Him & I

- CHAPTER 16 -

- F E A R -
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Olivia
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I'd been wandering aimlessly around the shopping centre for what must have been three hours, panicking as I couldn't find Talulah anywhere - I thought she'd left without me. By hour two I'd found a bench in a secluded part of the centre and started to cry.

"Could Olivia James please report to the information desk where Hamish James is waiting for her." A woman's voice rang over the intercom.

Hamish is here?!

Relief flooded through me as soon as I heard the announcement and I leapt up, running to the information desk.

Talulah was there, crying, and Hamish was comforting her.

What is going on?

When he saw me approaching he whispered something in her ear. She nodded and made her way to the exit. He strode over to me, a determined look on his face.

"Hamish" I called out, running over to him, my arms wide so that I could get a warm, comforting hug.

The determination turns to anger and I stop dead in my tracks. He grabbed my arm and dropped to my level.

"How dare you run away from Talulah like that - do you know how worried she was?!" He nearly yelled.

I scoffed, earning a glare from my brother.

"Do you know worried I was?!" He yelled again.

"She's just a good actor, Hamish - And she made me leave her alone, not the other away around!" I forced out.

"No. No, you don't get to say that, Olivia. You are in so much trouble when we get home" He cut our conversation short and dragged me to his car -  I was thankful that Talulah had already driven herself away.

The car journey was awkward, to say the least. I sat in the back, glaring at my brother through the rear-view mirror. He occasionally sent looks back at me but other than that, he pretended I wasn't there; he just gripped the steering wheel and listened to the radio.

Arriving home, we sat in the car in silence for a few moments until Hamish spoke up.

"Get inside and wait for me in the sitting room."

My only form of reply came as I stormed out of the car, slamming the door behind me.

I sat on the sofa in silence, nervously waiting for my brother's arrival.

I heard the front door slam and Hamish's heavy footsteps make their way into the room. His feet stopped in front of me. I waited for something to happen.

"Well?" He said "Are you not going to tell me what happened?" He demanded.

"She told me to get lost or I'd regret it." I huffed, slumping back into the sofa and crossing my arms.

"Now is not the time to start telling lies, Olivia." He firmly ground out.

"I'm not." I bit back sharply.

He sighed and dragged his hand down his face, sitting down on the coffee table in front of me.

"Did she get on your nerves? It's okay if she did, Ollie." He tried to reason.

"You're not listening to me, Hamish-" I rattled off "-she told me to leave her alone, or she'd hurt me!"

Hamish burst into laughter of disbelief before stopping abruptly.