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Hate Me
  • Текст добавлен: 15 октября 2016, 06:33

Текст книги "Hate Me"


Автор книги: Jillian Dodd



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Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 19 страниц)

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28TH

Got blown up.

9:30am

When I get to the diner, Garrett and Cooper are already sitting at a booth in the back. I skip the hostess stand and join them.

“Hey, Garrett,” I say coolly, taking a seat. Be strong, Keatyn. It’s time for you to take charge.

“Good morning,” he replies.

Cooper rolls tired eyes at me by way of a greeting.

“So, let’s hear this plan of yours,” Garrett says, cutting to the chase.

“My plan got blown up the second you made me leave the island. Look. I want to preface what I’m about to say with a thank you. I sincerely appreciate what you’ve done thus far in keeping me and my family safe. And you’ve been especially kind to me.” I sigh. “But, when you threatened me—no, worse: when you made Tommy threaten me—it forced me to take a long look at things. You’ve purposely divided us. And I understand that we shouldn’t be in the same location, but what I don’t understand is why you haven’t been forthcoming about all that’s been going on. It’s tearing my family apart, Garrett, and I won’t allow it anymore. So, starting now, everything goes through me. All bills. All plans.”

Garrett says, “I have a separate agreement with your mom.”

“She’ll be calling you to void that later today. I don’t want to argue with you. I want to partner with you. And we’re going to begin this partnership with you telling me what’s been going on with her.”

Cooper gives me a little smile over the top of his coffee cup.

“Fine,” Garrett says. “You know that everything I do is in all of your best interests. The threatening letters didn’t stop when your mother moved to Vancouver. In fact, they have become increasingly worse. Then, there was a small breach at the Vancouver property.”

“Breach?”

“The fence surrounding the property was slashed and black roses were left on the swing set.”

My heart drops into my stomach.

“You and your mother are a lot alike, Keatyn. She’s trying to bear the weight of it.”

“Surely, you can see the physical toll it’s taken on her?”

“Yes.”

“But she won’t listen to you, right?”

“Yeah, kinda like when I had to have your bags packed.”

“Touché.” I blink slowly, then continue. “So, basically, the original plan hasn’t worked. You said that if he couldn’t find me, he’d lose interest. But the opposite has happened. It’s getting worse for my family because he can’t find me.”

Garrett nods. “I’d say that’s an accurate assessment.”

“Do you think he wants us both?”

“Based on the letters, he only wants you.”

“So he’s threatening to hurt everyone Mom loves if I don’t come out of hiding? Is that it?”

I know by the look on Garrett’s face that it is.

“Shit,” I say. “That’s why she doesn’t call me. That’s why she was freaked out when I showed up at their house. She was afraid.”

“She’s pushing you away to keep you safe.”

My eyes fill with tears. “But what about the girls? She’d want to . . .” And then it hits me. What she’s been doing. “Oh my god.”

“What?”

“Mom’s plan is just like mine. Only she’s using the press to help her.”

“I’m not following,” Garrett says. His and Cooper’s faces are mirrors of confusion.

“The stories in the press. The rumors of the affair with her bodyguard. Tommy and Millie cheating. She’s setting it up so that when she leaves Tommy, people will expect it.”

“She’s leaving Tommy?”

“I think so. Remember when you told me that for witness protection sometimes you make the family believe that the witness is dead? Same thing. I don’t think Tommy has a clue. She wants his reaction to be real.”

“Why would she leave Tommy?” Cooper asks. “And how would it change what’s going on with Vincent?”

“She can’t pretend to be dead, so she’s doing the only other thing she can. She’s leaving them. She’ll get the girls to France and then leave them with James. Think about it. She’s scary skinny. Tommy’s affair is driving her to drink or do drugs. She’s not stable. She’s leaving Tommy and he’ll get custody of the girls.”

“Shit,” Garrett mutters as he quickly recovers from the shock of it. “I knew she agreed to France too easily.”

“She wants them safe. But then what?” I ask. “She checks into rehab? Lives by herself? Or maybe even something bolder. Like, maybe she didn’t really cancel the To Maddie, with Love press tour.” I’m thinking out loud, now.

