Olivia’s Ride(13)

I only shook my head in response, unable to speak.

“Wow; sorry,” she said. She was definitely not sorry. “It’s not really my story to tell. But I will say there is a reason he works long hours to pay both for school expenses and this apartment, rather than living with the two of them who are less than twenty minutes away.”

I could feel the tightness in my chest, that uneasy feeling rolling through my stomach and settling at the base of my throat. I suddenly felt more out of place than I had ever felt in my life.

But before I could retreat to the bedroom to gather my clothes and rush out of there, with my tail tucked between my legs, the door handle rattled behind Lacy.

We both looked in its direction just as it was pushed open and revealed Keeton, dirty from a day at the garage.

He glanced between the two of us, with a look of confusion written on his face. Then his gaze shifted downward and settled on the key I held in my hand. Obviously he recognized the bright keychain as being Lacy’s because he instantly looked up with a look of panic.

“I can explain,” he said as he stepped further into the apartment, closing the door to keep Duke from escaping.

“Explain what, exactly?” I said in return. I was hurt by now, for so many different reasons, and my filter had long faded. “Maybe why your ex still has a key to your apartment, and comes and goes as she pleases? Or the fact I really know nothing about you, but she seems to know everything about your father and your brother?”

He narrowed his eyes as he looked over at Lacy.

“I’m just gonna go,” she said, as she walked toward the door, whispering a “Sorry” to Keeton as she passed.

Once the door was closed, he moved toward me, but I held up my hand to stop him. “Don’t.”

“Will you just wait a minute please?”

“Who did you get in a fight with last night?” I asked.

“We already talked about this.” His answer couldn’t have been more evasive.

“No, we didn’t.” My voice rose just enough to make him fully aware that I was now pissed. “You lied to me last night. We didn’t talk about shit.”

I turned around and walked toward his room as I began searching for my clothes. “Liv,” he whispered as he stepped into the room behind me.

I ignored him as I stepped into my jeans and yanked his t-shirt over my head and tossed it to the floor. After I had my bra on, I gathered my own shirt from where it landed earlier that morning and quickly pulled it over my head. I didn’t even bother to look for my socks; I quickly slid my feet into my sneakers and walked past him in search of my bag.

“Can you just stop for a minute so we can talk about this?” he asked. I spun around to face him. He stood in the open doorway combing his hand through his hair as he pulled on the ends, just before gripping the back of his neck. “She takes Duke out. She didn’t know you’d be here; I didn’t even think to tell her.”

“You think this is about her?” I asked. “Yeah, maybe it is a little, because there is seriously something wrong with the fact your ex fuck buddy has a key to your place and I don’t, but it is more than that.” I took in a deep breath because my heart was damn near beating out of my chest. “She knows everything about you, and I realized today that I know nothing. And she loved being able to throw that in my face.”

“Liv,” he tried to interrupt but I didn’t pause.

“You lied to me, yet you told her the truth. That says something. It’s like a god damn neon sign flashing before my eyes. If you can’t let me in, but you let her in, then how is that supposed to make me feel?” The damn had broken. I hadn’t wanted to cry, but it was more angry tears than anything else. “Because right now, I couldn’t feel less important in your life.”

He tried to stop me but I needed to get out of there. I was in desperate need of air that I didn’t have to share with Keeton or his pal Lacy.

I felt like an idiot, and she knew it.





Chapter Sixteen





Keeton



I stood in my living room completely stunned by what just happened. I came home with the intention to take Olivia to dinner and tell her a little bit of my past.

Nate, my boss, had a long talk with me today about my father, which led to Olivia and my future. He didn’t agree with me keeping her in the dark, especially after he’d come to the conclusion I was in love with her. Since what Nate thought meant a lot to me, and I found him to be a pretty level headed guy with a knowledge of life I didn’t feel I possessed, who was I to argue with his observations?

