43. Olivia
Olivia
The moon hangs high in the sky by the time Simon and I sneak out of the dorm building and head toward my former childhood hangout.
Every step I take. Every inch I get closer.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and my stomach rolls.
The crowd’s noise filters through my ears as we stand beside the half-crumbling building covered in ivy.
The ocean below crashes against the sharp rocks at the bottom of the cliff, echoing through the tall trees.
An air of excitement and violence practically vibrates through my soul.
But so does the familiarity of home. Another place in this godforsaken town that reminds me of the past. The people. The times we had. It’s deep in my bones. Again.
“Holy shit,” Simon gapes, putting his arm under mine and taking me out of my thoughts. “This place is popping tonight!” he shouts happily, a grin taking over his lips.
His gaze lingers on the large crowd of college students, winding around the Coliseum and waiting to gain entry to the fights. Even I swallow hard at all the bodies huddled together, slowly moving forward.
“It sure is,” I mumble with a shudder.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many damn people here,” Simon gleefully says. “You know what that means, right?” He waggles his brows.
“What’s that?” I ask, suddenly feeling a sliver of discomfort as eyes swing my way and check me from head to toe. Fuck. Maybe they’ll know exactly who I am. Ugh. I pull my leather jacket over my tiny shirt and wrap my arms around my middle.
“This fight is going to be off the damn hook. I swear to God…” He turns his gaze to me and shakes his head.
“Stop that! Stop covering yourself. You look beautiful,” he reassures me again for the millionth time.
“Seriously, Claire.” He brings my gaze to his.
There’s a warmth about Simon that has my shoulders relaxing.
The way his eyes instantly sympathize with me as he bats my arms away from my middle and forces my shoulders back.
“Lift your chin, you’re hot and ready to prowl, right?
” He wiggles his brows as he throws an arm over my shoulders and pulls me into his side.
I honestly couldn’t ask for a better best friend/roommate. He’s kind. Understanding. And he really seems to get me. Whether I’m Oliver or Claire, he looks at me with a smile and no judgment.
I snort. “Yeah. I am. Simon?”
“Yesssss?” he hums happily.
“Whatever you see tonight. Whoever I go home with, you have to promise you won’t try to intervene or judge me, okay?” I keep my gaze forward, blinking away the second thoughts I have about this entire night.
Am I doing the right thing? Dressing as a woman to seduce Malic into taking me back to his bedroom? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him with another woman on campus. Only Wilder, who follows him around like a guard and tries to keep him out of trouble.
Fuck. Not to mention JJ. He said he’d be here, too, after hearing my stupid plan. How can I keep him away from what I’m about to do? How can I explain this to him? I don’t want to hurt him by going home with Malic, considering he was warming my bed and my pussy a few nights ago.
I rub my temple, trying to banish the growing anxiety swirling inside me.
“Ohhh?” Simon asks, his lips forming an O. “Are you going to spill who you have your sights set on? It’s not JJ? Tell me, pleaseeeee,” he practically begs as we move further up the line, folding his hands together.
A blush covers my cheeks as I contemplate whether to tell him.
But JJ’s words come back to mind as we move forward again, getting closer to the noise of the crowd inside the building.
Trust no one. Don’t let them know who I am or why I’m here.
He’s not wrong. I don’t truly know Simon.
I’ve seen his character, and he’s proved himself time and time again.
But is it an act? Is he for real? Would he keep my secret agent status private, or tell the wrong person?
There are way too many bad possibilities if I open my mouth and tell him.
“So, are you drinking tonight?” I ask, tilting my head and peeking up at him.
Simon smirks, shaking his head at the subject change. “I can’t come to a fight like this and not dip my toes in the delicious drinks they have.” He wiggles his brows a few times. “And how about you? Are you going to drink and then fuck?”
I nearly sputter at his words, choking on my spit. “Fuck, maybe. Drink, no. I’m trying to be good since the last party we went to. You know when I almost died,” I tease again. “Your pink drink was potent as hell.”
Simon frowns. “I feel really bad about that, you know. I don’t know how you got so sick. I swear!” he says with urgency.
“I’m teasing,” I say with a smile. “I know you didn’t do anything to my drink.
