4. Oliver
Chapter 4
“You need to talk to your sister. You’ll see that everything isn’t what it seems.”
What the hell does that mean? That’s been rattling around in my head since Jace said it. What does he know about my damn sister?
I kept my promise, and when I heard the motorcycles pull away, I walked to the bottom. I haven’t said a word to Leland because I know he was working against me.
“Out of all the people, why the hell did you call them?” I finally say, barging into his room.
“Because I know they care about you as much as I do. You can hate me if you want, but I was worried, Oli.”
“I just needed to think.”
“I get that,” Leland says quietly. “Trust me, I do, but you just disappeared. I can’t lose you, Oli. So, I won’t apologize for involving Toby and Jace.”
“You could have shown up alone.”
Leland jumps off his bed, pissed off. “I was out of my fucking mind! All I could think about was the time you found me at the bluffs. I wasn’t just thinking, Oli. I was going to fucking jump. You were upset last night, and I thought you were going to hurt yourself. So no, I couldn’t have shown up alone because I couldn’t think straight enough to find you.”
He storms past me, and I try to grab his arm but miss. “Leland!” The front door slams, making me jump.
I had no idea that Leland was going to jump that day. He had just gotten into another fight with his dad and went to the bluffs like we always did when we needed to cool off. Did I miss that much about him growing up? Leland’s life was rough, but did I ignore all the signs? My phone pings with a message, and I dig it from my pocket.
Leland:
I’m fine. I just need a minute.
Why didn’t you tell me?
Because you had enough shit going on. Don’t worry about me. Jace told me to tell you to call Payton. I think maybe you should.
What do you know?
Nothing. I swear. I just know that Payton might hold some information that you need to know. But you need to tell her what happened with you and Aiden, or you’ll never be able to move on. This isn’t your fault, Oli.
Okay. Will you please come home?
I will after you talk to Payton.
Damn it. He knows I’ll do anything to make this better with us, including admitting my biggest shame. I message Payton, and she says she’ll be here in ten minutes.
I’m lying in bed when she comes in. “Oliver!”
“In here!” I call out. She walks around the corner, smiling. She has the same curly brown hair as me, but hers is almost down to her hips, and the same green eyes. She crawls onto the bed beside me.
“What’s going on, Oli?” Tears start forming in my eyes, and she looks panicked. “Please talk to me. I know something’s wrong, but Leland won’t tell me either.”
“I’m sorry.” I slide from the bed and pace beside it. “Give me a minute, and I’ll tell you.” How do you tell your sister you fucked her ex? I guess the brutal, honest truth. “A couple of months ago, I spent the night with three guys.” I peek at her, and she perks up at that. “It was supposed to be a one-time thing, but I started seeing two of them.”
“Oli! That’s amazing!”
“I’m not done yet.” I take a deep breath and sit on the side of the bed with my back to her. “The first night, they were anonymous but knew who I was. The two I was seeing were unmasked, but the third wasn’t yet.”
“Oh. I’m loving this story already. Three hot, masked strangers? Sign me the fuck up.”
“Payton,” I say in exasperation. “Let me finish.”
She giggles. “Sorry. Go on.”
I drop my head and fight to finish this because I know she’s going to walk out on me. “The third masked man was Aiden. As in your ex. I’m so damn sorry.” It’s so quiet in the room, and I’m just waiting for her to run out of the room when she starts laughing. What the hell? I turn around, and she’s laughing so hard she has tears rolling down her face. “What the fuck, Payton?” Is this some kind of trauma response?
“I’m sorry,” she gasps. “It’s not funny.”
“Then why are you laughing?!”
She holds up a finger, gets herself under control, and sits up on the bed. “I was always just a cover for Aiden.”
My mouth drops open. “What?”
“I always knew Aiden was gay, Oli.”
My world starts spinning, and I feel like I’m going to pass out. “What?” I croak.
“You know Aiden and I were best friends before we started dating, right?” I nod. “Well, his dad found his stash of gay porn magazines under his bed and flipped his shit. He said really awful things to Aiden, but I already knew Aiden was gay. We came up with the plan that I would be his cover until he went to college to get his dad off his back.”
