Derrick asked as he pulled into the parking lot. Rachel had to stay at the hospital until all of her tests came back. After waiting for hours for her to be released and a trip to the pharmacy, he was finally getting her home.
"I'm fine," Rachel assured. "Come up Derrick. Olivia's home I'm sure of it. Talk to her."
"Rachel…" he started.
"No Derrick. You like her. Don’t be an idiot because you had a little fight," Rachel said crossing her arms stubbornly.
He put the car in park and hung his hand on the car keys ready to turn the ignition off. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to clear the air. It had been a rough night, and I probably overreacted. His decision made, he shut the car off and began to get out.
“Morning,” a familiar voice hollered across the parking lot.
Derrick looked up. Tyler. He gritted his teeth as he halted his movements. Why is he here? He could only think of one reason Tyler would be leaving Olivia’s apartment this early in the morning. Anger and hurt surged through him. He’d been right, Olivia was only using him as a distraction. He slid back into his seat and slammed the door shut.
Tyler waved at them, flashing a wide smile as he continued toward his vehicle.
It would have been nice to knock that smirk off his face. "Derrick, don't do anything stupid. He’s not worth it," Rachel sai
d, her hand landing on his arm. "Please, you'll only make it worse."
He stared at his sister confused and forced a calming breath into his lungs. She didn’t need the stress. "Don’t worry, Rachel. I just can't believe she went back to him."
"She wouldn't Derrick. I know Olivia. That's over," Rachel insisted, placing her hand on his arm.
"She said she loves him." He said grinding his teeth at the memory.
"Olivia loves everybody. I'm sure she didn't mean it like that. She's known Tyler since they were like five," Rachel sighed. "Come on Derrick. You could at least give her the benefit of the doubt. Come up. Talk to her."
He wanted to believe Rachel, but he couldn't shake Olivia’s words out of his head. She'd said she loved Tyler. He wasn't going to open himself up to get hurt again. Brandy had screwed with him. He'd thought he could take a chance, but maybe he wasn't ready. Maybe it just wasn't right. It was easier and far less painful to walk away now.
"I'm sorry I can't,” he murmured turning away from Rachel.
"You’re so stubborn, Derrick. Both of you are stubborn." Rachel shook her head. "Olivia isn't Brandy. She would never do that to you. Don't screw up a good thing because of something in your past."
"I'm sorry, Rachel," he said, starting the car.
"Fine," she snapped. "But you better not screw up your chances with her dad. Another opportunity isn’t going to come along like that. The two of you will have to figure out communications with him and each other on your own. I'm not going to be the messenger," Rachel stated, getting out of the door and slamming it.
Rachel marched toward the apartment complex. Halfway to the building, she turned back and fixed him with a glare. Rachel spun around and stomped into her building. Am I doing the right thing?
Before he could answer his question, a white car drove by. Tyler sat inside. Their gazes met and Tyler smiled smugly before speeding out of the lot. Why would Tyler be here so early? Why would he be so pompous unless something happened with Olivia? He wouldn’t. Derrick had thought Olivia was different, but he was wrong. At least he was finding out early before he was too invested.
***
Olivia stiffened as the front doorknob jiggled. She held her breath. Is Tyler back? The lock turned and the door swung open. Rachel. She closed her eyes, slumped against the counter, letting out a sigh of relief. Tyler wasn’t stalking her again, and her best friend was home and appeared to be okay. “How are you?” she asked, walking to Rachel and pulling her into a hug.
"Tired," she sighed. "The nurses kept commenting how much sleep I needed to get, but every hour they were in my room to poke me with a needle or take my temperature. Derrick stayed the night in the chair. Between him grumbling all night and the poking and prodding, I’m ready to curl up in bed and sleep for a week," she said stifling a yawn.
"Let’s get you situated,” Olivia said, pulling out of the hug. She hooked their arms together leading Rachel to her room. “Hospital stays are annoying,” she sympathized. “And Derrick’s just trying to take care of you. It's kind of cute." It was more than cute. It was actually very sweet of him to take care of his little sister like that.
"Speaking of Derrick…" Rachel looked at her pointedly. "I heard about last night."
Olivia opened Rachel’s door and walked with her to the bed. Together they sat down on the plush mattress. This was going to be a long and hard discussion she could feel it. "Last night was a bit of a mess," she finally said.
"Why was Tyler here this morning?" Rachel asked bluntly.
"I don't know. I didn't answer the door," she explained quietly. "After last night I just didn't…." she trailed off unsure what to say.
Rachel nodded. "Derrick saw him,” she murmured and then added, “and his triumphant grin. Derrick thinks you two got back together."
"What?" she asked stunned. How could he think that? Then she remembered what he had said last night. Did he really think she was using him? "I'm not getting back together with Tyler.”
"Then maybe you should tell him that," Rachel suggested. "I already tried. He didn't want to listen to me."
Olivia crossed her arms over her belly and shook her head. "I tried to explain things to him last night, he didn't want to listen." I should try harder.
