by Ivy Smoak
I pressed my lips together.
“But I promise I won’t start calling you Pruitt instead.” He put his hand back on my waist.
“I appreciate that.” I tried to peer over his shoulder again, this time looking for Kennedy. “Have you seen Kennedy? I really need to go see if she’s okay.”
“Yeah, I saw her at the punch bowl a few minutes ago.”
Damn it. “I should probably…”
“You still owe me a favor you know,” Rob said.
“Hmm?” I asked, even though I knew exactly what he was referring to.
A smile spread over his face. “Don’t play dumb with me, Sanders. You screamed my name, remember?”
“As you locked me in Matt’s room. Yeah, I remember. But you tricked me. I don’t owe you anything.”
“Actually, you do.”
“I swear to God, Rob, if you ask me for a kiss I’m going to lose my mind.”
He laughed. “Sanders, I don’t need to win a bet to kiss you. If I wanted a kiss from you, I’d just take it. And then you’d beg me for another.”
I laughed. “No.”
He smiled. “Maybe.”
“Definitely not.”
He laughed again. “You’re the one who immediately thought I’d ask for a kiss. Clearly you were the one thinking about it.”
“I most certainly was not.”
“Keep telling yourself that, Sanders. But since you don’t want a kiss…I was thinking…” his voice trailed off. He stared down at me like he was deciding how to torture me.
“Rob, I already did this dance with James. If you’re trying to make Matt jealous, I don’t want anything to do with it.”
“Oh, this favor would have a lot more to do with screwing over Isabella.”
He’d officially piqued my interest. “You want me to help you screw over Isabella?”
“Yes. Unless sisters before bros is your new motto.”
“Not a chance.”
He laughed. “Do you have access to her bedroom? Because I’ve been over to the Pruitts’ place countless times and I’ve never been allowed upstairs.”
“Well, I think I do. Maybe. I sleep in the opposite wing. I’ve never really been down the hallway that leads to her bedroom. But I’m sure I could find it.” Isabella had been in my room. Certainly I could go into hers.
“What are your feelings about frogs? Like…lots of them?”
“You want to put frogs in her bed?”
“Well…yeah. Wouldn’t that be kind of amazing?”
I could already picture Isabella’s face. And her screaming. But for some reason the scene made me feel bad for the frogs. “Couldn’t we do something where it wasn’t possible for her to hurt an innocent animal?”
“You’re worried she’d kill the frogs?”
“First the frogs. Then me.” I laughed even though I was very serious.
“She’s not going to kill you. Do you have any idea how many times she threatens to kill me on a weekly basis? It’s a lot. And she’s never gone through with it. Rumor has it that she had to sign some contract with her dad promising not to ever do it again.”
Again. That was the same kind of thing Mr. Pruitt had said. That Isabella was no longer allowed to use his assets to freaking kill people. “What do you mean again? She’s killed someone before?”
“Yeah, I used to have a little brother.”
“Oh my God, what?!”
Rob started laughing. He was laughing so hard, the muscles in his arms tightened, pulling me closer.
“Miss Sanders,” Mr. Hill said in that same tone he scolded me in class. “Mr. Hunter. One foot between dancers at all times.” He shoved a ruler between Rob and me.
My face had to be bright red.
“Sorry, Mr. Hill,” Rob said when he was finally able to catch his breath. “I’ll make sure she keeps her hands off me.”
“Rob.” I shoved his shoulder.
“See what I mean?” he said. “So handsy.”
Was he trying to kill me from embarrassment?
Mr. Hill shook his head and went to go measure some other couples’ distance.
“What is wrong with you?” I shoved Rob’s arm again.
“Absolutely nothing is wrong with me. You’re the one all over everyone tonight. Kissing my brother. Dancing with Felix. I even heard you took some cute homecoming pictures with Mason tonight. And now you’re all up on me.”
Yeah, my face was bright red. “All of those instances are taken out of context.” But I could see how it looked. I wasn’t an idiot, I knew I’d freaking lost my mind tonight.