Garrett shakes his head. “I was under the impression she cancelled the tour. If she’s going, she won’t have security.”

“And maybe that’s what she wants. She told me it was all her fault. If she wasn’t who she is, then her children wouldn’t be in danger.” I stop and look Garrett dead in the eyes. “I asked Cooper this question, but I’d like your opinion. What do you think would happen if I walked into Vincent’s production office and asked to audition for the role?”

Garrett winces. “I really don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I know, but why? What could he do? Give me the role?”

“Well, if he’s caught off guard by it, there’s no telling what he would do. Sociopaths like to plan. They are obsessive in their planning.”

“Right, but what happens when things don’t go according to their plan?”

“They become more unhinged, mentally.”

“Would it cause Vincent to just react? And more importantly, if he couldn’t plan, would he start making mistakes?”

Garrett nods. “Their behavior becomes unpredictable. Which is bad. But, yes, if pushed, one would assume he wouldn’t be as careful.”

“That’s exactly what I want. And I’m pretty sure it’s what Mom wants.”

“Excuse me?”

“I want him to start making mistakes, so we can send him to jail. And I think Mom wants him to kidnap her for the same reason.”

Garrett holds his head like he has a headache. “I thought my job was to keep you both safe.”

“I know what I’m planning to do is risky. I’m hoping you and Cooper will help to contain that risk.”

“So tell me this plan.”

“Well, assuming that I’m probably right about Mom, the first thing we need to do is convince her to stay in France. You just can’t tell her the part about me.”

“What is it with you two?” Garrett says, shaking his head. “I thought you wanted everything out in the open?”

I smirk at him. “Well, maybe not everything. So, I have a three-pronged approach. I want to attack Vincent from all sides. He needs to know what it feels like to start losing the things he loves. First, his business. Brooklyn and I are going to work with someone his dad knows to start a hostile takeover of his production company. We’ll form a bunch of shell corporations—probably foreign, so that Vincent doesn’t know who’s behind them. We recently discovered that he’s heavily leveraged. And, more importantly, so is his company.”

“What will buying his company accomplish?”

“Do you know why he’s heavily leveraged?”

“No.”

“Because he’s personally financing a large portion of the remake of A Day at the Lake.”

“Your mom’s movie,” Cooper states.

“But he doesn’t personally own the options. The production company does.”

“And if he loses his company—” Cooper says, as Garrett finishes his thought. “He loses the movie.”

“Exactly.”

Garrett nods. “I like that, actually. It will give him something else to focus on.”

“While we focus on him.”

“How?”

“I know you used to follow him, but I want more. I want inside knowledge. So, I looked at his company website last night and I have an idea. His personal assistant is in her mid-twenties and single. Based on her social media, she’s a regular at a bar called Reggae. I was thinking you might have another employee like Cooper. Young. Good-looking. They become friends. She talks about her job. About her boss.”

“Inside information is always good.”

“What we learn from her will help me decide how to proceed on the third prong of the attack. Garrett, are you absolutely positive that there won’t be any breaches in security at the house in France?”

“We’ve fenced the perimeter of the property. 24-hour camera surveillance. Armed guards. It’s like Eastbrooke, only better.”

“Good, because the second prong of the attack will happen organically. The To Maddie, with Love publicity tour. The worldwide premieres. It all kicks off with the extend trailer premiere during the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.”

“We assumed that’s part of what sent him over the edge to begin with,” Garrett tells Cooper. He turns to me and says, “So what’s the third prong?”

“Me.”

“No.”

“Yes. We’re going to let him see me. Everywhere. When the time is right.”

“When will the time be right?”

“I’m going to audition for a role in Tommy’s next movie and, if I get it, I’ll be filming some scenes in New York City over Christmas break. They can make the crew sign non-disclosure agreements, so no one talks about my role until we’re ready. They start filming the big action scenes that I would be a part of in March, so I thought that’s when we’d announce it. Do a big press release. Flood the tabloids with pictures of me. I’ll become a wild child in the eyes of the press, but it will all be carefully orchestrated. It’ll look like I’m out and about all the time. Different guy on my arm in every picture. Drunk coming out of the club. Smoking pot. Skanky photos. Anything to get on the cover of a magazine. But all Vincent will know is where I was last night. Not where I actually am.”

