Page 65 of Acid

It doesn’t matter what happened between Ollie and me, the pain, the lies, and the confusion; he’s still my best friend, and he was hurt for years by someone who should have protected him.

Tears fall again as each scar on Ollie’s back flashes in my mind, the large ones, the small ones—so many scars…. Over the years we sparred, and he never took his shirt off, and now I know why.

I should have killed that man. And Coby, that psycho….

I hear a bike then spy a light shining in the distance from the floor to ceiling windows, and everything in me relaxes.

He’s back….

It’s not lost on me that he has a hold on my body and my mind; I just wish there wasn’t so much pain between us.

After the rumble of the bike goes quiet, I hear the front door open and close a few minutes later, then a rustling before the stairs creak, but I don’t move. Instead, I keep my eyes on the window, watching the rain.

I know I should go home, but I just want a little time with him before reality hits tomorrow, and I have to go find Andrea, and distance myself from him again.

It won’t stop my heart from breaking, though, will it?

I hear footsteps outside the door before it opens slowly. I don’t move, even as I hear rustling, before the sheets are moved, and the bed dips.

Ollie presses his body up close against mine, his cold skin sending shivers down my spine as he slowly puts his arm beneath my head, his left arm around my waist, and his face into the crook of my neck.

“I know you're awake,” he whispers after about five minutes of listening to the rain. “You love the rain; it soothes you….”

I half smile. “You remembered.”

He hums, his arm tightening around me, before saying, “Of course, I did, just like how I remember that spiders scare you, and how, when you’re lying, you twist your ring, and that you cannot stand cherries but love cherry smoothies….”

“You remember a lot, huh?” I surmise, and he hums again.

“When it comes to you, Tinker, I remember everything,” he whispers, gently pressing his lips against my skin.

“Is he dead?” I ask. He nods, and I ask, “Including Coby?” He nods again. I relax into him, my back pressed against his chest, and I can feel every hard inch of his body against me.

I know I shouldn’t be happy, but that’s two fewer evils in the world.

“What about Coby’s job?” I ask, trying to hide my fear that this will come back on Ollie and the club.

“Over $40,000 was transferred from the law firm accounts into his, then transferred again three more times before being placed in several different charities. Prospects are on their way to make it look like he’s run off. It turns out the fucker was looking after The Killers; Piston’s managed to implicate them as well.”

I nod, my heart calming, and the fear diminishes.

“I’m proud of you, Perrie,” he says after a few moments of silence. “He took you after failing to take Natalie, knowing what you mean to me, and instead of cowering, you fought.”

I shrug and murmur, “I had the three best teachers a girl could ask for growing up. You, Dad, and Piston, you all taught me to be strong, to fight.”

His grip tightens around my waist.

“I love you, Perrie,” he rasps against my skin, and my tears fall. “I love you so much, I always have, but I knew you deserved better than me. I knew you deserved to have the best life.”

I swallow, trying to dislodge the lump in my throat, and ask, “And that couldn’t be with you?”

Ollie moves even closer, ensuring no gap is between us, and he admits, “No, I didn’t think it could be. I’d bring you down, dirty you up. I’m broken, Tinker; I have been for a very long time. Do you remember that angry boy in the ring when we first met? He hasn’t gone; he’s still deep inside me, and most days, I struggle to breathe.”

Tears drip off my nose at his words, and I ask, “Why?” as a horrible feeling drops into the pit of my stomach.

Ollie kisses my neck, his hold on me so tight, like he never wants to let me go, contradicting his words.

“Because from the age of eleven to fifteen, my father pimped me out to pay off his debts.” My body freezes in shock at his admission, my eyes wide as tears fall. He continues, “After I finally got big enough to fight back, I became his drug mule and thief just to ensure he didn’t put Piston through what he did to me.” My breathing sharpens with each word he speaks. “I was forced to fuck fifty-four people while being held down, or forced to move by wretched body by men who would threaten to fuck my ass if I didn’t pleasure the women.”

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