Текст книги "To Love Jason Thorn"
Автор книги: Ella Maise
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Текущая страница: 20 (всего у книги 22 страниц)
Maneuvering my arm from under her head, I hugged her to me and held on. “If he doesn’t know—even though I’m pretty sure he does—you’ll tell him before he goes into surgery okay? He’ll be happy to finally hear the words from your mouth. We’re almost there, sweetheart.”
As soon as the cab dropped us at the emergency entrance, we rushed inside and found a nurse that could help us. We made it to his side just before they took him into the operating room, but seeing him unconscious and all banged up didn’t help Lucy calm down at all. Before they could wheel him away from us, I heard Lucy’s heated whisper, since you made me fall in love with you, you better get well soon so I can torture you for what you did to me!
His doctor assured us that even though his injuries were serious, they weren’t life threatening. Apparently, his motorcycle had collided with a speeding car. He had a broken leg and multiple fractures to his shoulder blade and forearm along with various cuts and bruises.
“Tell me he is going to be okay, Olive,” Lucy said once we sat down in the waiting room.
“He is going to be okay, Lucy. You heard his doctor, he is in good hands.” She nodded and kept silent.
“You should call his friends,” I said after some time. “I’m sure he’d like to see them once it is okay for him to have visitors.”
“Here, I forgot.” She handed me her phone. “You should call Jason first. I’m sure he is wondering where the hell you are. I’ll call Jameson’s friends after that.”
I took the phone. “I’ll be right back. Don’t move from this seat.”
Meeting my eyes for the first time since we’d gotten the phone call, she gave me a small smile. “Thank you, Olive.”
I huffed. “For what?”
“For holding me up. For running out of there without a second thought.” Her eyes started to water, but she had a small grin on her face when she said, “I’m not sure I could’ve left Jason Thorn behind for you.”
“I’m sure enough for both of us. You wouldn’t leave his side for a moment. You made that pretty clear.” I said. “And save those crocodile tears for Jameson; I’m sure he’ll be happy to see how much you care.”
She gave me a laugh; it was shaky, but I would take it. “That bastard would like that, wouldn’t he? He would probably puff out his chest and let everyone know that I cried for him.” Sighing, she shook her head. “Go ahead and call your husband. I’ll wait right here.”
Not wanting to go too far away from Lucy, I found a quiet corner where I could still keep Lucy in sight and quickly dialed Jason’s number. It rang several times and then his voicemail picked up. I left him a short message that explained where I was and what had happened and asked him to call me back before he came charging in there. It was his friend’s night and he didn’t have that many friends around him; I didn’t want him to leave abruptly when there was nothing he could do at the hospital.
Taking my seat next to Lucy again, I shook my head at her. “He isn’t picking up. I left him a voicemail and I’m sure he’ll get back to me when he sees it.”
We settled down in our seats and the waiting game started.
After four hours, Jameson was out of surgery.
After those same four hours, there was still no call from Jason.
***
At 5:30 AM, I was using Lucy’s key to get into the apartment, and I was doing some major praying and begging to anyone that was listening up there that I wouldn’t come face to face with Charlotte or Marcus. When I managed to sneak into Lucy’s room without waking anyone up, I sighed a breath of relief. I didn’t actually know if anyone was home, but to be on the safe side, I tried my best not to make any noise and packed up a change of clothes for both Lucy and me. I left the building just as quietly as I had come in.
At that moment, I was more worried about not hearing back from Jason. At first, I’d thought maybe he was angry at me for not letting him know I was leaving with Lucy, but then I thought maybe he wasn’t angry at all but just couldn’t come to the hospital because everyone would recognize him. I also thought that was a lame excuse.
But then, why wouldn’t he call me back? Why wouldn’t he respond to any of my voicemails? Had something happened back at the club that I wasn’t aware of?
Maybe an earthquake had hit?
When I made it back to the hospital, Lucy was sitting exactly where I had left her.
“Any word from the doctors?” I asked as I put down the small bag on the seat in between us.”
“Still in ICU. They’ll let me know when I can see him. I left voicemails for a few of his friends, I’m sure they’ll get down here as soon they get it.”
“His family?”
She shook her head and finally looked at me. She looked better than before, but I could see that she was struggling to sit up straight. What a cluster fuck of a night for both of us.
“He has an aunt and a grandma, but they live in Florida. I’m not sure if they’ll be up for the travel. I’ll let him call them himself. Why didn’t you change your clothes back at the apartment?”