“And where will you actually be?”

“Don’t laugh, but Cooper and I will be living on a boat.”

“A boat?”

“Well, more like a yacht. There are some details we’ll have to work out when the time is right, but no one tracks boats. Not like they do aircraft. So, in theory, I could drive, or maybe even helicopter, to where the yacht is, and sail to a different location. Never a night in the same place, basically.”

“You’ve really thought this through,” Cooper states, smirking at me. I think he might be proud of me.

“And what about Eastbrooke?”

“I promise that I’ll stay here until March. So, what do you think?”

Garrett smiles at me. “I will admit, your plan has some merit.”

“Oh, I forgot to mention that starting now, Cooper works for me.”

“Is that right?” Garrett asks Cooper directly.

Cooper looks him in the eye. Man to man. And says, “That’s right.”

I breathe a sigh of relief. He hadn’t told me his decision yet.

Garrett slips me a forged doctor’s note. “Why don’t you get back to school?”

I glance at Cooper. “You’re going to stay here and talk, huh?”

They both nod, so I grab my keys and head to my car.

When I get there, I call my mom.

Surprisingly, she answers.

“Hey, Mom. I really need to talk to you. Do you have a few minutes?”

“Sure, honey,” she says. “I’m just finishing up some packing.”

“I’m glad you and the girls are going to France.”

Mom gives me a little, “A-hem,” in agreement. I know her. She doesn’t like to lie.

“This thing with Vincent has been tough on all of us. You need some time off.”

“I’m fine, Keatyn.”

“No, Mom. You’re not. And I know you planted all the stuff in the press about the affairs and about your health.”

Mom lets out a big sigh. “Does Tommy know?”

“Not yet, but he will. Don’t let this ruin your relationship. You have to stop lying to Tommy. And me. We can handle the truth. Seriously. And I am going to handle it.”

“Keatyn, you’re just a child.”

“No, I’m not. My sisters are children. I met with Garrett today. I know about the breach in security. I know Vincent hasn’t stopped sending you stuff. Scary stuff.”

Mom starts to cry. “He . . . He . . . left black roses on the swing set. Four of them. One for each of the girls. He sent a photo of Tommy getting out of a car in the city, and it was photoshopped so . . . so that . . . Tommy had been shot in the head. I can’t do this anymore. If he wants me, then he can have me.”

“But that’s the thing, Mom. He doesn’t want you. He wants me.”

“Well, he can’t have you!”

“He’s not going to. Garrett and I have a plan that takes you and the girls out of the mix. But I need your help. With the press.”

“How?”

“I need you to announce that for your health and well-being, you’re taking a break from the movie industry. If they ask where you’re going or what you’re doing, you’ll have no comment.”

“They’ll ask about Tommy.”

“That’s an easy answer. Tommy will be filming Retribution in New York and you will not be joining him.”

“Everyone will assume we’re not together anymore.”

“That’s exactly what you wanted, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but then . . .” Mom starts sobbing. “I’ve been trying to hold it together. But it’s so hard. I’ve missed you so much, Keatyn. But I’ve been so afraid. Afraid he’d get my phone and find your number. Afraid someone would overhear me talking to you. I needed you to stay safe. You’re my baby. And this is all my fault. I thought if I left the girls safe with James and went on the press tour that maybe he’d just take me instead.”

Tears stream down my face. I had almost started to think that she didn’t care about me anymore.

“Remember New York, Mom? When Vincent chased after me?”

“Yes.”

“He was following you, but it was me that he chased. It’s me that he wants. And that means it’s time for me to take control of this situation.”

“Take control how?”

“Well, to start with, Garrett works for me now. You have to promise, no making up plans of your own, okay?”

“Okay,” she says cautiously.

I can tell she hasn’t fully committed.

“You and I agree on one important thing, Mom. And that’s keeping the girls safe. Go to France. Relax. Eat. Get some sleep. Have fun with the girls. And know that Vincent is going to be busy with other stuff.”

