Page 48 of The Casualty of Us
“Hey.” I clear my throat, brows pinching at the last thing I need to get straight here. “You know you’re my best friend here, right?”
He pauses with something like surprise on his face before nodding. “Yeah, Ollie. I know that.”
“Really.” I clear my throat again, mumbling around the word awkwardly. “But she’s…she’s my baby sister. My twin.” That simple word that’s always seemed wholly inadequate makes me trail off and leaves me searching for something that will make him understand. “She’s my earliest memory, Flynn. Almost every moment of my life has her in it. She’s my…” There it is, I blow out a deep breath. “She’s my reflection.” I watch as his face tenses, eyes deadening and making me finish quickly. “I’m just saying…if you ever hurt her again, well, that’s not really a choice, is it?”
A beat passes before he gives me a quick nod. “I got you, man.”
“Good.” I jerk my chin down, echoing his move. “Now turn this emo shit off, then take my advice and fucking fix this.”
Chapter Thirteen
OPHELIA - JANUARY 2013
I’m droppinganother spoonful of sugar into my tea when Marley finally comes tearing out of her room. Heading straight for my door and making it a few steps past me before she turns back to do a double take. Her eyes round to the size of saucers when she spots me at the kitchen counter, and her mouth drops a little. I quickly finish stirring my tea while she recovers, seeing that she’s all ready for the first day back with her uniform on and backpack thrown over one shoulder. Looking even more like a princess than usual with her long blonde hair braided to one side.
“Holy shit,” she mumbles, eyes dropping to look me over. “You’re awake.”
“Good morning, sunshine.” I give her a wide smile. “Missed your face.”
“Holy shit,” she repeats with a laugh, quickly walking over to where I’m standing while gushing. “I’m so sorry my plane got delayed and I didn’t get to see you last night.” Her eyes quickly move over my face. “How are you?”
“Perfect.” I bring my tea up to blow on it while giving her a small grin. “Ready for our first day.”
“I can see that.” Her gaze drops to the new electric kettle and tea setup I organized on the counter yesterday before coming back up to squint at my hair. “You’re wearing a ribbon in your hair.”
“I am.” I lift a hand to toy with the dark green ribbon tied around my ponytail, tossing her a mischievous, “Like it?”
“And you’re ready to go before me.” Her brows lower slowly. “Drinking tea.”
“There are scones in the fridge too if you want one.”
“What the fuck?” she whispers, her face quickly filling with suspicion. “Where’s my constantly late-and-grumpy-morning roommate?”
“On hiatus,” I deadpan, taking a sip of my tea before setting it on the counter and turning to face her. “You know what I realized over Christmas break?”
She gives me a blank look before eventually getting around to muttering, “What’s that?”
“The lack of sleep thing may suck sometimes, but it gives me a hell of a lot more time to get things done.” I sigh, looking down at my cup and ruminating over what hatched from the rest of my sleepless nights over break. “To plan.”
“Okay,” she drags out. “I’m a little scared, but I’ll bite.”
“It’s all about knowing how people tick.” I circle a finger around the rim of the mug. “You have to know where to hit them to make it hurt. To make sure the hit counts in your favor. I figured that out when Ollie had to deal with his first bully in second grade, and I had to during those three days, you know, I don’t think I ever told anyone that.”
A muffled sound comes from somewhere. “O…”
“I don’t think anyone ever imagines what kidnappers will be like, but two of them definitely fell under my immediate expectation of what they would be. Rough. Uncaring except for the bare necessities to keep me alive.” My finger comes to a slowstop, and I continue quietly. “Those weren’t the two that worried me, though…it was the other one, the nice one, I guess. He was the problem. The one who I could hear lingering too long after he brought me water. The one who called me sweetheart.” I suck in a sharp breath. “He was the biggest threat.”
“Ophelia.”
The force behind my name has me blinking up to see Marley looking at me with concern etched all over her face and her hand half raised toward me.
“It’s fine.” I give her a small smile and force a slow breath. “I’m fine. Just making a point.”
She frowns at me but nods slowly. “Okay.”
“So I used the only leverage I had in that situation.” I shrug. “Myself.”
I cross my arms and clench my fingers around them, trying to keep my pulse steady through memories that I usually push back.
