The Heart Series: Complete Boxed Set

by King, C. M

  “I want to go see her, to talk to her, to try to make this right before it gets even more out of hand.” I had to try to make her see sense.

  “Elijah, you need to give her space, she won’t listen to you in her present mood. Trust me, I know how women can be. You have to give her time.”

  “And what? Let her come to even more wrong conclusions. He is filling her head with lies, and I can’t sit back and watch him destroy our relationship.”

  “Does Ollie know?” my mother asked.

  “No,” I whispered, feeling like a coward.

  “I think you need to tell him before anyone else does and this situation gets even more out of hand.”

  “I know, but I want to tell him in person,” I replied, pulling back to look at her face.

  “Then come on, get ready and arrange to meet him. Don’t let this escalate any more than it has already.” She was right. I had to try to salvage this before it all spiralled out of control.

  “You do believe me though, don’t you, Mum?” I asked and she smiled.

  “I’ve always known when you’ve lied in the past about the cost of your shopping trips, drinking. Those are little lies that I’ve swept under the carpet, but this I know you don’t have in you. I would see it written across your face if you did. I see the truth staring back at me, nothing else. Now come on, I’ll fix you some breakfast while you shower,” she said soothingly.

  I felt sick at the thought of food. “I don’t want anything, but thanks.”

  “Trust me, you have a long day ahead of you, you need something inside you to handle everything today,” she urged. Giving me a pleading look.

  “Fine,” I relented sighing, forcing a smile.

  “That’s my boy. Now, up and let’s get this thing sorted.”

  I climbed out of bed scrubbing my hands down my wet cheeks. Today was going to be hard, but I would fight tooth and nail to keep what was mine.

  * * *

  After texting Ollie, he said he was free to meet me during his lunch hour from work. I think I went through every emotion available patiently waiting for him to turn up. My knee bounced up and down in agitation. I just needed to talk to him. I soon caught sight of him heading my way, but by the look on his face, I could tell that someone had gotten to him first.

  Shit!

  “Is it true? he whispered. My heart dropped.

  “Who told you?” But I could take a wild guess.

  “Does it matter?” he snapped.

  “Yeah, it does actually.”

  “It was Luke. He just rang me to fill me in on your activities,” he explained as his eyes bored deep into mine.

  “How did he get your number?”

  “I don’t know, maybe B?”

  “He had no right to.” I scowled. How dare he do this to me. I guess this was his revenge for me spurning his advances.

  “Don’t you think you should have told me the moment it happened?” he asked accusingly. I had never seen this side of him, and I was quite taken aback by his sharp tone.

  I frowned at his words, knowing fine well he was right. “I know, I know but it was at the party, and I couldn’t find the right time. Then yesterday was so perfect I didn’t want to spoil it. I know it was selfish, but it was my birthday and I just wanted to spend it with those I loved. I promise I was going to tell you today. That’s why I asked you to meet up to tell you in person.” I stared deep into his eyes, hoping my words were enough for him to believe me.

  “Do you fancy Luke?”

  “NO,” I shrieked. Surprised by the fact he would even ask me.

  “Well that’s not what Luke said. He said you and B had talked about how hot he was and how envious you were of their relationship.”

  Fuck.

  I immediately pulled a face at the way it had been totally misconstrued. “That was at the start. Yeah, I thought he was hot. Have you seen him?”

  “Elijah—” he warned. Not in the mood for any jokes.

  “I know, sorry. But I swear since I met you I haven’t looked at another guy. I just want you.” I needed him to believe that.

  “Did you kiss him back?”

  “What? No!” I said alarmed.

  “So he kissed you?” he questioned, narrowing his eyes.

  “Well I say more like lunged.” If he wanted me to be honest then I would be.

  “And have you given him any reason to think that you’d be interested?” His eyes studied my face waiting for a sign.

  “No.” This was just getting stupid now. It felt like the Spanish Inquisition.

