A purpose.
I accepted my past with my head held high, because it had led me here, and there wasn’t any other place I’d rather be.
“New Year’s Eve fireworks through the window at midnight, mate? What do you say?” Isaac asked Ollie in the community bathroom after dinner. Standing under the shower head, washing the soap out of my hair, I listened as Isaac, Bria, and Alicia made plans for tonight. Jake was in the stall beside me, singing “Pony.”
“No, not after what happened the last … I don’t know, every time we all get together drinking. Fuck. No,” Ollie slowly said after turning off the faucet. Through the mirror’s reflection, Ollie noticed a gap in my curtain, turned, and closed it.
“It’s fucking New Year’s, Masters. We have to celebrate.” Isaac wasn’t letting it go.
“I can’t come tonight, I have a hot date,” Jake said from his stall, and my eyes went wide.
“What? What about Bryan?” I asked over the water.
“Bryan and I agreed on an open relationship while I’m gone.”
“I can’t go, either,” Alicia said from another direction.
“What you think, Mia?” Isaac asked from the other side of my curtain.
Turning off the water, I wrung out my hair and grabbed the towel from the hook to dry off. “I don’t know …” I said, getting into my panties and pulling one of Ollie’s shirts over my head. Before opening the curtain, I stepped into my plaid pajama shorts. It would be nice to see Ollie tonight for New Year’s. Having a New Year’s kiss wasn’t something I’d ever wanted in the past. Something about a fresh new year with Ollie by my side made me giddy inside.
“Come on. I got a proper bottle for tonight.” Isaac punched Ollie in the shoulder, but Ollie’s lips never moved. “It will be laid back.”
Ollie glanced at me and back to Isaac. “Coming on strong, mate. Why do I get the feeling you’re up to no good?”
“Am I ever up to any good?” Isaac wiggled his brows. “Plus, I can’t see the fireworks from my window, so it’s either your or Mia’s room. I’m showing up one way or another.”
“Fine,” Ollie caved.
Isaac applauded.
Bria squealed.
And I spit out my toothpaste thinking this was going to be a good night with Ollie, or things were going to go horribly wrong.
During the holiday, the security checks had diminished, but the automatic doors still locked right on time. I’d been spending every night with Ollie. Him not wanting to leave my sight, and me not wanting him to. He insisted on walking with me everywhere and told me about the things Oscar had done in the past. Told me how bad it could get, and how dangerous he was.
It was ten minutes until midnight when Isaac and Bria fell through the vent hole of Ollie’s room. “Let’s do this!” Isaac said as soon as his feet hit the floor with a bottle of liquor in his hand.
Ollie grabbed the bottle from Isaac and examined it. “Where did you get this?”
“A hookup, Masters. You need to relax,” Isaac said, taking the bottle back from Ollie.
Ollie was on edge. Heat flared from his skin as he laced his fingers through mine and turned to face me. “Something’s up, Mia. I can feel it.”
Isaac popped open the top and poured some into Bria’s mouth. “Yeah!” he cheered, then came between Ollie and me and held the bottle over my mouth. “Come on, Mia.”
Shrugging my shoulders, I opened my mouth, tasting the bitter burn in my throat. It warmed me instantly. If there were one thing I’d come to learn about the students here, they were consistent. No one took “no” for an answer, and the badgering would only continue.
Bria grabbed my hand and pulled me aside as I swallowed the rest I was holding in my mouth. Her breasts bounced in her cropped shirt as she skipped to the corner and spun me around. “I’m doing Isaac tonight.” Her determined smile verified she was on a mission.
“Here?”
She nodded excitedly. “Yeah, where else am I going to have him?”
I smacked my hand to my forehead. “Oh Lord, I don’t want to see that.”
“I’m sure you and Ollie will busy yourself.”
Rolling my eyes, I said, “What? You think this is an orgy?”
Bria laughed. “Wanna?”