But what I walked into was a whole hell of a lot more than I bargained for. I instantly felt the tension between Olivia and Lacy. There was that look on Olivia’s face, the one that made my stomach tense and my chest feel empty.

It was one of hurt, and I knew it led back to me. I was responsible for that look.

I wanted to chase after her when she stormed out of my apartment, but if I’d learned anything over the last couple months dating her, when she is pissed off it’s better to give her some time to cool off. She may be tiny, but she could be a little scary when driven to heights like she reached only moments ago.

I’d deal with Lacy later. Something told me she purposely pushed Liv’s buttons, and that shit didn’t sit well with me.

That damn neon pink keychain of Lacy’s gleamed and caught my attention like it was fucking mocking me. I picked it up from the counter and opened the kitchen drawer, tossing it in before slamming the drawer shut.



***



My night turned out to be Duke and me vegging out on the couch, staring at the television watching nothing in particular.

I tried to call Liv a few different times, yet she chose to send them to voicemail. Knowing she was still upset compelled me to drive over to her dorm, only to have the door slammed in my face when her lovely roommate told me she wasn’t there. She may have tossed in a few other words, but the girl was never pleasant so I didn’t take any of it personally.

So here I was again, sitting in a pile of Dorito crumbs with a beer in my hand…feeling lost.

It was after 10:30 at night and I still had no damn idea where Liv was. It was eating at me, because all I wanted to do was hold her and tell her I was sorry. I wanted to tell her everything from my past, no matter how dirty it was.

A light knock on my door had both Duke and I scrambling from the couch in a hurry. I didn’t even take a moment to look out the peephole. My heart was racing at the idea Olivia was just on the other side, and right now I just wanted to hold her.

Disappointment filled my chest when I looked up to see Lacy standing there, still in her work clothes.

“I know,” she said, holding up her hand. “Not who you were hoping for.”

“What do you want?” I held the door, hoping she got the hint I wasn’t allowing her in.

“I just wanted to apologize,” she tilted her head to the side and flashed an innocent smile. “I may have been just a tad too rough on your friend earlier.”

“My girlfriend,” I corrected.

“Yeah,” she sagged just a little, leaning against the door jam. “She sorta irritated me with her attitude, and I couldn’t help myself. Now I feel bad.”

“Listen, I don’t have time for this right now.” I stepped back. “She’s not talking to me because of the shit you pulled. What should have happened was when you realized she was here, you should have apologized and left. But instead you played some fucked up game that has my girlfriend thinking she and I aren’t good together.”

Lacy looked at me with a raised brow.

“If you’re showing up here to apologize, you can save your breath. It’s Liv you owe an apology to, not me.” I nudged Duke back as I shut the door, and left Lacy looking back at me like I had grown a second head.

I was too damn irritated with her and all the shit from the last twenty-four hours to stand there and be civil. Lacy was wrong; she never should have said the shit she did or acted the way she had. Olivia had every right to be upset. I just hoped things between her and me weren’t beyond repair.





Chapter Seventeen





Olivia



My weekend was spent with my head buried in my pillow.

I avoided all calls from everyone. So my family didn’t panic, I sent out a mass message telling them I was studying for finals, and to not freak if I didn’t answer or respond.

I just didn’t feel like talking; to be honest, I knew if any of them had called, they would have sensed my mood immediately. It was a Sawyer Family requirement, I swear; they all had some kind of built-in radar. Whenever one of us had any kind of issues or sadness, it was like a beacon beckoning them all to rush forward and fix it if they could.

I was surprised Jeanette told Keeton I wasn’t here when he showed up Friday night, again on Saturday afternoon, followed by a third time Saturday evening. But I know it was only because she got the chance to be a bitch, not truly because she wanted to be a friend. Her comment about finally not having to deal with the nauseating happy couple any longer made sense, too.

I was half asleep on Sunday morning when Courtney stopped by and Jeanette allowed her in our room just as she was leaving. I watched her with caution as she approached and sat down on the edge of my bed, eyeing me with curiosity.