  “And have there been any other times when he’s shown any interest?”

  Fuck.

  “Elijah?”

  I frowned. “It’s happened twice before.”

  “What?” he growled.

  I bit my lip preparing myself. “When he’s made me feel uneasy.”

  “Doing what?”

  “Well the first was when he tackled me outside the shop when I wasn’t speaking to B. We were arguing and then he kind of looked at me strange, like he was going to kiss me, but then we were interrupted. I thought I had read it wrong, that it was just my overactive imagination. But the second time he made me feel uncomfortable he was pressing himself against me when I was hanging the decorations for the party and then later on the kiss,” I replied breathlessly.

  “And you never thought to tell me?” he snapped.

  I could see his point.

  “But I thought it was all in my head, I didn’t want to look like an idiot.” I frowned, realising now I was an idiot.

  “Look like an idiot? Are you fucking kidding me?”

  “Ollie, please,” I pleaded.

  “I . . . I just can’t, Elijah, all those times, and you never once said anything.” He backed away, running his hands through his hair.

  “I didn’t know how—”

  “You could have tried. Did you enjoy the attention? Is that it?” He narrowed his eyes, waiting for a response.

  “What? No! How could you say that?”

  How fucking dare he!

  “Well you crave it all the time, you even say so yourself,” he retorted.

  His cruel words stung me. “I never asked him to be attracted to me. I didn’t even know he was inclined in that way. As far as I knew he was a straight guy dating my cousin,” I explained, hoping he’d see through Luke’s lies.

  “There had to be some sign. He wouldn’t come onto you for no reason, unless you’d given him some kind of go ahead.”

  “I gave him nothing. I’ve barely talked to the guy, but he seems intent on destroying my life at the moment, and the people that I thought knew me seem to be intent on believing him.” Tears filled my eyes at the fact both of them had immediately concluded that I was the liar.

  “Well what do I have to go on? There were three incidents and you didn’t tell me?”

  “I was telling you today.” I needed him to believe me.

  “Yeah, only because you’d been outed by Luke. You probably were going to hide this as well. I just feel like I can’t trust you.” He turned away like he couldn’t bear to look at me a moment longer.

  “Ollie. Please.”

  His eyes returned to mine. “No, Elijah, you can’t talk your way out of this. I’m so fucking hurt right now by your lies. I just need time away to think.”

  “What, do you mean time away?” I asked, alarmed by his words.

  “Like I said, time away from you to think.”

  My eyes widened. “For how long?”

  “As long as it takes for me to wrap my head around all of this.” He threw his hands up in agitation.

  “So we can’t hang out anymore?”

  “No.”

  “So Luke wins, huh?” I snapped.

  “Well, maybe you should have been more upfront and then we would never have been in this situation.” He sneered back.

  “But I was so scared—”

  “It’s just an excuse. If you wanted me to know, you would hav
e told me. There’s no need for you to keep this quiet unless you’re feeling guilty about something?” His eyes fixed with mine, almost searching for the truth but, I was done explaining myself over and over.

  “We’re just going around in circles, you either believe me or you don’t.”

  He frowned. “I don’t know what to believe.”

  “Well call me when you do.”

  “Elijah—”

  “No, Ollie, you seem to have made your mind up already. I could talk to you till I’m blue in the face, and it would make not one iota of a difference. I know I was wrong, but I wasn’t hiding it out of guilt only scared what the repercussions would be. Looks like I was right, huh?”

  “Elijah.”

  “No, I’m giving you what you want, time to think. You know where I am if you want to talk.” I couldn’t stay there a moment longer. I felt like my insides had been ripped open. My lungs were barely holding any breath. I had to get out of there. I didn’t want him to see me going into free fall. If he wanted space then I would give it to him. Even if it broke my heart in the process. The fact was he was almost believing Luke’s lies.

  Right now, I wanted to rip Luke’s throat out. I had rejected him, so he had sought out revenge in the most cruel and unforgivable way.