“What other stuff?”

“Well, aside from the premieres and press that’s due to start on your movie, we’re going to mess with his business.”

“Does he care that much about his business?”

“His business owns the rights to remake your movie. The movie seems to be the core of his obsession. If he is at risk of losing it . . .”

“He won’t have time to worry about us.”

“That’s the theory, yes.”

“I like that. It feels like we’re fighting back.”

“I like it too.”

“Does Garrett really think it will work?”

“Yes, he’s completely on board,” I say confidently. Well, okay, like, mostly on board. “So, are you in?”

“Do you promise me that everything you do will be approved by Garrett?”

“Garrett or Cooper,” I reply, not wanting to lie to her.

She exhales heavily, like maybe I’ve lifted a weight off her shoulders.

“Then I’m in.”

“Good. I love you, Mom. I have to get back to school, but call me once you get settled, okay?”

“I will. And I love you too.”

Your arm candy.

Ceramics

“We need to talk about French weekend,” Jake tells me.

“What about it?”

“You and me under the lights,” he says.

“What are you talking about?”

“The drama department is in charge of the murder mystery dinner theater for Saturday night.”

“I know. I think it will be so much fun.”

“But you didn’t sign up for it.”

“I have a date.”

“Come on. It’s good for your improv skills. And you need to play the movie star.”

“But I got the most perfect dress. And I wanna sit with Aiden.”

“You and Aiden really need to work on your communication.”

“What do you mean?”

“He agreed this morning that you should do it, and he even volunteered to play your arm candy. He said something about needing the practice. So I wrote him a part. He’ll play your lover slash arm candy. And everyone is wearing their own clothes.”

“He really said that?”

I smile, remembering how Aiden came to almost every one of my rehearsals. How he said he’d be my arm candy. How he put his hand on my knee. How he told me I lit up the stage.

“Yeah, he did,” Jake says. “We’ll all be sitting in the audience with everyone, eating and pretending we’re on a riverboat going up the Seine together. Then, when someone gets killed, right before dessert, we start.” He holds up a very large clay penis and shakes it at me. “Come on. It’ll be fun.”

Bryce laughs and makes a naughty comment about coming and penises.

The teacher walks behind Jake, grabs it out of his hand, and swats him on the head with it. “No vulgarity, Mr. Worth.”

Bryce and I manage to stifle our giggles while watching the teacher take Jake’s art to the back room.

“What do you wanna bet she’s going to put that in her kiln?” Jake jokes.

“Jake!” I screech, laughing.

“Miss Monroe!” My name is yelled from the back room. “Come back here, please.”

“Yeah, come back there,” Bryce says, still cracking up.

I smack Jake on the shoulder as I walk by.

I peek in the back room.

Our teacher is holding my bowl in her hands. “Look!”

“It survived the kiln?!”

She smiles at me. “Yes! And I have a beautiful opalescent overglaze I think you should put on it. It’ll add sheen and highlights without distracting from the craftsmanship.” She digs through a drawer of glazes then holds up a bottle. “Here it is. See?”

“That is really pretty. I’ll work on it tomorrow.”

“Keatyn, I’m really proud of you for trying again. The foundation was the key. It’s why this new version didn’t fall apart.”

I look at my gorgeous bowl and think about Aiden.

When the bell rings, I grab my phone and text him.

Me:  Meet me at ceramics!! I wanna show you something!!

Hottie God:  Be right there :)

After everyone files out, Aiden steps in the classroom. His tie is loosened, one of his shirt-tails is untucked, and his blazer frames his broad shoulders. He looks like he walked straight off the pages of a magazine. He kisses my cheek in greeting.

“What’s up?”

“Remember my project? How it didn’t survive the kiln because it didn’t have a strong foundation?”

“Of course. It was the inspiration for our love mansion.”

“Guess what!?”

“What?”

“I made a new one—one with a stronger foundation—and it survived!” I grab his jacket sleeve, leading him to the back room. “Look!” I say, pointing at it.

“Wow, that’s really cool. I love the design. All the scrolly pieces. You know what this means, don’t you?”

“That I’m amazing at ceramics?”

