I covered my mouth with my hand. Jamie told me he couldn’t remember convincing Iris to leave Fox. Did Oliver do that? Did he purposefully break up Fox’s marriage? It made no sense. Why would he do that? I was missing something. Something big.
“That was you?” Jamie hissed. “You set it up?”
“He was too involved with you, so I got him out of the picture. When he saw you before that show, he told me we needed to get you into rehab. People like him could never understand the sacrifices required to make it as big as we did. I did what I had to, Jamie.”
Oliver had never wanted to help Jamie. I’d been so wrong. The realization stole the air out of my chest and made my head spin. What else had I been wrong about? It felt like the walls were closing in on me.
“You fucking bastard.” Jamie’s voice shook. “You know, after I left the band, I spent a long time trying to figure out how you got like this.”
“Oh?”
“I sifted through my memories, looked for clues that I missed early on. And then I remembered that first time we met with your dad.”
Oliver chuckled, but it was forced. “Did you?”
“Yeah. Back then, I thought you were the coolest guy in the world. So confident, so in control. I admired you. And during that meeting, I kept wondering why your dad treated you like dirt.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I think I do. I pieced some other things together. He always wanted you to be a successful musician and you had everything going for you. Money, connections, looks. You only lacked one thing.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Oliver growled.
“Talent. That’s why when you saw me, you saw an opportunity. I had what you needed. How are things between you and your dad now? I’m sure he was so fucking proud when Ritual Disruption was at the top of its game. Did that last?”
There was a quick scuffle, and Oliver yelped.
“Get out,” Jamie ordered. “Get out before I smear you across the pavement outside.”
A few rapid footfalls. “Don’t worry,” Oliver panted. “I’m leaving to pick up my date. Just need to give you my present first.”
A date.Me.
“You remember Cole’s sister?” Oliver’s voice was as sharp as a knife.
No. Don’t say it.
Jamie didn’t respond.
“I’m sure you do,” Oliver continued. “It was fun toying with her right under her brother’s nose until she failed at minding her own business. Stupid little thing,” he spit out.
I clasped at my neck, pulled at my shirt, dragged my nails over my cheek, all while my throat was closed in on itself. Breathe. Breathe. Oh God, I couldn’t breathe. How did one breathe through a cataclysm?
“Never got even with her for fucking everything up, but I got plans for rectifying that tonight.”
Something crashed, and then there was a pained gasp. I prayed it was Oliver’s as I palmed the wall at my back and forced myself up. Jamie couldn’t think that I was meeting Oliver. I needed to fix this.
It was difficult to take the first step. My legs were wooden and stiff, but I put one in front of the other again and again until I stood just beyond where the two men could see me.
Jamie saw me as soon as I stepped over the threshold, his furious expression morphing into shock.
Oliver was rising from the floor when he noticed Jamie’s attention shift. He whirled around and saw me.
Having Oliver in the same room as me after all this time felt surreal. His blond hair was longer than I remembered. The tousled waves looked limp. The green of his eyes still shone brilliantly, but the skin around them looked darker. Everything was as I remembered, but also somehow dulled. The magnetic pull I’d always felt around him didn’t reappear.
For a moment, his face quivered with surprise before he composed himself. “Ivy?”
I didn’t respond. He glanced between Jamie and I, calculating things, coming to conclusions, and he burst out in an incredulous laugh. “So this is who you’ve been occupying your time with while you’ve been waiting for me?”
