Page 8 of One is Never Enough

“No. Like I said, we were worried.”

“Don’t act like you give a shit, Jace. You have Toby and Aiden. You don’t need me.”

“I do need you, Angel. So does Toby. I just wish you’d open those pretty green eyes and see that. Do we have a deal? I leave, and you go to Leland?”

Oliver stares me down but finally nods. I wait until he steps away from the edge before I finally breathe. I want nothing more than to run to him and jerk him into my arms. Just being this close to him makes every feeling I have for him rush to the surface. I never thought anyone could make me feel like Toby does until I met Oliver. “We had a deal,” he says when I don’t start walking.

I turn toward the path and look back over my shoulder. “You need to talk to your sister. You’ll see that everything isn’t what it seems.” With that, I go back to the bottom, where Toby is pacing back and forth. “Let’s go.”

“What?” Toby demands. “You can’t just leave him up there?!”

“I made him a deal. As soon as we leave, he’ll come down. Now is not the time.”

“When is the time?” Toby asks.

Maybe never. “When Oli realizes the truth.”

I just hope it’s sooner rather than later.

Chapter 4

Oliver

“You need to talk to your sister. You’ll see that everything isn’t what it seems.”

What the hell does that mean? That’s been rattling around in my head since Jace said it. What does he know about my damn sister?

I kept my promise, and when I heard the motorcycles pull away, I walked to the bottom. I haven’t said a word to Leland because I know he was working against me.

“Out of all the people, why the hell did you call them?” I finally say, barging into his room.

“Because I know they care about you as much as I do. You can hate me if you want, but I was worried, Oli.”

“I just needed to think.”

“I get that,” Leland says quietly. “Trust me, I do, but you just disappeared. I can’t lose you, Oli. So, I won’t apologize for involving Toby and Jace.”

“You could have shown up alone.”

Leland jumps off his bed, pissed off. “I was out of my fucking mind! All I could think about was the time you found me at the bluffs. I wasn’t just thinking, Oli. I was going to fucking jump. You were upset last night, and I thought you were going to hurt yourself. So no, I couldn’t have shown up alone because I couldn’t think straight enough to find you.”

He storms past me, and I try to grab his arm but miss. “Leland!” The front door slams, making me jump.

I had no idea that Leland was going to jump that day. He had just gotten into another fight with his dad and went to the bluffs like we always did when we needed to cool off. Did I miss that much about him growing up? Leland’s life was rough, but did I ignore all the signs? My phone pings with a message, and I dig it from my pocket.

Leland:

I’m fine. I just need a minute.

Why didn’t you tell me?

Because you had enough shit going on. Don’t worry about me. Jace told me to tell you to call Payton. I think maybe you should.

What do you know?

Nothing. I swear. I just know that Payton might hold some information that you need to know. But you need to tell her what happened with you and Aiden, or you’ll never be able to move on. This isn’t your fault, Oli.

Okay. Will you please come home?

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