Page 9 of The Casualty of Us (Philosophies of the Heart Duet #1)

I bump his shoulder with mine, popping a bite of pancakes into my mouth and looking back to see Hayes poke his own fork into one of my perfect pieces.

The grin he gives me while bringing it to his mouth practically begs for a reprimand, but I don’t engage beyond a roll of my eyes.

The others start chattering about classes and sports and all things freshman year related, giving me the opportunity to find out that I’ll have Holden in my Lit seminar while both Ollie and Hayes are in math with me.

Everyone is starting to wrap up breakfast and gather their things when Hayes mentions that he has Spanish first today but is really looking forward to debate on Friday as well.

I jerk my gaze back his way, brows falling at the information as Marley chimes in. “Oh! We’re heading to French now, they’re on the same floor, right?”

Not giving me a chance to question his choice of class before our group starts to head out together from there, Ollie and I linger at the back as he tries to bully me into giving him answers about not sleeping last night while the others stroll in front of us.

He gives up eventually when he has to break away with Holden to find their classrooms, leaving me with Marley and Hayes as we make it to our building.

All of us come to a stop inside of it and stare at the option of elevator versus stairs as my brain unhelpfully reminds me that my class is up on the fourth floor.

Considering that both elevators already have a line waiting for them, though…

“Ugh.” I look over at them and jerk my head toward the stairs. “Up we go?”

Marley nods. “Yeah, it’ll be—”

“You’re Ophelia Fitzroy, aren’t you?”

The high voice has me turning around to see no less than three cheerleaders have come to stand behind me.

A pretty redhead is at the front of the group as the other two linger behind her while stealing flirty glances Hayes’s way.

Now that I think about it, he’s been getting a lot of them actually, which isn’t really surprising considering that he is, in fact, pretty, but one would think—

“Aren’t you?”

The peppy redhead’s voice pulls me back from my inner musings, and I cock my head at her. “Who’s asking?”

“I’m Lisette Conners,” she starts meaningfully. “My parents met yours at the Easter egg roll last year, and I just wanted to say how sorry I am about what happened to you.”

Control your face, Ophelia. Control your fucking face.

“Okay.” I nod. “Thanks.” I move to step back and end this decidedly awkward encounter when she moves forward suddenly, reaching for my shoulder and giving it a squeeze.

“I mean, to think people can even imagine such a thing.” She starts again, dropping her hand with sympathy practically pouring off her.

“Taking advantage of your poor mother. Not that she wasn’t reimbursed or something, I’m sure.

Her company must have insurance for that.

Or I guess the money probably came from her personal accounts.

” All of this is rushed out with each sentence quicker than the last, and she glances at the two girls behind her before giving me a blinding smile.

“We’re all really big fans of her products and would hate for her to ever suffer because of what happened. ”

She did not just…

Calm the fuck down. Calm the fuck down. Calm —

Oh, fuck it.

“Of course.” I lift my lips, easily mimicking her smile and leaning in closer. “Because it would just be such a shame if her company suffered because of a kidnapping.”

Her face falls. “That’s not what I—”

“No,” I interject with a loose wave of my hand. “No, really, I completely understand. Who cares about the criminals or the victims or the millions of other people suffering in the world as long as her makeup products keep hitting the shelves, right?”

Her expression quickly sours, and I lift a brow at it while keeping my lips up.

“You don’t have to be a bitch about it,” she snaps suddenly. “I was just trying to be nice and was going to say I could show you around since it’s your first year.”

“Well, considering the day before that whole little pesky kidnapping ordeal happened, I gave my mother a presentation on how I plan to sell off my half of her company one day, complete with PowerPoint slides and Excel spreadsheets, mind you.” I let a quiet laugh escape at the look of absolute horror on her face.

“I think I can find my way, but thanks.”

I don’t wait for her to respond before spinning on my heel and making for the stairs, suddenly way more game for climbing them than before.

Marley catches up to me by the first landing with a laugh. “My gosh, Bookish.” She smirks at me. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“She’s just lucky that my mom didn’t hear her.” I scowl, half tempted to text her that the Conners need to be removed from our Christmas card list if they’re on it.

“You’re really selling this whole need to be adopted by your mother thing to me.” Marley sighs deeply. “She sounds worlds better than mine.”

The distaste falls from my face at the reminder of how lucky I am, and a grin takes its place. “She’s pretty awesome.”

“I’d say count me in on this plan too.” Hayes’s voice draws my attention to where he’s trailing a couple steps behind us. “But then we’d be related, and that might get awkward.”

I shake my head at him, looking back at the stairs so that I don’t trip over my own feet. “I can’t with you, Dimples.”

