Page 80 of Bad Boy Neighbor

Revenge should feel so good.

Yet, my desire to watch her crumple by my hurtful actions is suddenly shadowed by remorse.

Lowering her head, her neck almost disappears as she stares directly at the floor. “I… ah… I’m sorry. You’re right. I shouldn’t have come here.”

As the elevator opens, she steps in, and before it closes, her eyes glance up, directly staring into mine. There is so much weight in her stare. The once vivacious and overbearingly annoying girl I had known looks like a former shadow of herself, standing beneath a dark cloud, empty and hollow.

She had always been quick with her wit and the ability to put me in my place when I overstepped the line with careless words. But now, she’s inhibited, as if her voice is no longer hers, her mind is no longer thinking how it used to.

“Goodbye, Oliver.”

The doors close, and once again, she disappears out of my life.

Fuck.

Inside my apartment, I fling myself onto the sofa with my head between my legs, ignoring Krystal’s over-the-top commentary about how fancy my apartment is.

I need answers.

No, you fucking don’t.

I scroll through my phone, then remember I deleted her number. I contemplate calling Seb or Lana, but something holds me back.

I will go to breakfast tomorrow and ask the burning questions.

Rein in the curiosity.

Open the vault I desperately buried because one thing is racing through my mind and is refusing to settle.

After all the hurt she’s put me through, I still fucking love her.

Twenty-Four

Oliver

Seb and Lana have rambled on for a good hour about life back home, work, and my least favorite subject—Bubbles.

“The lil’ bugger has been crashing in your room. I’d say he misses ya,” Seb says cheerily.

He leans back, resting his arm behind Lana. The guy looks happy. Even Lana appears more relaxed than usual. Her hair looks like it’s been cut, and unlike the time I spent with her in the house, she appears to be wearing makeup which brightens up her normally tired face.

“Say hello for me,” I snicker behind my glass of orange juice.

Beside me, Ace is quietly coloring in a picture the restaurant has given him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this quiet. He’s also grown so much since I last saw him—taller, lost the baby fat around his face, and looking more and more like Seb.

I miss him, and I miss them.

Lana continues to carry the conversation, telling us everything she wants to squeeze in over the next few days. They’re flying up to the Gold Coast after Sydney, then a quick trip to the Whitsundays before heading back home.

In all this babbling, not once does she mention Gabriella. My frustration turns to impatience and finally gets the better of me.

“This is all great, but when are the two of you going to fess up about Gabriella being on this trip?”

Lana coughs, pulling a napkin to her mouth as Seb drinks his glass of orange juice. A side glance passes between them, each one reluctant to speak up. Very unlike them, indeed.

“Look, it wasn’t our idea,” Lana drags, careful with her words. “There’s a lot going on and other matters which needed um… attention. But she really wanted to apologize to you. There’s just… you know, never mind.”

“But what if I don’t want that? I haven’t once mentioned her name to you during our chats,” I remind Lana, airing my frustration.

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