I take a minute to compose myself. Why the hell does that girl have to be so maddening? Why can’t my body get the memo that I don’t want her? And why the fuck does the thought of someone drugging her and fucking her unconscious body send a murderous rage through me? I’d be pissed if that happened to any girl but knowing it could happen to Rylee makes me feel unhinged. Knowing she carelessly put herself in danger makes me want to slap some sense into her.
Blowing out a harsh breath to reign in my mounting temper, I go back inside. My eyes immediately try to find her, but she’s nowhere to be found. A crackling sound comes over the speaker, and I turn to face the front of the room. Oliver is on the coffee table, microphone in hand.
“Hello, all you Parkview fuckers!” he yells, and receives a chorus of hoots and hollers. “As some of you already know, I gained a sister over the winter break.” He grins mischievously as he looks out across the room. “I realized I haven’t properly introduced you all to my new lovely sibling. How very rude of me.”
His eyes stop somewhere behind me, and I glance over my shoulder. Rylee is standing with Charles at her side, her glacial stare pinned on Oliver.
Oliver points his finger in her direction, and all eyes narrow in on her.
“There she is. Why don’t you come on up here, Rylee, and meet your fellow classmates?” When she doesn’t make a move to do what he asked, but instead flips him the middle finger, Oliver pouts dramatically.
“Spoilsport,” he jeers into the microphone. “Anyway, to help you all get to know Rylee a little better, because you know, I’m helpful like that, I figured I’d give you a few fun facts about her.”
Murmurs and snickers reverberate throughout the room. Everyone knows Rylee isn’t liked by Oliver; therefore, this isn’t some attempt to gain her friends. He’s putting on a show. I lean against the wall to watch.
“Fact number one.” He holds up his pointer finger. “When Rylee laughs hard, she farts.”
Raucous laughter erupts in the room. People bend over and actually clutch their stomachs and wipe their eyes.
Not waiting for it to die down, Oliver holds up another finger.
“Fact number two. She sings in the shower, and let’s just say, she won’t be winning any awards anytime soon.”
More laughter ensues. I glance at her over my shoulder. Her face is red, and if it were possible, there’d be steam coming from her ears. I grin at her discomfort and face forward again.
“Fact number three,” he states, holding up a third finger. “She stalks her ex on Instagram. Like, come on, chick, he dumped your ass for a reason. Get over it already.”
He lifts his pinky finger. “Number four is she talks to herself in the bathroom. Like full blown conversations and shit.”
A sinister smile creeps over Oliver’s face, and I’m sure the last one will be the kicker. He holds up his hand, indicating all five fingers.
“Before I give the last fun fact, I feel I should give out a bit of advice to my dear sister.” His dancing eyes meet hers. “You should really learn to lock the bathroom door.” His gaze sweeps across the room once more. “Apparently, my amorous sister here likes to use the showerhead for more than just washing her body. And if you’re wondering guys, yes, she does make the “O” face.”
I swivel around as the peals of laughter in the room ramp up several degrees. I barely catch sight of Rylee running out the back door with Charles hot on her heels. Several emotions race through my head at once; guilt and remorse at the forefront.
I never expected Oliver would take it this far. I’m all for embarrassing the girl, and the first four “facts” I was okay with. But that last one was too personal, even for my standards. I don’t know if everything he said was true, but from the small glimpse I got of Rylee’s face as she ran away, my guess would be yes. At least to that last one.
Which begs the question; why the fuck was Oliver in the bathroom while she was in the shower? The other question is, why do I want to pummel his face in for witnessing it?
Pissed off at myself for letting Oliver take things too far and wanting to get the fuck out of this place, I leave the living room and head out the same door Rylee escaped from. I forego telling Oliver I’m leaving, because I’m not sure I could hold back the desire to wrap my hands around his throat at the moment. I glance around the backyard, not surprised when I don’t see Rylee or Charles. I toss the idea around in my head to go to her house to check on her, but I’m sure I’m the last person she wants to see.
I climb in my truck. Thank fuck it starts right away.
It takes me twenty minutes to get home, but I don’t go in immediately. I sit in my truck and try to assuage my guilt over what happened tonight.
In the end, I know there’s only one thing I can do.
RYLEE
“WELL, THAT WAS an absolute nightmare.” Pierce sighs, pulling to a stop next to the curb in front of my house.
“Yeah, that’s one way to put it.” I try to force a smile, but it feels too heavy and instantly falls.
“Oliver’s a dick.”
“You know what?” I shuffle my feet against the floorboard. “I don’t even care about what he said. Most of it wasn’t true. What bothers me is that everyone just bought what he was selling without even reading the label. It’s so frustrating.”
“Welcom