After washing and drying my face with a towel, I undress and let the gown fall to the bathroom floor. As usual, I lack the energy to clean up after myself. Nothing out of the ordinary.

I put on my favorite hoodie and collapse on the bed, trying to come up with a way to make Olivia’s situation better. She’s my friend, I guess, so I feel the need to do everything in my power to help her. Hopefully in a way which doesn’t require my presence at their home, where they’ll bombard me with questions.

And how would I know what to say?

When did you guys meet? How long have you been together? Were you born in Lynbrook? Do we know your parents?

I groan, burying my head in the pillow.

I’m fucked.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

ELIAS

“She’s going to do it,” Olivia bursts out the back door of Indigo’s house, screaming from the top of her lungs.

I stay still, not daring to look back, afraid I must be hearing things.

“Did you hear me?” Livy squeals, her voice buzzing with excitement. “She. Is. Going. To. Do. It.” She jumps on my back, wrapping her legs around my torso and her arms around my neck.

“What? How?”

When I turn my gaze to the window, Indigo is standing there, a cute bun in her hair, tight jeans, and a blazer over a short black t-shirt.

There’s a crooked smile on her lips, and she shrugs, like she doesn’t know what she’s doing either.

Resisting the urge to run my hand through my hair, I give her a wave. I smile until my face feels like it might break apart.

Olivia jumps off my back, setting me free from her grasp. I drag my attention from Indigo to my sister, who stares back. She seems pleased about how things turned out, but she’s also giving me a look that says I know something you don’t.

“You like her,” she states.

“Well. Yeah. She’s just…”

“Different,” my sister continues, nodding.

I bob my head in agreement, watching Livy analyze me like an open book. She always reads me, even when I think I’m hiding my feelings. Don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.

“But not that way,” she acknowledges.

“Definitely not that way.”

Indigo is a stunning woman. Everything about her is beautiful. It doesn't take a lot to admit I’m attracted to her. She doesn’t realize it, but there’s something about her that makes you addicted to her presence.

Look at me. I finished my job a couple of days ago and I still come here every day and use her tree as an excuse to see her.