“It means if you can’t take the heat, stay out of the kiln.”

“I don’t get it.”

He runs a fingertip across the top of the bowl, then grabs my hips, pulling me close. “It means we’re going to survive the kiln, too. No matter how high the heat.”

Slightly exaggerated.

Lunch

Annie plops down next to me at lunch. “I’m breaking up with Ace.”

“What?! Why?” I ask in shock.

“Because he’s an idiot.”

“Why’s he an idiot?” Aiden asks, leaning toward Annie and putting his hand on my knee.

I try to ignore the effect his hand has on my knee. Actually, on my entire body.

“I don’t know; maybe I’m the idiot,” she says. “Because I know that something happened when he was home. He hardly called or texted me. And since we’ve been back, he’s been different.”

“Did you ask him about it?” Aiden asks.

“Yes, and he had no answer. Just sort of shrugged like it was no big deal. I’m sorry, but if you love someone you don’t ignore them for four days!”

“Maybe there’s an explanation?” I offer.

Jake sets his tray down at the table and says to me, “Did you get in trouble in ceramics?”

“No, she just wanted to show me that my new bowl survived the kiln.”

Jake puts his hand up to high five me, so I smack it. “Did she put my sculpture in the kiln?”

“No, but it was just lying there. She hadn’t destroyed it.”

“I think she wants me.”

I laugh at him. “You’re silly.”

“What’d you make, Jake?” Dallas asks.

“A mold of my dick. Teacher was hot for it.”

“Nice,” Dallas says.

“If that huge thing was a mold, I wanna sleep with you too,” I tease.

Aiden’s grip on my knee tightens for just a second. Like a flinch.

Jake rolls his eyes and laughs. “Fine, it may be slightly exaggerated.”

“Ha! I knew it!” I laugh with him.

“Can we have a serious conversation?” Annie pleads. “I’m freaking out!”

“What are you freaking out about?” Jake asks her.

She gives Jake the eye. “Do you know what Ace did over Thanksgiving break?”

“Went home?” Jake replies.

“Well, then let me ask you this, Jake. Would you have texted your girlfriend over Thanksgiving break?”

“Uh, sure?” Jake says, not very convincingly.

“What if you didn’t? What reason would you have for not texting her?”

“Maybe my phone was dead?”

“What else?”

“I was busy?”

“Exactly!” she says, pointing at him. “That’s what I thought! But busy with what—or whom—is the question.”

“Annie, do you really think Ace cheated on you?”

“I don’t know but, as you can see, he’s not sitting with me today. Look where he’s sitting.”

“I don’t see him.”

“He’s sitting by Chelsea.”

Aiden’s eyes get big and his hand finches against my knee again.

And I know.

“Aiden and Logan,” I say, “did Chelsea text either of you over break?”

Aiden nods.

So does Logan.

Maggie’s eyes get big. “She what? What did you say? Did you reply?”

“Yeah. I told her not to text me again.”

Maggie narrows her eyes. “That’s all?”

Logan pulls out his phone and shows her.

Maggie reads it. “Oh, nice. She said, and I quote, We should hook up. You know you and Maggie are never going to work. That little bitch.”

Logan leans his head against hers. “Did you see what I wrote?”

Maggie doesn’t read this out loud, but her smile tells us all we need to know.

I turn to Aiden. “What did she say to you?”

“Can we talk about it later?” he says.

“Uh, sure,” I say, but I’m not at all sure. In fact, I’m pissed. Because if he said something like Logan did, he would’ve shown me now.

I move my knee out from under his hand, crossing my legs and turning toward Annie. “It sounds like she is up to her old tricks again.”

“I bet she just sent them to Aiden and your friends’ boyfriends to get back at you.”

“You’re probably right.” I turn and say, “Bryce, did she text you, too?”

“Yeah, I told her to fuck off. She made a sexual comment about that to which I didn’t bother replying.”

Katie grins at him and runs her hand down his arm. They’re so cute together.

I know I should trust Aiden. I have no reason to doubt him. But it’s killing me.

Feasting on my stomach.

I can’t eat.

I can’t stop wondering what Aiden said to her.

