Don't Let Me Go

James didn't want to tell Iris the story about Olivia but he knew he had to.

Iris deserved to know even if her ass if an ex-boyfriend never told her.

Jonathan covered for Olivia just because he felt that his friendship with Taylor was worth more.

But someone must've put the fear of God in Taylor because he told the truth about everything that happened. His account matched perfectly with James'. The police knew Olivia and Jonathan lied.

Ever since then, James kept his distance from them and Olivia was sent to boarding school when her dad moved jobs out of town.

James never thanked God as much as he did the day Olivia boarded a plane for San Francisco. For once he was at peace.

But now? He felt like he had to look over his shoulder all the time. And he sure as well wasn't going to let Olivia get anywhere near Iris. She would have to go through him first and she wasn't going to like that route.

When Iris pulled up to James' house, he could tell she loved it.

He lived one town over in Brighton Hills.

A ritzy beach town. He loved it. He typically didn't run into people from school and he liked it that way.

He had the beach as his backyard and a gorgeous view to wake up to every morning. He wasn't complaining.

"This is a beautiful house," Iris said as they got out of the car.

"Thank You," he replied.

His mom's car was already in the driveway and he made a mental note to tell her about Olivia later. She was going to freak out.

When he got inside his stomach rumbled from the amazing smells wafting from the kitchen.

"Mom!" He called as he and Iris removed their shows.

They made their way into the kitchen to find James' mom stirring and mixing away in the kitchen.

"Mom," James said.

She turned around, "Oh! Hi honey! Sorry I'm such a mess," she said kissing his cheek.

James raised his eyebrows at Iris in a told you so way. Iris smirked.

"And you must be Iris," James mom said turning to her, "My God you are beautiful,"

Iris blushed, "Oh, thank you," she said smiling.

"Ugh. Where are my manners? I'm Miranda. Don't worry about Mrs. Vega. Please call me Miranda- it's so nice to finally meet you,"

"It's nice to meet you as well," Iris said smiling.

Miranda pulled her into a hug, "The way James talks about you. It feels like you're family," she said laughing.

Iris laughed as James groaned of embarrassment.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" Miranda asked.

"Oh, no that's alright. Thank you," Iris said, "You have a beautiful home by the way,"

"Oh. Thank you! I keep telling James' dad we should rent it out over the summers but he says that it's got character and that it should be preserved. Whatever that means,"

Iris laughed.

"I'm making dinner. We would love for you to stay," Miranda said.

"Oh, no I wouldn't want to impose," Iris said.

"Please. We would love to have you," she said smiling.

"Okay. Yeah, sure! Thank you. I just have to let my parents know,"