Awesome.
I lock the balcony door back up and head back downstairs, making sure to say goodbye to Smithy before heading down the drive so I can walk back to my aunt’s place. It’s not too far from here, and while their house might be on the beach, I’d rather be up here looking over the Cove than right on the beach anyway. Fingers crossed my lawyer confirms what I want him to, so I can move up here.
Just as I’m locking up the gate, a black Porsche Cayenne stops on the road in front of me. The window rolls down, and I try to hide my shock as Lincoln’s face comes into view. “What are you doing here?” he spits, eyes narrowed as he all but sets me on fire with his eyes.
I cross my arms, refusing to let him get to me. “I was just checking in. Problem?”
“You shouldn’t be here, Octavia. You should crawl back in the hole you came from.”
I roll my eyes and sigh. For the life of me, I truly cannot work out exactly why he’s in asshole mode. “It’s my house, Lincoln.”
He glares at me, and if I wasn’t already so exhausted from his bullshit today, it would hurt more. “I meant in Echoes Cove, Octavia. You left this place behind and never looked back. Why the fuck would you come back now? You’re not wanted here. And don’t think cozying up to my brother is going to make things easier for you. He wouldn’t touch you if you paid him.” The bite in his tone hurts me more than it should, but I refuse to let it show.
“I didn’t exactly plan on coming back here. My dad fucking killed himself—I didn’t have a choice. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have places to be.” I turn quickly on my heel and walk away from him, not giving him a chance to answer. I don’t dare to breathe those first few steps, listening with bated breath for him to throw his car in reverse and come back to tear me down some more. What a fucking asshole.
I quickly swipe at the tear that falls down my cheek. I hate that I’m crying because I’m angry… Angry at Lincoln. Angry at my dad. Angry at myself for letting it all get to me. I’d really like to go back three months and try and get my dad the help he needed. But I didn’t know, and now I have to live with that.
* * *
I slide the door closed on the pool house just as my phone starts to ring. I kick off my boots as I see the lawyer’s company name on my caller ID. “Hello?”
“Octavia? It’s Derek. You asked me to call, so I thought I’d check in. Is everything okay?”
“Hey, Derek,” I say, putting as much of a sunshiney tone into my voice as I can muster. Considering that I cried most of the walk back here, it’s not actually much. “I’m fine, I just had an interesting conversation with my estate manager, Smithy—sorry, James Smith—so I wanted to clear something up with you.”
“Oh,” he mutters, and even without being face-to-face with him, I know he’s pulling the collar of his shirt. During the few meetings I had with him, I noticed that he did it when he was uncomfortable. “How can I help?”
“I was just told that my aunt and unclearen’tmy only legal guardians, so I’m just curious as to why I was told they were and that I was required to stay with them until I graduated.”
“Oh, well. You see…” he trails off, and I sigh as I drop down onto the sofa. I don’t know whether I should be relieved or pissed off, so I settle somewhere in the middle of the two.
“Spit it out, Derek.”
“They thought it would be best if you came to stay with them even though they weren’t named your sole guardians, so they approached me about ensuring you would be with them.” I cackle at his words, but of course they did. This explains the exorbitant rent they demanded. They wanted my father’s money. “I figured since they were actually related to you and wanted you with them, that it was probably for the best.”
“What are theactualstipulations of my inheritance, Derek?” I try not to be a total bitch, but I’ve been in this fucking house for weeks now, absolutely miserable. I was dragged here by child services from my hotel room where I was staying with Mac after my dad died. I was told I needed to stay with my aunt and uncle which has been miserable, so yeah, I’m in full bitch mode.
“The only stipulations your father made for your inheritance remaining in your control were that should you be under the age of eighteen in the event of his death, you would be required to graduate from Echoes Cove Prep with a 4.0 GPA and remain in the care of your guardian or guardians. Failure to do either of these things would result in you not having access to any of the inheritance until your twenty-fifth birthday.”
“Thank you, Derek.” I smile, and for once, I don’t have to force it. I might notwantto be in Echoes Cove, but at least now I know I don’t have to stay with my shitty aunt and uncle and their demon spawn.
“Was there anything else, Octavia?” he practically stammers, giving away just how nervous he is. The first thing I’m going to have Smithy do for me once I sort out the house is find me a new goddamn lawyer. I want a shark, not a fucking minnow. I hang up the phone, but my grin only grows as I stare up at the ceiling.
Excitement floods me as the reality of it all sinks in. This is actually happening. It might not seem that huge to other people, but to me, this is an epic win. I have to make a checklist of everything I need to buy for the house before I can move in. I’m pretty sure Smithy will handle everything for me if I shop online and get shit delivered. I bounce off of the sofa, practically skipping up to the main house.
Aunt Vivienne is in the formal dining room with Uncle Nate and Blair, finishing their dinner. Blair was just at Penny’s. Her mocking still rings in my ears. I guess she couldn’t possibly eat in front of her friends. Vivienne sneers at me as I enter the room, and I practically laugh. The sheer audacity of this woman trying to make me feel like a burden when she demanded I be here is astounding. “Octavia, you’re late. You’ll need to sort something out for yourself.”
Goddamn, her voice is so fucking shrill. Just a few more days, and I’m out of here. “No problem, I already ate. I was just coming to find you to let you know I spoke to my lawyer. I’ll be moving out of the pool house this weekend and moving back into my house. I’ll make sure to pay you in full for the time I stayed here, though, don’t worry. But you won’t be seeing another penny of my father’s money beyond that. I’d say I appreciate you letting me stay here, but since you manufactured it that way and then made me feel like a burden, I’ll just say fuck all of you.”
I spin on my heel, not giving any of them the chance to respond. I walk from the dining room, leaving Nate spluttering, Vivienne uttering strangled curses under her breath, and Blair glaring.
All things considered, this might just be the best night ever.
* * *
Today was a bad day. I spent the day with Linc and East because Dad was so angry. I don’t know what I did, but he just kept yelling at me to leave too. So I ran away next door and spent the day with my friends. By the time I got home, Dad wasn’t mad anymore. He was just sad. All he does since Mom left is write songs with his guitar and drink that brown stuff that makes him smell funny. Smithy said he’d look after him and that I should get to bed, but I just can’t fall asleep.
My sadness is too big.