“You gave me a nickname, though,” he argues back happily. “You only give nicknames to people you like.”

“Not true,” I scoff.

“Completely true.” That breath of laughter comes before the sound of his feet quickly hitting the stairs. “Plus, have you seen me, O?” He pops up at my side, glancing down to tease. “Handsome, thoughtful, moderately intelligent, and set for life. You’d really be missing out.”

“Don’t forget humble.”

“Marley,” he calls out as we reach the fourth landing. “You only give nicknames to people you like, right?”

“Don’t drag me into this.” She smirks, pulling open the door for us to pass through. “I’m just remembering the multitude of times her brother mentioned that she’s his baby sister at breakfast.”

“Ridiculous.” I shake my head, waiting for her before starting down the hallway again. “He was born literally four minutes before me. It’s ridiculous.”

“Try telling him that.” Marley turns to scan the rooms we’re passing by, only looking back when we finally make it to the right one to give Hayes a nod. “Here we are. Later, Hayes.”

She heads into the classroom with that, and I’m about to follow after her when a hand wraps around my arm, spinning me around and leaving me staring up into a pair of hazel eyes that are narrowed playfully down at me.

I lift my brows at him. “Can I help you?”

“You forgot something.” He drops my arm before reaching for the tie hanging loosely around my neck. “And I have a question.”

His fingers brush across my skin, and my breath stalls as he starts to straighten the tie. Some part of my brain catching up to the fact that he’s literally tying it for me and that it should be weird. All of it.

First breakfast and now this. Little things.

But that functioning part of my brain is also forcefully kicked to the side as he stares down at me with little brushes of contact happening between us.

Biology winning out over logic momentarily.

“W-what?” I finally manage.

“Did you really give your mom a presentation on how you plan to sell off her company?”

“Yeah,” I breathe out softly, immediately sucking in more air to ask. “Why?”

He raises a brow “How’d she take it?”

“Wished me luck in my endeavors.” I shrug, feeling some ridiculous need to defend myself. “Generational wealth rarely lasts and I have no interest in cosmetics.” Trying to move on and opting to distract him instead. “What’s your major?”

“Undecided.”

“Figures.”

That puff of laughter comes again, and he fidgets with the knot for another few seconds before his fingers slow to a stop. Neither of us moves, though. Both staring at the other with something pushing and pulling where the hazel and blue are meeting.

Then the next thing I know, his fingers drop away from the tie, and he’s stepping back with a soft rasp. “You’re not what I expected, Ophelia Sage.”

I frown at the use of both names but can’t help myself. “What’d you expect?”

Those dimples finally make a reappearance as he walks backward, giving me a wink. “Less, I expected less.”

My mouth pops open, and his grin cuts deep for a split second before he turns around to make his way down the hallway.

Leaving me standing there sorting through the entire encounter until a clatter from the classroom sends me hurrying into it.

Sliding into the seat Marley saved for me, still not sure what the entire thing or his statement meant.

Marley leans in close to my desk before whispering, “You know who he is, right?”

“Hayes?” I question with a frown, quickly shaking my head. “No idea.”

“His dad is Drake Flynn.” She smirks. “As in lead singer for the band Doubtful Souls, rock legend, and supposed sex god Drake Flynn.”

I have to stop the way my mouth tries to fall open again before pursing my lips with a quiet, “Mmm.”

Well, that makes sense.

“Yeah.” She laughs at my expense, whispering even more quietly as our professor makes her way into the classroom. “Good luck with that one, girl.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

She shakes her head at me, but I’m saved from further conversation as another voice starts in. “Bonjour, les étudiants, comme ca va?”

Between classes, Marley’s attempts to drag me to the athletic center, hoping to entice me into joining her in sports, and our decision to continue the one-night tradition of having dinner in our room…

it’s not until the next morning that I see Hayes again.

Sleep-deprived and running behind to no one’s surprise, including mine, when I plop into what’s apparently my designated seat at the table, barely glancing at my tablet to order before a mug is pushed in front of me.

“Tea. Black. Two sugars and a splash of coconut milk.” I blink up at him in surprise, catching the twitch of his dimples. “I can do your tie when your brother isn’t around.”

“Goddammit.” Silverware clatters next to me. “Baby sister, dude!”

I stare at him for what must be a ridiculously long time because Marley finally nudges me with an elbow, breaking the trance and making me reach blindly for the mug.

His eyes light up with victory when I take a sip, and he quickly pushes his tray forward until it’s resting between us too. “Eat.”

And really, that’s how it all began, with perfect tea orders and ties that we would both cling to and break through more pain in the years that followed than we could ever imagine then.