Page 51 of Chasing Your Ghost

“Thanks for being our chauffeur,” Riley told Noah after she and Olivia had climbed into the back of his Jeep on Monday evening.

“No problem. You can find chilled water and snacks in the back, and let me know if you want me to change the music.”

Olivia rolled her eyes, clearly finding her half-brother more cringey than funny as younger siblings so often did. “Hilarious. I still can’t believe you won’t let me drive.”

“I want to reach my mom’s place intact,” Noah teased. “I haven’t spoken to you in a while, Livvy,” he said as he pulled away from the curb. “How’s your boyfriend?”

Riley’s head snapped toward her half-sister. “You have a boyfriend?” How had nobody mentioned this until now?

“His name is Drew, he’s going into senior year, and he’s a football player,” Noah informed her rather helpfully.

“So he’s a year older?” Riley asked Olivia.

“Yep,” Noah replied before his half-sister could. “My sixteen-year-old sister’s boyfriend is turning eighteen in a few months.”

Olivia groaned. “Give it a rest, Noah.”

“I’m getting the feeling you don’t like Drew,” Riley said to the man in question.

“What’s not to like?” he asked dryly. “Drew is a year older than Olivia, he’s a football player, so he probably has girls throwing themselves at him, and from what I remember about him from high school, he wasn’t a particularly nice guy.”

Riley glanced at Olivia and frowned when she saw the slumped set of her shoulders. “Firstly,” she said. “I find it offensive that you think girls would fall at a man’s feet just because he’s an athlete, especially when a lot of you are entitled jerks who think you’re better than everyone else. It makes us sound desperate.”

“Sorry,” Noah mumbled, looking sheepish. “I just meant that athletes are popular with a lot of girls.”

“Secondly,” Riley continued. “What do you mean he isn’t a nice guy?”

“You know the kind of football player you just described? Which was also a bit prejudiced, by the way,” he added, and Riley winced at the valid point he’d made. “The entitled jerks who think they’re better than everyone?”

She sighed. “Ah. He’s one of those.”

“No,” Olivia said, but it was accompanied by Noah’s, “Yes.”

“Everyone loves Drew,” Olivia argued.

“There’s a difference between being popular and being a good person,” Noah pointed out rather astutely.

“He’s not wrong,” Riley felt compelled to say, even though she knew nothing about Drew. “What do your parents think of him?”

Olivia shrugged. “They like Drew. Just ask them.”

“They like him because he’s a charming kiss-ass,” Noah grumbled.

“Just leave it,” she snapped, and Riley’s eyes widened at her sudden anger. “Drew knows you hate him. He looks up to you, and you treat him like trash. He doesn’t even like coming over anymore, and it’s all your fault!”

Noah and Riley sat in silence after her outburst, neither seeming to know what to say or do in the face of her anger.

“I’m sorry,” Noah finally said. “I didn’t realize.”

“Don’t apologize to me,” she retorted. “I’m not the one you’ve been treating like shit every chance you get.”

Noah sighed. “I just don’t think he’s good for you. Maybe I’m going about it the wrong way, but I’m only trying to look out for you.”

“By making it clear you hate him? By making him uncomfortable every time he comes to the house?”

“By being an idiotic overprotective brother?” Noah suggested with an apologetic smile.

“You need to be nicer,” Olivia replied, utterly unaffected by her half-brother’s attempt at charm. “He’s miserable because of you, and I really don’t need my boyfriend to be miserable.”

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