"Brandy really screwed him up. He has a hard time letting people in. I mean, can you imagine finding out your girlfriend and brother are together? If you can’t trust your own family then whom can you trust? Please call him. Try to talk to him. I've seen how you two look at each other," Rachel pleaded.
“I will,” she promised. It wouldn’t hurt to call him.
***
Derrick hesitated as he looked at the caller ID. Olivia. He wanted to talk to her so badly, but what if she had spent the night with Tyler. He didn't want to hear some sorry excuse or apology—didn't want to hear that he was right. Tyler had been too smug this morning. Something had happened with Olivia. Gritting his teeth he mashed his finger on the ignore button.
Running a tired hand through his mussed hair, he returned to his design. After last night’s fiasco, he’d set out looking for work himself and had stumbled upon someone looking for a house design that was right up his alley. Maybe if he finished the plans, it would help get her beautiful traitorous face out of his mind. Doubtful.
His phone chimed. He picked up the phone and shook his head. New text message and a voicemail from Olivia. Great. Now I can read her apology. He set his phone down and turned back to his work. Derrick tapped his pencil on the paper. How in the hell was he supposed to concentrate when he kept thinking about her? He set his pencil down and picked up his phone. Cursing under his breath, he listened to the voicemail first.
Derrick, it's Olivia…um, I just wanted to talk to you about last night. Please call me back.
He swallowed hard as he hung up. She wanted to talk. Well, he didn’t want to listen to her apologies and how happy she was with Tyler now. Still, he opened the text message anyway. He had to know what she said.
With all the chaos last night, I never got some of your plans to give to my dad. I can get them from you whenever. - Olivia
He pursed his lips as he began to type. His hands shook as his blood boiled. I can find my own job, thanks. He stared down at his message.
Forget it. I’ve found a freelance job. There is no need for us to talk or see each other again. - Derrick
His hand hovered over the button for a moment before he hit send. It was over.
***
Derrick glanced at the dashboard as he pulled into the parking lot. He was running early for Thursday night dinner with Rachel. Traffic had been eerily calm. Too bad—I’d prefer to be a little late. Marc was joining them for dinner tonight. He supposed he would have to get along and play nice for Rachel's sake. After learning about the pregnancy, he hated the guy. He doubted anything could be done to change that.
Then there was the other problem. Dinner was at Rachel’s. He was certain his sister intended for him to see Olivia. He and Olivia hadn’t spoken all week. After he’d responded to her text, it had been radio silent on her end. Not like he should’ve expected anything else.
He put his car in park and hopped out. The blustery cool air assaulted him as he opened the door. He drew in a deep breath and jogged to the glass doors, eager to get out of the bitter cold.
Derrick rounded the corner and collided with someone. He stumbled back as the person cursed under her breath. Rubbing his shoulder, he looked up and met familiar eyes. Olivia.
He swallowed and dumbly lifted his hand waving. "Hi."
She scoffed, narrowing her eyes. "Why are you here?" She didn’t wait for him to respond. Instead, she spun on her heel and marched to the door.
"I'm meeting Rachel and Marc for dinner," he said following her into the building and stopping at the elevator.
She jabbed the up button with her thumb. "Well, have fun,” she glowered, staring at the elevator doors.
She was mad. I can’t blame her. I’ve been kind of a d
ick. She’d made the effort to reach out to him, and he’d blown her off. Now that she was right in front of him, he was beginning to realize that he might have misread her. But how do I make it right? Well, you could start by talking to her.
"Olivia.”
"Don’t,” she cut him off as the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. She marched into the lift and leaned against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest as the elevator began to climb to the top floor. “I tried to talk to you. To explain everything and you wouldn’t hear it. It’s been nearly a week. Don’t act like you can just pop up and everything is okay,” she hissed.
The elevator lurched to a stop and the doors opened. She stepped out quickly and walked to her apartment. He followed right on her heels.
"Can you hear me out?" he asked as she slid her key into the door.
"No.”
"I saw Tyler leaving when I dropped Rachel off," he continued anyway, lifting his eyebrow in question. Rachel had told him she hadn't gotten back together with Tyler, but he couldn't control his jealousy at seeing the smitten look on the other guy’s face.
"Tyler stopped by, unannounced. I didn’t even talk to him nor open the door. He did not stay over," she explained annoyed.
"So you didn't sleep with him? Because he looked really smug and it was really early in the morning," he said, trying to clarify.
She scoffed and frowned at him. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she shook her head.
Crap. I should’ve just apologized and let it go. Why did I ask that?
"Seriously? How could you even ask me that?" She marched into the apartment and slammed the door in his face.
So maybe that wasn't the right question to ask. He opened the door and followed her into the apartment. Olivia stalked to her bedroom and kicked the door shut behind her.
“What did you do?” Rachel snapped, drawing his attention to her.
Pretty Young Thing: a new adult romance box set Page 41