Prologue

The repeated tap tapof the soft rain dripping onto the window sill soothed my anxiety filled brain. The black clock at the middle of the room read: 10:45. The bright blue journal filled with blank pages sat in my lap. It was the night before my last day of boarding school, and I would be moving into my brothers house until I’m stable. Why am I nervous? Well, if you’ve been in boarding school with strict rules for 4 years, you’d be nervous too. I hadn’t seen my brother since I was 15, and I missed him dearly. Though, maybe he changed into father? I shuddered. Father.I cleared my bad thoughts, and settled the blue journal onto my bed stand.

 

“I can smell your fear, Olive. It’s okay, get some rest.” My roommates’ claim startled me, causing me to jump. I knew she was on the top bunk, just assumed she had fallen asleep. But no, Julia isn’t like that. She’s that one motherly friend, the one that cares a lot.

 

“J-Julia.. can I ask you something?” I shifted slightly, moving from a sitting position, with my legs hung over the side, to a slight laying position, legs stretched onto the bed and my lower back supported with a soft pillow.

 

“Save it for tomorrow, Olivia. Goodnight. And turn that damned lamp off!” I knew by the tone of her voice she wanted me asleep, well rested. And I knew she meant business when she used my actual name. She sounds rude, but deep down I know she’s just looking after me.

 

Clicking off the chain to the lamp, I settled down slowly, pulling my blue blanket onto me. Even though the blanket was thick and the small fan on my nightstand was on the lowest setting, I shivered. I know it was about 3 AM when I fell asleep.

One ~Olivia~

 

Beep beep beep beep. I groaned. It was morning, the clock read 8:00 so I had 5 hours of sleep. When I finally stabled myself to stand, Julia had already clicked the button.

 

“You look drowsy today, Olive. I assume you didn’t have enough sleep? Madam Goreech will be upset. There’s concealer in my bag, hide those bags.” Her sharp, British accent was crystal clear, and she was already ready. A tight, pink blouse with a navy blue skirt and black flats, the usual uniform. Her blonde hair was already curled, stopping at her shoulders. She had no makeup, yet she was flawless. She grinned, and hugged me ever so slightly as if I was the most precious object in the world. It was only a half second though, and Julia was already beginning her lecture on getting ready. I smiled. I’m gonna miss this.

 

Once the slightly baggy, pink blouse and shorts were on, I was already fine. My eyes were clear of the morning dusties and my under eye bags were now invisible. Brushing my needle straight black hair, I sighed. Julia was beautiful. Curvy in all the right places, her movements never mistaken, and her face. Oh my, her gorgeous, godlike face. Her piercing blue eyes were comforting, her smile was bright with no little stain or imperfection. Unlike me, straight and tall, long and pale legs, gappy teeth, and green eyes. I was clumsy and odd, different from everyone else.

 

Heading for breakfast in the dining hall, my large bag of junk and memories weighed me down slightly, making my arm sore. Julia did ask if I needed help but I shrugged it off, ‘I’m 19 I can fend for myself now.’ I would reply every time. Today was the day. The grand meetup. My hands trembled holding onto my spoon. What was wrong with me? The rest of the day went on like this. Chores, tests, dinner, I kept asking myself what was wrong.

 

The time finally came. After dinner everyone was crowded into the guest room. It was large, with plain, beige walls and navy blue marble floors. A large chandelier was placed in the center of the ceiling, and brown wooden seats were placed all over the floor. Family members were seated, fidgeting excitedly. I scanned the room, no one seemed familiar. After short announcements over the speakers,all of the students could go around the room and find their families. I looked around nervously, my heart in my stomach, beating quick. Suddenly a loud male voice yelled behind me.

 

“OLIVIA!” I turned, it was mason! His curly black hair brought out his hazel eyes, his smile wide. He had a blue t-shirt on with a brown leather coat over it. Ripped, faded blue jeans were overlapping the tip of his tennis shoes.

 

“Mason?” I asked, embracing him into a tight hug. He nodded slowly and I leaned back, taking in his face.

 

“How’s it been?” He asked, grabbing my bag and heading for the door. Catching up I responded.

 

“Oh.. fine. Pretty lonely.” He smiled sadly.

 

“Well. You’ll love it at the house, everyone’s waiting.” A wave of cool air whooshed into me as I opened the door for him, and I shivered.

 

“Uh.. who?” My mother had died when I was about 3, and dad was in jail, from the last time I checked. And my father had cut off all communication with my relatives.

 

“The boys. And Christine.” He grinned wide.

 

“Who? What?” I asked, getting dizzy. He put the luggage into his trunk and then helped me into the passenger seat. He started the engine and started explaining.

 

“Okay well. The boys are some college friends, we all agreed about two years ago to all pay rent at the house, everyone has their own room so don’t worry.”

 

“And.. Christine?” I asked, rubbing my temples. He chuckled, his shoulders bouncing.

 

“My fiancé, Olivia. We met in college.” He was 19, and in college when I went to the school. So that’s four years and he already had a fiancé? I smiled.

 

“Wow.” He looked at me for a moment, then looked back at the road.

