Olly spared his reflection a final glance and sighed. He could try arguing again. Come up with an excuse as to why he couldn’t stay.
It would have to be something believable, though. Something his too-smart-for-her-own-good sister would buy. Food poisoning, perhaps?
That could work.
At the very least, it would explain why I’ve been hiding out in a fucking bathroom for the last twenty minutes.
But even as he began mentally mulling over the many plausible reasons he could give for his unexpected departure, he knew that wasn’t how this night would end.
Because Izzy was on the other side of that door right now, no doubt worrying about him and his volatile state of mind. And since her intentions stemmed from a place solely of love…
Olly filled his lungs with a deep, cleansing breath before releasing it on a slow exhale. Then, in a move he’d damn near perfected, he donned one of his many masks and opened the door.
His baby sister smiled wide as she leaned against the spindled balcony railing behind her. Eyes that matched his shimmered with sarcastic humor as Izzy reached back behind her neck, pulling the thick waves of her long, dark hair over one shoulder.
“About time.” She abandoned her spot overlooking the living room below and walked toward him. “I was ready to send Grady and Dec in there after you.” A sly, teasing smile lifted one corner of her mouth. “Thought maybe you decided to go AWOL and snuck out through the bathroom window.”
“Thought about it.” Olly smirked.
It wasn’t a lie. He actuallyhadconsidered squeezing his ass through the tiny window and making a run for it. But since he’d promised his sister he was done with that kind of life, he’d stayed.
Hiding out.
In a fucking bathroom.
Yeah, Garcia. You’ve definitely made it.
Ignoring the sarcastic asshole in his head, Olly shut the door behind him as Izzy covered the short distance between them. Hooking her arm with his, the loving woman sounded like anurse trying to convince a kid to get a shot when she spoke up again.
“Come on, big brother.” Izzy patted his chest with her free hand. “I promise this won’t hurt a bit.”
He looked down, flashing her ayeah, rightlook. But then, because he loved his sister more than anything, Olly begrudgingly followed her lead. As the two siblings headed toward the home’s shiny wooden staircase, Izzy started in with more well-intended words of encouragement.
“I know this is all still new to you,” she began. “But those people down there aren’t just my friends. They’re yours, too. All you have to do is let them in.”
Yes, because it was that simple.
Sorry, Sis. You should know by now, I don’t let anyone in.
Since he was twelve—the age Olly was when his entire world imploded—he’d allowed a grand total of two people into his heart. One was Izzy, who’d held a piece of him from the moment she’d been born. The other was a sassy redhead whose unexpected friendship had come at the exact time he’d needed it most.
Izzy and Rose. Two women he cared about more than anyone else on the planet…and he’d let them both down in the worst of ways.
So no, Olly wasn’t looking for anyone else to disappoint, and he sure as hell didn’t need another friend. But as he stared down into his sister’s round, hopeful eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to crush her dream of him finally being the brother—theman—she’d always claimed him to be.
“Your friends are my friends.” He nodded as if he believed those words to his core. “Got it.”
The look crossing over Izzy’s pretty face said she wasn’t the slightest bit fooled. “Theyare.”
Obviously, his sister believed what she’d just said. But Olly knew the truth. Besides her, Rose was his only true friend.
A friend he may have lost forever.
“Look, Ol.” Izzy continued. “I get that you’re not used to having people in your corner, but you do now.”
His only response was a low grunt because there wasn’t anything else for him to say. He’d closed off his corner years ago, and there was no way in hell he was opening it back up.
Not even for his sister’s closest friends.