Page 22 of The Casualty of Us
“Fine, right?” He nods placatingly. “’Course you are.” His hand lifts like he’s about to freaking pat me on the head, and I quickly smack it away. “But just so we’re all good here, nobody cares if she occasionally spends the night in our dorm, right?”
“Nope,” Marley immediately chimes.
“Loving the team spirit, Davis.” Ollie gives her his most charming grin before looking at the guys. “Boys?”
“Totally fine,” Holden quickly offers. “She’s probably a better option for me to ask late-night homework questions than either of you.”
“Exactly!” Ollie tosses his hands up with a pleased expression. “A much better option, I agree.”
A beat passes during which I steadfastly avoid looking at Hayes before he rounds them out. “No complaints here.”
Ollie nods once. “Acceptable.”
“Dammit.” I drop my head into my hands. “I’m really fine, guys, but thanks.”
“You just fell asleep on a dock, Freckles, I beg to differ.”
My head snaps up, eyes already narrowed on him. “You did too.”
“That was more to do with the compa—”
“Okay!” Marley interrupts our bickering, and I look up to see her stepping in front of Ollie, who must have been on his way to push a certain someone into the lake again. “Let’s get a picture to commemorate our first week before we get our girl some sleep, yeah?” She holds up her phone. “Who’s got the longest arms?”
“Me.” Ollie quickly reaches for it, Hayes momentarily forgotten in favor of his current fascination. “Quarterback.”
“Humble.” I snort at the same time as Marley chirps, “What’s that?”
Leaving him with a truly crestfallen expression as everyone sits down on the dock, and I end up with Hayes on one side and Ollie on the other. Marley and Holden take the end positions as Ollie holds up the phone, and we all fight to stay in the frame of the selfie.
“Smile, everyone!” Marley shouts, counting us down. “I expect this to be the first of many!”
But it’s not until later that night, after dinner with everyone, when I’m tucked into Ollie’s bed and staring at the picture Marley sent us that he finally brings it up.
“Be careful with him, O.”
I roll over on my side to face him, and he does the same, both of us mimicking the poses we’ve been using since we were babies climbing into each other’s cribs. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t get me wrong…” he starts quietly. “I like the guy, a lot really—”
“Aw.” I reach over to pinch his cheek. “Does someone have a crush?”
“Stop it.” He bats my hand away. “Come on, I’m trying to talk to you here.”
The uncharacteristic seriousness has me quickly sobering. “All right, what is it?”
“Idolike him,” he tries again. “But he’s also been in some trouble, and you’re my sister.”
“What do you mean?”
“He stole a car at the start of summer,” he sighs wearily. “That’s how he ended up here instead of at USC like he was supposed to. He stole some fancy car from his neighbors and took it street racing in LA, so his dad shipped him off here after making a hefty contribution to the school.”
“Oh.” My brows drop with the sound before I can stop them, and Ollie’s face turns unhappy.
“I don’t think he’s like a bad guy,” he hurries out. “I think he was just bored more than anything, and I do like him, but just—”
“Be careful.”
“Yeah, you’re my sister.”
