“Oh my God,” I gasp, scrambling to my feet. “Sophia, I’m so sorry. It’s these shoes.”
The noise out her mouth is somewhere between a screech and a growl. I don’t react. I’ve been playing this game for years, so I’ve got it down to a fine art.
“They’re new,” I continue, Sophia seemingly too angry to talk. “Someone filled my locker with soda and destroyed my others, and I’m just not used to them. I tripped.” My voice drips with sincerity, my blue eyes filled with fake concern.
Sophia’s shaking, her fists clenched white. “Do you think I don’t see through this act?” she shrieks.
“I swear I tripped,” I reply, holding my hand to my chest. “I’m so sorry.”
Grayson steps forward, his expression every bit the dark prince. “Your days here are numbered, Keeley. We ran your family out before. We’ll do it again.”
I falter, his words confusing me and cracking my mask as doubt whispers into my mind.
“Come on, guys. Rose said it was an accident,” Ash interrupts, stepping toward me.
Sophia’s enraged face finds Ashton. “Look at me,” she cries. “Are you seriously taking her side over mine?”
“Come on, Sophia, I’ll take you home,” Grayson suggests, guiding her forward.
“I really am sorry,” I lie, trying on an innocent smile.
Grayson looks back, his dark gaze finding me then Ash. “What’s given can be taken away, Ashton.”
“I’m sorry, Rose,” Ash whispers as he leaves, escorting Sophia from the courtyard. This was never about Ash; he was never my prize. Yet seeing him walk away with her hurts more than I care to admit.
Grayson’s words eat at me. I didn’t understand his comment to me or his comment to Ash. It was a threat intended to pull Ashton back in line.
What does he have on you, Ash? And what does he have on me?
“Rose!” Isla runs to me. “That was insane. No one has ever dared challenge them before. I thought she was going to lose it and hit you.”
Students are looking at me. Others join Isla in her gushing.
“Did you see Grayson’s face?”
“OMG, he was scary.”
“That was so badass, Rose.”
“I wish I was as brave as you.”
“The soda stunt was so mean.”
Their words blend together as Isla takes my arm, leading me from the courtyard, a crowd following. I smile and say the right things, but on the inside, I’m in turmoil. I wanted this. I’m cracking their kingdom in half, gaining followers, yet I’m dreading what’s to come because there is no way Ash and I can walk out of this war with our hearts intact. We are on opposite sides, and I’m beginning to realize what it means. Ash will always take her side. He’s my enemy, and when I take them down, he’ll fall too.
“You could actually win this,” Isla exclaims, her smile huge.
Then why do I feel like I’ve already lost?
Lifting my chin, I laugh. “Did you doubt me?”
I’m plastic. I’m a broken girl, playing at queendom. But without the game, without the fake smiles and faker words, I’m left with nothing but a reality I can’t face. A father in prison and a mother as desperate for an in as me. This is all they gave me. It’s all I know how to be.
***
“Come with me,” I say to Isla on my way to the event committee meeting.
“Are you sure? I wasn’t invited.” Her big hazel eyes study me with equal amounts of hope and nerves.
“Isla, sometimes you’ve just got to show up and pretend you were. Otherwise, it will never happen. Besides, I hear Sophia’s not returned after the yogurt accident. Imagine her face when she finds out we were both at the meeting without her.”
“I am. That’s why I’m not sure.”
Linking my arm through hers, I drag her toward the classroom. “Time to put on your big girl knickers.”
“Knickers?” She giggles.
“Pants, whatever. Come on.”
“Ah, Miss Devenport, it seems we’re missing two of our members tonight.” Sophia and Jenny, her best friend. Round two to me.
“It’s a good job I brought help then,” I answer, smiling sweetly and nudging Isla beside me.
“Oh yes, I’d be happy to,” Isla adds.
“Well, with only three weeks left, it’s all hands on deck. I’ll let the other girls fill you in on what’s already planned, and they know of your mother's offer to help. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve things to attend to.”
