Page 168 of The Casualty of Us
“Uh.” He clears his throat, gaze darting to his sister once before shaking his head. “No, I ended that before break.”
“Great,” O scoffs. “How did that go over?”
“Fine,” Ollie sighs shortly. “I told you we both knew it wasn’t serious.”
“Well, thank you for communicating that effectively.” She pauses, looking him over before bumping his shoulder with hers. “So does this mean your obsession with my roommate has returned?”
He rolls his eyes at her. “We’re not talking about this.”
So that’s a yes.
I narrow my eyes at him again, the half-distracted sense I’m getting making a lot more sense now and it has me questioning. “Where is Marley?”
“That’s a good question.” O turns my way, gaze landing on mine and flashing with surprise for a split second at whatever she finds there before continuing. “She’s been acting weird since coming back from Thanksgiving, and I haven’t been able to pin her down about it yet.”
Ollie pauses. “Weird, how?”
I look back to find him tenser than before, jaw clenched and making me squint at him because—
“What the fuck?” O voices my internal thoughts before waving a finger around his face. “Why do you look like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like you just broke my Dreamhouse again.”
A surprised laugh escapes with my next breath, and he spares me a glare before shaking his head at her. “I have no idea what you’re talking—”
“Said Ophelia Fitzroy with every lie ever,” she snorts, something about the words a little darker than usual and making it finally click because…that’s fucking it.
She’s lying about something—hiding whatever it is up there in her head just like Thing Two and Three at the table, apparently.
“Leave it, Ophelia.”
The snap in his voice that he usually never uses with her makes me sit up straighter as she pulls back, face falling with a flash of hurt that has me pushing back. “Watch the tone.”
Her head whips my way, but I wait until Ollie’s frustrated gaze finds mine to make sure he gets the message that I don’t appreciate him taking his shit out on her one bit.
“Hayes,” O scoffs weakly. “It’s fine, I can mind my own bus—”
“You know,” Holden interrupts from next to me. “You’ve really turned into a better boyfriend than I ever would have expected.”
A quiet falls over the table with the random observation that has me looking around in confusion until O feels the need to add, “People can surprise you, Holden.”
What the fuck?
I move my eyes over them all once more, sensing the moroseness seeming to weigh everyone down. It has my gut not only twisting but rolling over this time too, and I decide enough is enough about a split second before standing up.
“Come on.” I grab O’s hand to pull her up with me, ignoring the confusion on her face and the questioning looks the other two send our way. Turning and starting to head for the back of the library while hooking a couple of my fingers through hers.
“Hayes.” She tries to tug them back. “Someone could see.”
“I don’t care.” I hold on, determined not to let whatever the fuck is up with Ollie and Holden or whatever else she has percolating up in her head pull us down too.
“Dimples,” she sighs, giving a weaker tug than before but still following along as I lead us to the destination I have in mind. “Seriously, where’s the fire?” We turn around the same corner of shelves that we almost went behind before Halloween. “Or are you actually looking for a book because I’d make exceptional exceptions for—”
Her words drop off suddenly as I turn back, immediately pressing her up against the shelves and lifting my hands to rest beside her head before calling her out. “You’re keeping secrets, Ophelia Sage.”
She blinks up at me, blue eyes a bit darker today and face framed by her brown waves. The picture of innocence as her brow falls too delicately for it to ever be genuine. “I have no idea—”