I collapse backward on the bed. “So, you guys never…?
“Ew. No. One, he’s my best friend. Two, I don’t have the right equipment.” She starts running her fingers through my hair just like she always does when I’m upset. “What else is going on, Oli?”
“He set me up. He knew it was me before I ever walked into that club.”
“That doesn’t sound like the Aiden we know.” I turn to look at her. “Don’t give me that pissy look. No, he shouldn’t have done it that way. Have you talked to him?”
I shake my head. “No. I haven’t talked to any of them since I found out one of them was Aiden.”
“And what did he say when you found out?”
“He said he finally got his chance.”
She laughs and covers it up with a cough. “I see his crush is still intact.”
I jump to my feet and whirl around. “His what?”
She rolls over, lies on her back, and tucks her arms behind her head. “Aiden always had a thing for you but would never do anything about it. Even with me urging him to.” She shrugs. “If anyone would treat you right, it would be him.”
“I can’t believe you’re taking his side.”
“Stop being dramatic. Yes, I understand where the hurt is coming from. I get it. I really do. You feel like you’ve been played.”
“What do you think I should do?”
“First, you need to call these other two that have you tied in knots and let them explain their side. Then you need to talk to Aiden. Tell me about them.”
I lie beside her. “Jace and Toby are…perfect. They gave me everything that I ever dreamed of.”
“Then you really need to talk to them. Don’t pass up something like that.” She rolls over to face me and props her cheek in her hand. “I think you also found the perfect opportunity to push them away. I know how your mind works, Oli. You’d rather walk away before someone has the chance to hurt you. You were probably already looking for a reason.”
She has always known me the best. That same day, I was in my head, thinking they were just using me. Was she right? I used this as an excuse to push them away? “I need to call them.”
“Good.” She gives me a sloppy kiss on the forehead. “Leland! You can come in now!”
Leland pops around the corner and gives me a sheepish smile. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”
I scoot over and pat the bed. He crawls onto the bed beside me. “Why didn’t you ever tell me how bad it was?”
“You had enough to deal with, then, Oli. I didn’t want to burden you with my own shit.”
“I would have still been there for you.”
“I know you would have. Do you feel better?”
“Not really. I’m glad to know I didn’t fuck the same dude as my sister.”
She fakes gags. “Just thinking about fucking Aiden makes me want to vomit. I mean, he’s hot and all, but…” she trails off, and we start dying laughing. It felt like old times again when Leland and I would lay in her room laughing at the dumbest shit. “But seriously, if these guys make you happy, Oli, go for it, even if that involves Aiden. Just make him pay for what he did.” She grins, and I laugh again.
“I miss this,” I admit.
“I do, too. We need to make it a regular thing again.”
Leland nods and high-fives Payton. “Hell yeah.”
“I have a question,” I say, looking at Leland. “Have you been talking to Toby this whole time?”
Leland grimaces. “Yeah. When you wouldn’t talk to me, I agreed to talk to him. He’s miserable without you. So is Jace.”
“I said some mean shit to Jace today.”
“And he will forgive you,” Leland says. “It’s kind of nauseating how obsessed they are.”
“Right?” Payton agrees. “When do I get three masked guys to fuck my brains out and obsess over me?”
“Stop! Oh my God,” I groan. “I don’t need to know that.”
“You told me!”
“I had to so I could tell you what I called you here for. You really don’t think it’s weird that I was seeing two guys?”
“Nope. I don’t judge anyone for how they live their life. The only thing I care about is if they treat you right.”
“They did.”
“Then I’m happy for you, and I’ll always be here for you.”
All this time, I’d been worried that she would hate me, only to find out that they weren’t in love and she was just a cover. I should have talked to her sooner, but I couldn’t bring myself to admit what I did. I wasted two months away from Jace and Toby, missing them like crazy. I’m still not sure how to handle Aiden, but I need to fix things with them first. Then I’ll handle Aiden.
It’s time to get my guys back.