  Chapter Eighteen

  I sat staring out into space. My mind was a blur. I could barely process a thought. Ollie and B hadn’t been back in touch despite two days having passed, and I felt more alone than ever. I had held off from contacting them after they’d both asked for space. It was the one thing I could grant them even though with each hour passed I knew the chances and my hopes for a reconciliation were growing slimmer by the minute.

  “Elijah, are you listening?” My eyes snapped up to meet with Miss Wells, my tutor. I didn’t know why I was even at school as my concentration level was at a zero, but my mother had almost thrown me out the door telling me moping around would not help me. She had a point, but I really did not love the tough love attitude she had recently discovered.

  “Sorry, can you repeat that?” I asked, and she grimaced as I gulped. Oh god, please don’t have a go at me too. There was only so much a guy could take.

  “Please make sure you write down the homework marked on the board. I’ll expect you to hand it in next Wednesday, no excuses,” she said sternly, giving me the evil eye. I scrawled it down quickly, barely legible, before running out of class before the old dragon gave me another lecture.

  I headed straight for the canteen, but it was futile as my appetite was shot to pieces. I’d barely eaten a morsel since I left Ollie in the park. I guess the only good thing to come out of this would be to lose the extra weight I had put on over my birthday. Wow, it had barely been two days, yet it seemed like a lifetime ago.

  I grabbed a sandwich to pick on and a can of Coke and paid, ready to leave and eat on my own until Lucy waved me over to sit at her table. I wasn’t much company, but I didn’t want to appear rude. I was leaking friends at the moment and couldn’t afford to lose any more.

  “Hey Elijah, how’s things?” she asked in between bites of her salad. Lucy was a cute little blonde that had great dress sense. Today she was sporting more of a preppy look, even through my own sadness I still registered people’s wardrobe choices. Lucy for sure passed my test, but the others mainly looked like they had swiped whatever was lying on the floor. I had grown used to their very relaxed, laid back look but I made sure to keep my standards up even if those around me didn’t.

  “Fine,” I lied, quickly unwrapping and taking a bite of my sandwich, so I wouldn’t have to elaborate further.

  “Great party the other night. Thanks for the invite,” Lucy said, sipping on her Coke.

  “Glad you had a good time.” I wasn’t up to much conversation, especially anything concerning my party.

  “I had more than a good time with Kyle.” She grinned, and from the look on her face, she didn’t have to elaborate.

  “Kyle? Didn’t think he was your type?” I’d have never have put those two together.

  “Not really but when a guy is that well hung, well, a girl needs to try out that horse.” She sighed and smiled almost like she was visualising it again.

  “Wow, good for you, I guess.” Kyle was the college slapper. He had dipped his dick literally everywhere, but if the rumours were true, he left a satisfied smile on all the ladies he’d left.

  “Oh he was more than good. I might need to venture back there again.” She grinned, her face telling me all I needed to know.

  “Do you think that’s wise?”

  “Oh I know it’s not long term and just a bit of fun with an added orgasm so I’m not complaining.” She winked.

  “Did you hook up at the party?”

  “No, we left just before midnight. He took me back to his and I did the walk of shame the next morning, but it was totally worth it. So Ollie seemed nice?”

  My heart dropped at the mention of his name. “He is.” I could barely get the words out, quickly recovering with a fake smile.

  “Your cousin is hilarious though. She had me in hysterics the entire time. She knows how to let herself go.”

  “Yeah, she’s not shy in that way,” I added.

  God, I missed her.

  I would complain all the time about her antics, but the fact of the matter was we were practically attached at the hip, and right now, I felt like I was missing a limb. I was completely lost without her, and I hated every moment we were apart. Was Luke filling her head with more lies? I was taking my mother’s advice and giving her space, but it was killing me. I just wanted to call her, to hear her voice. I just wanted to know that she was okay. I was the one she turned to in moments of need. I was her rock, but now I had been cast aside and I was struggling to come to terms with the fact. Right now I had no place in my cousin’s life and that thought alone made me want to cry.

