Shackled (The Lord Series) by Carlos
309. Olivia - Nail polish IV

Everyone stops what they are doing and looks at me. I bet they didn't expect me to want to go to the Blood Lodge. There are two reasons why I don't want to remain alone on the farm.

First, because Jason is surely waiting for the right moment to get me back. The daggers are also here and if they end up in Azael's hands, the world as we know it will end. Even with my darkness ready to come to my aid at any time, my fear of Jason is too strong. Even if I fight him, he might drug me. Until I learn how to stand on my own two feet when it comes to those who trigger me, I prefer to be safe than sorry.

Two, I want to see how everything at the gathering reacts to seeing Tyson and his blood-brothers having their nails painted.

It seems that my words took everyone by surprise. A few seconds pass, and no one says anything. They pretend they didn't hear what I said, as they keep gathering empty bottles. Mose and Ansel start to take the chairs inside. It's time to take matters into my own hands.

So, I make my next move.

I get on tiptoes, grab Rueben by the collar of his hoodie, and pull him down for a kiss. His chest rumbles before he takes over and kisses me roughly. His fingers tangle in my hair as he devours my mouth. My alarm bells go off, and I want to push him away, but then he groans my name against my lips, making me think he won't hurt me this time.

"Olivia." He sucks my bottom lip before tilting my head to the side and kissing my neck.

For years, I've been afraid of him, of what he would do to me when he would find me, but I never thought he would kiss me like this. Or want to be with me. He went from wanting to kill in the worst way possible to wanting to fuck me so hard I'll end up in a wheelchair for a few days.

His left hand slides all the way to my ass. "Too bad we have to go to the Blood Lodge," he groans before letting go of me. "Otherwise, I'd owe you a new pair of jeans."

I've never seen this side of Rueben, and I don't know if I should be scared or...scared. Whatever he planned, it can't turn out good. Even if he now knows the entire truth, he will find other things to blame for. He might even get angry when people start to laugh at him for having pink nails. I should avoid problems, not look for more.

I start gathering the nail polish bottles. "I'll make myself comfortable in Jasper's bed, eat ice cream, and wait for everyone to return home."

Rueben glares at me. Definitely no nail polish for him. "I thought you were going to paint my fingernails not watch stupid romance movies," he mutters. Even the tone of his voice tells me that it's best if I mind my own business. Even Tryson agrees with Rueben, as she says, "A minute ago, you wanted to come to the Blood Lodge; now you want to stay home. Which one is it?"

Since when do I have a say in anything?

"No one said I could come," I reply.

Tyson sighs. "You don't need to ask our permission to do things. When you said you wanted to come with us, there was nothing to add. You made clear what you wanted to do."

Oh.

Making my own decisions can be overwhelming, especially since I've been told what to do for years. Even now, not being told how to dress, how to speak, or what to eat can be tiring since I have to make those decisions. I don't even know what my favorite food, color, or book is anymore. Heck, I don't even know who I am anymore.

All I know is that I'm Olivia, and I'm almost twenty-three.

Tyson puts the empty bottles he has in his hands down before pulling me in his arms. "Come to the Blood Lodge with us."

My pulse quickens. This is how Tyson used to be when we were dating. Sweet, gentle, never forcing me to do things, letting me decide for myself. When plans were made, we would make them together. How would it be to give Tyson another chance? Things wouldn't be the same, we are not the same, our feelings are not the same, but if there's one thing that I learned, it is that life is too short. I regret so many things, I don't want to add one to the list.

*If * I decide to give Tyson another chance, it won't be a rushed decision. I need to ponder on it for some time.

"I'll go change," I say.

"What about me?" Rueben reminds me that I didn't paint his nails.

I pull away from Tyson and sit on the last chair left outside. Rueben squats in front of me. The rage that always reflected in his eyes is gone, replaced by some other feelings I can't put my finger on. He is still grieving the loss of Camila and his parents. "Green will work great with your turquoise eyes," I say.

Rueben looks at me with...tenderens. It's like the old days. My chest hurts as I remember how kind he used to be. He used to laugh a lot, and I took that away from him. No wonder he tried so hard to kill me.

"Go ahead," Rueben gives me permission. I start working on his right hand. "Imagine what Camila would have said if she saw all of us with our nails done. Especially me."

Tyson is nearby but doesn't join the conversation. While he loved Camila, he was never close to her. Or maybe he is letting Rueben and me rekindle our friendship.

The others finish cleaning and go inside the house, leaving me alone with Tyson and Rueben. There are still moments when I fear being in the same room or space as them, but today is not one of those days. Maybe it's because I had...fun with them. Rueben is nice to me, even smiling from time to time. I don't know what to do with that. I got used to being treated like shit, so when someone is being kind to me, I don't know how to react or what to expect. I don't trust the guys won't go nuclear on me again.

"Camila would have taken a picture of our hands and framed it," I say. Remembering all the good times with her right now is not that painful. "She would have wanted to immortalize your neon green nails."

I've never imagined that one day I'll talk to Rueben about Camila with such ease. Maybe we need this to heal. For me to trust he won't hurt me again. Only time will tell.

"Then she would have made us play COD, and the loser would have had to walk down the street and tell at least twenty people about how he loves fuchsia or some other odd color like that." Rueben chuckles, and I still. He is laughing with me. I forgot how handsome he is. Many girls at school had crushes on him. Camila would always brag and show everyone pictures she took of Rueben, Tyson, and Ansel. Rueben was the most popular among the teen girls, which was fine by me, as I didn't want anyone else looking at my Tyson with hearts in their eyes. "We should play COD tomorrow. It's been a while since we had a guys' night," he says to Tyson, who shrugs.

I finish painting Rueben's nails. "They turned out better than I expected." Rueben folds his fingers over his palms to look at his nails when Diva-who has been God knows where the entire day-comes running from the driveway. "Don't touch anything, or else you'll ruin my work!" I say loudly when Diva jumps on Rueben.

**I hope you all like the last updates. Not everything has to be drama. Olivia deserves some sweet moments as well. The next update - Thuesday, as we will go with Olivia and the guys at the Blood Lodge. Who knows what will happen there.**