Page 69 of Savagely Scarred

“And that’s the little gobshite I was talking about earlier.”

Kara fades into the background while she goes on and on about how she wishes she could’ve disciplined other people’s children. But her voice is washed out, a loud roar filling my ears. The kitchen timer goes off, but it sounds like it’s a million miles away. Goosebumps form on my arms as I stare at the boy in the picture.

“Liv?”

“She’s so pale.”

“Olivia.”

“What’s wrong, love?”

“Liv!”

“I think she’s having a panic attack. John get her water!”

The book slips from my hands, hitting the floor with a thud. I slowly lift my head. Sage is kneeling in front of me, worry written all over his face. He picks the book up and his eyes blow wide before they snap to mine.

Kyle Wilson was his bully.

“How is that possible?”

I swear he’s asked me that question ten times already. It’s rhetorical at this point, but I acquiesce.

“He got expelled a few times. Bounced around between schools.”

I glide my hand back and forth through the surface of the pool, floating on the pink lounge chair. Now that the sun has set, ambient lighting surrounds us from the string lights on the pergola, to the torches and lanterns. I was curious as to why Sage had packed my teal bikini until John took me outside.

He drapes his arms on the edge of the pool and takes a sip of his whiskey. “Why do you seem so chill right now?”

I shrug. “I guess after the initial shock wore off, I just became numb to it.”

“No, you like to bottle things up,” he argues.

Picking at the seam in the raft, I shrug again.

“Come on, baby bird.” His annoyed sigh echoes in the dark.

My head jerks up. “Hey, yeah. Why don’t you call me that anymore?”

He takes another sip of his whiskey. “Honestly? When you came to the department, I started calling you that to annoy you and then it just kind of stuck.”

“So, like when little boys are mean to girls because they have a crush on them?” I tilt my head and smirk.

“Yes. Buuuuut…” His smile drops. “It didn’t feel right anymore after we started dating.”

“Oh,” I mouth.

He cocks a brow. “Do you want me to revert back to it?’

I shake my head and say with certainty, “No.”

Sage chugs what’s left in his glass and sets it on the concrete before he pushes off the wall and swims to me.

“Now, quit changing the subject.”

I stare up at the stars filling the dark sky. They’re unhidden by the smog of the city. I was so grateful to have moved to a more rural area outside of Manhattan, but they still aren’t as bright at home like they are here.

“I guess it’s just ironic that Kyle was a dick to both of us before we even met each other.”