He laughed.
I needed to change the subject or he’d find a way to torture me all night long. “You were saying something about Isabella?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Oh, right. Her murderous ways? It’s all just based on a rumor. But in elementary school, Isabella didn’t have a whole posse. She just had one best friend. Stephanie. At recess, Stephanie kissed some boy that Isabella liked. And then none of us ever saw her again.”
I swallowed hard. I’d kissed James. Isabella really was going to kill me. “Elementary school? So when she was just a kid?”
“Yeah, she’s always been a nightmare.”
A murderous nightmare. Fuck me. I felt like there wasn’t enough air reaching my lungs.
“You okay?” Rob asked.
“I kissed James. She’s going to kill me just like she killed Stephanie.”
Rob laughed. “Don’t you think Rachel wouldn’t be breathing if she killed everyone James kissed?”
That was a good point. But it didn’t really calm me down. “Oh my God, maybe that’s what this whole thing with Matt is about. Maybe Isabella wasn’t trying to ruin Matt’s life with the blackmail. Maybe she was trying to torture Rachel.” And Matt had just gotten stuck in the crossfire. How had I not seen this before?
“Huh.” Rob lowered his eyebrows like he was thinking it over.
If that was true then… I swallowed hard. Isabella tormented everyone that got close to James. She was going to kill me. Or make my life more hellish than she was already making it. I pictured her cold stare as she’d picked up James’ homecoming crown. She was plotting something awful. It could happen at any moment. “I need to get out of here.”
The smile that was permanently on Rob’s face faltered. “You’re shaking.”
“I’m not shaking.”
He gripped my waist a little tighter. “Yes you are.”
“I need to find Kennedy and get out of here.” Kennedy was going to spend the night. She’d be with me. I’d be safe back at home. Home? God. Was I safe there? Isabella had snuck into my room earlier and cut up all my clothes. What if she was going to slice my neck next?
“Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not okay. I kissed your brother because he convinced me it was a good idea somehow. And I still have feelings for Felix and Matt.” And Miller. Damn it, where was Miller? I needed him to get me out of here.
“Hey, take a deep breath,” Rob said.
It felt like the air I breathed in wasn’t reaching my lungs. “Everyone’s so mad at me.”
“No one’s mad at you.”
That was a lie. I gasped for air.
“Take a deep breath, Brooklyn. I think you’re having a panic attack.”
“Isabella’s going to kill me.”
Rob pulled me against his chest. “She’s not going to kill you.”
“She is…”
“She’s not. Breathe, Brooklyn.”
I tried to.
“Just breathe. In and out. Just breathe.”
“I want to take it all back,” I said. “I want to un-kiss James. And unlike Felix. And unlove Matt. I want to undo all of it.”
“Breathe in,” Rob said. “And breath out. Just breathe.”
There was something calming about his voice in my ear with all the chaos around us.
“Breathe.”
I tried to focus on taking deep breaths.
&
nbsp; And I wasn’t sure how long we stood like that in the middle of the dance floor. Just breathing. I knew there were a few changes of songs. I knew they weren’t slow ones and I knew we looked ridiculous. I was surprised Mr. Hill wasn’t back measuring us apart.
I pulled away from him. “How did you know how to fix that?”
He shrugged. “I’m used to taking care of people.”
I knew he was used to taking care of James. Did James get panic attacks? Or was Rob just used to picking up the pieces after James’ drunk and high escapades? “I’m sorry.”
“Why? You didn’t pull me into your hot mess,” he said with a laugh. “I’m practically the only person here that you haven’t kissed.”
I laughed, even though it still felt like my lungs weren’t quite working right.
“Will you help me find Kennedy?” I still needed to leave. The sooner the better.
He raised both eyebrows. “Thinking about kissing her next? If so, I’ll definitely help you find her.”
“No,” I said with a laugh. “I just think maybe I’ve had enough homecoming for the rest of my life.”
