The Best Years: Year One, Part Two

Chapter T W E N T Y - S I X

** This is a SEQUEL TO THE BEST YEARS and contains spoilers if you have not read the first book in the series **

- Elizabeth POV -

My stomach felt like a pool of acid sitting heavy making me aware I was carrying a burden.

Why did your stomach always feel the worst in the most brutal scenarios?

I just watched Ollie erupt all over the cement behind the coffee shop. His hands looked painful, there was dried blood on his skin and shirt, and he didn't seem satisfied even after breaking the other guy's nose. He eyes looked wild when Aspen and Caden finally pulled him off the slender guy under him.

All we knew was this guy was someone from Layla's hometown. The color drained from her face as soon as he appeared but I couldn't figure out why. An ex-boyfriend, a guy she still liked, or something completely unknown - no one knew.

B didn't seem worried so I forced myself not to be either. I had enough on my plate worrying about school and Oliver staying on track. I had two projects due next week, a guest speaker slot to fill for the Honor Society, order supplies for the dorm, meet up with my advisor, and eventually stop ignoring family dinner that I've skipped twice. It would be the biggest understatement of the year to say I was busy and had time for Oliver getting arrested for assault.

Our eyes were locked, I silently begged him to stop and just tell me what was happening. I had so many questions.

Why was he beating up this guy we didn't know?
Why did Layla look terrorized?
Why did he look so caught in the act?

When he finally focused enough on me I felt like I could recognize him. He was out of focus. He wasn't the guy I knew. He had problems but he wouldn't keep me shut out or nearly beat someone to death.

My heat sunk for Layla. She barely knew us, any of us, and suddenly we knew more about her in these 5 minuets than in months.

I quickly contemplated pros and cons of efforts in being her friend realizing Ollie knew something so personal to her but I didn't. I barely had any cons taking of space on my mental check list, yet she opened up to Ollie instead of me.

I wasn't afraid to ask for the answers I wanted.
I was comfortable with Ollie, "How did you know he did that to her?"

He finally broke our eye connect clearly ashamed, "She told me. It came up."

I felt myself stay hard almost bracing for the impact of his answers, "Do you have feelings for her?"

He didn't respond immediately like I expected and my stomach dropped inside itself.

We hadn't been together since before he was sent away to rehab in upstate New York. We met freshman year and in Literature class I had to take as a prerequisite. We only truly dated a few months before it fell apart. I always figured we'd snap back to being us when he came back clean but apparently they wiped away even his feelings for me. He came back quieter than before, his cruel-ness was eerily calm now instead of erratic, and he seemed even more lonely even surrounded by us. He was never the same Ollie Caden dropped off that one afternoon but we loved him no matter what.

But could I still love him if he had feelings for Layla?

He finally decided to speak, "You know I don't date or fall in love better than anyone."