and told her more than him, “Don’t worry; she isn’t going anywhere.”
And not just for tonight. I also had a bad feeling, that odd tingling at the back of my neck that indicated shit was about to get real, and I needed to be on high alert.
Before things went any further between us tonight, I tucked her head under my chin, and wrapped my arms around her tight enough she couldn’t get away. I didn’t want to rush her, or give her another excuse to use when she tried to put distance between us now that she thought I was in danger because of her. “Let’s talk tomorrow. We can figure out some kind of plan and you can tell me the reason why you’re worried someone is watching you. When you told me you didn’t have a choice about what happened before, I wasn’t ready to listen.” I squeezed her until she squeaked. “Now I am.”
She must’ve been lost in her own thoughts about the situation because for once she didn’t argue and settled quietly inside the cage I created with my embrace.
Whether she was playing the role of friend or foe, I was keeping Ollie close.
So close it would be impossible to tell where I started and she ended.
Ollie
Sneaking out of Huck’s bed early in the morning was easier than I thought it was going to be. After all, we’d been up late, and as Vernon mentioned, it was a weird night. He was obviously exhausted and had faint shadows under his eyes, indicating he was worn out, even as he slept soundly. It was also a piece of cake to tip-toe up the stairs now that they no longer squeaked with each step. I didn’t want to think about the why or how behind the suddenly silent steps. All I knew was that I now needed to get out of the house and far away from Huck, almost as badly as I wanted to get close to him not even a day ago.
My heart twisted painfully as I grabbed a stuffed duffel bag I kept packed and stored in a far corner of the room. I wanted the option to run as quickly as possible if I ever had proof that Sawyer was an immediate threat. Logically, I knew there was no way he could be creeping around in the dark and lurking around the house, fixing the noisy stairs while we were in class—he was in a wheelchair, after all—but fear ruled out any kind of rational thinking where my forever nemesis was concerned.
Obviously, I needed to stop making the wrong choices where Huck and Sawyer were concerned.
I had to stop being selfish and putting my own thoughts and feelings first. Huck tried to tell me from the moment I trespassed into his resituated life that I would bring it all crashing down, and I hadn’t cared. All I could see in my tunnel vision were scenes of my own redemption. All I could feel was the first easy breath I’d taken since he’d been so brutally ripped from my life. It wasn’t until I saw how spooked Vernon was, or the sharp concern on Huck’s handsome face, that I realized how right he’d been that I could possibly put other innocent people in the line of fire. I’d already done it once to that poor boy from college, but he’d been a stranger, so the guilt hadn’t been nearly as bad as it was right now.
I finally understood Huck’s resentment and all the reasons why he wanted nothing to do with me when I first showed up. I was always thinking of myself to the point I could barely see anyone else.
From the jump, I’d been wrong. Completely, inexplicably wrong.
I never should have let Sawyer use my mother as a weapon against me. And once he started, I should’ve been honest with her about what he was doing. Maybe she would’ve left to protect me, instead of having me suffer to protect her. It was such a convoluted mess.
And I never should’ve brought the past to Huck’s front door after all he’d done to leave it behind.
I hurt him, and he’d healed. Then I’d popped back up, because I had nowhere else to go, and was still as clueless and clumsy as I’d been at fourteen, and tore his scars wide open.
I was a really bad person. Even more so because I knew I would never forget the way his hands felt moving over my