Tethered (Book Two of The Invisible String Series)

Valentine's Day

Liv lets out a sigh, of what I assume is one of relief, against my shoulder as she returns the hug, squeezing me just as tight. "I've never said that out loud before."

My heart aches a little at the thought of this poor kid having to hide her true self in her past foster home placements, and I want more than ever to be able to destroy every bad thing in the world just for my girl. "It's good to get it out, you shouldn't feel like you have to hide who you are, babe. Lizzie and I will always love and support you, just as you are. Okay?"

The teen nods against my shoulder and I pull away to squish her cheeks between my hands. "I love you, kiddo."

Liv smacks my hands away, pretending to be annoyed at my actions, but I notice the smile on her face as I turn to exit the bathroom. "I know. I love you, too, Y/N."

My teenager keeps me company as I slide into my jumpsuit, which I make sure to put on in the bathroom, as I don't want Olivia to see my scars and ask about them. I'm also not ready to have that conversation with her, either. But once I'm dressed, I re-open the bathroom door and give the teen a warm smile. "What do you think?"

Liv nods as I do a three-sixty turn before smirking. "You look hot. Lizzie's definitely a lucky woman."

I let out a hearty laugh at that, and make quick work of fixing my hair. I'm keeping it pretty simple, and just pinning half back on one side and letting the other side cascade freely down over my shoulder, (AN: please feel free to alter the look however you want!) glancing over at the clock on my bedside table. We've got about forty-five minutes until our dinner reservations, so we probably need to get going. "Thanks, I appreciate that. Do you know if she's ready yet?"

"She wasn't when I left her before coming up here. Hold on, I'll text her."

Snoring, I sit down on the unoccupied side of the bed to slide my heels on before standing once more. "You couldn't have just walked to the downstairs bathroom to see for yourself?"

The sixteen-year-old shakes her head. "Nope. I'm comfortable. Also, she said she's finishing her makeup right now, but said to tell you to go ahead and come down."

Doing as I've been instructed, I follow the teenager out of the room and down the stairs, making sure not to trip over my own two feet in the process. I'm not usually a big fan of heels, and while I'd much prefer to wear my oxfords or my chelsea boots, heels are the only thing that work with this outfit. And tonight is a special occasion, so I might as well have busted them out for that. Liv goes to check on Lizzie in the bathroom while I gather the rest my things. Even though my jumpsuit has pockets, I make sure to grab one of my bags for Lizzie's Valentine's gift.

"Hmm, you clean up nice, Y/L/N."

Smirking to myself, I turn to see Lizzie raking her eyes over me, and I can't help but let my eyes do the same. She's in a short black dress that comes just past her knees, and has a lace top that matches my own outfit (thank you, Olivia) and is paired with some ankle-high heeled boots. "You don't look so bad yourself, Olsen."

A smile breaks out on Lizzie's face, and steps forward into my personal space, biting down on her bottom lip as her hand settles against my stomach. "You look hot. Maybe we should just skip dinner and go straight to dessert."

I'm instantly hit with the scent of her perfume and I bend down to wrap one arm around her back, the height difference between us more pronounced thanks to my heels, while my free hand comes up to dislodge her bottom lip from its torture. Before I can respond, though, there's a loud groan that interrupts our moment and we both glance over to see Olivia staring at us with a disgusted look on her face.

"I'm standing right here, you know? I can hear every gross word you say."

Chuckling, I give the teenager a wink before bending down to connect my lips with Lizzie's, who hums into the kiss and practically melts into me. I only break away when I hear our teenager complain about the PDA, which makes both of us laugh and break apart from each other.