Within ten minutes, I have the others doubting the theme Sophia’s picked. It’s actually quite nice, but this is war, and I’m playing to win. I ease their worries of time constraints by pulling in my mother’s professional capabilities, and by the end of the night, I walk away in charge of decorating the fall gala.
It’s only later when I fall into bed, I realize I’ve forgotten all about meeting Ash. As I drift off, I tell myself it’s for the best; we could never have been friends with missiles flying from both sides. He might be hurt I didn’t show, but our café… our anything… doesn’t exist anymore, and we need to remember that.
***
“Mother.” I smile, sliding onto the stool next to her and handing her a coffee. “I’ve a favor to ask.”
Studying me before taking a sip of the coffee, my mother laughs softly. “I know that face. What have you schemed this time?”
“Well, you wanted your daughter back, didn’t you?”
“Just tell me what you need, Rose.”
“You’re planning this year’s fall gala at Albany’s. It’s in three weeks. Oh, and you’re doing it free of charge.”
“Free of charge. Rose! I’m trying to build a business.”
“And what better way to do that than by designing a party where the Upper East Side’s, richest and most influential families will be attending?”
“All right, I’ll help. So tell me who have you crossed to get this position because I don’t believe they’ve left planning to three weeks out.”
“Sophia Kincaid. And I haven’t won yet.”
“Kincaid. You’ll need to take more than her committee position, Rose.”
“Thanks for the reminder, Mother. Can we make time tonight to go over the gala?”
“Yes, all right.”
“Great. I’ll be bringing friends.”
Hopping off the stool, I return to my room to finish getting ready. I’ll need my armor to be perfect today as no doubt Sophia will be out for blood. But as I enter school later, there is no amount of prep time that could have prepared me for what I find.
My face stares at me from printed posters stuck on what seems like every surface available. Forcing the tears that spring into my eyes away, I rush forward, ripping the doctored pictures off the wall, which show my profile picture as a mug shot below the articles incriminating my father.
My heart pounds as I attempt to rid the school of them before anyone sees. It’s an impossible wish as they are everywhere, and already students are whispering and staring at me. Heat creeps over my skin as I tear poster after poster down. I was stupid to think an ocean would protect me. That somehow moving countries would make my family’s scandal disappear. The truth is it wasn’t Luke and Clare who stole my crown; it was my father. He’s stolen everything from me, and now the entire school knows it.
“Rose.” I stop, admitting defeat at the papers float from my arms to the floor. My secrets are out. Every skeleton in my closet on display for all to see. “Is it true?” Isla asks gently.
“That my father’s a criminal. Yeah, it’s true.” What’s the point in hiding? She’s used her only source of ammunition. I’ve already lost everything. Sophia can’t break what’s already broken.
“I’m so sorry,” Isla whispers.
Her pity’s worse than everyone else’s disgust.
“Don’t be.” Dark anger unfurls in my gut as I shut down. “The truth’s out, and now the bitch is going to pay.”
“What?” Isla gasps. “What are you going t
o do?”
I don’t answer. I have no idea. My feet have taken over, my body acting on its own accord. Isla trails after me, jogging to keep up. The rage in my gut spreads, licking its way through my veins. My jaw hurts as I grit my teeth, desperate for release, and it’s not until I enter the courtyard and see her laughing face that I realize there’s nothing left in me but bitter hate.
I lunge at Sophia as all I’ve been ignoring explodes. She screams as I grip her hair, dragging her to the ground with a yell of my own.
“Did you think that would silence me? Did you think I’d turn and run once the truth was out?” Her feet kick uselessly as I sling her away. The fear in her eyes should worry me. I’ve stepped over a line, have lost all sense of self, but I am so far gone, no one can reach me, not even my own silent screams to stop.
Strong arms wrap around me and I struggle to be free. I kick and scream, a wild, crazed thing.
“Rose, stop. Stop!”