“Hell no,” I said through a laugh. “Not going to happen.”
Bria made a pouty face, and I slipped away from her before her ideas clouded her best judgments. Isaac encouraged the alcohol on Ollie and Ollie finally caved, taking a few gulps before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. I checked the clock above the door. Two minutes before the fireworks.
“One minute!” Isaac called out, and Ollie wrapped his fingers around my wrist as he pulled me in front of him toward the window.
His breath was minty and laced with alcohol as he pinned my back to his torso. “You ready for a new year?” His words danced in my hair as his breath worked small bumps across my skin.
“I’m so ready.”
We stared out the window. Past the rolling hills and the darkness, the city lights sparkled as if all the stars in the sky had gathered and hovered around one location. Since Ollie only started three months before me at Dolor, we both had half the school year down, and only one and a half years to go. We could make it.
“Ten!” Isaac and Bria said, counting down. “Nine … eight …”
Ollie leaned into my ear. “Close your eyes, Mia.”
I spun around to face him. “Why?”
“Six … five …”
Ollie wrapped his fingers around my chin and brushed his nose to mine. “Just close your eyes, my love. Pretend we’re far away from here and I’m holding you in the middle of the city under those lights.”
“Ollie …”
“Two!”
“Do it for me.” Ollie dipped his head and kissed my objection away. I gripped his sides to keep from falling back as he held my head in his hands. His lips melted over mine, soft and captivating. His hand traveled to my neck as he swept his thumb along my jawline. Our tongues crashed, and all my senses kindled against his fervor.
He pulled away slightly and brushed our mouths together as I inhaled his sweet breath. “Happy New Year, baby,” he whispered, his lips turned up into a smile against mine.
“Happy New Year.”
Turning around in Ollie’s arms, I looked back out the window to see the firework display as Ollie slowly swayed me back and forth with his long arms tight around my waist. Shades of red, purple, and white glowed in the distance, shooting from a nearby city, creating designs in the velvet black before sizzling into a stardust rainfall.
Closing my eyes, I pictured being under those colors, inside Ollie’s arms, with the night wind in my hair. Ollie pressed his lips to the back of my head before resting his chin over it.
“Happy fucking New Year!” Isaac shook Ollie from behind and the moment dissolved as quickly as I had created it. “Let us drink!”
The bottle hooked around us and appeared in my face. I grabbed the bottle and took a swig before Bria pulled me from the window.
“Isaac kissed me,” she whispered. I gave her two thumbs up after she took the bottle from my possession.
“See! You can do this.” I smiled. She had no reason to be nervous. She had already screwed the guy more than once, but she was right. Tasting feelings of my own, I understood how nerve-wracking it could be—especially the first time. It was like losing your virginity all over again.
I couldn’t have drunk much, maybe three shots at most, but my vision distorted as if I were trying to see through a pool full of chlorine, and each time I tried to stand on my feet, the floor moved from under me.
I blinked rapidly, and Bria and Isaac came into focus. Bria was completely nude across the floor, her breasts bouncing as Isaac had his way with her. But she wasn’t moving. She wasn�
��t saying anything. Her eyes were closed.
“What are you doing?” I called out. “What’s wrong with her?”
But Isaac didn’t respond. He never turned around. Was I even talking?
“Ollie?” I called out. “What’s happening?” I sat at the edge of the bed, leaning, almost falling over, or already lying down. How did I get here? Nothing was making sense.
After finding the strength to turn my head and look behind me, my eyes found Ollie sleeping against the wall over his mattress. He’d had one sip; how was he already passed out? Had I passed out?
I had.
I tried to crawl my way to him, but my limbs were useless.
Fear gripped me entirely.
“Ollie, wake up,” I tried to say.
Suddenly, someone dragged me to the foot of the mattress by my feet. “Oh, no you don’t.” My eyes went wide when I noticed it was Isaac. “I need to get you good and ready.” I shook my head as Isaac cocked his head at the door. “Shit. He’s late.”
