Page 11 of Shattered Mind

I don’t want to wonder what my name sounds like falling from her lips on a moan. I don’t want to think about how smooth her skin would feel under my fingertips. I don’t want to dream about her eyes, and the way they seem to see further into my soul than anyone has before. But since the day I pissed her off on the Ferris wheel, every time I close my eyes at night, there they are.

Blue.

I tear my eyes away, focusing back on the food. “Yeah. Looks like it,” I reply to Killian.

“You think it’s serious?” He asks.

“Don’t think he’d bring them home if it wasn’t.” I shrug. If I’m being totally honest, I think my brother is head over ass in love with the girl, and her kid, but I don’t think he’s realised it yet, so I keep that thought to myself.

My parents return a few minutes later, my brothers’ and the girls arriving on their heels. Introductions are made and I take a seat in front of the fire, beer in hand, in the hopes of avoiding another awkward encounter with Olivia.

It’s gonna be a long night.

***

She’s three sheets to the wind. Again.

“Anyway, I just wanted to apologise for the other day. I was drunk and you were rude, and I get a little feisty sometimes.” Olivia slurs with a laugh.

The other daythat she is referring to was actually a month ago. The day we met at the fair. When she got shit-faced, and I somehow drew the short straw and had to drive her home. She made me pull over twice so she could throw up on the side of the road and then proceeded to half insult, half compliment me as a way to say thanks.

“No worries,” I say, taking a mouthful of my beer and hoping that’s all she came over here to say.

Her face falls. “Aren’t you going to say sorry, too?”

Clearly not.

I raise a brow at her. “And what am I saying sorry for, exactly?” I ask, confused.

I’m not confused. I know what she wants an apology for, but she’s not getting one. And the reason she’s not getting one is because of the way her eyes just changed from glassy and happy, to burning with fury.

Fuck, I love how the blue changes when she’s mad. It’s almost like the rings around the outside get darker, but the inside becomes brighter, if that makes sense.

“You called me annoying! For no reason! Don’t you think I deserve an apology for that?”

Probably.

“No,” I say, drinking my beer again and moving my eyes back to the flames, feigning boredom. In reality, my body is thrumming with excitement thinking of all the ways I can piss her off.

She laughs. Loud. But it’s not a genuine laugh. It’s more like a witch’s cackle, evil and cunning.

The unexpected sound has me frowning and I open my mouth to ask her what she finds so funny, but I’m interrupted by Hunter. “Hey, Gray. Liv. Savannah and Reign are gonna spend the night at my house, so would you be able to take Liv home?”

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.

“It’s fine. I’ll get Noah or Kill to take me,” Liv says instantly, and my frown deepens at how quickly she suggested someone else.

Not that I want to be the one stuck with driving her drunk ass home again, but it pisses me off that she was so quick to discard me, nonetheless.

“Killian already left, and Noah’s had too much to drink.” Hunter informs her and I watch her shoulder sag. I fight to hold back a smirk.

She doesn’t want to be alone with me.Good.

“Seriously?” She whines and Hunter gives her a tight-lipped smile.

“You could always crash at my place,” he offers and her lips curl in disgust.

“And hear you two going at it like rabbits? No thanks. Think I’ll take my chances with the grump over here,” she hooks her thumb towards me and Hunter chuckles before turning away, but I don’t miss his whispered ‘good luck, man’ as he does.

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