I lifted my eyes in time to see Ollie turn the corner and enter the mess hall. His boyish grin appeared as his green eyes lit up like they always did when he saw me. Ollie wore his black tee, gray joggers, and Converse. He’d finally had his hair cut at the nurse’s station, so he was able to style it again like he used to.
Ollie took the seat beside me and immediately acknowledged Zeke before pressing his forehead to the side of my head. “Good morning, love.” He kissed my head and squeezed my thigh under the table as I leaned into him. His small gestures were always capable of making my heart flutter inside my chest. “I’m going to get breakfast,” he said before excusing himself.
As soon as Ollie stood, the sight of Dean Lynch walking into the mess hall made the entire room go quiet. Two security guards walked behind Lynch with a police officer to follow. They walked toward us as Ollie followed my gaze and turned around.
“Oliver Masters?” the officer said, and I frantically looked back and forth between Ollie, Lynch, and the officer’s face for any indication of what was happening. My chest tightened, and my flutter turned into a hammer.
“Yes, sir,” Ollie replied, but hesitation clouded his tone.
“This is him,” Lynch confirmed.
“Masters, you are being arrested for the rape of Bria Nielson and possession of an illegal substance. Please turn around and put your hands behind your back,” the officer said, twisting Ollie’s arm and pinning him against the table.
“Dean, I didn’t do this.” Ollie shook his head. “You have to believe me.”
Chaos befell as Zeke broke out into a scream and threw himself out of the chair.
“That wasn’t Ollie! This wasn’t his fault!” I cried out, standing to my feet. One of the guards tried to manhandle Zeke. “Don’t touch him. You can’t touch him!” My brain went haywire. My senses strung out. Zeke’s screams pierced the room, the guard yelled, and the officer threw Ollie into the table.
Lynch averted his eyes from Zeke. “The only thing to help you right now, Oliver, is your cooperation.”
“This is bullshit, and you know it.” Ollie shook his head and looked up at me, the betrayal and shock in his eyes, but he still held on to the tiny bit of strength he had. “Mia, look at me and listen …” My vision fogged as my gaze darted between Zeke and Ollie. “Don’t trust anyone. Keep your head down—”
“No, Ollie …” I said, shaking my head, denying this was happening at all.
“Just bloody listen.” He struggled for a bit to give us more time. “Whatever happens, don’t turn it off. You have to stay even when I’m gone, alright?”
“Alright,” I whispered through tears as he flinched under the officer’s applied pressure at his wrist.
Ollie took in a deep breath as he held my gaze. The suffering pricked in his eyes, but it wasn’t the physical kind. This was a suffering I’d seen when he struggled to fight back his emotions. “Close your eyes, Mia.”
I closed my eyes, giving permission for my silent tears to fall. I gripped the table in front of me to keep me steady, and I never wanted to open my eyes again. I knew once I opened them, the reality of all of this would hit, and I would never be ready for it. So, I kept them closed tight, imagining every moment Ollie had created for us. Him and me on a typical Sunday morning. I fought to smell the coffee and feel the sun, the warmth of his body beside mine as he read to me. Us walking a boardwalk hand in hand. The two of us watching the sunrise with our feet in the sand and the salty breeze in my hair. The hot tears spilling down my cheeks was the only constant reminder that if I opened my eyes, none of it was real.
A hand against my back turned me and Jake wrapped his arms around me. I kept my eyes closed as I cried into his chest. “He’ll be okay, Mia.” His hand against my back did nothing to soothe me as he held me tight, attempting to take my pain away, but it was only Ollie who held that power.
And Ollie was gone.
“You need to tell them the truth, Bria. You know damn well Ollie isn’t capable of this.” It was the first time I’d seen Bria since New Year’s, and she lay in the hospital bed, still recovering. Pacing back and forth in front of her bed, I was desperate. She was his only hope.
Bria was as shocked as I was. “Mia … I … I tried telling them. I told them everything I know. One minute I was drinking, the next I’m waking up in the nurse’s station.”
“Did you tell them Isaac was there? That Oscar was there?”
“Oscar was never there, Mia!” My stomach did a one-eighty before launching up my throat. “And, yes, I told them about Isaac being there … but I really don’t think Isaac would rape me. Especially since I was more than willing to have sex with him. You know that. He knew that …”
“You’re kidding me, right?” I placed two hands beside her as I leaned over. “I saw it with my own eyes, Bria. You were on the floor, butt-ass naked and unconscious. Isaac raped you.”
“Then why didn’t you do anything about it?” she sneered.
I threw my hands in the air. “I couldn’t move, or else I would have!”
Flashes of Oscar kicking Bria out of the way like a ragdoll flooded my mind, and I couldn’t believe Bria was so naïve. Ollie was being set up, again, by his brother. It was the perfect plan, but this time, he had me.
Pushing off the hospital bed, I took one last look at Bria, who lay there defeated. “I’m sorry this happened to you, but you know Ollie wouldn’t do this. You need to open your eyes. Who is the only person who has come to check on you since you’ve been here? I bet Isaac never fucking came in here.” The look on her face twisted and though I couldn’t read it, I knew she was a lost cause. I turned and walked away, heading straight for Ollie’s dorm.
Ollie’s things were already packed up and gone like he’d never been here. I collapsed over his mattress and closed my eyes. The rage boiled, and I could feel it first in my fist as I dug my nails into the palms of my hands. I jumped off the mattress, the same mattress we’d fallen asleep on so many times before. The same mattress where he’d read to me. The same mattress where we’d made love. Adrenaline pumping through my bloodstream, I grabbed the side of the mattress and threw it across the room as I cried out.
My face fell into my hands as I sobbed. My legs buckled as I collapsed to my knees. “What did Ollie ever do to you to deserve this?” I asked out loud, desperation in my tone, heart, and soul. Was I so desperate, I had turned to God? I had to be going insane. As I shook my head, the cries only deepened, coming from the pit of my stomach. “What the hell am I even doing … You never listened. You never helped. We’re your little puppets on a damn string as you sit on your throne and toy with people’s lives. Well, you know what? You’re fucking sick!”