“Wasn’t sure if anyone was home.” I gave her a half-shrug and tightened my hand on the bag’s handle. “Didn’t want to risk waking them up with the noise.”
She nodded and turned her head to the nurses station. I rubbed my eyes and rose up from my seat. “Come on, we stick out like a sore thumb in these dresses. We’ll be back in a minute.”
I guided a reluctant Lucy toward the restrooms and quickly changed into more comfortable clothes. While the leggings and flats were actually my own stuff I had left at the apartment when I was moving, the baseball tee was hers and it sat a little too snug on my chest.
“How are my leggings not cutting off at your knees?” Lucy asked once she was done changing.
“They’re not yours,” I explained with a smile. “Some of mine. I must have left them behind.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“Lucy, you don’t look so good. How about you rest your eyes for a few minutes while I wait to hear back from the doctor?” She linked her arm with mine and we walked back to our seats.
“You don’t look so fine either,” she pointed out.
“Thanks. How kind of you,” I said in a flat tone and she gave me a small chuckle. I’d take that one, too. “Come on, if the doctor comes out, I’ll wake you.”
Once we reached our seats, Lucy noticed a doctor wearing scrubs talking to a middle-aged woman and her hand tightened on my arm.
“It’s not the same doctor, don’t worry,” I said, patting her hand. It didn’t escape my notice that the woman was crying a bucket of tears.
“Thank you for coming with me, Olive,” she said again as we sat back down.
“Where else would I be?”
She took a good look at me, then rested her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes. “I bet by the time I wake up Jason will call. Here, take this.” Reaching for her pocket, she handed me her phone. “It’s on vibrate so keep it on you.”
“Thanks,” I said, turning the phone over and over in my hands.
In a few minutes, she was out like a light. While Lucy slept on my shoulder, the waiting room filled and emptied several times. None of the voices disturbed her sleep.
Early in the morning, when the doc came to take her back to Jameson’s room, she almost looked like her normal self.
I chose to wait in the waiting room for a while longer. A few minutes after she left, her phone started going crazy with notifications in my hand. Thinking it was either Jason or one of Jameson’s friends, I swiped at the screen.
Busted!!! Is It Already ‘The End’ for Our Favorite Newlyweds?
Last night, Jason Thorn and his blushing bride attended the opening of Jason’s friend Devlin Parker’s nightclub, Mad Play. Until now all we’ve heard from several sources close to the couple is that they are intensely happy and in love. Do you remember those set photos we shared only a few days ago where Jason was carrying Olive to their trailer? Well, folks, seems like there is trouble in paradise.
We got these photos from an anonymous source who was in the nightclub while the incident occurred and managed to capture Jason Thorn getting cozy with a blonde who is most definitely not his wife. As you can see in the first photo, the girl is sitting on his lap and whispering into his ear while his head is resting on the wall.
While the couple was pictured together entering the club, at this moment we don’t know when Olive Taylor left the hunky actor alone. It appears that not all is well with Hollywood’s latest favorite couple.
Let’s face it, none of us would mind sharing a bed with Jason Thorn, but we were over the moon about his marriage to the bestselling author, Olive Taylor. Their love story, the book, Jason being her first crush…our point is, we were definitely rooting for Olive to steal Jason’s heart for good. However, these recently leaked photos showed us again that a Hollywood marriage does not equal long-lasting wedded bliss.
We all know how the saying goes: ‘A leopard can’t change its spots.’ Maybe the fate of this short marriage was sealed from the very beginning. What do you think?
So far, Jason Thorn’s PR team is refusing to make any comments on the photos and we are still trying to locate Olive Taylor to get her side of the story.
Chapter Thirty Jason
“You need to wake up, man.”
Was that Devlin? What the hell was he doing at my house? “What?” I croaked, trying to push through the fog and open my eyes. “What are you doing here?”
Fingers snapped in front of my face, and then I heard Alvin’s voice. “Do you think we should call a doctor?”
“Alvin? What the fuck?”
I forced my eyes open and had to close them right back when the bright lights pierced into my brain. I groaned and covered my face with my hands. “Somebody shut off the fucking lights!”
“It’s daylight boss, I don’t think we can shut that off.”
Shielding my eyes with my hand, I squinted up at Alvin’s worried face, then looked around. I was lying on a couch… I jolted up and that brought all kinds of pain to my head.
Jesus! How many drinks did I have last night?