His voice gives me pause, and I release my grip on Sophia. My head spins as I’m lifted off my feet and dragged away. The rooms sway, my vision blurring, faces becoming all the same.
“Rose, breathe. Breathe, damn it, breathe.”
But I can’t. There’s a vise around my chest as deadly as the hate in my heart.
“Please, Rose. Look at me. Come on, look at me.” I find his gaze. “That’s it. Breathe. You need to breathe.”
His voice wraps around me, his eyes pulling me from the darkness threatening to consume me. Dragging in a breath, I take in my surroundings, realizing I’m outside the school gates, my back against the wall.
I have no recollection of getting here.
“What did I do?” I gasp. “Oh God, what did I do?”
Burying my head in my hands, tears burn at my eyes and wet my skin. I attacked her. I freaking attacked her.
“It’s going to be all right, Rose.”
His concern cuts through my tears, dragging hollow laughter from me. “Are you serious, Ash? Were you there?”
“I know you attacked her. But she did plaster shit about your dad all over the school. And your dad’s in prison. It entitles you to an out I’d say.”
“He’s not in prison. Well, I don’t think so anyway. My mother had our bags packed and on the plane before he was even charged.” I sniff, wiping at the tears clinging to my cheeks.
“I’m sorry, Rose. That’s awful.”
“Sorry? What are you even doing here, Ash? I attacked your girlfriend. Shouldn’t you be by her side?” I ask, shaking my head. I don’t want him to leave, but I’m afraid of the feelings he stirs. It’s better he leaves now before they get stronger.
“She’ll be fine. She’s probably got everyone fusing over her by now. She won’t even notice I’m gone.”
“Whatever you say.” She most certainly will notice his absence, but it’s their problem, not mine. I get to my feet and brush off my skirt. “I can’t go back in there. Everyone is going to think I’m crazy. Maybe I am crazy.”
He takes my hand and leads me away. “Everyone’s crazy, Rose. Some are just better at hiding it.” He sticks up his hand to hail a cab.
“Where are we going?”
“To our café. You know, the one you stood me up at yesterday?”
I grimace. “I was distracted.”
A cab stops beside us and Ash opens the door, ushering me in. Sliding in beside me, he gives the driver the address before turning his attention back to me. “Didn’t have anything to do with redesigning Sophia’s theme for the gala, did it?”
I can’t help it, I laugh. “You heard about it, huh?”
He rolls his eyes. “It’s all she talked about this morning, and for the record, it was Grayson who brought her the posters.”
“The wicked stepbrother strikes again.”
“Does that make me Cinderella?” he asks.
“Something like that,” I mutter. “Do you go back to Brooklyn often?”
Turning away from me, Ash looks out the window as buildings pass us by. “Not as often as I’d like.”
“How did you even end up as the king of Albany Nightingale, anyway?”
Our gazes meet, and I see nightmares in his cinnamon-dusted eyes. Whatever he says next isn’t going to be nice. “My dad got cancer. Died three months after being diagnosed.”
I let out a pained breath, sadness filling the back of the cab. “That’s why you stopped emailing me.”
“I just couldn’t handle the world, Rose. I didn’t know how to say the words, and then so much time had passed…”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to explain.”
“But I do. We meant something to each other. Even if we were kids, we meant something, and I threw it away.”
The cab rolls to a stop and Ash throws some money at him before taking my hand and helping me out. We stare, side by side at the café we spent days in, drinking milkshakes and inhaling massive stacks of pancakes.
“I lost the boy who belonged in this place with you, and I didn’t know how to tell you,” he explains sadly.
“You’re not the only one who changed, Ash.”
“I know. Come on.”
We might have changed, but surprisingly the café hasn’t. It still has the same vinyl-covered booth seats and big pear-shaped lamps hanging from the ceiling. I can almost pretend I’m thirteen again.
“This place hasn’t changed a bit,” Ash notes.
“When was the last time you came here?” I ask as we slip into the same booth we did as kids.