” At least, I hope not. There is a little doubt that sits in the back of my mind.
Simon and Daniel were fine during the party.
Even the morning after. Me? My body revolted like I hadn’t taken a drink of alcohol before ever in my life.
“I don’t know what happened,” Simon huffs, shaking his head. “I swear, I didn’t let those drinks out of my sight! Plus, we all had the same thing.”
I smile up at Simon, tightening my hold on him. “It’s okay, Si. I know you’d never do anything to me.” But someone else might.
Who, though? No idea.
Perhaps it’s someone who has an idea as to who I am. No idea who, though. Maybe they wanted to get me alone so they could get answers out of me. JJ maybe? Doubtful. He wouldn’t think of tampering with any woman’s drink. Ever. Especially mine. Even if he was upset with me.
Maybe it was a slip of too much alcohol on Simon’s end.
He was pretty plastered by the time I got to the party, and he handed me the drink.
There’s something in my gut nagging at me, though.
A feeling telling me that whatever I drank wasn’t straight alcohol.
Not to mention the fuzzy memories and the blackout that completely wiped some things away.
So, no more liquor for me.
Ever again.
“All right, here we go, girl,” Simon chuckles, pulling me along with a big grin. “I got your back tonight and no judgments from me. You prowl whoever you want to.”
“Thanks, Si,” I sigh, leaning on him.
Two security guards nod at us when we walk through the doors of the Coliseum and straight into the large crowd of men and women, hooting and hollering at the fight happening in the ring.
“Jesus!” Simon shouts above the noise, and something sparkles in his eyes. “I love it!” he howls with excitement, pulling me toward the bar. “But first, I need a beverage!” he shouts again, directly into my ear.
Like a dutiful best friend, I follow him without thought, weaving through the people watching the end of a bloody fight between two women I’ve never seen before.
The crowd cheers again when one woman falls to the mat, and the other gets on top of her, punching until a referee steps in and throws her off the unconscious woman.
Medical students pile out of the back and grab the injured girl, loading her onto a stretcher and instantly taking her back to be evaluated.
The winner stands proud, arms raised above her head, a bloodied grin on her face.
Simon leans against the bar, holding up his hand to one of the three bartenders tending the long bar.
“You sure you don’t want any?” Simon asks, peeking over his shoulder at me as I stand beside him.
“Nah, I’m good,” I say above the noise, shaking my head.
There are way more people here this time compared to the last fight night we came to.
At least then we could somewhat hear each other and talk.
Now, it’s impossible with the noise of the crowd and the music flowing through the speakers.
I wonder if it has to do with Malic and Huxley fighting each other since they were a draw the last time.
So many new and familiar faces line the crowd as they eagerly await the main fight to enter the ring.
I eye Hux and Mack, sitting at the same table as last time.
The same place where Brutus called me out.
My ribs still like to remind me of the sucker punches he threw before the fight actually started.
Fucker. Speak of the devil. He stands tall beside the table, eyeing the crowd with a snarl.
Leaning down, he whispers something in Mack’s ear, and he nods eagerly with a laugh.
Half of me wonders if they’re looking for Oliver again. Like I’d be that stupid to waltz back into this venue and get thrown to the wolves again. Nope. That’s why I’m here as Claire.
I didn’t have time to change my nose or anything drastic. The makeup, lack of contacts, and small shirt were the best I could do on such short notice. Which suits me, because Brutus has been awfully quiet these past few weeks since I knocked him on his ass.
In fact, I’m surprised he was allowed to come back to the Coliseum so quickly with their weird shunning rules and the wall of shame. I guess being friends with Mack and Hux has its perks.
Simon steps back from the bar with a flirty grin, taking a long gulp of the large beer bottle in his hand.
“Shall we enjoy?” he asks, gesturing to the crowd.
I grin. “Yeah. When’s Daniel coming?” I ask as we take a few steps from the bar, side by side.
“Shouldn’t be too much longer,” Simon shouts above the crowd. “He’s excited to see the fights, too. It’s going to be epic, dude!” He darts his eyes all around. “What the fuck…” he says before a large presence looms over us.
I startle at the sight of Mack, standing before us with his arms crossed over his chest. A smirk pulls at the corner of his lips as he takes me in from head to toe with interest.