“Where are we?” I croaked.
“In my suite,” said Devlin with a suffering sigh as he handed me a bottle of cold water.
“Thanks,” I mumbled. I drank the whole thing to the last drop and dropped the bottle on floor. When I was done, I cleared my throat and looked around at my surroundings again. “Why are we in your suite?”
Devlin glanced at Alvin.
“Fuck,” I cursed, dropping my head into my hands. “My head is pounding. What time is it, Alvin? Am I late to set?”
“Jason,” Devlin said in a serious tone.
“Yeah? Didn’t you ever heard of blinds, you little bastard?”
“How do you feel, Jason?” he asked instead of giving me an answer. Shit. I was seconds away from vomiting all over their shoes.
“Brutal. I suggest you point me in the direction of the bathroom. Right now.”
When I was done puking my guts out, I felt worse than I had when I’d woken up, if that was even possible.
I stumbled out of the bathroom. “Alvin, what time is it?”
“Sit the fuck down for a minute,” Devlin barked.
“Keep your damn voice down for fuck’s sake. What the hell did you give me to drink last night anyway?”
“I didn’t give you a damn thing, Jason.”
I plopped down on the couch again and started massaging my temples. Alvin was still hovering around, but Devlin sat right across from me. He didn’t look any better than I did.
Frowning, I turned to Alvin. “Where’s Olive?”
“Look,” Devlin cut in before Alvin could say anything. “Look, Jason. You’re in trouble. Hell, I’m in trouble.”
“Explain,” I ordered, steeling myself. If he had done anything to Olive, if he had said anything to upset her—
“I’ve been questioning my staff, the ones that came in contact with you in the club. And– ”
“Why?”
“Shut up and listen. We think someone spiked your drink.”
“What?” I thundered and scrambled up to my feet. “Where is Olive, Alvin?” I yelled, ignoring my brain cursing me for the quick movement.
“We don’t know, boss,” Alvin answered quietly.
“What the fuck do you mean you don’t know? Her friends? Where are they? Ask them.”
“Look,” Devlin started again, and I took a step forward. If he said look one more time, I was punching his goddamned face.
“I was late last night. When I finally made it to the club and Devlin escorted me up to your private room, I found you being a little too friendly with one of Olive’s friends,” Alvin explained, stealing the words from Devlin’s mouth. “I don’t know what happened, but I know you wouldn’t cheat on Olive. Not like that.”
My eyes widened in shock. I raked my hands through my hair and turned to Alvin. Devlin was sitting with his head bowed, quiet.
“Are you fucking with me? Fuck! I wouldn’t. Never. I didn’t. Damn it!” I growled as I picked up a vase that was on the table close to me and threw it at the wall, bleakly watching it shatter into pieces.
“What did you see? What was I doing?” I asked through gritted teeth. I was trying to speak calmly.
“She was in your lap, man.”
Goddammit!
I started pacing and when the wall was right in front of me…I just punched it.
It seemed like a good idea in that moment. With the fury building inside me, I could’ve brought down the whole building down just with my hands.
Ignoring my bloody knuckles, I slowly walked back to the couch and sat down. My heart was racing out of my damn chest.
“Please explain,” I finally said when my breathing was under control and I didn’t feel like killing anyone and everyone.
Alvin sat down on the other end of the couch, keeping his eyes on me the entire time. “I don’t know much, Jason. That’s how we found you. Don’t you remember anything? She was in your lap and you were making out, I assume. I don’t know, man. Maybe not? Her hands were all over you and you were just sitting there dazed.”
“Which one?”
“Which one, what?”
“Which one of her friends?” I gritted between my teeth.
He glanced at Devlin so I lifted my head to look at him, too. “Lily,” Devlin said after thinking about it for a minute. “I remember Olive introducing her as Lily. One of the blondes.”
“No one was in the room?”
“Just you two. Could she be the one who spiked your drink? Because none of my staff would do something like that. I handpick them, you know that. And even if they could, why would they?”
“She is Olive’s friend for fuck’s sake, why would she do something like that?”
“Exactly how much do you remember?” Alvin asked again.
I thought about it. What the hell did I remember? I remembered going up to the private room with Olive. I remembered kissing her, wanting to do much more to her than just kissing. I could still feel her lips on mine, her hands in my hair. She always trembled when I kissed her, as if my touch sent small shock waves into her body, and I loved drinking it all down. I simply loved being near her, touching her…
I shook my head.