He smiled. “Luckily for you, she’s right behind you. And if you do decide that you want tonight to get even crazier…kissing her really would do the trick. You might even get people to forget about that fight you caused.”
“I’m not kissing Kennedy.”
“I don’t know…you still owe me that favor…”
“Rob. You need to reserve that favor for the prank we’re going to pull on Isabella.”
“Nah. Pretty sure you’re down for that prank anyway. I’ll hold on to my favor for now. I’m sad you’re bouncing though. Things were just getting fun.” He gave me a wink and dropped his hands from my waist just as Kennedy threw her arms around me.
“Best. Homecoming. Ever!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.
I heard Rob laugh. And a few other students cheered around us.
“Are you going to hook up with Robert Hunter too?” she asked. Her words were slightly slurred. “I can’t believe you just came into town and you’re already going to hook up with every single one of the Untouchables. What is your life? A fairytale?”
Hardly. Unless it was one of those real fairytales where everyone died terrible, gruesome deaths. Maybe I was living one of those. “I promise I’m not going to hook up with all of them,” I said. “Do you mind if we leave early? I have a really bad feeling. Isabella’s planning something, I know she is.”
“What can she do here? We’re in the middle of a dance! Back to the topic of Rob real quick.”
“Kennedy, I really think we should get going…”
“Can I have Rob then if you don’t want him?” She removed herself from my embrace. “I’m going to go ask him for a kiss. Wish me luck.”
Oh my God, Kennedy, no! I’d made plenty of bad decisions tonight. But it didn’t mean she had to too. I tried to grab her wrist but she was already twirling over to him.
“Kennedy!” I hissed as I ran after her.
But she didn’t listen. And her long legs were faster than mine even when she was twirling instead of running. She twirled between a couple, preventing Mr. Hill from having to put a ruler between them. She zig-zagged away from me and started twirling in the opposite direction.
“Kennedy get back here!”
But she was like a freaking dancing ninja. I couldn’t catch up with her. Twirling, ducking, and…jumping? Did she just jump over that girl that was bent over in front of that guy? Why wasn’t Kennedy on the track and field team?
“Kennedy!” But she’d already reached Rob on the dance floor. I pushed past a couple dancing very inappropriately, just in time to witness the horror that was this moment.
Kennedy tapped her hip into Rob’s in some weird dance move I’d never seen in my life. “Hey, tiger,” she said. And then she made a rawring noise.
Oh God, no.
Chapter 34
Saturday
“Kennedy, do you want to go get a glass of water?” I asked.
She ignored me and clasped her hands behind Rob’s neck. “Hey,” she said and smiled up at him.
I waited for her to rawr again, but luckily she didn’t.
“Hey yourself,” Rob said with a smile. He didn’t seem as phased by the whole tiger thing as I was.
“Do you want to go make out in Mr. Hill’s classroom?” she asked.
Oh no. This was bad. Really bad. I wasn’t going to let her put herself in a position to be taken advantage of again. And how was she even planning on breaking into Empire High to make this happen? Before I could protest, Rob started laughing.
“That depends on three things,” he said. “Exactly how many cups of punch have you had? Are you actually broken up with Cupcake? And are you still in love with Felix?”
Kennedy gasped. “Well, I do not know how many cups I’ve had. Less than tweleven. But I know for a fact that I will never, ever let Cupcake near me again. Nunca,” she said and poked Rob in the middle of the chest. “That means never, in case you don’t know. It’s me and Brooklyn’s favorite word.”
“Nunca. Got it.” Rob smiled. “And what about the third thing?”
“I don’t remember you mentioning a third thing.”
“Are you still in love with Felix?” Rob asked.
“I do not know what you’re referring to regarding Mr. Green.”
He laughed. “I’m referring to the fact that you look at him with stars in your eyes. And that I’m pretty sure you should be asking him to go to Mr. Hill’s classroom instead of me.”
“Nunca.”
“Is that all you can say?” he said with a laugh.
“Nunca.” Kennedy started laughing too.
