“Don’t do that. Eyes on me.” My chin wobbled under his grasp. “I yelled at him right before he went to snort whatever it was. I was so angry. And then hurt.” I sniffed, feeling the burn from holding back my tears. “I told him once we paid the money and I got you out of this mess, I was done with him. For good. Unless he got help.”
My chin continued to wobble, and I tried my hardest to hide it. Watching my brother drop his head down to the sink made me sick. I flinched at the visual.
“I hate that you’re hurt right now,” Ollie whispered, his hand leaving my waist and cupping the side of my head. He brought my forehead to his chest, and that was when I felt the moisture coating my cheeks. Ollie’s fingers wove throughout my hair as a sob erupted from deep within my chest. Oh my God, I’m breaking right in front of him.
“Shh.” I tried to focus on Ollie’s beating heart to calm my own, but it was no use. I let the gate open; I let myself fall apart, and there was no going back.
Ollie rubbed circles on my back as he pulled me over to my bed. He lay down, never letting go of me, and I instantly curled into his side. “I’m sorry,” I managed to choke out while squeezing my arms around his torso. His hand stilled on my back as I continued. “I’m sorry you’re involved in this mess. I’m sorry you have to see me like this. And I’m sorry I threatened to tell Christian your secret.”
“Stop it.”
I shook my head. “I promise I’ll make this right. I’ll get you out of this mess with racing.”
“Piper, fucking quit it. I’m a big boy. I can take care of myself.” I sniffled. “And I’ll take care of you, too.” I stilled in his arms as my silent tears continued to fall onto his shirt. I wanted to argue with him and tell him that he didn’t need to take care of me, that I was fine on my own, but I couldn’t find it in me to say the words, because deep down, I wanted him to take care of me.
I could survive on my own, but I didn’t want to.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ollie
The sound of plastic bags and Styrofoam containers being bent open did nothing to take my mind off last night.
It hadn’t been a usual Saturday night in the slightest. I could still smell Piper’s sweet scent on my shirt. Her warm body was curled next to mine all night with her pretty hair framing her peaceful face. Piper was cute. I loved the shape of her small nose and the freckles that lined the top of it. The way her pink lips parted as slumber took over and the small moan that escaped her mouth when she curled into me at three in the morning.
“Why are you smiling like that and not touching your food?”
Something hit me in the head, and I threw Christian a glare. “Did you just throw a fucking French fry at me?”
My dad cleared his throat. “Don’t curse in front of a lady.”
I gave my dad a glare, too, and heard Hayley giggle. “You like Hayley better than you like us,” I joked, giving her a grin. She blushed and shook her head. She was always a little shy in front of my dad, and I had no idea why. Christian thought it was cute. I wondered if Piper would be the same way.
“What are you thinking about over there, Ollie?” Hayley raised an eyebrow as she stuffed a French fry into her mouth.
“I bet I know.” Christian grinned.
“Do you have a girlfriend?” my dad asked, truly interested.
“No,” I quickly answered.
“Pretty much,” Christian mumbled, and I shot him another glare. Shut the fuck up.
Hayley smashed her lips together as my dad drummed his fingers on the table, eyeing me with curiosity. “Are you taking this mystery girl who isn’t your girlfriend to the winter formal?
“How do you know about the winter formal?” Christian asked, mid-bite of his hamburger.
My dad pulled back before he coughed uncomfortably. It was a little surreal sitting there talking to him about normal, mundane, high school things. Usually, whenever my dad and Christian were around one another, it was like an airing of WWE but without the actual wrestling. I was usually the one stuck in the middle, trying to keep the peace, but things were calm now. Better. Which was exactly why I was keeping my mouth shut about the birth certificate—for now, at least. No need to disrupt the calm waters with my massive fucking tsunami at lunch.
“I read about it in my parent newsletter.”
I choked on a pickle. “Your what?”
“My newsletter. I signed up for the English Prep parent newsletter a little while back.”
My brother’s mouth opened a little as he stared at my dad in disbelief. Hayley, always wanting things to stay calm, smiled. “I think that’s great. I didn’t even know they had a parent newsletter. But”—she glanced at me with a twinkle in her eye—“are you taking Piper?”
Shit. I’d forgotten all about the winter formal, and I knew no one had asked Piper to go because I had banned every guy in the school from doing so. It wasn’t long ago that I stood in the locker room after our last football game and told them all I’d fuck their mom if they continued to talk about the “hot redhead” that was hanging around Hayley.