Ethan chuckles, his mischief evident. "Oh, you know I will." I roll my eyes at his innuendo before he takes off running toward the cabin. I don’t need to look in that direction to know that he’s scooping Isabella up because I hear her giggling, telling him halfheartedly to put her down.
Beads of sweat continue to trickle down my bare chest, but they offer no relief from the burning desire that courses through my veins. The once-soothing rhythm of chopping wood has transformed into a maddening reminder of what I can't have. As I finish chopping wood for the day, a decision crystallizes in my mind. Each swing of the ax, each thud as it bites into the stubborn wood, only serves to fuel the fire within me. I can't escape the relentless ache, the yearning for Olivia that gnaws at my soul. I know what I have to do. I need to see Olivia, to tell her how I feel, to ask her to be with me. It is a reckless, desperate plan, but I can't ignore the pull any longer.
Thoughts of Olivia invade my mind, uninvited and unwelcome. I picture her with vivid clarity—the way her eyes light up when she laughs, the delicate curve of her lips, the softness of her touch. She's a forbidden fruit, tantalizingly out of reach, and it's driving me into an absolute rage.
With a growl of frustration, I throw the ax down onto the pile of wood. It clatters to the ground, echoing exactly how I feel. I can't continue like this. I won’t survive it. But will she survive what I’ll do if she doesn’t agree to come with me?
Determined to find some semblance of calm, I storm into the cabin. The oppressive weight of what I need from her clings in the air around me and it’s suffocating. I know there's only one way to momentarily escape what she does to me.
The water pelts my skin, stinging like a thousand tiny needles, but I welcome the pain as I step into the cold shower. The relief is fleeting. With each drop that courses over my body, I imagine Olivia's touch, her fingers tracing patterns on my skin, igniting a fire that only she can put out.
My mind wanders to that one stolen moment, a memory I can't erase. The taste of her lips, the softness of her body pressed against mine. It's a dangerous thought, one that threatens to consume me entirely. Olivia completes me in ways I never thought possible, like a missing piece of a puzzle.
Fuck this shit. I shut off the water and step out of the shower, the cold air hitting my damp skin like a shock. I dry myself off quickly and pull on a pair of jeans, a dark shirt, and sturdy boots. I can't stay here any longer, wallowing in a disaster I created. I need to finish what I started, and I can only hope she’ll forgive me when I do.
I walk toward my shed, my heart pounding with anticipation. Opening the door, I reach for a coil of sturdy rope I have hanging on the wall. I might not need it, but I’m not willing to take that chance. I’m not coming back to this cabin until I have my doll at my side. I throw it into the bed of the truck, the thud of it landing a promise to myself that I intend to keep.
Chapter Four- Olivia
The brisk wind sweeps across the ancient campus, sending leaves scattering in a whirlwind around me and cascading against the stone buildings before falling onto the cobblestone walkways. Hillcrest looks like it’s straight out of a postcard, but not everything is as it seems. A shiver goes up my spine, a tingling sensation like something is about to happen. Something exciting or downright terrible. I can’t decide which. My brother, Landon, is walking in front of me and protectively wraps his arm tightly around his twin Sophia, as if to shield her from the gusts. It's a public display of affection that I can't help but notice, and I sneak a glance around to see if anyone else is watching. He’s always been overbearing, menacing even, when it comes to her, but since she was injured, he’s become so fixated on her it’s bordering on obsession. I don’t care what they do. I have enough problems of my own, but I don’t need them drawing this kind of attention to our family in broad daylight in the middle of campus. At least Isabella is with Ethan at Dad’s cabin now because she was starting to lose her mind and frazzle the last nerve I have without him. The thought of Dad and the cabin he’s been hiding away from me in brings back the tingle. I suppose exciting is off the table and whatever is swirling in the air is going to be bad because that man has not brought anything but sadness and anger since he dropped me off here, refused to talk to me about what happened between us, and then turned his back on me.
As we make our way across campus, Landon and Sophia walk a step ahead of me, and I can tell they’re having a serious conversation by the way he continuously looks down at her. Landon would be happy if they were always alone, but now it makes sense why she allowed him to pull her away from me when we began walking. I can only see his side profile, but his brow is furrowed, and his full lips are pulled into a tight line. They’re the only set of Hillcrest twins who don’t look alike. His tall, athletic frame and her petite, curvy one look like they’d match in a different way than sharing a birthday.