And why he won’t tell me.

And I can’t even look at him. I just look straight down at my food and pretend to eat.

This is another reason why I shouldn’t have come back here. I can’t take any more drama in my life.

About halfway through lunch, Aiden reaches under the table, putting his hand back on my knee.

I was pretending to be absorbed in a conversation Jake and Bryce were having and his touch makes me jump.

I bolt upright, grab my tray, and say to the table, “I have to get to class early. See ya later.”

I throw my lunch in the trash, deposit my tray, and avoid Chelsea’s table.

Whitney says, “Keatyn,” as I walk by hers.

I sit down with her, Dawson, Brooke, and Peyton.

“Hey, how was your break?” I ask her politely.

She doesn’t answer my question. “Did Chelsea text Ace over break?”

I nod sadly. “Yeah. Logan, Bryce, and Aiden too.”

“She wants to get back at you.”

“Probably.”

“It’s because we’re divided, so she thinks she stands a chance. In fact, I was thinking . . .”

She leans over and whispers in my ear.

And what she says makes me smile. “You’re right. Tomorrow night, it is.”

A weird match.

French

I get to French class early, and Miss Praline says, “Keatyn, would you mind missing class today?”

“Not at all!” I practically scream. I really don’t think I can stand to sit here with Aiden, wondering the whole time what the heck Chelsea said to him.

“Great. I need someone to go to The Market and choose the picnic basket assortments for the French club to sell. Would you like to take Aiden or Annie with you?”

I shake my head. “Neither one of them is doing very well in class. I’d hate for them to miss it.”

“Yes, you’re right. You don’t mind going by yourself?”

“Honestly, it’d probably be easier to have just one person choose.”

“All right,” she says, writing out a pass for me. “I’ll call them and let them know you’re on your way.”

I practically skip out the door.

When I get to the office, Dawson is just leaving.

“Whatcha doing?” I ask him.

“Just dropping off something for my math teacher. What are you doing?”

“Going to choose the picnic basket assortment for French weekend.”

“Take me with you? I didn’t do my math homework.”

“Sure, why not?” I look down at the note. “She didn’t put my name on it.”

We check out with the office and he offers to drive.

“I saw Brooke was sitting with you today.”

“Yeah, and, surprisingly, Whitney was really cool about it. But I guess she’s all into Shark. Is it me, or is that kind of a weird match?”

“Shark gets a lot of girls. He’s cute.”

“Yeah, but . . .”

“I agree. It’s kinda surprising. But he complimented her Court dress, and I watched her blush. Shark has charisma. And he’s super smart. He’s the kind of guy that will go places in life.”

“True. And Whitney would like that.”

“I don’t think that’s what they’re about though. I think he turns her on.”

“Shark kind of reminds me of her dad,” Dawson laughs.

“I’ve never heard about him.”

“She doesn’t talk about him much. Her parents went through a nasty divorce sophomore year. Her mom told her that her dad never wanted to see either of them again.”

“So the guy at Homecoming that looked perfect. That wasn’t her dad?”

“Stepdad. Her mom was remarried within six months.”

“I didn’t care much for her mother. Or her bitchy sister.”

“They think their shit doesn’t stink. They aren’t very nice to Whitney. I always felt bad for her.”

“It would suck.”

“Speaking of suck,” Dawson says with a laugh. “Is it me or does that night at the Cave seem like so long ago.”

“A lot has happened since then.”

“I’m glad we’re still friends.”

“I am too. Dawson, did Chelsea text you over break?”

“No.”

“Did she text Riley?”

“No. And I think he would have said something because it would’ve pissed him off.”

“She texted Aiden. At lunch, he wouldn’t tell me what she said. He said we’d talk about it later.”

“And you’re freaking out, assuming it’s going to be something bad?”

“Kind of. Logan told us what Chelsea said and he let Maggie read what he said back. It made her happy. Aiden didn’t tell me that she texted him. And that bothers me.”

“Maybe that’s why he didn’t tell you. Did you have fun together on your trip?”

“Yeah, it was really nice. And it felt like we figured things out. How to communicate better. How not to jump to conclusions. How not to get mad and walk away.”

