Page 22 of Little Do You Know

I open my eyes to find a disappointed look on my brother’s face. “Landon was too busy hitting on me, and I don’t know where Vera disappeared to. It was a party, Owen. Eric was there, and I got home safely. Chill out.”

“Owen, she just needs to go to bed,” Sebastian says, rising from where he sat with me.

“I need to talk to my sister. Alone,” Owen says, crossing his arms over his chest, giving Bash his cue to leave. And he does, leaving me alone with my brother because, at the end of the day, his friendship with Owen will always come first. What a helpful reminder this has been.

I struggle to stand up, and Owen looks at me disappointed. “I’m sorry. Is that what you want to hear?” I blurt out angrily, and he shakes his head.

“This isn’t you, or hell, maybe it is. I don’t know why I thought I could believe you when you swore you grew up! We’re in college, and you want to have fun, but you have to be safe about it. You can’t just get slammed on your own and hope you run into someone who will help you instead of take advantage of you! Shit like tonight can’t happen again. Eric might be your friend, but he is also my teammate who dragged you in here. It’s embarrassing,” he scolds harshly, and my breath catches in my chest. “Maybe Bash is right. You are still a child; I don’t know why I expected anything to be different.”

Tears burn in my eyes because that one hurt. He hit me with his words precisely the way he meant to. “I’m sorry I’ve been such an embarrassment to you. Fuck you.” I walk past him, moving to get to my room.

Sebastian’s standing in the hallway, and I know he heard everything Owen just said to me based on the look of pity on his face. I don’t want his pity. Sebastian reaches for me, and I shove his hand away, shutting the door behind me.

I cover my mouth to hide the sound of my sobs.

CHAPTER NINE

Sebastian

WE WON OUR game, but I didn’t feel like celebrating. Owen didn’t say anything to me about Thalia’s actions last night. Instead, he’s pretending nothing happened. I get why he’s angry. She was a wreck when Eric brought her in.

And still, I couldn’t get what Owen said to Thalia out of my head. I can’t stop thinking of how she shoved my hand away when I only wanted to tell her how wrong Owen was. Except he wasn’t wrong. I understood why he said everything, but he took it too far.

On the other hand, I wasn’t shocked when she said Landon hit on her. It blindsided her, and that can make people do crazy things, like get super drunk without thinking it through.

I saw how he looked at her on the beach trip, but it was clear she had no idea. Not to stroke my ego or anything, but she spent most of the trip staring at me. It was hard for Thalia to notice that Landon was staring at her when she was watching me. Landon certainly noticed that she was staring at me.

I didn’t love hearing that she thinks I’m never nice to her, but looking back on our recent interactions, I understand why. It is hard for me to be around her, as tough as that was to admit to her. I spend half the time with her, wanting to kiss Thalia or fighting with her. I wish I could say I wasn’t still hung up on our fight from last year, but I am.

Thalia and I have our differences, but Owen’s words hurt her more than mine ever could. She talks a big game, but I know how important he is to her.

I shouldn’t have stayed in the hallway to listen to their conversation, but I can’t decide whether I did the right thing by leaving them in the kitchen. My loyalty lies with Owen, but I don’t want to see Thalia hurt either. Somehow, I keep finding myself stuck between the Lewis siblings.

It’s a mess.

I’m almost to my car when Eric calls out after me. “Bash! Hey, wait up.”

“What’s up?” I ask, looking over my shoulder.

He grins, clearly thrilled about the win today. Eric should be excited. He stopped the other team from making a touchdown with a great tackle. “You played great today. It was a good game.”

I offer him a fist bump. “Couldn’t have done it without you. That tackle you had kept them from getting another touchdown. Good job.”

“Listen, I was going to ask Owen, but he was busy with some of the other guys. I was wondering if Thalia is okay? I didn’t see her on the sidelines taking pictures today.”

Okay? Not a shot in hell. But Eric doesn’t need to know that. “Yeah, she’s fine. She threw up a few times, but she’ll bounce back after her hangover. Thanks for looking out for her last night; I appreciate it.”

He shrugs like it wasn’t a big deal. “She’s a good friend. Thalia’s the one that set me up with Natalie. She never would have forgiven me if I’d left Lia there. I’m glad she’s okay.”

“I appreciate it. If you see her like that again, do me a favor and call me?” I know I’m stepping into dangerous territory. Thalia doesn’t need me to look out for her, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to.

“Will do. Can you tell Thalia I hope she’s feeling better, and I want my jacket back?”

“Sure. Have fun tonight,” I say, opening the door to my car and tossing my bag into the passenger seat before climbing in myself. I make a quick stop on my way back to the apartment, but I’m ready to crash for a long nap by the time I return. The adrenaline from the game has worn off.

The living room and kitchen are empty, and Thalia’s door across from mine is still shut. I wonder if she’s even left her room today.

My hand hovers over her door, and I hesitate. Chickening out means I made the stop on the way home for nothing. I knock softly, waiting for her to tell me to come in, but all I hear is silence. It could mean she’s ignoring me or sleeping.

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