I’m relieved when Leila, our cousin, joins us, or me, rather. She's a bundle of energy, her brown hair pulled back into a high ponytail that seems to bounce with every step. She's a cheerleader with Sophia for the university's hockey team, which is a position of great pride because Hillcrest is all about ice hockey. It overshadows the football and basketball teams tenfold. It’s nothing new to me, not with Dad coaching for as long as I can remember and all of my brothers having their pictures plastered around campus as MVP at one time or another.
"He’s too much," Leila greets me with a cheerful grin, her rosy cheeks and bright eyes conveying her mood. She gives my arm a playful punch, and I can't help but smile in response when she nods her head toward Landon. “Hillcrest curse is alive and well,” she says flippantly, but I can hear the annoyance in her voice. Leila has two brothers, and they’re not at all like Landon or even Ethan, who is a certified psycho. They’re so heinous I don’t even want to admit they’re related to me.
"About to snap any second, I think," I reply, my voice carrying a hint of amusement because I can't see a world where Landon would actually hurt Sophia. Even if he has been rough and agitated lately, he seems to care for her more than anything else in this world. Which is more than I can say for Dad. "I guess the curse doesn’t work for everyone the same way."
Leila nods, rolling her eyes. “You can say that again. Isabella and Sophia get their perfect matches literally obsessed with them, and I get two disturbed brothers that can’t stand me.” I know she’s using humor to cope. She never talks about the things they do to her, but I can only imagine from the things I’ve seen.
“He literally can’t take his eyes off of her,” Leila says as we walk, and my eyes are drawn back to Landon and Sophia again. They seem to be in their own little world, whispering to each other, and I can’t help but notice when she shifts away from him to look up at him while she speaks that he instantly frowns, jerking her back into his side. There's a part of me, as obnoxious as it is, that feels a twinge of jealousy because I want that same thing with Dad. I want to feel like I’m the only one who matters to him. I want to practically be stitched to his side because he can’t fathom the thought of being separated from me. I shove those thoughts down because that won’t happen, and I know that. It’s already ruined. The devastation he caused by abandoning me cannot be repaired, and I wouldn’t trust him again even if he showed up here professing his love. Which he won’t because he’s not that kind of man.
I glance at Leila, who's prattling on about the next hockey game. I’m happy that she’s excited, but I won’t be going. It reminds me too much of Dad, and I already have to force myself to push those feelings down long enough to be able to get my skate time in. It’s a lose-lose situation because figure skating is the only thing that gets me out of a funk and calms me down, but the only place I have to skate is the icehouse—Dad’s domain for so many years.
As we reach the heart of campus, I notice the quad stretching out before us, students scattered across the grass, enjoying the fleeting warmth of the sun. The old stone buildings, with their ivy-covered walls, should be a comfort to me, but nothing is anymore.
I turn my attention back to Landon and Sophia. They’ve come to a stop, and I know it’s because her next class is in the building to the left. He pulls her into him, her face pressed against his chest and his neck to press a kiss to the top of her head. The jealousy I felt earlier intensifies, but I quickly push it down. I’ll never have that with Dad, and I don’t want it with anyone else.
Leila nudges me playfully, snapping me out of my reverie. "You okay? I know you must still be going through it with everything that happened. Aunt Clara was wild for that," Leila says, and I can’t help but snicker at her choice of words. Only Leila would call someone ‘wild’ for trying to kill their entire family. She doesn’t know what happened between me and Dad, or if she does, she hasn’t let on to me.
I offer her a fake smile. "I might run away and join the circus, but yeah, I’m fine."
She gives me a smirk. "Bitch, you better take me with you if you do. I’m flexible. I can do cartwheels and shit." This does make me laugh because she’s been doing gymnastics since she was little and can do way more complicated things than a simple cartwheel. I take a deep breath, inhaling the crisp fall air. I could rush off to my own class and be early, but then I’ll be alone again. Because of who my family is, it’s not like I can make real friends at this school.
Landon's grumpy announcement cuts through whatever circus jokes Leila is prattling off to make us both feel better about the hands we’ve been dealt.
"We're leaving," he states curtly, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Leila quickly interjects with a warm smile, “Sophia, don’t you have class?”
Landon answers for her. "No, she's coming with me. I need to get ready for the hockey game later."
Sophia offers an apologetic look. "I'll catch up with you guys at the game, okay? Have fun!"
Leila nods enthusiastically, her spunky spirit undeterred by the sudden change of plans. "Absolutely! You know I’ll be there." She laughs, holding her hands up and shaking them to imitate the pom-poms the cheerleaders use for some of their routines.
“So well-mannered,” Leila says to Landon, rolling her eyes, and he makes a half-assed attempt to lift his arm from around Sophia to flip his middle finger at Leila.