  “We’ll have to all hang out together soon?” Lucy asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.

  “Yeah . . .” I bit out before quickly changing the subject. “Did you see who Olivia was with at my party?”

  “Oh fuck yeah, what the hell is she playing at?” She snorted and I couldn’t help but agree.

  “I guess she wants to piss Mark off but flirting and kissing his best friend is not the way to go about it.” I pulled a face. She was playing a very dangerous game.

  “You can’t blame her though, finding out in the middle of drama that he had shagged one of her friends behind her back. I guess she wanted to get her own back.”

  “Yeah, but with Tom? Sheesh, that guy is so dumb.” Well dumb was kind of putting it mildly.

  She shrugged. “Well the whole point was to just flirt with a hot guy, brains did not factor into it, which was good for Tom.”

  “He is cute, I have to admit.” Very dumb but cute.

  “Hey you’re taken, you shouldn’t be looking.” She slapped me playfully on the arm, but it was her words that made me flinch.

  “Yeah . . .” I wondered what Ollie was doing at this precise moment. Was he thinking about me or had he gotten over me already? Was I that forgettable?

  “So what are you talking about?” Olivia asked, popping her tray down next to me, and I widened my eyes at Lucy as a warning. But she was always a little slow on the uptake.

  “You actually,” she retorted and Olivia grinned.

  “Oh really, I hope I kept you all entertained at the party.” She winked.

  God, she was shameless.

  “That you did.” I chuckled. “So is this love between you and Tom? Did he make you forget about your broken heart?”

  I wish someone could make me forget mine.

  “Ughh, great kisser, dumb as fuck,” Olivia replied. She always was no holds barred with her words.

  I snorted my drink out.

  “Eww Elijah, warn a person before you spray.” She wiped her face with a napkin before tossing it down on the tray.

  “So did you get any response from Mark?” L
ucy asked, in between bites.

  “Err yes, he almost beat my door down when he thought I’d gone home with Tom. He thinks everyone has the same standards he has.” She fumed looking thoroughly disgusted.

  “So did he manage to persuade you differently?”

  Olivia pulled a look of disgust. “Fuck no, once I found out his dick was in skanky Scarlett I was done. He threw it all away to fuck the college whore. Now he has to live with it.”

  “I seriously can’t understand why he would throw away what he had with you to dip his dick in her,” I replied, cringing at the thought. She was the kind of girl you avoided at all costs.

  “He obviously got bored and wanted to sow his oats. Well he can sow them wherever her wants, but he’ll never get me back. Hell will freeze over before I let him near me again,” she said defiantly.

  “That’s the spirit. You deserve far better. What guy would not want to date you?” Lucy remarked grinning.

  “Err no one, I’m stunning.”

  “And modest too,” I added sarcastically.

  “Just telling it like it is. I am moving onto bigger and better things.” She beamed, picking up her fork.

  “Speaking of which—Kyle.”

  “What’s up, are you looking for another ride?” He winked as I snorted. God, he was such a dickhead.

  “Maybe later, but Olivia might. She needs to get over Mark, and I’m pretty sure your dick is a good enough candidate to show her there is far more out there.”

  The look of horror on his face was priceless. “No way. Sorry, Olivia, but Mark would have my balls if I even looked at you. Didn’t you see what he did to Tom?”

  “No. O-m-g, what did he do to him?” Olivia shrieked.

  “Well let’s say he won’t be kissing anyone for a while after the punch in the mouth he received. He has the whole black eye, fish lip look going on, and I am not testing his temper. Not that you aren’t hot, Olivia .” He winked. He just couldn’t help himself. He was a player to the core.

  “That’s fine. I know you’d like to keep your face intact, I get it. Maybe some other time, when things die down ’cause trust me after what Luce told me I am more than intrigued,” she replied flirtily before grinning.