“She’s such a lucky bitch,” another girl commented.
“He’s so hot.”
“Look at his car.”
“Who is that girl?”
“I don’t know. But we should see if she wants to chill later.”
One girl after another echoed something similar. Their words all blended together, and by the time our lips parted, I could hardly catch my breath.
“Drake,” Olivia said in a hushed tone. “That was…”
“I know.”
I kissed her nose and then set her feet on the ground. Neither of us had words. For the first time in my life, my head was completely blank.
I opened the door and gestured for Olivia to get inside. But before she could, an army of girls marched toward us.
The tall blonde with huge tits falling out of her partially buttoned oxford put her hands on her hips. She was the kind of girl I hated. The annoying bitch, who everyone bowed to in high school. I was only ten when I had my first encounter with one.
“Hey, new girl. I’m having a party this weekend. You should come.” The blonde flashed a pearly-white smile at me. “Bring a date.”
Before Olivia could respond, she spun on her heels and headed toward the parking lot with the other three girls in tow.
Olivia looked up at me, a smile plastered on her beautiful face. “Thanks, Drake.”
“Sure,” I muttered, still drunk on that kiss. “Anytime.”
That could never happen again, not as long as I was Olivia’s legal guardian.
CHAPTER 10
OLIVIA
For months after Drake kissed me at school, we pretended to be together in public and ignored each other in private. The moment the facade was over, he went back to being my friend.
My legal guardian.
Drake wasn’t much older than me, but the law gave him control over my life for the next nine months. What he did in front of the entire school changed my life. Overnight, I went from a nobody loser who’d fallen on her face to the girl everyone wanted to hang out with.
I had friends. Well, sort of. Not that I considered any of the rich kids real friends. They only wanted to use me to get to Drake, and I needed them to survive until the end of the year without being bullied.
For the first time in my life, I belonged somewhere. No more looking over my shoulder or worrying about the cops. Drake made sure I was well-fed, and it showed in my appearance.
Within a few months, I gained fifteen pounds, and my body filled out. That was when Drake noticed the changes and started avoiding me even more.
In the middle of the night, I snuck downstairs for a drink. I’d had a nightmare, which wasn’t that uncommon for me. With Tate at basic training and Drake acting weird, I spent a lot of time in my head. The painful memories of my childhood still haunted me. Like a vampire risen from the grave, they clawed at the surface of my mind.
I followed the lights on the floor, which lit up as I walked. After the first month of living here, I knew my way around. But Drake had insisted on keeping the program in place. Just in case I ever found myself in a part of the mansion that wasn’t as familiar.
I rode the elevator to the ground floor and headed straight into the kitchen. Guards posted up in the hallways, dressed in suits and armed with weapons on their hips.
In the kitchen, I propped my hip against the marble island and downed a bottle of water. My throat was raw and scratchy from not getting enough sleep. I’d also passed out before dinner and felt the hunger pains stabbing at my side.
Searching through the cabinets, I found a chocolate and oats snack bar and ate it in several bites. It was too late to make a meal. And besides, the chefs didn’t like it when I messed with their stuff. They had the kitchen perfectly organized and arranged as they liked it.
As I approached the elevator, it dinged. Drake emerged from the Battle Cave, his dark brown hair messy as if he’d been pulling on it. He wore a blue Superman T-shirt, muscles bulging from beneath the fitted material. Black track pants hung low on his waist, the shirt riding up his toned stomach. His eyes looked glassy and tired, and he smelled of alcohol.
