those chocolatey eyes since she finally decided to look at me.
I sighed and dragged a hand down my face. I had no idea why she was suddenly here, trying to insert herself in my typically uneventful life. But I knew deep down to my bones that I wanted nothing to do with whatever she brought to my doorstep. Even if it was a long overdue apology. It bugged me that I couldn’t look away from that scar on her cheek and that I couldn’t forget the reasons it was there.
“You aren’t moving into this house, Ollie. I don’t want you here.” I snorted and lowered my eyebrows into a ferocious scowl. “I don’t want you at this school, or even in this state. I want you to go far, far away. Forget my name for good. If you aren’t out of my sight in the next ten minutes, I’m calling the police. Get your damn stuff off my fucking porch.” I let out a breath and practically growled in her face, “Don’t make me get mean.”
I watched as her bottom lip started to quiver as her dark eyes glazed over with a glossy sheen of tears. “I signed the lease.” Her voice was tiny and weak. I used to hate it when she spoke to someone else that way. It made me feel a touch bad that I’d forced her to sound the same with me.
I shook my head. “I don’t care. The boys and I have lived here for years. Mr. Peters loves us. We take care of all kinds of crap for him at his properties. If he has to pick between me and you, he’s going to pick me.”
Ollie might not expect that from the old man because no one ever picked me when we were younger… no one but her.
“I don’t have anywhere else to go, Huck.” This time, she wasn’t lying. She sounded sad and scared and so very alone.
Refusing to be swayed, I shrugged. “Not my problem. Get gone before I make you go. I’m not playing around with you, Ollie. I don’t want to see you ever again.”
I heard her suck in a painful breath, but I didn’t turn to look back at her as I stepped around her and out of the living room.
Unsurprisingly, Harlen and Vernon were waiting for me in the hallway. I locked gazes with Harlen, and without having to say a word, I knew he would make sure the girl was gone. Vernon looked torn between being pissed and curious.
“I’ll call the old man and make sure he knows she absolutely cannot move in here. There were no less than a hundred other applicants. Even if I have to pay for her to break the lease, I will.” I went to walk past both of them toward my room only to be brought up short by Vernon’s hand on my arm.
I looked at the painted nails and perceptive eyes. “You know you need to explain this to us, right?”
I bit back a sigh and lowered my eyes. “Not now.”
He didn’t bother to hide his exasperation with me. “What if she really doesn’t have anywhere to go? You can be cold and mean when you want, but I’ve never seen you be heartless. And to a girl at that.”
He had no idea. Heartless was easy when it came to the girl I’d just turned my back on. She was the one who taught what that word meant in the first place all those years ago.
I barked out a dry laugh. “She brings out the worst in me. Let’s talk about everything later.” Much later. I’d worked hard to put the past behind me.
I needed Ollie to be out of sight and out of mind like she’d been for the last five years. If she wasn’t, she was going to consume my every waking thought and moment the same as she had when we were young.
I had too much to lose to let Ollie in my front door or back into my life.
I’d fight tooth and nail to keep her as far away from me and mine as possible.
And I had no intention of losing to her again.
Ollie
“Went about as well as expected, huh?” I looked up and took the bottle of water my boss-slash-new-best friend was handing down to me. I was sitting on the stairs that led up to her funky vintage shop, which, like most businesses around campus, existed inside a converted Victorian.
I was so lucky when