Free Destiny by Mitchel Grace Page B

there?
    “Hey,
Olivia. It’s nice to see you. Let me get you a drink,” I said and grabbed a cup
off the kitchen counter.
    “That’s
all right. We were just leaving,” Richard said while glaring at me.
    “What
are you talking about? We just got here. I’ll take that drink. Get something
for Richard, too, if you don’t mind,” Olivia said.
    I
nodded and got them a couple of drinks. I won’t lie. I was tempted to do
something to Richard’s, but I didn’t. Wasn’t it already enough that I was kind
of in a secret . . . um something with his girlfriend? If I were him , I probably would
have hated me, too.
    “Here
you go,” I said and handed them their drinks.
    Olivia
thanked me, and we exchanged pleasantries for a minute. Olivia had heard about
our exchange in the parking lot, and she said that we should try to be friends.
She had done her best to convince Richard that nothing was going on, and he
acted like he believed her. As she went to talk to a friend, he told me exactly
what he thought, though.
    “What
part of stay away from Olivia don’t you understand?” he asked.
    “What
part of no don’t you get? She’s my friend, and I’m not avoiding her because you
have control issues. Everyone might kiss your ass in this town but not me. If
you’ve got a problem, get over it.”
    “I’m
actually a nice guy, Eric. You can do just about anything to me, and I won’t
care. You don’t mess with my girl,
though.”
    “What
happens if I do?”
    “Then
you’ll be lucky if you’re still breathing afterward. I guess I shouldn’t worry
so much, though. It’s not like she would ever be stupid enough to show interest
in a creep like you,” he said and started to walk away. That last comment
bothered me, though. I knew I didn’t need to respond, but I had to.
    “Hey,
Richard, I wish you had told me that before because it’s a little too late for
me to not mess with your girl.”
    “What
is that supposed to mean?”
    “For
starters, she was my first kiss a couple of years ago. We shared the best week
of my life back then.”
    “She
told me that you dated a long time ago. Do you think that worries me? So what?
She decided to spend some time with you a few winters ago while she had nothing
better to do. Face it. You can want, and you can stare. You can even talk to
her when I’m not around, but she’s never going to see you as more than you
are.”
    “And
exactly what do you think I am?”
    “A
loser. She told me about why you’re in town. You come from trash, and you have
nothing that makes you anything special. Those losers you’ve been hanging out
with tonight . . . you belong with them. You’re no one from nowhere, and that’s
not going to change anytime soon.”
    “Okay.
You can have your opinion about that, but let me ask you a question. Do you
always know where Olivia is? Do you know where she was last night after you
dropped her off?”
    “I
don’t need to.”
    “Yes,
you do. She was with me, and we’re definitely more than friends. I do have one
thing that you don’t, Richard, and that’s the ability to actually give her what
she wants.”
    In
that moment, Richard shot me the most hateful look I had ever seen. That’s when
his face started to turn red. I don’t know if he believed me, but I do know
that admitting I had been with Olivia the night before was a big mistake. He
clenched his fist and threw a quick punch that landed to my right eye. The blow
lifted me off the floor, and I fell a few feet away from him. I looked over at
my friends to see if I was going to have any back up in this situation. Mike
and Rusty immediately put their hands up as if to say you’re on your own . Stan, however, took a step forward.
    “Stay
right where you’re at, fat boy!” Richard spat at him.
    In
his drunken state, that only made Stan angry. He was tired of his weight being
a joke to everyone, and Richard had just picked the wrong time to insult him.
Meanwhile, Olivia stepped between