Page 4 of Daddy's Doll

As Landon and Sophia walk away, I can't help but make excuses for his behavior. “He's been different since Mom did what she did.” Leila grimaces at the memory when I offer. “I can see the underlying panic whenever Sophia isn't with him. Her phone died the other day, and her charger wasn’t working. He about kicked my door in looking for her, and she was only over at the bookstore buying a new one. Mrs. Newberry was talking her ear off, and he nearly lost his mind. It's as if he's afraid to let her out of his sight, and I understand why.” Leila nods, looking back at them as they disappear across campus toward Landon’s dorm.

My phone starts ringing, the persistent vibrations a subtle annoyance. I send each call to voicemail without checking who the caller is. Leila notices and raises an eyebrow.

"Why aren't you answering your phone?" she asks.

I sigh, feeling a little embarrassed for what I’m about to tell her. "It's probably just Frank."

Chapter Five- Olivia

"Frank?" Leila repeats, her curiosity piqued.

I roll my eyes, recalling the unsettling encounters I've had with Frank from my biology class. "Yeah, Frank. He's... obsessed, not in a fun way. He creeps me out." The phone vibrates again, and I pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to will away the headache that’s coming on. “You know how it is here. No one genuine will come near us, and only the weirdos are brave enough to approach us because they don’t have enough sense to realize what the men in our family will do to them.”

Leila's expression changes from curiosity to concern. "What do you mean? Is he bothering you?"

I hesitate for a moment, then decide to confide in her. "I skipped biology today, and now I think he's trying to figure out where I am. He called me three times five minutes after class started."

Just as I say that, Frank appears, greeting us with an overly eager smile. My stomach churns at the sight of him, and I can't shake the feeling of being watched. Not by him, but by someone else. I glance around, rudely ignoring Frank because the feeling is only getting stronger, and the tingling sensation is spreading up my back and up the base of my neck.

"Hey, Olivia," he finally says, forcing me to look at him. His voice oozing with a strange mixture of friendliness and intensity. “I missed you in class today. Are you sick?” There’s something accusatory in his tone that sets me on edge.

"Frank," I reply with a forced smile, my unease growing by the second.

Leila interjects, clearly seeing my discomfort. "She’s better now. We were just heading to our classes."

Frank's eyes dart between us; his stare is intense, and my stomach rolls. If this were my dad, I’d love this sort of attention, but coming from anyone else, it makes me bristle. "I was worried about you."

Before I can respond, Leila quickly flashes the time on her phone. "We really should get going or we’re going to be late."

I silently thank Leila for stepping in, but Frank's lingering presence still makes my skin crawl. I can't help but wonder how he found us on campus, and a growing sense of unease settles in the pit of my stomach.

“I took notes for you. Maybe we can meet up later for dinner so I can give them to you?”

I’d rather eat my backpack.

"I have plans tonight, but I’ll definitely see you in class," I reply, keeping my tone neutral. My focus shifts to Leila, who looks at me with a hint of panic in her eyes that I don’t understand.

"Olivia, can I talk to you for a sec?" Leila asks, trying to sound casual, but I see the way she’s trying to measure her breathing.

I raise an eyebrow but nod in agreement. "Sure, Frank, we'll catch up later," I tell him, but he only presses his lips together in a thin line like he’s disappointed. He doesn’t move to leave, so Leila leads me a few steps away from Frank, and her voice lowers to a hushed tone. "I'm really sorry, Olivia, but I can't deal with this right now. Hudson and Hayden are headed this way."

I groan inwardly at the mention of her twin brothers. Hudson and Hayden have a reputation for being bullies, especially when it comes to their younger sister. "It's okay, Leila. Take care of yourself. We'll chat later."

Leila shoots me an appreciative look and quickly shifts her backpack over her shoulder, and when she does, her collar shifts, exposing a bruise on her neck. It looks a lot like a hickey, which doesn’t make sense to me because Hayden and Hudson make it known how much they despise her, but I know they’d never let her be alone with a guy long enough to mark her that way. She turns and starts heading toward the building her next class is in. My instincts kick in, and I can't just let her walk away without addressing it because if she did hook up with someone, the guy is going to end up dead or missing, and who knows what they’ll do to her when they find out. The Hillcrests do not need another scandal for people to murmur about when we walk by. I reach out and grab her wrist gently, pulling her back toward me. "Leila, wait."

Her eyes widen with a mixture of fear and desperation. "Olivia, please, not now."

But it's too late. Hudson and Hayden draw closer. They don't spare me or Frank a second glance. Their eyes are locked on their sister, their steps purposeful, and their presence foreboding.

I let go of Leila's wrist, sensing that my interference might make things worse. She darts away, and I watch her retreating form, worry gnawing at my insides. It's clear she's scared and doesn't want any more trouble today. I hate seeing her bubbly, funny personality squashed by tweedle dee and tweedle dum, but there’s nothing I can do about it.

Hudson and Hayden approach Leila, their shoulders bunched with tension. They exchange words with her, their voices low and menacing. I can't hear their conversation, but Leila's body language tells me it's far from pleasant.

“What did she do to them?” Frank pipes up, and I’m reminded that he’s still there. I roll my eyes at him, my mask slipping for just a moment before I pull it together.

“Just because a man is angry doesn’t mean the woman did something wrong,” I say, looking at him pointedly. Dad might not be around to fight for me, but I have two older brothers who are obligated to beat the shit out of Frank if I ask them to. But there’s no nice way to say that, so I don’t say anything at all and turn my attention back to Leila. My phone begins ringing again, and I absently click it off, trying to shake off the nervous feeling that envelops me again.

Hayden and Hudson, both significantly larger than Leila, engage in a heated argument with her, making her appear even smaller in comparison. My instincts scream at me to step in, to defend Leila, but that’s not how it works in this family. Neither one of them has claimed her like Ethan did Isabella, but she’s still theirs to do with as they wish. My brothers would never intervene, just like Hayden and Hudson would never interfere with what my brothers do.

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