Page 113 of Love on the Byline

“It’s good that someone out there is paying attention towhat’s going on,” he replied. “Yara will reach out to you.”

“Thanks, Mr. Skinner.”

“Not a problem. Have a good one.”

Blake hung up, feeling like she’d moved a step closer togetting vital information on how these predators operated from someone who’dbeen in their clutches and escaped. She just hoped young Belinda wouldn’t haveto resort to faking her own death to get her life back the way Yara had.

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” Ollie said.

“It’s not like I’m sitting right next to you or anything.”She winked and he visibly relaxed.

“You were talking to someone named Camden Skinner?”

She frowned. “Yeah, in Philadelphia. Why?”

He smiled and held up his finger. “One sec.” He picked uphis phone and tapped the screen a few times before bringing it to his ear.“Hey, Rory, are you on your way? No, nothing’s wrong, but I may need you forsomething.” He smiled at her. “Great. See you soon.”

25

Ollie rarely thought about that night anymore, the one thatchanged everything. Beyond the shame and guilt it left behind, it had forged abond between him and Bran he couldn’t explain. Not in a way that would makesense to anyone.

When Blake asked about it, he’d half-expected Bran to tellher it was none of her business. But then he realized he’d never spoken thefull truth about it either. Not to anyone, not since it happened. He’d neverexplained why or how he’d ended up floating face down in the pool in thebasement of the university’s athletics pavilion.

“I remember feeling completely useless,” he said suddenly.He looked up and met her confused expression. “You asked how Bran and I got soclose.”

She nodded and sat back in her chair.

Across from him, Bran had lifted his head but Ollie didn’tturn to look at him.

“Things at home had never been particularly great, buteverything went sour my senior year in high school. By the time I got tocollege, I was a mess. Bran seemed to find it easy. He didn’t need a transitionperiod. Most of the kids I knew didn’t, just me. And I struggled.”

“A lot of people do,” she said, her voice soft with compassion.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to major in. I had no interestin anything or anyone. I had finally reached the point of wanting it all tojust...stop.” He looked up and caught her startled gaze. He wanted her to seeit all, unwilling to hide this from her anymore. “And so, I decided maybe itwould be better if...I just wasn’t around anymore.”

Her hand went to her mouth, her brow drawn down sharply overflashing eyes.

He recognized that look, the war between horror and rage.He’d seen it before.

“Ollie,” she breathed quietly.

“I had a guy in my chem class who was always offering mestuff. You know me, I never... Anyway, I bought something from him. I don’teven remember what it was.”

“Quazepam,” Bran supplied.

“Of course you’d remember.” The joke landed like a brick,and he immediately regretted making it.

“Yeah, the name of the drug my best friend had pumped out ofhis stomach after I found him floating unconscious in a pool is not somethingI’m ever going to forget.”

“I didn’t go through with it,” he argued. “I took one of thepills, but I thought of how my family would react. That I’d be even more of aburden on them by committing this...act...and they would hate me even more thanthey already did.”

He turned to Blake. “I didn’t go through with it because I didn’twant to give them the satisfaction of proving them right.”

“But you took one of the pills?” she asked, a tremor in hervoice.

“And then, idiot that he is, he decided to go swimming.”

“I didn’t realize how potent they were. And since my tolerancefor, well, anything has always been low, it hit me hard.” He looked at Bran.“He found me like that.”

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