“What are you doing?” I tried kicking my legs, but nothing. There was no strength, no movement. The ability to resist and refuse failed me.
He dropped my legs over the edge of the mattress and returned the bottle to my lips. “Open up, Mia.” He pushed my cheeks together with one hand and poured the liquid over my face. The liquid burned the inside my nose and my eyes as I tried freeing myself from his grasp. His hold became forced as the alcohol hit the back of my throat. Isaac laughed as he glanced over in Ollie’s direction. “No one is saving you tonight. Ollie’s out, and he’s not waking up for a while.”
Struggling to keep my eyes open, sounds muffled around me and through me. The door bolt unlocked, and the outline of a side profile blurred as someone came through the door, but I knew it was him.
It was Oscar.
“Blimey! You already fucked this one, yeah?” he asked, moving Bria to the side with his foot. Don’t touch her. My lids fought to stay open as Oscar took a few steps toward me. “You haven’t touched her, have you?”
“No, bro. We had a deal.”
Oscar looked behind me to Ollie and nudged his head. “My brother take a good bit?”
“No, I had to take your advice and knock him out.” Isaac ran his hands over his hair. “I don’t get it, man, he’s your brother.”
“And he’s your mate.” Oscar’s evil glare landed back on me. “We have a rule. Oliver knows this. She was mine first. This will show him never to take what’s mine.”
“Whatever, man. Did you bring what I asked for?”
Oscar dug into his pockets before withdrawing a bag full of pills and handing it to Isaac.
Ollie. “Ollie …” I think I moaned. My tongue felt fuzzy—numb. “Ollie.” All I saw was Oscar and Isaac. All I felt was the numbness, the cold, and the darkness.
“He’s out like a light bulb.” Oscar laughed.
There were two Oscars and two Isaacs in front of me, blurring together and spinning and I tried to reach up to grab hold of Ollie’s legs, but suddenly, I was moved around like a rag doll as the room shifted.
“Damn, such a fine pussy right there. Ever been with her?”
“No way. Ollie would fucking kill me.”
“I’ll let you get her wet for me.” It was the sound of his haunting laugh and the belt coming off that had me clawing at Ollie’s legs. Digging my nails into his flesh in desperation, I silently cried until Ollie’s voice blessed my ears.
“Mia …”
“Good, it’s about damn time. Watch, brother. Watch me fuck your girl.”
The bed moved around me, and everything disappeared. “Get the hell off her!” Ollie’s voice boomed. Sounds came from me, and I couldn’t see him. My head couldn’t move to either side. Darkness.
“Mia …” A blanket consumed me before everything went dark.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Damn, baby.
Take a moment,
Look in the mirror,
see how strong you are.”
—Oliver Masters
“OLLIE?” MY STOMACH stirred, and I threw my body over the mattress just as someone pulled a trashcan under me.
“I’m right here, Mia. I got you,” Ollie whispered, stroking the back of my head. “You have to get this crap out of your system.”
Hardly able to lift my heavy, pounding head when I finished, Ollie pulled me back onto the mattress. It was warm here, in these clothes, and … I turned my head. “Bria,” I whispered. She lay helplessly beside me.
Oscar.
Isaac.
My body flinched as the memories flooded.
“They’re gone. They can’t touch you.” Ollie moved the trashcan and crouched down beside me. “You have to drink some water.” He held a bottle in his hand, twisted the cap, and brought it to my lips. The water instantly soothed my throat. “There you go.”
“What happened? Why aren’t you …”
Ollie dropped his head to his chest for a moment, and when his eyes met mine, I was met with a bruised face.
“Ollie, your face.” I reached out to touch him, but he grabbed my hand before it made contact.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” Ollie forced a small smile. “You need to get some rest.”
“Why aren’t you …”
Ollie shook his head. “I was only knocked out. I’m fine.” He kissed the palm of my hand. “Promise.”
