Page 63 of The Casualty of Us
“Fine.”
“And Ophelia?” I stare at her as she pauses, seeming to debate something before her lips almost lift again. “It’s none of my business, but you should know that Mr. Flynn came to see me after what happened and argued quite passionately on your behalf against any kind of reprimand.”
“Oh.” The quiet sound escapes before I realize it and has me quickly crossing my arms, tucking away the surprise to unpack later with everything else. “I see.”
“It’s not my business.” She lifts her hands with a far too innocent face. “I just figured you’re the kind of girl who likes to have all the facts.”
“I am.” I clear my throat, begrudgingly giving her. “Thank you for the information.”
“Now off to your dorm.” She waves a hand at me. “Your suspension starts immediately, and I now have to call your mother and inform her of all this.”
Oh fuck.
I try for a grin. “Would you mind not mentioning the Hayes part of—”
“Not a chance.”
“Damn.” I scowl. “So much for you being the cool aunt.”
I’m lyingin bed later that evening, staring at my ceiling just like I have been for the past few hours, when the door cracks open and my eyes drop to see a hand appear holding a white napkin.
“Ha ha,” I snark, instantly knowing it’s Ollie. “Very amusing.”
“I try.” He pokes his head through, crooked grin in place. “And it never hurts to be careful.”
I roll my eyes as he slides through my door, sporting his usual sweats for this time of day, and shuts it quickly.
“So.” he lifts his brows at me, and I automatically scoot over to make room for him as he walks over to the bed. “I heard that the madness won today, huh?”
“Says you.” I snort softly, rolling onto my side with a glare as he plops down and stretches out next to me. “I have noticed the random bruises in varying stages of healing on Hayes.”
“No idea what you’re talking about.” His eyes widen innocently. “It really has gotten bad hasn’t—“
“I’ll fucking end you.”
“Oh fuck, I’m right,” he scoffs, curiosity quickly overtaking his face. “So it was really that bad, huh?”
I pause, turning my head back to blink at the ceiling before settling on. “I think that depends on your point of view.”
“Something I’m sure Hayes would agree with you on.”
“Stupid fucking Flynn.” I scowl at the shadows stretching across the white paint while muttering, “He just couldn’t cooperate.”
“Yeah, I had a feeling.” Ollie chuckles. “Just to be clear, I told him to go with it.”
“Thanks.”
“Of course,” he sighs deeply. “That’s not what I meant, though.”
I turn back to see him eyeing me nervously, and my brows immediately fall further. “What do you mean?”
“So I was in the locker room around the time I got a text from Marley saying that you went off the deep end.” He pauses, and I quickly nod to let him know to get on with it. “And, uh, a couple of minutes after that…”
His brows lower as he trails off slowly, making me snap. “Out with it, Ollie.”
“Hayes came hauling ass in there, looking for me, I guess, but Thomas said something shitty to him about you and he clocked him before anyone realized what was happening.”
I hold my breath as the gears in my brain launch into motion again, staring at him and absorbing for a second before confirming. “You’re saying he hit him?”
