brother went out of his way to make my life a living hell because he was jealous she liked me more than she liked him. I wanted to explain how that demented kid killed my first dog, sabotaged my grades in school, got me kicked off the lacrosse team, and made sure I had nothing to enjoy in life just because he was bitter and couldn’t handle anyone, but especially Ollie, putting me before him. I almost ended up in juvie because of him. I’d learned how to hate and hold a grudge early because of him.
I wanted Ollie gone so I didn’t have to think about my brother, Sawyer, ever again.
I wanted to forget she existed like I’d been doing for so long.
I wanted to tell him she was dangerous and would bring nothing but harm to our household, but I couldn’t get my mouth and my mind to cooperate. I couldn’t actually say that Ollie was a bad person or that she meant to cause the kind of problems she inevitably did.
When it came down to it, the girl was just as desperate as I was. It was exactly what drew us together all those years ago.
We were desperate to be understood.
Desperate to be free.
Desperate to be loved… And we only managed to find any of that with each other.
Years had gone by, and I was sure she was as different a person as I was, so I couldn’t be sure what her intentions were anymore. But I couldn’t get myself to tell the old man I was scared that being around her was going to revive the old, altruistic feelings I’d tried my best to kill.
“You said she’s in a tough spot. I don’t suppose you want to elaborate on that?” I could only imagine what, or who, she was finally running from.
The old man squeezed my hand again and shuffled to the seat next to mine. “Nope. If you want to know, then ask her.” He grunted and rubbed his bad knee. “Since you’re here, how about making an old man some dinner. My knee has been acting up. I think the weather is gonna change in the next few days. We’re probably looking at a storm moving our way.”
I snorted and pushed away from the table. “You have no idea.”
It wasn’t a simple storm moving our way if Ollie was involved. No, if she was at the center of the tempest, it would be the kind of onslaught that leveled towns and upended homes. The kind of carnage that followed in her wake took years to clear and rebuild.
“What do you want to eat?” I was still mad at him, but I couldn’t let him starve.
A gruff chuckle escaped his barrel chest. “I want hot dogs, but I know you won’t let me have them.”
He was right. He’d had some heart issues earlier last year, and ever since, I’d done my best to make sure he kept to a heart-healthy diet. I didn’t want to lose him, and it had nothing to do with the difficulty of finding somewhere else to live if he kicked us out.
I gave him a dirty look as I moved toward his well-stocked kitchen. “Yeah, looks like neither of us is getting our way today, Old Man.”
He chuckled as I walked away, and I wanted to stress that there was nothing funny about the fact I would be living under the same roof as Ollie Adams for the foreseeable future. However, I got a distinct feeling that my obvious annoyance over the situation would just delight him even further.
He had told me not to give Ollie a hard time and put her in a position that she wanted to move out. He didn’t know that she was used to all my typical tricks.
If I wanted her gone without repercussions, I was going to have to come up with a new plan entirely. One she’d never see coming.
Let the games begin.
Ollie
“So, you knew Huck when he was a kid? What was he like? He’s always so serious, so intense. It’s hard to picture him as a little kid. I like to think he was happier back then than he is now.”
“He wasn’t.” I looked over at Vernon, who was manhandling the last box I’d left in their garage into the attic room that was now officially mine. I didn’t believe Mr. Peters when he first called and told me he’d spoken with Huck and cleared the way for me to move