“Not much. I don’t remember Olive leaving. I remember talking to Lucy and Lily, but that’s it. Did you call her?”
Alvin grimaced, and I hated it. “We couldn’t find your phone, but her handbag was next to you, and her phone was in it. But,” he added hastily before I could explode all over again. “I called Lucy. She isn’t answering right now, but I’ll keep calling. Don’t worry, Jason.”
“Tell him the rest,” Devlin said darkly.
“What rest?” I glanced between them.
Another grimace. This one was worse. If I never saw Alvin grimace like that ever again, it would be too soon.
“Someone leaked photos of you and the girl. Every media outlet is running with the story of you cheating on Olive.”
Chapter Thirty-One Olive
I contemplated getting on a bus, but I had enough money to hop on a plane. I was a damn bestselling author now; the least I could do was buy a plane ticket back home without counting every cent in my bank account.
So I did just that.
First, I raced to Jason’s house. Being married to a fucking actor had its perks, like how you didn’t have to carry your wallet with you when you were going out with said actor. The smallest clutch could hold your phone and maybe a lipstick, but that’s it, which is why I had to stop by the house to grab a few personal items, a change of clothes, and of course, my ID.
I didn’t want to think about it, but it was hard not to notice that he hadn’t come back home. Where he’d spent the night…I didn’t want to think about that either.
By 12:30 PM, I was in San Francisco.
At 2:00 PM, I was standing in front of the door of my childhood home, where this whole mess had started.
I took a deep breath and lifted my arm to knock on the door.
My dad opened the door, and we spent a few silent seconds looking at each other, which only caused my lips to tip down and tears to start flowing freely down my cheeks.
“Baby,” he sighed.
I wiped at my tears angrily. Why was I even crying?
“I know you are angry at me, but—”
I burst into more tears.
Pathetic, I know.
But then, I was in my dad’s arms and he was whispering the most beautiful words into my ear.
It was worth being a pathetic little wimp. There, I was safe.
It felt so good when he was hugging me so tightly. I could let go of everything and know that he would take care of his girl like he always did. Who could hurt you when your dad had his big arms around you? Who would dare break a little girl’s heart? Didn’t every woman feel like a little girl when their dad gave them a good hug? Didn’t everyone just want to stay there until the monsters went away?
No?
Well, good for you and your independence then. Pop some champagne and celebrate. Congrats, you made it into adulthood. Me, not so much. I would take my dad’s hugs over anything.
“Logan, who is at—Olive? Oh, sweetheart.”
When I heard my mom’s voice and felt her hand softly brushing my hair, I buried my face harder into my dad’s chest and let them love their little girl.
Chapter Thirty-Two Jason
After living through the worst morning of my fucking life, we had finally found Lucy at the hospital with her boyfriend. She looked like a mess herself, and I couldn’t imagine what she’d gone through while waiting for her boyfriend to come out of surgery. I’d learned that Olive had been with her the entire time, which was progress since we couldn’t find her anywhere. She had left with Lucy and spent the entire night at the hospital while I was out of it.
It was a miracle we even managed to get that out of her mouth. She had seen the news coverage and was just as furious as I was, if not more. The only difference was she was ready to attack me and have my balls for her friend, not the bastard who had spiked my drink or taken the photos.
It took some time, but we explained what was going on and she looked like she wanted to believe us. After some begging on my part, she told me that Olive had flown to San Francisco hours ago.
At 10:00 PM, I was on a plane—fuck waiting for a private jet—flying to San Francisco.
***
It was weird being in the neighborhood where you spent a big and very important chunk of your childhood. All the houses looked the same as I remembered; even the damn air smelled like it had back then. The house my mother had decided to take her own life in was still the same, too. Sure, it looked more lived in, and there were flowers that hadn’t been there when I was a teenager, but it was right where it had been, tucked among the memories I wanted to forget.
I hoped the family who was living in it now was a happier and more functional one than ours had been. I hoped the kids who were growing up in the house weren’t witnessing their mother slowly losing the light in her eyes for no good reason. I hoped that they had another house they could spend their time in if things weren’t going that great for them, someone to care about them like Logan and Emily had cared about me.
Right then, standing in front of their house in the middle of the night didn’t feel as scary as I had thought it would feel when I was on the plane. It was more like coming back home, and that was a good feeling for someone who hadn’t had a good home for most of their life, someone who had lost both his parents along the way and for a very long time hadn’t had a real thing to hold on to when things got rough.
