Olive's P.O.V.
Julius answered the phone almost immediately.
"Liv, baby. Thank God you came to your senses." Julius' voice actually sounded relieved.
"I certainly came to my senses tonight."
About what a fucking liar you are.
"Come to my place and let's talk about it, Liv. I love you. It meant nothing. I swear. I only want you."
Julius was making this so easy.
"Julius, I want to make something very clear. You are not the man I thought you were. You are a disgusting pig who had no respect for me or our relationship. I will never, never, Julius, get back together with you. We are done. There is no us. I am not your girl, nor will I ever be again. I called to tell you I will be blocking your number. Don't try to find me, and if you see me on campus, avoid me." I hung up before he could say anything, blocking the number.
"Damn, Rose. That was hot." Lucas smirked at me, moving my hair back over my shoulder. His fingers tickled my exposed skin, making me flush again.
Clover was stunned silent. There was nothing she could say after that. She was a stupid, spoiled girl. I can't believe I ever thought she was my friend. Her lips were pushed together into a thin line. She was mad with her eyes narrowed at me. She wanted to fight. I've seen that look before in people that were about to attack.
"Go ahead, Clover. Hit me, and see how fast you land on your ass," I dared her, because I really wanted an excuse to hit her without getting myself in trouble. Self defense would be the only way to do that. To my disappointment, she didn't move.
"Clover, sweetheart, we are leaving now. Olive, it's always so nice to see you." Mrs. Camilo called from the entryway of the dining room.
"You as well, Mrs. Camilo." I gave her a small wave with a smile. Clover got up with a humph, storming out.
I could hear her mom calling after her, asking what was wrong. I dare her to say something about this. She'll only make herself look bad. No, she'll stay silent, festering in her frustrations.
"Lucas, a word." His dad called from his office.
"I'll be right back, beautiful. Don't go anywhere."
I wonder what they're going to talk about?
"You did well tonight...considering." Lisa told me with a nod of approval.
"Thank you. I think?" I answered wearily.
"You're the first girl he's ever brought home. I know it may not have been anything fun or romantic, but it was huge for Lucas to bring you here. Just keep that in mind, okay?" She asked, clearly wanting me to see Lucas in a better light.
She didn't have to say anything, though. I was already seeing him differently. The small gestures throughout the night were enough to make me like him even more. I need to be careful, because I am not sure he likes me as anything more than someone to just sleep with. I bit my cheek, trying not to ask her anything about Lucas' love life. That's not for her to answer.
"Okay. I'll bear it in mind." I answered her.
I could hear some faint yelling coming from the direction of Lucas' father's office. I stiffened, holding myself back from going and opening that door. I hate hearing people yell. My dad and mom would fight a lot growing up, and usually in my presence. The fights would always involve them yelling at one another, and most of the time end with dad throwing something across the room, sometimes throwing a punch at my mom. Dad always had a bad temper, exasperated by his fighting career.
Dad was abusive with mom, and after she couldn't take it anymore, she left us. She had me swear not to ever get with a man that couldn't handle his anger right before she disappeared from my life. I was 10 at the time, and dad was gone at one of his fights. I stayed home alone for a while before dad arrived. He was furious, hitting walls and calling her name like it would make her appear before him. He became a real drunk after that.
"Don't worry he's fine. Dad always huffs and puffs, but never does anything. He's more bark than bite. Lucas just knows how to get under his skin." Lisa assured me, but it didn't calm the nerves in my stomach.
"Lucas, I'm not done!" I heard his dad yell, making me instinctively flinch.
"But I am!" He yelled back, slamming the door behind him. He stormed towards me, stretching his hand out. He went to grab me, but my body responded with a flinch, despite me knowing he wasn't going to hurt me. He furrowed his brow for a moment, obviously hurt by the way I had reacted. "I'm not going to hurt you, Rose. I was just going to grab your hand. Can I have it, please?"
His deep brown eyes stared into my clear blue ones with concern as he held his hand out. I cleared my throat, feeling a bit embarrassed and still on edge. I extended my hand towards him, letting him take it and lead me out of the house.
"Nice seeing you again, Liv," Lisa called from behind me, throwing me a wink.
Liv.
That was always Julius' nickname for me. I hate that he's left a negative connotation to one of my favorite nicknames. I gave her a wave in return, unable to call back to her, knowing my voice would sound weak.
"Lucas!" His father yelled after us, but Lucas didn't turn.
He walked us out so fast that I was practically jogging to keep up with him. He grabbed his coat before James could, ushering me out of the door. It was almost like he had set off a bomb inside, and was trying to get us out before it exploded.
The cold night air hit me hard, snapping me out of that trauma induced anxiety I'd been feeling. Lucas opened my door for me again, but his movements were fast and harsh. I got in, having the door slammed behind me. He slammed his own door after he sat. He punched his steering wheel in anger, making me flinch again.
"Lucas?" I cautiously called his name. When he turned to look at me, meeting my eyes, he quickly composed himself again. He slid his hand over his hair, pulling back the loose strands. "What happened?"
"It's nothing, just my father being my father. I am sorry I scared you, Olive. I really didn't mean to."
"Back to Olive, huh?" I smirked at him, trying to calm him with my flirting.
He smirked back, licking his lips.
"Which would you rather I call you? Rose or Olive? Your name is beautiful, I don't want you to think that I don't like it." He took my hand from my lap as he began to drive us away.
He kept it on his own, squeezing it and occasionally bringing it up to his mouth to kiss. I thought about it a moment, it seems I had grown fond of him calling me Rose. He's the only one that ever has. Around him I don't feel like shy, traumatized Olive. I feel like a beautiful Rose with sharp thorns that could hurt.
"Call me Rose." I finally answered him, making him smile so big as he stared at the road ahead.
"Well, Rose, where to now? I promised you we'd go where you wanted afterwards."
"Take me home." I started, seeing his shoulders slump and a frown form on his face for just a second. "We need to change before we go where I want to take us."
He immediately smirked again, his mood lifting. He wanted to spend more time with me, or maybe he's just hoping it ends in sex again, and was only disappointed when he thought it wasn't going to. I wish I knew what he was thinking.
"Where are we going?" He raised a brow in curiosity.
"It's a secret. You'll see." I winked at him with a giggle.
"Can't wait. I think I have some spare clothes in my trunk for me, if you don't mind me getting changed in your apartment."
"That's perfect." I nodded.
A few minutes later we were pulling up to Hailey's apartment building. Lucas opened my door again, handing the keys to the valet. We walked by the doorman Scott who greeted me with a smile. He was a round man with a very sweet temperament. Everyone loved Scott.
"Good evening, Ms. Brewer." Scott tipped his hat as we walked by.
"Hey, Scott!" I smiled widely at him. "Has Hailey left?"
"No, ma'am. I have not seen her come down."
"Okay, thanks."
We made our way up the elevator, Lucas had a backpack strapped over his shoulder with his spare clothes, he said he had, inside of it. When the elevator doors dinged we stepped towards the penthouse. I fumbled with the key for a moment, not having opened this door very often. I felt embarrassed for a moment until the door finally opened.
I didn't expect us to be greeted by such a sight. What the hell happened here?