Page 109 of The Casualty of Us
“Ophelia, what the—” He inhales so deeply that even I can hear it before something rattles in the background. “Where are you? Where’s Ollie?”
That question has me looking down and frowning at it for an entirely new set of reasons before muttering. “Not here.”
“You’re with Lisette Conners and not your brother?”
“We’re fighting.”
I jerk my head back up as Lisette shouts again, “Today, Fitzroy!”
“You and Ollie?”
All the demands have me huffing in irritation and stepping past Talan to see her standing by the beer pong table with the balls in hand. “I’m coming!” The shout leaves me before I think to pull the phone away from my ear and has me mumbling a quick, “Sorry.”
“Ophelia.”
The intensity of my name this time demands my attention and has me snapping, “What?”
“Where are you?”
“Alllll summer,” I drag out, picking up where I left off instead before remembering. “But yeah, no hard feelings, I just don’t have it in me this year.” I give up a bit of the truth to cover up the lie before sighing. “And it’s not like I don’t have options too.”
Attempting to maintain some kind of dignity no matter whether I win the bet in the end or not.
“I have no idea what she’s talking about.”
The quiet mutter has me narrowing my eyes right before he questions tightly. “Wait—did you say options?”
“Are you talking to Cheyenne?”
“Wha—”
“Whatever, I have to go,” I cut him off, starting to pull the phone away from my ear even as he tries again.
“Wait, Freckles—”
“Today, Fitzroy!” Graham’s shout has me flipping him off where he stands at the other end of the beer pong table with the linebacker who apparently has the hots for me. “Or else you forfeit!”
“Who the fuck was that?”
I go still at the sudden tension in Hayes’s voice, familiar enough with it at this point to imagine him pulling at his hair right along with it.
“Ophelia Sage—”
My name turns into a hard command that has me spitting back, “Tell Cheyenne I said hello, yeah?”
“I swear to God I will—”
“So glad you’re having a good summer.”
I press down on the red button to end the call before tossing it right back to Talan. “Man,” I sigh, taking another sip of water and nodding at him. “I feel so much better now.”
He looks down at me like he’s a little scared. “So happy to hear that.”
I give him another nod, happy he’s getting with the program and that I won’t have to see his face every day by the end of the week. So much so that it has me trying for politeness by way of offering up absently. “I think gin and tonics might be my favorite.”
“They say they’re the psychopaths drink.”
I lift a brow at him. “Well, that makes sense then.”