Maybe it wasn’t as scary as I had initially thought it would be, but I was still a mess. Apart from feeling like a mess, I also looked like a fucking mess.
After spending ten minutes in front of their house, not knowing how Olive’s parents would react to seeing me, not knowing if Olive would even agree to see me, I sucked it up and knocked on their door.
When Dylan opened the door and his eyes hardened when he saw who was standing on their porch, I was still trying to get over the shock of seeing my best friend after so many fucking years.
Dylan didn’t have that problem.
My lips spread out in a smile, but that was a mistake because his whole body tightened. Instead of being happy to see me again like I’d hoped he would be, he stepped out of the house and quietly closed the door behind him.
“What are you doing here, Jason?”
“Dylan. Shit, man.” I tried to stop my smile from spreading out more, but…hell, he was my best friend, and it had been years since I’d seen him. “Man, it’s really fucking good to see you.”
His expression didn’t change.
“I’ll ask again. What are you doing here? Don’t you think you did enough damage to her already?”
I dropped my smile, but it was too late to brace for the impact his words caused. If he wanted to act like a piece of shit, so be it. So could I.
“I can see that you don’t care to see me. I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t come to see you either. I’m here for my wife.”
“Wife?” He gave a humorless laugh. “Cut the crap, Jason. We both know that it’s just a game for the public even though she refuses to admit that. You are using her to look good and she is too stupid to care about it even though she knows it herself.”
“You don’t know anything about us, Dylan.”
“About us? There is no you and her, Jason. Do you know that she is in love with you? Hell, she’s been in love with you for most of her life. Are you going to keep playing this game, knowing it will kill something in her when you finally get bored with it?”
I lowered my head and squeezed my hands into fists.
“I don’t want you to see her, and I want you to turn around—”
“I don’t care what the hell you want, Dylan,” I said in a low voice. He stopped speaking. “I will get through that door even if I have to deck you to do it.”
He lifted an eyebrow and crossed his arms against his chest. “Try it,” he said. “Give me a good reason to fuck up your—”
“I’m in love with your sister, you idiot.” I took a step forward, getting into his face.
His eyes narrowed on me and he took a step forward with clenched fists. “You lying son of a bitch.”
Before he could do anything, the door behind him opened and his father walked out.
“That’s enough, Dylan,” he said in a gravelly voice, shutting the door gently.
I froze. My hands flexed and I swallowed.
In front of me stood the man I had idolized, a man who knew how to take care of his family, a man who didn’t shy away from showing his love to his children, to his wife…even to the neighbor’s kid.
Just like the houses around us, he looked just the same. He had more white hair and the smile lines around his eyes were deeper, but those big shoulders, the stance, and everything else that made him who he was just the same.
Hell, why did he have to come out? I couldn’t deck Logan. I would happily get into a fight with Dylan, but not with his father.
I took a step back and tried to loosen up my muscles.
“I don’t like the reason you are here, but it’s still good to see you, Jason,” Logan said after forcefully moving his son out of the way. There was a small smile playing on his lips. Maybe I still had a shot at getting to Olive. Maybe Logan would believe me.
Feeling like a seventeen-year-old again, I rubbed the back of my neck and looked down at the ground. Surely I wasn’t tearing up…right?
“You have no idea how good it is to see you, too, sir.”
He nodded. “I’m assuming you’re here because you want to see Olive?”
I gave Dylan a hard look and kept my eyes on him as I answered his father’s question.
“Yes, I’m here for Olive.”
“You’re not seeing her,” Dylan said as he took another step toward me.
The bastard was just itching to get his ass kicked.
“Dylan, that’s enough,” Logan cut him off again. “Simmer down.” Turning to me, he said, “Let’s have a talk before you see her, is that okay?”
“Of course,” I agreed as we both sat down on the porch steps. Wisely, Dylan chose to stand next to the door instead of getting in my face. If he thought he even had a chance of stopping me from going in to get Olive, he was in for a surprise.
I would fuck him up without a second thought.
“Olive is not saying much, so you’ll have to be the one to tell me exactly what’s going on here, Jason. I want to hear it in your own words, not some speech your people prepared for you.”
I frowned. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know. I won’t hide anything from you.”
“That’s not the vibe I got from Olive. I think she was trying to share as little as possible with us.”
I shook my head and rubbed my forehead. “That was before.”
“And now? Did something change?”
“Yes.” I rubbed my forehead some more. “Yes, everything changed.”