 

“Almost there. So uh, have any crushes?? If you don’t you’ll love one of the boys. They’ll be on you like a pack of wild dogs.” I shuddered.

 

“Well uh there’s this one boy I guess. But the females and males were separated, and only spoke during freetime. What are those ‘boys’ names anyway??” I asked, emphasizing the word boys sarcastically.

 

“Well, so far that school sounds like a prison. And uh let’s see…”, he though for a moment before continuing, “Axel, Ace, Ray, and Wes.” He smiled approvingly.

 

“It was a prison!” We both laughed together for a bit before the cut off of the engine snapped us back to reality. I had been laughing so hard that I hadn’t even noticed my brothers house. It was obviously three story, it was tall with brick walls. The dark chocolate doors opened, revealing a woman in her early twenties. She smiled brightly at the sight of the car, and spoke to someone inside quickly before running out towards my door. Opening it, I was embraced in a hug.

 

“H-hello?” She didn’t loosen her grip at all, but tightened it.

 

“I’m Christine. Ah, Mason has said so many things about you! Come on in the boys will get your luggage. She smiled. She reminded me of a more affectionate Julia, just the way she was shaped and her golden hair.

 

Walking into the house, it was a small room with a coat hanger, and a place for shoes. After taking off my thin coat, Christine guided me towards the living room. There was a huge flat screen, playing and blaring some type of sports game. Two boys were sitting on a large couch, staring at the tv.

 

“Axel? Wes?” Christine said softly, and the looked up. The first one was blonde and slightly scrawny and pale, he looked around 17. The other guy was nearly the same, with chestnut hair. He looked about 18.

 

“This is Olivia, Masons sister. She will be staying until she is stable enough to get back onto her feet.” The blonde boy nodded slightly at me, before turning back to the game. While the other boy smiled at me and winked, then turned toward the television too.

 

We passed through the living room into the kitchen, where another man was sitting. His back was towards us, so when Christine spoke, he jumped slightly. He had on a black t-shirt and had a sort of tan. He didn’t bother to look at me while Christine spoke, repeating the things she said earlier. His platinum blonde hair fell into his blue eyes, and he raked it back with large, tan hands. His name was Ray, and he was strikingly handsome.

 

Through the kitchen and up the stairs, we stopped a room. There was horrible metal music playing through large speakers, making my chest vibrate. The door was halfway closed, only cracked. Christine knocked on it, opening it slightly. The music stopped abruptly, and the door opened all the way, revealing a sweaty man. He set down the weights he was carrying and shook my hand, smiling.

 

“Sorry. I’m gross ahah.” He chuckled. His russet skin brought out his bright green eyes, making them impossible to ignore. He was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt, with sweat covering his back. He had straight black hair, messy as though he had ran his fingers through it repeatedly.

 

“It’s fine.” I managed to choke out, gazing at him in awe. He shook his head and chuckled again.

 

“Have fun. These boys are annoying.” He said, before closing the door. After the tour, Christine called everyone back into the kitchen for dinner. Everyone was around the island in the center of the kitchen, staring at me while I sat on the counter. It was very awkward, and I squirmed slightly.

 

“Okay. Does steak, green beans, and mashed potatoes sound good to you, Olivia?” Christine said, making a plate. I almost moaned. It had been years since I had actually good food.

 

“Ah. Much much better than at that prison,” I said, hoping they didn’t notice my uneasiness, “thank you, Christine. And thanks you guys for uh accepting me I guess?” My face turned bright red as I spoke to the several men at the table. They all nodded, while Ray just sat there staring at the marbled counter. Hm.

 

After eating silently, we all went to bed. Christine showed me my room during the tour. It was plain, with a small twin sized bed in the corner with a black nightstand beside it. My silky, purple outfit was comfortable because it had been finally washed properly. The bed was extraordinary. I slept a full 9 hours for the first time in a while.

Two ~Ace~

 

As soon as I opened my door, I noticed her. It was very hard not to just gaze at her, but I managed to restrain myself from being creepy. Yet, she was having trouble. Her green eyes scanned my whole body quickly, and could barely speak. Her black hair fell along her back, and had bangs that covered her eyebrows. A baggy, pink blouse hung loosely around her but was tight against her waist where she tied it with a hair tie. She had navy blue shorts, not too short, nor too long.

 

“Sorry, I’m gross. Ahah.” I suddenly felt rude, and rushed through the conversation, only to be back in the kitchen with all the boys. Their expressions stayed casual, though I could sense their true feelings. I grunted in disapproval, causing Olivia to look at me. She seemed so uncomfortable, I felt terribly bad for her. I’m guessing Christine noticed this and she asked a casual question, glaring at us for a second then turning back to the food. Olivia’s shoulders relaxed but she still stayed fidgety.

After awkwardly eating she went to bed. The rest of the guys stayed in the living room, discussing her.

 

“Dibs.” Axel said, brushing back his brown hair. I growled. Everyone looked at me.

 

“OoOhHhHh Ace has a crush Ace has a cruuushhh.” Wes said, imitating kissing noises. I can’t believe I agreed to live with these childish bimbos.

“Nope.” Is all I said before I went into my room quickly. Honestly, I didn’t care what they thought.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 28.05.2018

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