“Does he still speak to your soul?”

“Yeah. And that’s why he scares me.”

“Keatie, don’t let it.”

“Does Brooke speak to your soul?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. She’s fun to kiss.”

I roll my eyes at him.

He smirks. “But, then, you were fun to kiss, too. That’s what I loved about our relationship. It was fun and easy. No drama.”

I raise an eyebrow at him.

“Okay, there was some drama. But it was outside drama, not drama with us. Until the Whitney thing.”

“More like Whitney things. Do you think she’s changed?”

“I actually think she has. What she did for you was pretty cool. And, today, she didn’t say anything bitchy about Brooke sitting with us.”

Dawson parks in front of The Market.

“I already asked Brooke to be my date this weekend. I want to impress her with a kickass picnic. You’re going to do some extravagant options, right?”

“I am now,” I laugh.

Not as fun without you.

Dance

“What’s wrong, Maggie?”

She’s putting her pompoms in her locker slowly and staring at them like she’ll never see them again.

She sits down, slumps her shoulders, and drops her head. “I think this will be my last semester at Eastbrooke. I don’t know where I’m going to go or what I’m going to do.” Her voice cracks. “I haven’t told Logan and it’s killing me. And I half hoped he would’ve said something to Chelsea so I could get mad and break up with him. That way it will be easier when I have to leave.”

I sit down next to her and put my arm around her. “Maggie! You can’t leave! Why would you want to?”

“I don’t want to. You know how I went to Logan’s for most of Thanksgiving break?”

“Yeah.”

“I didn’t tell him why.”

“What happened?”

“You know that my mom got remarried a few years ago?”

“Yeah, you’ve mentioned that.”

“When I go home, I feel like an outsider. Like I don’t belong. Last summer was horrible. I was so desperate I wanted to go live with my dad.”

“Why would that be desperate?”

She looks down again and starts crying. “My mom comes from a pretty well-off family. She fell in love with my dad but her family never liked him. Said he was worthless. I think eventually he started feeling that way. I remember when we’d go to my grandparents’ for holidays. They were never really nice to him. And my dad would always drink a lot. He started using drugs. My mom found out. He was spending a lot of money on them, I guess. I was only eleven when they divorced. Mom got full custody of me, and I’m hardly allowed to see him.”

“Did he show up at Thanksgiving or something?”

“No. I don’t like her new husband and I’m pretty sure the feeling is mutual. It’s all about them and their baby. Their family. Apparently their families have known each other forever and my grandparents love him. I don’t know why. He’s a lazy ass when he’s at home. Mom has a nanny for my little brother, so she doesn’t have to deal with—and I quote—the dirty parts of raising a child. So, of course, I go home and the nanny is off for the holiday. My stepdad was on my ass the entire time. Like it was my job to take care of him. And I was glad to help. I adore the kid. So I fed him, rocked him to sleep, and was right in the middle of texting Logan when he woke up and started crying. When I didn’t jump up to get him, my stepdad grabbed my phone out of my hand and blew up. He told me I was lazy! While he was sitting on his ass! He decided I was grounded from my phone. I told my mom it was bullshit. She took his side, and I lost it. I got my little brother out of his crib, gave him a kiss, handed him to my stepdad, took my phone back, and marched out the front door.”

“And you went to Logan’s house?”

“Sorta. I was just crying and driving. Two hours later, I ended up there completely unannounced. His family was amazing. He hadn't told them we got back together because he didn't want them to get their hopes up. I felt more at home there than at my own house. My mom sent me a text and told me that Harry decided they weren’t going to pay for me to go to Eastbrooke anymore and not to bother to ask my grandparents for money because they agreed I shouldn’t behave that way.”

“Oh, Maggie,” I say softly, pulling her into a hug. “We’ll figure something out.”

“I’ve been on pins and needles waiting to get called to the office and kicked out of here, but right before dance I looked up the tuition policy. They had to pay for this semester in advance and there are no refunds. So at least I know I’ll get to finish up the semester. My mom says she's not sending my allowance anymore either, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I have some money saved, but not enough for tuition.”


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