by Ivy Smoak
“Pretty sure what?”
“Nothing.”
He moved closer. “No, what were you going to say?”
I was saved by a knock on the door.
“Both of you stay there,” Miller said. His voice was so firm I actually froze in place. “I’ll be right back.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, but Miller had already disappeared.
The banging on the door grew louder and I grabbed Felix’s hand. For just a second, I thought the ghost had followed me here. That it was trying to get in and terrorize Felix too.
“It’s okay,” Felix said. “You’re safe here. If it’s Mr. Pruitt, I won’t let him take you. You can stay with me.”
Right. It was a lot more likely that it was Mr. Pruitt than a ghost. But I squeezed Felix’s hand tighter still. Or maybe it wasn’t either of those things. Maybe it was whatever Miller was supposed to be protecting me from.
“I have every right to be here.” Kennedy’s familiar voice flitted into the room. “So get out of my way.”
Kennedy! I stood up and ran toward the foyer.
“Move it, buddy,” she said.
“I can’t let you in,” Miller said. “You aren’t on the list.”
“What list? Brooklyn!” she screamed. “Brooklyn, are you here?”
I ducked under Miller’s arm that was blocking the door and threw my arms around Kennedy. And I immediately burst into tears. Felix’s hugs were great. But Kennedy smelled like her mother’s cooking and home. She smelled like everything I was missing.
“Brooklyn,” Miller said from behind me. “You need to let go and come back inside. Right now.”
Fuck you.
“Neither of them are on the list,” he said.
Neither? I opened my eyes and looked over Kennedy’s shoulder at Cupcake. He was holding a box that I was sure was filled with high calorie, sugary treats.
“Hey, Brooklyn,” he said. “I brought dessert. Thought it might make you feel better.”
It was the first time I’d ever been happy to see him. Another familiar face, even if it was one that had thrown a dodgeball at my nose. “Thanks for coming, guys. And for bringing snacks.”
“Where else would we be?” Kennedy said. “Felix said you were here and I knew you needed me.”
I had the best friends in the world.
“That’s enough,” Miller said more firmly. “Brooklyn, get back inside this apartment right now or…”
I turned around. “Or what? They’re not going to hurt me if that’s what you’re worried about.”
He frowned.
“They’re my friends. I don’t care if they’re on Mr. Pruitt’s approved list, because they’re on mine.”
“Brooklyn…”
“Miller, please.” My voice cracked. “Please.”
He sighed.
“Come on man,” Cupcake said from behind me. “I brought cupcakes.”
“Yeah, we brought dessert,” Kennedy said. “And we absolutely won’t hurt her. That’s not really what you’re worried about, is it?” There was an awkward silence. “Wait, that is what you’re worried about?” She lifted up her camera. “The worst I could do is sell pictures to the paparazzi, and I’m not even going to do that.”
I laughed. “See? Please, Miller.” I blinked up at him. We’d shared some kind of moment last night. Maybe it was one-sided. Maybe it wasn’t. But it felt like he was at least my friend. “Please.”
“Fine. But don’t tell Mr. Pruitt.”
That was a promise I could easily keep. Because I was never going to see Mr. Pruitt again.
Chapter 13
Saturday
Kennedy pulled me into the bathroom with her before Miller had a chance to demand to search it for…whatever it was he was looking for.
“Are you okay?” she asked and put her hands on my shoulders. “Tell me everything. What was it like at their place? Were they as awful at home as they are in public?”
“I messed up.” I tried to blink away the tears that had started the moment she’d hugged me.
“What do you mean?”
“I told Mr. Pruitt the truth about what happened at lunch and got Isabella and her mom kicked out of the apartment for the weekend. Isabella’s going to be worse than ever to me. What was I thinking?”
“You were thinking that the truth is better than lies.”
“Not when it comes to the Pruitts apparently.”
