Page 14 (1/2)

That explains all thearound Seth in the gyust of air fell fro Why does he want ht I can’t even sto"

"You were boxing a bag at the gy is an inani"

He rolls ht over mine Traumatized by Brent or not,becomes shallow andof my shorts

"I want you where I can keep an eye on you"

"I’irl I’ll be fine"

"Olivia, the last two tiet yourself into soht I won’t be able to fight lides along my jaw and his eyes turn dark and serious "And that is directly in ht"

"Why do you care?"

"I told you You fall into the small portion of shit I care about"

But why?! I want to de on in Seth’s head that I need to understand, but he’s hs and rolls backwards onto the pillow pinning ht" And that’s final

"Your dad is co my eyes briefly "Really?"

Seth nods "And I told hi so he’s really excited about the whole daddy-daughter thing"

I push myself up on my elbows "Seth! Why’d you do that?"

"I had to have a back-up plan in case you said no"

I thrust away froht It’s barbaric and inhumane" Bruised flesh Blood Broken bones Who enjoys that?

"It’s fun" He counters, pulling me back into him "I can tell your dad you cancelled I’ao My whole life he has tried to ropeto little events here and there I don’t think Seth realizes how high he’s gotten o, but don’t be upset if htly and kissesme breathless I close my eyes I don’t know much about Seth Marc, but I do know he isn’t what he see to go off, I’d say he’s not what he wants people to think There’s a kind of gentleness to hiood because I don’t deserve good I sh ood

Chapter Nine

When I leave work the next day, I feel nauseous and worried In three hours I’ll be attending o Do it for dad Do it for Seth I told myself all day, but it still didn’t help shake ht and the look on his face in the ht was priceless He left early and then came back with my car Thankfully, the asn’t cracked

After that, he left to go to his training session I learned that he trains twice a day for three hours each time When he makes it to the professionals he’ll train three times a day to his maximum limit to be able to keep up with everyone else How horrendous I offered hi a littleout the door

I drive hoon ht At first he was a little frustrated because he blaht, but he eventually caved Trepidation fills ht I need to She needs to warn her friend that Brent is not the kind of guy she should be hanging out with I step out of the car and straighten ether and her lips purse into a pout Uh-oh I know that look

"I know I’ the steps "So you can wipe that pout off your face" She doesn’t move as I unlock the door When it’s open, she follows ht?" She snaps, slae ball fore to say

"Seth beat up Brent because he walked you to your car? What the fuck, Olivia?"

I’ue take on the story "Okay, first of all--"

"Why was Seth there in the first place? My friend assuresto provoke anyone Seth is a fucking psycho!"

I snap I don’t knohat happened, but suddenly er flew off the charts

"How dare you! You’re my best friend! You’re supposed to ask foraccusations!" I yell and Selena’s face drains of color She takes a step back and a tear spills down her cheek "Seth savedreen eyes widen

"Yep, that’s right" My voice is still loud and angry "Brent--the not-so-kind soul--got overly wasted at dinner and walked ht it appropriate to put his hands and his mouth all over me!"

"Olivia, I’ht…nine…ten "It’s not your fault You warnedme, but still You can tell your friend that Seth wasn’t the proble I tell her the whole story I tell her that he was a little too full on at dinner and that I texted Seth instead of her

"O I’ressive"

"Tell your friend she shouldn’t be hanging around with hi to hurt me, but you can never be too certain"

She pulls a hundred dollars from her back pocket and hands it to ht Taking

"It’ll make me feel better if you take it"