Thirty-Four
November 23, Tuesday
Shiloh
The kiss we had shared led me to fantasize about a future with Enoch and what I was going to miss out on even though I never even had it to begin with. But it was so perfect, and I wanted to go to his house, steal more kisses, feel his body on mine, intertwine our limbs until we couldn’t possibly get any closer. I wanted more.
More of him.
More of us.
More of a normal fucking teenage life.
The reality of what I was about to do was sinking in, the weight of it filling my lungs like cement, making it hard to breathe when I thought too much.
After church on Sunday, I approached Theo to let him know that I had prayed about it and was confident in my decisionto attend RLS and become a member of Reformation Church. Theo was overjoyed and told me to take the week to get my affairs in order—get rid of any worldly possessions, square away any financial responsibilities, and prepare to attend the RLS program the following Monday.
One week left. Seven days before I disappeared from my life as Shiloh and permanently became Olivia Lane. I worried Theo would lose interest, worried his parents would force him to marry Martha before I finished RLS. And I worried what would happen while I was gone and how would I explain my sudden absence to Enoch, Jae and Sebastian.
I needed to speak to Carlos about the details of my upcoming departure, but he was busy preparing for Thanksgiving festivities and had brushed off my questions. Told me not to worry, that everything would be sorted before Sunday night. But it left me on edge.
The anxiety was consuming my energy to complete any basic tasks. I could barely eat, I slept as much as I could—the only escape I had from reality. The best distraction besides sleeping was texting with Enoch. He tried to FaceTime and was constantly checking if I wanted to come over and hang out since we were on break from school, but I did my best to dodge him gently.
There was an unexpected knock on my apartment door. I planned to ignore it, but then I heard the jingle of keys and the sounds of the locks turning.For fuck’s sake, I should’ve installed an extra deadbolt or something.
“Get dressed. I’ll wait on the couch.”
“Well, hello to you too, Adrian,” I said, turning around to face him. My heart skipped a beat at the sight of his face.
He rolled his eyes, well, the one eye that wasn’t swollen shut, at me from his position in the doorway of my bedroom. I swallowed back the bile in my throat.
“What happened?”
Adrian pursed his lips into a thin line. “Passed my loyalty test.”
Fuck. He’s the sucesor.
I released the breath of tension I had been holding. At least it meant he hadn’t sold me out to Carlos. My friends were safe.
“The fuck do you need me for? I’m busy. I’ve got to mentally prepare for my Oscar worthy role as the future Mrs. Olivia Walsh.”
He didn’t laugh at my dark humor. “Just put some fucking clothes on. And leave your phone here.”
I glared at him. “Fuck no.”
He simply blinked. “Leave your phone here, Shiloh.”
He didn’t wait for me to respond before limping back out to the living room. I was still confused but relented, leaving my phone on the nightstand and slipping on a hoodie over my already grungy outfit.
He walked beside me out to the elevator, and I realized we must be going to his place when instead of going down we went up.
“Why are you taking me to your apartment?”
He ignored me and I followed him out of the elevator until he stopped in front of a unit. He unlocked the door, motioning for me to enter. He was beginning to freak me out, and I hesitated before crossing the threshold. I stopped dead in my tracks, Adrian running into my back unable to stop his momentum in time, at the sight of a kid sitting at the kitchen table.
Adrian maneuvered around me, “I told you to wait for me.”
The kid looked confused for a moment. “I don’t need permission to eat food. I was hungry.”