Kennedy’s hands fell from my shoulders. She was staring at me with so much concern on her face. I didn’t know if she was waiting for me to say more or if she had more to say. But it was easy for me to fill the silence.
“I don’t know what to do,” I said. “I can’t stay there another night. And I was hoping Felix would help cause a distraction and then I’d be able to sneak away to your place. But he brought up the point earlier that Miller would easily find me. And I don’t have anywhere else to go. What am I supposed to do? They’ll always find me. Won’t they?” I’d already answered my own question
Kennedy nodded. “Here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to be brave. And you can tell me all about how horrible they are when we hang out every day. And you’re going to get through this. Before you know it, we’ll be off to college and you never have to see them again.”
That wasn’t what I was expecting her to say. At all. What was she talking about? “College?” That was two and a half years away. “Your mom told me she was going to fix it. She’s…”
Kennedy shook her head. “Matt even had his fancy lawyer go with my mom. There isn’t anything they can do.”
“But Mr. Pruitt isn’t my legal guardian. Of course they can do something. He freaking kidnapped me.”
“Trust me, they brought up that point. But no one’s budging. Matt’s fancy pants lawyer thinks Mr. Pruitt bribed someone. Everyone my mom goes to just looks the other way. Maybe he bribed a whole lot of somebodies.”
“So you’re telling me that there’s no way out?” I tried to take a deep breath, but it didn’t feel like my lungs were expanding anymore. “I’m stuck here?”
“Brooklyn, you’re the strongest person I know. You got through your mom’s death and…”
“I’m not through it.” I couldn’t breathe. “My heart is still broken.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re not strong. You’re still standing here, fighting the next battle.”
I was barely standing.
“And I’ll be there for you the whole time.”
“Kennedy, he’s not going to let me see you. He barely let me leave the apartment today. I’m…I’m…” I let my voice trail off. I’m trapped. I’d known it all along. I’d held on to hope when I tried to sneak out last night. And hope that today I’d be able to run away. But I’d known the truth all along. I was trapped in this hell.
“He has to let you see me,” she said with a smile. “We go to school together.”
She didn’t get it. Mr. Pruitt had made it very clear about what he thought of Kennedy and her mom. Yes, I’d get to see her at school. But never after. Not on the weekends. Not at work. But all the fight was out of me once the truth sunk in. I’m trapped.
“Let’s just try to forget about it for a day.”
That was easy for her to say. She wasn’t living with the Pruitts. She hadn’t lost her whole family. But instead of saying anything at all, I just nodded.
Kennedy smiled. “Come on. It’ll be fun. It’s kind of like we’re having a double date.”
Oh God. That’s exactly the way it looked. But she had to realize that I couldn’t possibly be on a date right now. My heart had broken when my mom died. It had shattered when my uncle died. And it got tossed into oncoming traffic when I broke up with Matt. I didn’t have a heart left for anyone.
Kennedy pulled me out of the bathroom and we practically ran into Miller.
His arms were folded across his strong chest and he looked…pissed. Or was it amused? I didn’t really know him at all.
; But then I realized that amused and pissed were probably exactly right if he’d just been listening to our conversation. “How much of that did you hear?” I asked.
“Just about all of it,” he said.
So…my plans to run away and the double date bit. Great. As if my day couldn’t get any more terrible, now he had to be mad at me too. But why was he mad? Really, I should be the one who was mad. Was it actually in his job description to eavesdrop?
“Awkward,” Kennedy said a little too high-pitched and pulled me past him.
Felix and Cupcake had already cracked open the box of sweets. I usually didn’t eat much dessert. It was easy to be hyper-aware of the food I put into my body when my mom and my uncle had both died so young. But today, I really didn’t give a shit.
I picked up what I figured was the infamous sugarcake and took a huge bite. It practically melted in my mouth. No wonder these things are so popular. I took another bite. And another. I grabbed a second sugarcake and pretty much shoved half of it into my mouth like a barbarian.
“You should probably slow down, you don’t need all that,” Cupcake said and grabbed my arm.