“Did he?” I winced at the thought. But it wasn’t me I was worried about; I was afraid of what Ollie had witnessed. What exactly had he seen? Had I been touched? Raped? I couldn’t seem to remember.
“No, love. You made sure that didn’t happen.” He showed me the claw marks on his ankles. “See how strong you are? You woke me up, and I took care of the rest.” He pressed his lips to my forehead and sat at the edge of the bed. “I’m sorry, Mia. I had no idea Isaac would betray me. I should have known better.”
“It’s not your fault.”
Ollie’s gaze slid over to Bria then back to me. “I need to get her to the nurse, and I don’t know what to fucking do.”
“Go get Jake.”
“I don’t want to leave you.”
“I’m fine. Go get Jake.”
It didn’t take long for me to fall back asleep, and when I woke up again, Bria was gone.
“Take it easy.” He pulled the trashcan up again as I emptied my stomach into it. The convulsions strained my eyes as tears ran down my cheeks. My brain was still foggy and pounded against my skull.
Falling back against the pillow, I moaned. My mouth was dry, and my entire body felt like it had been run over by a semi. Twice. “Bria okay?” I opened my eyes, and Ollie sat on the edge of the bed again with his hands in my hair.
He nodded. “I think so.” He removed his hand and ran it down his face. “You’ve been sleeping for twenty-nine hours now. You have to eat something. You have to get up, take a shower, and soak this up with some proper food.”
Twenty-nine hours? It only seemed like four. “What have you been doing this whole time?”
“Reading.” He ran his hand over my forehead and through my hair. “I can’t leave you, Mia. I can’t turn myself in, either. Not until you’re better.”
“Turn yourself in?” I sat up, but with the help of the cold concrete wall to support me. “You didn’t do anything! Why do you have to turn yourself in?”
Ollie only shook his head. “Bria was raped. In my room. You guys were drugged, Mia. The only way I’ll be able to find justice in all this is to tell the Dean what happened. The only way to get Oscar away from here, away from you, is to be honest.” He dropped his hand from my head and rubbed my back. “Already thought this through, it’s the best option, so don’t try to change my mind.” He forced a convincing smile, but there was fear behind his exterior. “Now, come on. You have t
o get in the shower, change these clothes, and brush those teeth.”
Ollie stood to his feet and gathered a pile of things at the end of the bed and stuffed them under his arm. He held out his hands to help me to my feet.
It was dark outside. “What time is it?”
“A tad past six in the morning.”
We walked down the corridor toward the community bathroom. The only security guard on duty would have been Oscar, who wouldn’t dare show his face. It was quiet. Eerily quiet. Even our footsteps made no sound as we walked barefoot. The bathroom was empty. Ollie turned on a shower as I focused on not falling over.
As we waited for the water to heat up, he stood before me, our eyes locked on each other in a comforting silence. He wore his usual black V-neck and those amazing thin joggers I could see the outline of his length through. The bruise over his eye looked like a watercolor tray of greens and purples. His hair was in disarray from the number of times he’d presumably clutched it in the last twenty-nine hours.
“Mia?”
“Yeah?”
“This is all fucked up, isn’t it?” he asked, and I nodded. “Promise me we never tell our children about how we met.”
“Promise,” I said, forcing out a small smile.
He took my hand and led me behind the curtain.
“Can I touch you, Mia?” he asked, his voice coming from his throat, but having an unintentional crack mid-sentence. He cleared his throat. “You need help out of your clothes.”
I nodded and lifted my heavy arms over my head. Ollie peeled off his shirt I wore before withdrawing his own. His eyes stayed on me, watching every expression, studying every detail in my frozen face.
He dropped to his knees before me. His eyes still held my gaze as he tugged off my pajama shorts, my panties coming off along with them. He gripped my hips and pressed his lips to my hipbone before standing to his feet, his eyes never leaving mine.
Stay With Me (Stay With Me Series Book 1) Page 30