Chasing Ivy (Oak Hill 1)

I didn’t even have to turn around to know that Ivy had walked in.

The raised eyebrows on every single man’s face and the questionable expressions on all the females told me exactly who they were looking at.

Breanna’s tone was like fingernails on a chalkboard. “What the fuck is she doing back here?”

A surge of protectiveness flashed through me, causing my hands to leave Breanna’s hips. I turned around slightly, ignoring the way her eyes flashed with hate, just enough so I could get a glimpse of Ivy. That was a wrong decision on my end.

Ivy flipped her glossy brown hair behind her shoulder and laughed softly at something Becca had said. Her pretty green eyes swept the room, first landing on Max who was waving like a fucking maniac, then to the people on the dance floor, until they finally landed on me. Her smile fell instantly and the disappointment in her emerald hues was crystal clear.

It was as if she was asking me what the hell I was doing with Breanna… and I was beginning to wonder the same exact thing.

Chapter Fifteen

Ivy

I had been waiting the entire, antagonizing week to lay into Becca. After she grinded me about not filling her in immediately about the whole Dawson and I making up, she turned around and didn’t tell me that he and Breanna were a thing!

I wasn’t certain exactly how intense of a relationship they were in but I could only assume it was on the higher end of that spectrum considering he’d run out of my house like

a bat straight out of hell after we stood, alone, faces only a few inches apart. I’ve been wondering and simmering all week; were they serious? How long had they been together? Did he love her?

After trying on the third outfit Becca had thrown at me, and explaining whatever it was that had occurred between Dawson and me, I started to prod her.

“Are they serious?”

Becca’s head slowly inched upward and I knew right then that I wasn’t going to like her answer.

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” I exclaimed, pulling off the stupid sheer tank top she’d tried to get me to wear. It was too cold for a tank top. We were in Ohio and it was September: too chilly for no sleeves.

“Are you serious?” she asked, throwing off the tank that I’d chucked at her.

I stomped over to my closet, even more pissed than I was before because now it was truly confirmed that he was dating Breanna and it was also confirmed that it bothered me beyond explanation.

“Yes! How could you not tell me! Why is he with her?! God!” My words were coming in spurts and I literally had to reel myself back in before I got so worked up that I started to cry.

I was a crier when I became angry, which was infuriating because then people never truly knew that you were angry. They just thought you were sad when you were actually boiling inside.

“I didn’t tell you, because we agreed to never talk about Dawson again.”

I spun around towards Becca, my eyes skimming over her strawberry blonde hair and cheetah-print silk top. “When did we decide that?”

She rolled her eyes, standing up and coming over to help me pick out yet another outfit.

“It was an unspoken agreement. You never asked about him and I didn’t want to bring him up because I didn’t want you to go back into your shell.”

Shell? Like I’m a freaking turtle?

“I knew it would bother you and I knew it would make you upset. Even if you didn’t have these secret, lustful feelings for him.” I gasped, appalled that she thought I was lusting after him. “You and Dawson were super freaking close. Closer than us, closer than me and Casey. You and Dawson were like Siamese twins, except you two were a very rare form because you were, like, in love with each other.”

I laughed out loud but I didn’t deny it.

Becca quipped a well-manicured eyebrow at me and handed me my next outfit without saying another word.

I slipped on a sheer white blouse that I had originally bought for work, but without pairing it with its blazer, it looked casual enough for Ships. Becca threw a pair of dressy, closed-toe shoes at my head, which bounced off and hit the floor. I snatched them up and placed them on my feet, tying the black leather strap around my ankle with as much force as possible.

I was bitchy and pissed, all because Dawson was dating Breanna.

Or was I acting that way because he wasn’t single in general? Maybe it had nothing to do with Breanna.