Excuse me? I was pretty sure that offhand comment about my weight was worse than him literally throwing a dodgeball in my face.
“What’s your problem, man?” Felix said, breaking the awkward silence that followed Cupcake’s comment.
“Nothing,” Cupcake said. “I just really think one’s plenty for her.”
There was no other way to look at it. Cupcake thought I was fat. I looked down at my sweater that showed off my midriff. I tried to pull it down a little. I knew wearing these stupid clothes was a mistake. Justin was wrong about Diane Cartwright knowing how to dress people because I clearly wasn’t pulling this off.
“Don’t be rude,” Kennedy said and lifted up her own sugarcake. “She’s had kind of a rough few days if you haven’t noticed.”
“Right.” Cupcake nodded, but he still looked weirdly concerned about me downing a second dessert.
Screw you too, Cupcake. I picked up a third just to annoy him.
“Ignore him,” Felix said. “You look amazing.”
It was sweet of him to say when his friend had just called me fat. But all I could think about was that it was also very awkward. Because I could feel Miller staring at me.
I turned toward his piercing gaze. “Miller, don’t you want any?” I asked. I hated that he just stood there watching us. Couldn’t he just sit down and join us instead?
He didn’t budge from his spot on the wall, so I brought one over to him.
“They’re really good,” I said and handed it to him.
“Thanks.” He took it from me. “Who’s that little jackass?”
I didn’t need him to clarify who he was talking about. “Cupcake. He’s Kennedy’s boyfriend.”
“Want me to take care of him?”
“What does that even mean?”
Miller brushed a crumb off the lapel of his suit jacket. “You don’t need to know the specifics.”
Was this the kind of stuff that the Pruitts paid their security detail extra for? I didn’t need to hear anything else. I could tell by Miller’s tone that it was something sinister. “That’s definitely not necessary.”
“Let me know if you change your mind.”
I could take care of myself. I didn’t need him to do whatever it was he was referring to. And why was that Miller’s first reaction? Seriously, what line of work was Mr. Pruitt in?
I retreated back to the couch. Miller was the only person in the Pruitt’s apartment that I thought was nice. But nice people didn’t offer to “take care” of things in that tone.
“Are you feeling okay?” Cupcake asked. “You look a little pale.”
“So now I’m fat and sickly?” The words just spilled out of me like I had no filter.
“What? No. That’s not…” his voice trailed off. “I was just asking,” he said a little quieter.
And for some reason I started laughing. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. My stomach, which as far as I was concerned was very flat, hurt with laughter.
Cupcake started laughing too, probably just relieved that Miller wasn’t going to kick his ass, and then everyone started laughing.
“I feel like I haven’t eaten in a week,” I said and grabbed another sugarcake. “Cupcake, these really are great.”
“Thanks,” he said when he finally caught his breath. “I made them myself. It’s a new recipe with a secret ingredient.”
“What’s the secret?” Kennedy asked. “Love?”
He smiled and nudged her with his shoulder.
It was the first time that I actually thought they were cute together. I polished off my third sugarcake and sunk into the couch. I’d had that kind of love with Matt. And I threw it all away because he was being blackmailed by Isabella and refused to acknowledge my presence in public. That was oddly specific and conclusive. And despite that, all I wanted to do was text him. I looked down at my new phone. It was a bad idea. But I did know his number by heart…
What was I even doing texting Matt? I shook my head. Thinking about Matt. I was most definitely not texting him. Which was good because there was a guy that actually cared about me sitting next to me. He had my back. He cared about me. And he wasn’t embarrassed of me. Even when I did stuff my face with three sugarcakes.
“Have you thought about what you’re going to wear to homecoming?” Felix asked. “I want to make sure my tie matches your dress.”
