Hello Sheffield

I leaned against the smooth marble counter in Mia’s kitchen. She was in the dining room with Daniel currently, studying the French language. I tapped my fingers against the counter.

“No, I’ll just bring food home,” I said into the phone. Oli had called, asking what we should do for dinner. We still hadn’t gotten much food in the house and it felt weird talking about Oliver’s home jointly, as though it was both of ours.

“Are yeh sure?” he asked and I shrugged, knowing he couldn’t see it. Daniel ducked into the kitchen from the dining room and we stared blankly at each other.

“Yeah, I still have the insurance company to call and shit so I can make something for us, okay?”

“Alright, sounds good. I miss yeh bein’ around,” he said and I chuckled. He was being so cute today.

“I’ll be home in an hour okay? I have to go now I’ll talk to you later babe.”

I hung up and shoved my phone into my bag, looking up at Daniel expectantly. He usually had some remark to make before he smirked suavely and took his leave. This afternoon, however, he looked less cocky and more sympathetic.

“I heard about what happened to your house.”

“Oh did you?” I asked, semi-surprised.

“Yeah, it sucks. Everythin’ happens for a reason though.”

The small smirk that formed on his lips keyed me in to something else. I glared at him suspiciously, my eyes narrowed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He moved around the counter so he was standing in front of me. I grimaced at his closeness and he moved a piece of hair behind my ear, clicking his tongue sadly and shaking his head. Adrenaline raced through my body.

“It’s just, Kate didn’t want yeh with Oli and neither did I so it seemed only natural that we would team up.”

My jaw dropped and my whole body froze. This was not true. This was beyond unbelievable. Despite my heart saying this, that Daniel would actually do that, my head was replaying all the times he’d ever come to my house.

Especially the time he’d brought me home drunk and I couldn’t find my house key so I’d used the spare.

“Are you saying that you told Kate how to get in my house?” I asked, anger bubbling in my throat.

“Yeh can’t really prove it though love.”

My hand connected with his cheek with such force that I was surprised only his head moved and not his whole body. My palm stung and my veins flooded with ice and heat. He looked at me in shock before touching his cheek.

“Yeh’re gonna regret that,” he sneered. I glared at him viciously.

“You already destroyed my home, what else will you do?” I asked coldly. Emotions flew through his eyes before I could tell what they were. He settled on a distant indifference.

“Yeh’ll see,” he bristled ominously. He headed out of the kitchen and toward the door. I wasn’t about to let him just leave and I followed, the heat of confrontation still in the forefront of my mind. As he stepped out of the front door, I laughed in what I hoped was an evil way.

“You think you’re so smooth, teaming up with Kate to ruin my life, don’t you? I think you forgot something though. I have loyal friends in high places that can reduce your life to shit within a single phone call Daniel.”

He turned slowly on his heel to face me and for a split second I felt intimidated. I held my own ground though, knowing he was wrong in this situation. He snorted lightly before cocking his head at me.

“Is that a threat?”

“No, that’s a fact,” I said coolly, slamming the door in his face. Mia stood in the kitchen looking for me and I put on a cheerful face, though underneath I was fuming. I sat on the couch watching cartoons with her, waiting for the moment I could tell Oliver.

I never in a million years would have thought Daniel was capable of doing this to me. I knew very well that I’d dropped him flat the second Oli and I became friends again, and that that was a horrible thing to do. I still thought that he was a decent human being.

Then again, no decent human being could help Kate.

When Josh walked in the door, I didn’t even stop to chat. I apologized quickly for having to run and then did just that, ran out to my car without looking back. I stopped briefly at the supermarket, grabbing only the most necessary things to make a meal with, blinking back tears the whole time.

Half of me wanted to stop at my house and look around. That was the stupid half of me and I ignored it, speeding to Oliver’s house. I practically banged the door down and I heard Oli laughing as he opened the door. His laughs, however, stopped short when he saw my face.

“Liv, what’s the matter?” he asked seriously. I dropped the bags on the counter and turned to hug him. He was shirtless, which was something he usually was while lounging at home, and in sweatpants. He held me tightly and brushed his lips over my hair.

“I have to tell you some stuff okay? You’re gonna be mad at me first and then at someone else.”

I was aware that I’d never told Oli about Daniel being Mia’s French tutor and I was also aware how fucked I would be because of that. Oli was big on trust and telling each other everything, which he had made completely clear these last few days. Sitting in the living room, he glanced at me curiously.

“There’s something I’ve never told you,” I started and his curiosity turned to nervousness, “Daniel is Mia’s French tutor and I’ve been seeing him there for three days a week since I started.”

“Yeh’re fuckin’ with me right now,” he said, his voice menacing with a dead calm. Most of the time, I couldn’t see how people viewed Oli as intimidating. Right now, however, was a different story.

He looked downright scary. His eyes were narrowed at me and I could see just how mad he was through them. His normally smiling mouth was pressed into a straight line as he glowered at me and I could practically feel the anger rolling off of him. I shrank back in my seat before opening my mouth.

“No, I’m not and, no listen to me! I know you’re mad,” I said as he stood up and shook his head, “I know you’re mad and you can be mad all you want but I need you to hear the rest of it.”

He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. I took a deep breath and stood up also. I didn’t want him to be mad anymore. I should have told him ages ago like Becca had told me. I bit my lip.

“Well, um, he finished up with Mia when you were on the phone with me and then when I hung up he said he heard about my house and how it sucked and everything and then he said something weird and I asked what he meant by it and he told me that he was the one that told Kate where my key was and then I hit him and he said that he was gonna ruin my life,” I said in one big breath.

I could tell he was still simmering under the surface that I didn’t tell him but all of that was redirected to the obvious rage toward Daniel. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, started dialing a number, and then dropped it on the couch.

“I’m gonna fuckin’ kill him,” he growled and a thrill of adrenaline rushed through me. I grabbed his arm gently and he looked at me.

“Relax please,” I asked, searching his eyes for anger towards me. I figured there was none when he pulled me into a tight hug.

“I will kill him,” he said quietly into my ear.

It scared me because it sounded like a promise.