Chapter one
Wheneversomeonetriedtofit Olivia Lundholm into a neat little box to fit their expectations, she had the strongest urge to tell them where to shove it. Who would think of seeing a geek in the gym? But there Olivia ran, her J-Pop playlist singing in her ears through the wireless headphones her dear friend Nadia gifted her last Christmas. No more dealing with sweaty muscle-heads and their grunting.
Perspiration dripped down her sports bra as her quads burned under her leggings. She ignored the way her lungs ached for that last mile and focused on the song in her ears. She may not speak Japanese, but she’d listened to the tune before every episode ofEvangelionso much that she could sing along anyway.
Olivia breathed a sigh of relief as she slowed the treadmill into a cool down. When her father had a heart attack in the middle of her twenty-first birthday, something triggered in Olivia. He’d survived, but it had brought her health into sharp focus. She’d resolved to do better. Thus, she’d spent the last three years on a treadmill, running five miles three days a week. It was partly for health reasons, and partly to counter the stress of life.
Her ringtone cut through the music in her ears. She swiped on her phone screen to pick up Nadia’s call as she stepped off the machine and headed for the locker room. “Hey,” she said, breathing heavily.
“You comin’ tonight? Rosie’s bringing Trogdor!! The Board Game.”
Olivia pulled open the shiny blue locker and dragged out her black gym bag covered in pins and patches from all her favorite series. “Hell yes, I’m coming tonight! I was just finishing up my run. What do you need me to bring?”
It was game night with the squad; her group of college friends from the University of Maryland that had bonded over their shared love of all things “geek.” That included anime, comic books, video games, and science fiction, as well as old, funny Flash cartoons. They’d named themselves in honor of the Teen Girl Squad from the classic internet cartoon,Homestar Runner. A result of a series of serendipitous meetings at their alma mater, the Geek Girl Squad had been born freshman year. Six years later, their bond was stronger than ever. They were more like sisters than friends.
“Grab some booze. Wine or … Hey! I just found some whiskey sour mix. Get some Jack?”
“You got it. Let me hit the shower, and I’ll get going.”
“See you soon! Love your face!”
“Love yours more!” Olivia grinned as she hung up her phone, unconcerned with what anyone else in the locker room thought of their conversation. She was too excited to see her squad to care if people thought she was weird. She’d gotten used to it long ago.
One quick shower later, she was dressed in herSailor Moont-shirt and a clean pair of gym shorts. As she combed her long, wet, blonde hair, her phone rang again. This time, however, her brow furrowed at the name on the screen. She hesitated a moment before picking up the call, trying to keep her voice steady.
“Matty? What’s up?” Her brother hadn’t called in months, not since the last disastrous trip home where her parents had fawned over him. It wasn’t his fault; he was next in line to run Dad’s furniture empire now, since Olivia had purposefully pulled herself out of the running.
Matt had made the declaration last summer that he’d decided on an accounting major. That had been the requirement their father set forth for whoever took over the family furniture business. Dad had nearly lost the whole company back when they were kids, thanks to a dirty bookkeeper. That’s why he declared his successor needed to have an accounting degree, so they could prevent such a thing from happening again. Olivia didn’t actually know if it would help, but Dad had made up his mind. After his declaration, Matt was the golden child. Her mother even cried. Olivia had known that would happen if he made that call. But it didn’t make being the sole family disappointment hurt any less.
“Hey, Sis.” Matt’s voice carried the same unsteadiness she felt. In the background, plates and silverware clanged on trays, the familiar din of the cafeteria.
“You get moved in okay?” A pang of guilt crossed her chest. It was his first week of his senior year at Virginia Tech, and Olivia hadn’t been there to move him into the dorms. She hadn’t been able to get time off work, and frankly, hadn’t wanted to deal with her parents. But he’d declared his major was what he wanted. She would have to swallow her disbelief.
“Yeah, Mom and Dad just left.” He sighed, likely running his hand through his mop of blond hair as he always did. “Liv, I’ve been thinking.”
“That’s dangerous, little bro.” She hefted her bag onto her shoulder and headed for her car with her phone to her ear.
“Yeah, I know.”
She waited for him to continue and turned on the car. The Bluetooth kicked on and she let her phone slip into her purse. Olivia took the opportunity to twist her wet hair up into a bun and secured it with a hair tie.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Another pregnant pause.
“I don’t think I can do this, Liv.”
That was a loaded statement. “What do you mean?”
“The … The whole thing. Accounting. Taking over for Dad. All of that.”
“Ah, I see.” Her thoughts flickered back to that day when her quiet, unassuming, spotlight-hating brother had thrust himself into the limelight of their parents’ attention. How withdrawn he’d been even as he made the pronouncement over dinner. She should have known he was only trying to make them happy. They’d never understood his reserved nature. As a boy, he was expected to be loud and rowdy, when that had been the furthest thing from his personality. “What changed your mind?”
“I tried to read the textbook.”
Olivia couldn’t help but bark out a laugh as she made her way to the liquor store. She pulled out of the parking lot into the rush hour traffic. Turning up the volume on her call, she tried to drown out the honking horns and rattle from a muffler that badly needed replaced. It wasn’t far. A bottle of whiskey, a bottle of wine, and she’d be on her way.
“If you could do anything, what would you do?”