Homecoming. Crap balls. I’d told both Felix and Matt that I’d go with them. But seeing as Matt and I were over and he was never allowed to be with me in public in the first place…he was out of the race. Which was good. Because telling one of them that I overbooked would have been very uncomfortable. So really, the breakup saved me. Yup. “I don’t know yet. As soon as I do, I’ll make sure to tell you.”
“I’ve found a few dresses online that I thought you might want to see,” Kennedy said. “But I guess you can kind of buy whatever dress you want now, right?”
I didn’t want to talk about this. I wanted to forget about the Pruitts, not picture myself in one of the stupid dresses Diane Cartwright had fitted me for. They probably all showed my midriff and Cupcake would just make fun of me all night. “Do you guys want to watch a movie or something?” I asked. It was a lame segue, but I prayed that it would work.
“Sounds good to me.” Felix put his arm behind me on the couch, being careful not to touch me.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently my segue was perfection.
Kennedy abruptly stood up. “Better idea. Let’s play never have I ever.”
“Oh, good idea, babe,” Cupcake said.
Felix looked at me like he was waiting for me to make the decision for both of us.
“Yeah, let’s do it.” I was actually feeling a little too wired to sit and watch a movie anyway. All the sugar had made me forget about the fact that I hadn’t slept at all. I’d just be careful not to bring up homecoming during the game. “Miller, you’re up first,” I said with laugh.
He just stared at me, but I swore I saw a hint of a smile.
“I can go first,” said Cupcake. “I always forget, do I say I haven’t done something, and if you guys have done it you raise your hands?”
“Yup,” Kennedy said as she settled herself into his lap.
He nodded. “Got it. Never have I ever…used a public restroom.”
I laughed. He clearly didn’t understand the game. That was just a flat out lie. I was about to correct him, but Kennedy beat me to it.
“Wait,” Kennedy said. “Your thing is supposed to be something you haven’t done.”
“Right. I’ve never used a public restroom. That’s what I just said.”
“Wait,” Kennedy said again. “Are you seriously telling me that you’ve never used a public restroom?”
“Never.”
Her jaw dropped. “How is that humanly possible?”
�
�I always just go home.”
“So if you had to pee right now…”
He shrugged. “I’d go home.”
No freaking way. That was the weirdest thing I’d ever heard in my life. Had he never had a bathroom emergency? Oh, no, what if he had? That meant he’d probably wet his pants in his fancy town car.
“But you’d have to drive like 20 minutes,” she said.
“You’re supposed to raise your hand if you have done that thing,” Cupcake said. “You’re not supposed to question it.”
“I’m sorry, babe. It’s just…you’re serious?”
“Of course I’m serious. Public restrooms are gross.”
So is peeing your pants. I giggled to myself even though Cupcake hadn’t admitted to such an incident.
He finally corralled us into finishing our side of the game. We all raised our hands. Because we weren’t psychopaths like him.
“Okay that was…interesting,” Kennedy said. “Well, it finally all makes sense. Now I understand that thing you told me. You know…that tidbit of information would be really great for this game.”
Cupcake looked horrified. “Don’t…”
“Never have I ever sharted my pants at school,” Kennedy said before Cupcake could stop her.
I almost spit out the sugarcake I was eating when I saw Cupcake’s eyes bug out of his head.
“I told you that in confidence,” Cupcake hissed at her.
She held back her laugh as only Cupcake raised his hand.
“It was one time,” Cupcake said.
Felix laughed. “Man, maybe you should start using a public restroom.”
“One time,” he grumbled.
Suddenly Cupcake nailing me in the face with a dodgeball or calling me fat didn’t seem so bad. The poor guy hard sharted in school. It was hard to come back from that. And yet…he was one of the most popular kids at Empire High. With the name Cupcake. He was basically a genie for pulling that one off.
“Okay.” I rubbed my hands together while I tried to think of something fun and witty too. “Never have I ever had a real boyfriend or girlfriend. You know…one that takes you on dates in public and holds your hand in the hallways of school.” God, that wasn’t fun and witty. It was pathetic.