“You married Olive so it would look good for you, is that true?”
I flinched. Jesus! An interrogation was not what I needed.
“Yes.” I sighed. “Yes, my publicist thought it would save my career after everything I’d done. When I saw Olive and acted like…and then everyone else saw us together…”
I didn’t finish my sentence.
“I see. And now? What is different now?”
I lifted my head and looked into his eyes. I couldn’t decide if he was angry with me or not, but I answered honestly. “I fell in love with your daughter, sir.” Looking over my shoulder, I gave Dylan a hard look. “That’s what changed.”
“And you think my daughter loves you too?”
Breaking eye contact with Dylan, I faced forward again. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “But I’m hoping that the answer is yes.”
“So why is she here? We saw the news. If you are in love with her like you say you are, what happened?”
I told him everything that had happened the night before, except the part where my dick was roaring to get into his daughter’s tight little body in public, of course. That I kept to myself.
The more I talked and explained everything—not just that my drink had been spiked, but everything that had happened between Olive and me—the more Dylan’s stance relaxed and he got closer to us.
After I talked for I don’t even know how long, Logan smiled, patted my shoulder, and rose up from the steps.
“I’ll leave you two friends to catch up. Olive is sleeping, but you can stay here tonight and talk to her in the morning, Jason. I’m sure Emily would love to see you, too.”
Stopping next to Dylan, he added, “She isn’t a kid any more Dylan. She is old enough to make up her own mind about Jason. Don’t interfere.”
When he got inside and closed the door, Dylan took his dad’s spot.
“So you really love her, huh? Have you told her that?” he asked, sounding tired.
I already felt dead on my feet.
“How nice of you to believe me now,” I said a little pointedly as I glared at him. Fuck, I was too damn tired to fight with him if he decided to be a jerk about this. “Give me a break. I just realized it today. I spent my entire day trying to find out where she was hiding.”
“You sound surprised every time you say it, and you keep saying it over and over.”
“If you have a problem with me being in love with her, keep her out of it. I don’t want you to say anything that will upset her,” I grinded out, looking at the house across the street. I wondered if Mr. and Mrs. Kealey still lived there.
“You’re protecting my sister from me?”
“Yes,” I said simply, giving him a hard glare. “You never knew how to keep your mouth shut around her. I won’t let you say something stupid and break her heart. I don’t care if you are her brother or not.”
He cocked an eyebrow and gave me a look I couldn’t even begin to name.
“Huh,” he grunted.
We were silent for several moments.
“What are you doing in San Francisco, anyway?” I asked when the silence became too heavy. I wanted to go in and talk to Olive, but Logan had said she was sleeping. Was she okay? Was she angry? Sad? Disappointed in me?
“My wife’s best friend had a baby. We’re visiting for the weekend.”
That made sense.
More silence.
“Did you feel anything for her when we were kids?” Dylan asked.
I had asked myself the same question over and over again, but I still didn’t have an answer.
“I don’t know,” I said with a sigh. “I don’t think so. I mean she was my Olive, too, you know. I was your friend, but I enjoyed being around her as much as I enjoyed being around your sorry ass.” That made him chuckle, so I relaxed more. “But, no. I wouldn’t call it love. She was too young. Yeah, maybe she had a crush on me, but it was probably because I was the only boy that was around. I don’t think it was anything big.”
“You would think so,” he said as he kicked a small stone with his foot.
“What does that mean?”
He shook his head and rubbed his face. “It was more than just a crush, man. I was constantly warning her away from you without being too obvious about it. Do you remember a girl texting you, just before your…before you had to move?”
I thought about it, but I couldn’t remember anything specific.
“Someone from our class?”
“No. A random girl.”
“How the hell am I supposed to remember that?”
“It was Olive.”
“What?” I turned my head to look at him so fast that I heard something snap. Then I chuckled. “I think I would know if Olive texted me. I had her number.”
Another annoying sigh. “I think she borrowed the phone from her friend or something. My point is, she was trying to talk to you. Even back then, she was taking risks just to be close to you. I have no idea what her plan was with texting you, but—”
“And you know this how, again?”
“I’m trying to tell you, you idiot. You told me you were texting with a girl, then when you were downstairs I went into Olive’s room to check on her and found a phone in her bed. Since it wasn’t her own phone, I poked around, and imagine my surprise when I found your texts.”
“What did you do, Dylan?”
“What do you think I did? I took your phone and texted her.”
