glared at me as I stayed hunched over and exhausted.
“If you want the girl gone, why did you rush to her rescue last night? I practically had to sit on top of Vernon to keep him from running upstairs the minute the lights went out. He was dying to go check on her. It’s an old house. It’s creepy when the weather is bad. You obviously knew she was going to have a tough time in the storm. Why not make her tough it out or suffer alone? Maybe she would’ve decided to leave if it got bad enough. If she was scared enough. Even Fisher used to complain about how awful that attic room was when it rained—and nothing rattled him.”
I frowned and shifted my gaze downward.
It’d been a long time since I’d had anything to do with Ollie, but one of the things that was impossible to forget was her near-total breakdown when it stormed after the accident. She looked like she was going to come out of her skin. She looked terrified and broken at the same time. I couldn’t help but want to comfort her back then… and again last night. When it started raining, and then the thunder and lightning started, I wasn’t able to concentrate on anything at work. It was so bad, my boss eventually told me to go home because I was useless and spilling more drinks than I was selling. I didn’t tell her that, though. I lied about the power going out at the bar when I found her huddled in the bathtub.
I pushed upward and reached to shove my hands through my sweat-dampened hair. The air was still muggy from the rain last night, but that wasn’t why I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
“I told you I’d tell you about the scar on Ollie’s cheek, right?” I lifted an eyebrow as Harlen rolled his shoulders and hopped up and down to keep his muscles loose.
“Hard to miss it.”
“I’m the reason she has it.” I blew out a breath and tossed my head back to look up at the clear early morning sky. “When I was sixteen, I partied a little hard with some kids from a town over I wasn’t supposed to hang out with. I was drunk, probably high at the time, and not thinking straight. I was in no shape to drive myself home, and the weather was horrible that night. I called Ollie to come get me. I told her to borrow her mom’s car and sneak out. I didn’t want to deal with the shit I’d get from Sawyer’s mom if I came home drunk, or not at all. And it wasn’t like I could put Ollie’s mom in a bind by asking her to pick me up. Sawyer insisted Ollie learn how to drive because he had this dumb sports car he wanted to show off, so I knew she could do it.” I sighed. “I should’ve realized he was going to catch her sneaking out and insist on going with her. He watched her like a hawk, and I’m sure he was looking for any way he could find to get me in trouble.”
I gritted my teeth, remembering the way he weaseled his way into nearly every aspect of Ollie’s life, and how easily everyone had trusted him with her back then.
“I don’t remember a lot of what happened that night because I was wasted. I know Ollie showed up with him, and I was pissed. I hated him and it bugged me when they were together. I know I threw a fit and refused to get in if he was the one driving.” I scoffed at how stupid and shortsighted I’d been. “I played right into his hands.”
Harlen stopped moving and looked at me with confused eyes. “What do you mean?”
I grunted and continued the trip down memory lane. “Ollie manhandled me into the backseat of the car and got behind the wheel after a big fight. I think I made her pick me over him, had her say she liked me better, or something else totally immature that wouldn’t normally matter, but to Sawyer…” It was pretty much a declaration of war. “I must’ve passed out, because the next thing I remember is Ollie screaming loud enough to wake the dead; the car was skidding sideways with enough force that it threw me to the floor. I swear Sawyer had his hands on the steering wheel from across the car for