I wanted to say more, or maybe even mutter an apology, but I couldn’t. Nothing would come out. I didn’t feel like myself. Stress was rising again, and I didn’t like that. I needed something to distract me, or at least to lessen the load. I needed someone to hold my feet on the ground until I started erasing my problems, one by one.
And there was only one person that came to mind.
Chapter Forty-One
Piper
I kept tossing and turning, my comfy duvet all bundled up in a heaping mess at the bottom of my bed, as I stopped myself from texting Ollie.
Monday passed by quickly, and by the end of the day, everyone in school knew that he and I were a thing. Rumors spread like wildfire; the cheerleaders all stared at me like curious kittens; teachers eyed me with that look in their eye that read, He’s gonna break your little heart. And maybe he would. Ollie’s reputation was stellar in most aspects, but he’d never ever been in a relationship. Then again, neither had I, so what did that say? But apparently, both Powell brothers being “taken” blew everyone's mind. It kind of blew mine, too. A few months ago, I’d never ever imagined I’d be kissed by Ollie Powell in the hallway, or the lunch room, or out in the courtyard before climbing in my car to drive home, but here I was, living the dream.
At this point, part of my life was a dream and the other part a nightmare.
The mere thought of Saturday gave me goosebumps.
Tank gave me a bad feeling. His dark, wandering eyes and pitch of his voice loomed in the back of my head anytime I started to relax. Jason had never left my mind. Even when I was angry with him after I found him in Tank’s bathroom, I was still worried about him. I wasn’t sure what Saturday would bring. Would there be no hard feelings between my brother and Tank after the money was paid back? That just didn’t sound right to me. Tank was a bad guy. I didn’t trust him.
I did trust Ollie, though, and for now, that was enough.
Grabbing my phone, I lay back on my pillows and scrolled through my text messages.
I smiled, re-reading the ones from Ollie, but grimaced at the ones with my parents.
They’d texted over the weekend, asking if I’d received my college acceptance letters yet.
I hadn’t, but I did end up sending them a picture of me and Hayley in our dresses before we went to the winter formal.
Neither one of them responded.
I glanced at the picture, making sure it had sent. It had.
The innocent girl inside of me that longed for attention from her parents was still buried underneath the fiercely independent girl I was now, and she was hurt.
A depressed breath left me as I pulled my phone in close, pushing the pain away, and then I placed it on the side of my table and put my back to it.
As soon as my eyes closed, my phone vibrated on the table. My eyes flew open, and I turned back around and grabbed it.
Ollie.
It was like he knew I was upset.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Hey.” Ollie’s voice was hushed, but I could hear the rumble of his Charger in the background.
“Hi,” I said, trying to hold back a smile.
“Your parents aren’t home, right?”
A hot trickle of anticipation rained over my head. “Right. It’s just me.”
Ollie answered quickly. “Good, I’m pulling up. Come hang out with me.”
Sitting up in bed, I pushed my hair behind my ears and climbed out of my bed. Bright orbs of light shone through the limbs of the tree outside of my balcony, and I smashed my lips together to control my excitement. “Let me get dressed, and I’ll be right down!”
Ollie’s voice dipped. “Let you get dressed? What exactly are you wearing?”
I rolled my eyes, shoving my pj shorts down. “I’m wearing my pjs, you perv.”