Named after the aunt who burned down her high school, Olivia Peterson never had a chance at a normal life. But when an innocent birthday tradition results in a new set of curtains-and an unforgiving hole scorched into her carpet-Olivia realises that...
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"Liv, Liv!" Liam shouted in greeting. "Meet Ryan." He shoved the boy towards me, bouncing on his heels as he introduced us.
"Ryan, this is Olivia. Olivia, this is the fresh meat: Ryan."
I saw Liam's lips moving, but the words didn't reach my ears. I knew that blonde hair, and I'd looked into those green eyes. It was the boy from the graveyard, the same one who saw me talking to Auntie Olivia. My hands clenched uncomfortably at my sides. He still wasn't wearing a jacket as if he was impervious to the cold, and for some reason that terrified me.
"Nice to meet you, Olivia," Ryan greeted me. His voice was musical, and a soft Irish accent rang through the air.
How didn't I hear his accent before?
I knew then that he was the boy my father spoke about last night. The one with absent parents.
"You just moved in across the street," I said, and I cursed myself for sounding like an idiot.
Ryan's smirked. "I did."
Liam glanced between us in confusion, casting odd looks my way as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. Except I didn't know what I was thinking. My mind was a jumbled mess of fear. Will Ryan tell Liam what he saw? Will Liam hate me for cleaning the grave of a mass murderer?
"Have you met before?" Liam asked us, breaking through my reverie. His eyes flickered between us, and he chewed his bottom lip, giving him the appearance of a disapproving father.
As I opened my mouth to reply, Ryan cut me off. "No. At least, I don't think so. I think I'd remember her though," He said cheekily.
I gaped, and Liam's weighted stare morphed into surprise. Ryan had saved me, and I did not understand why. I stared openly, and he returned the gesture with a twinkle in his eyes. At the lack of my reply, an awkward silence descended upon us until it forced me to speak.
"Yeah... we haven't met," I said.
Liam cleared his throat. "Anyway... Ms Cliffe asked me to show Ryan around. You don't mind if he sits with us today, do you?"
I shook my head, and Ryan's smile turned smug. Liam's heavy gaze was relentless on the side of my head.
"Are you feeling okay, Liv?" Liam asked me. He pressed the back of his hand to my forehead as if checking my temperature.
"Yeah," I lied. "I'm fine."
Liam ran ahead to discover what Ryan's first class was, leaving me and my saviour alone. We walked in tense silence, and I looked anywhere but at Ryan, seeing a small group of students beneath Goliath. Clouds of smoke were barely visible as they peeped out from behind the trunk.
"You look like you've seen a ghost." Ryan snickered.