“I should probably steal her back,” I said.
Rob whispered something in her ear before I stole her from his embrace. Just because I’d done a lot of crazy stuff tonight didn’t mean Kennedy had to too.
“If you two need a ride home, let me know,” Rob said. “You can take my limo.”
“That’s okay. We have a ride.” I just needed to find Miller so we could get the hell out of here.
“Later Kennedy,” he said and disappeared into the crowd.
Kennedy was smiling so hard. “Brooklyn!” She turned to me. “He whispered in my ear.” She pointed to the ear that Rob had whispered in. “He said he didn’t believe the rumors. He said I looked beautiful in my dress. And that he owes me a kiss whenever I’m in a state to remember it. Whatever that means. Isn’t he the best?”
“He really is.” I ducked my arm under hers to walk her toward the bar for some water.
“What do you think he means by me not being in a state to remember a kiss?”
“That might have to do with how much you’ve had to drink.”
“Oh, he means that I’m drunk!” She giggled. “I might be drunk. But I have the best idea!” She started twirling in a circle, dragging me with her. “Let’s dance off the booze!”
Tonight, couldn’t be saved. Even by sweating out whatever her punch had been spiked with. “After some water,” I said and grabbed her hand.
“Water!” she yelled and threw her hands up in the air, almost knocking me over.
“Yup. Water.” I pulled her off the dance floor. Oh, no. Matt was still standing at the bar. Staring at me. Although he didn’t look as mad anymore. He just looked…intense. My feet froze as he lifted his finger and ran it across the tip of his nose. His lips even turned up in a smile.
Why was he smiling at me and giving me our signal? Hadn’t he seen all the terrible things I’d just done? I knew I’d promised him a dance. But not right this second. I needed a moment to just breathe.
I turned us in a circle and Kennedy yelled.
“Yay, we’re dancing!”
I spotted Miller standing along the wall. His arms were folded across his chest. And he was also staring right at me. Matt no longer looked that pissed, but Miller sure did. Despite that, it still seemed easier to walk
toward Miller. I pulled Kennedy with me.
Miller raised his eyebrow at us as we stopped in front of him.
“So I’m guessing you saw that?” I asked.
His arms remained folded across his chest. “Which thing?”
That was a fair blow. “I’m really sorry…”
“You said you were only going to dance with Kennedy. Yet…Kennedy’s been hanging out at the punch bowl all night. Which now that I’m paying attention to her instead of staring at you dancing with literally every guy in the place…I realize that the punch bowl is spiked. Fuck.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You’ve already said that.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I need to go tell them to dump the punch before anyone else drinks it.”
“Miller.” I reached out and grabbed his arm. “Please, can you just take us home?”
“There aren’t any other guys you want to make out with first?”
I winced. I deserved that. “Miller…”
“I think I need a minute, Brooklyn.” He walked past me. But instead of going over to the bar to warn the bartender of the spiked punch, he pushed out the doors of the ballroom.
Shit.
Kennedy pulled on my arm. “Come on. This is supposed to be the best night ever. I don’t want to go home yet. Dance with me.”
“Kennedy, I messed everything up.” I felt like curling up in a ball and crying. This wasn’t the best night ever. It was the worst.
“What happens at homecoming stays at homecoming!”
“I don’t think that’s a thing.”
“Sure it is. Please.” She stuck out her bottom lip. “Dance with me?”
I’d already let her down tonight. And Miller said he needed a minute to cool off. It wouldn’t kill me to dance while I waited for him to come back. “Okay.”
Kennedy dragged me onto the dance floor. But I kept my eyes on the ballroom doors. Song after song passed, but Miller didn’t come back.
I started to look around for Rob. He’d said we could borrow his limo. Or maybe Felix could get us home. He was still here somewhere. Right?
The later it got, the more my stomach twisted into knots. I had that same feeling in my gut that I did the day my mom had passed away. The same feeling I did when the ambulance had come to Empire High. It was like a ticking time bomb. I needed to get us out of here.