Page 22 of The Young & the Sinner

Olivia

After such a wonderful weekend,it was hard to be back at school. Back to the real world, where I couldn’t hide behind Max protectiveness and hide behind my crush on Mason.

I almost didn’t go.

I woke up this morning with the sort of heaviness I only felt on the days after my mom left. Only the thought of what Max would think if I’d insisted on staying in bed today got me moving.

I didn’t want him to worry, so I dragged myself out of bed and into a cold shower, hoping to get my strength back for what I needed to do.

Lizzie greeted me at my locker that day, her signature coffee cup in hand, her red hair sleek and straight, the top hidden from view by her favorite green beanie. “Hey, how was your dinner?”

I shot her a look. She knew how dinner went. I told everything as soon as I got home that night. Even about Lorenzo asking me out on a date.

She laughed. “Have you seen him yet?”

“No. I just got here. I don’t even think he’s here yet. You know he’s notorious for showing up late to class.”

She laughed. “True. You always did have a thing for bad boys.”

I frowned at that. “Do I?”

I didn’t think I had a thing, as Lizzie put it, for bad boys. I didn’t know Lorenzo well enough for me to say he was a bad boy. I was just infatuated with his green eyes.

“Seems that way. And you know Lorenzo is one. He even got expelled from that fancy school of his for getting into too many fights. I heard the last one nearly put the other kid in a coma. Luckily, the kid recovered and didn’t press charges.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“No? It was all the kids at school could talk about when he first arrived.”

“You know I don’t talk to the other kids at school.”

“Oh.” She frowned. “Are you okay with that?”

“What, that he’s a bad boy?” I teased. Lizzie grinned. “I think it’s fine. I can’t exactly hold his past against him, can I?”

“Then why don’t you sound excited about going on a date with him?”

I pulled a book that I didn’t need out from my locker to avoid looking at her.

“Olivia?”

“Yeah?”

“What’s going on?”

“Well, you know how I said Max’s brother came to visit for his birthday? He came over early on Saturday as well, and we all hung out together.”

“Oh, yeah? What about him?”

I looked at Lizzie, letting her read my eyes. She was always good at figuring out what I was thinking or feeling just by looking at me. I waited.

A fraction a second later, and her eyes widened in surprise. “Wow. He must be something if he could make you forget about your crush on Lorenzo so quickly.”

“He’s… really intense. And not very talkative. But when he does say something, all I want to do is shut up and listen to him. There’s just this pull, you know?”

“Yeah,” she said, and I got the feeling she was talking about Max.

“Anyway, it’s not like anything can happen between us.”

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