Page 38 of Sweet Vengeance
“I don’t need your money.”
“Well, I need to give it to you.”
I shrug. “Your loss.”
He doesn’t say anything else, and once he’s done eating, he gets the money and I stuff it in my pocket. It’s not worth the argument.
Ollie calls his work to let them know he won’t be back for a while, then sits at his desk with his laptop and books spread out in front of him. I relax on his bed. It’s against the wall, which I lean on. “You’re really into school.”
“Why would I be here if I wasn’t?”
I chuckle. “I’m not. Tiernan is. He’s into all these weird-ass fucking books that are supposed to be so philosophical and shit like that. He hated it when he was pre-law, but now that he’s a literature major, he’s here for more reasons than just getting the chance to be away from home.” Being away from home and with Tiernan and Rory are the only reasons I’m here getting a business degree.
“Why did he go into law in the first place?”
“He didn’t have a choice.”
“Why would he not have a choice?”
“Because not everyone was raised like you.”
For the first time in what feels like too long, he looks at me. “Doyouhave a choice?”
“Yes. My father doesn’t give a fuck about me—not that Tiernan’s did about him, in the traditional sense, that is. I could disappear off the face of the earth, and my dad wouldn’t notice.” My skin prickles uncomfortably.
“I’m sure that’s not true.”
“You know him?”
He rolls his eyes, but then they soften. “That’s why you’re the way you are with Tiernan, Rory, Aislin, and Dean? I’m assuming you treat Aislin and Dean the way you do Rory and Tiernan. You hold on tightly to them because he didn’t hold tightly to you.”
What feels like a ten-ton brick lands in the middle of my chest. He’s not supposed to see that. He’s sure as hell not supposed to talk to me about it. “Way to call me out on my shit.” I run a hand through my hair, which immediately falls onto my forehead again.
“I’m sorry. I don’t think sometimes before I speak. I shouldn’t have—”
“It’s fine. It is what it is. There’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do for Tiernan, Rory, and Aislin. Now that circle includes Dean because he’s Tiernan’s, and anything happening to him would hurt Tiernan.”
“Well, I mean, he doesn’t belong to Tiernan.”
I grin. “You don’t know how things work for them.” I shrug. “Anyway, Tiernan has Dean now, which is good for him.”
“Which makes you and Rory closer?”
“Me and Rory were already close. We didn’t start fucking people together when Tiernan met Dean.”
“That’s not what I…” He gives a shy grin. “Okay, it is what I was thinking. I think you’re secretly in love with him. Maybe you don’t even realize it yourself.”
“I’m not and never could be. I’m telling you it’s not like that. Rory is my person. He’ll be my person for the rest of my life. The bond is thicker than the romantic bullshit people cling to. I don’t want to talk about that shit anymore.” It’s like Ollie has this secret way of opening me up.
“Can I ask you one more question?”
I shrug. Why fucking not? I’ve already told him more than I should and more than I would anyone else.
“Your mom?”
My whole body stiffens, like those two words inject ice into my veins. “Dead.” It happened so damn long ago that sometimes I forget what life was like with her. Forget the way she made my dad smile, made me feel loved…made our world softer.
“Mine too,” Ollie admits, voice soft and full of hurt. It stings slightly that he doesn’t remember telling me, but he’d been half-asleep and on pain meds. “I loved her so much. We both did—me and my dad, I mean. I thought it would kill me when she died…I thought it would kill him.”