Color appears on his cheeks and he dips his head as he picks up a menu. “That last time with you. Not including when you stood me up the other day.”
“Sorry about that. I can’t believe you stopped going here.” I laugh.
“Don’t laugh at me. I know it’s stupid. It just didn’t feel right coming here without you anymore.”
“It’s not stupid.” I nudge him under the table. “It’s sweet.”
“Sweet is not a word I need associating with me.”
I try not to smile and fail. “Fine. It’s very manly of you.”
“Shut up.”
The waitress appears, saving him from my teasing. “What can I get for you kids?”
Kids… I can’t remember the last time I was referred to as a kid. My parents have been treating me as if I’m a grown-up for years. It’s easier for them that way; if I’m grown-up, I can look after myself.
We both order exactly what we did last time we were here—pancakes, Ash’s with bacon and eggs, and mine layered with syrup and ice cream, plus two strawberry milkshakes. I’m probably going to have a sugar coma by the time I am done. I haven’t consumed this much in years.
He’s quiet after we order, and I let him have his peace. There are a million questions circling my head, but I can tell he’s not ready to talk. School and social politics seem so far away here, like they are from a different life. This place is a snapshot out of time, a memory I’ve had stored safely away. We aren’t Ashton Cole and Rose Devenport here; in fact, I don’t know who we are.
“After Dad died, we lost the house to medical bills, and my mom started drinking. I got a job to help cover the costs of our shitty apartment and took over the role of parent to Josh. My mom just checked out. Without Dad, she couldn’t cope. She didn’t want to cope, and as much as I wanted to be mad at her for it, I couldn’t. Honestly, I wanted to check out too.”
“How is Josh?” I met Ash’s younger brother a few times over the weeks I spent here. He’s six years younger, and at the time, he was a cute little version of Ash with a mouth that talked a million miles a minute.
“He’s all right, I guess. He took a while to adapt when we moved to the Upper East Side.”
“How did you end up moving?” I ask.
Our food arrives, and Ash waits until it’s been placed in front of us before meeting me with haunted eyes.
“It was bad, Rose, and I didn’t know what to do. I somehow stumbled into playing football. I was good, but
honestly, I don’t love it, yet people started to notice me. Coach started talking about scholarships to college if I played my cards right, so I tried harder, and I got better. Mom noticed me too. She wasn’t better, but she pulled herself together enough to start coming to games. We ended up playing Albany. Grayson used to play too, something his father pushed on him. Anyway, to cut a long story short, my mom met Gray’s father at the game, and they somehow started dating. I don’t like to think about it, to be honest. I still don’t really understand it. He’s not the type of guy to notice lowly Brooklynites.”
“How long were they dating before they got married?”
“Three months.” Ash shakes his head like he doesn’t understand it. “I love my mom, I do, but she moved on in the same amount of time it took my dad to die.”
“Must have been hard.”
He sighs before taking a long sip of milkshake. “It was and it wasn’t. In a way, I was pleased to have my mom back again and not have to look after Josh all the time, but…”
He looks at me, afraid.
“You can tell me, Ash.”
“This is going to sound weird, but sometimes, I think… I think Arthur was more interested in me than my mom.”
“Okay.” I stick a bite of pancake in my mouth as I mull over his words. I’m certain Ash doesn’t mean in some sinister way. “Grayson’s the dark prince and you… you’re the golden king.”
Ash laughs, rubbing his face. “Does it sound crazy? I mean, why would this random guy want to adopt another son for his image?”
“It’s the Upper East Side, Ash. People do crazy shit for status. My father turned to crime just so he could keep up.”
“I don’t even think Grayson’s bothered.”
“Of course not. The spotlights off him and he’s left to his wicked ways.”
“Gray’s all right. He’s always treated me and Josh like part of the family. But Arthur, he’s always watching me. The pressure gets to me sometimes.”
“I can imagine.” I know all about parental expectations. It can make us do crazy things. It’s already made me cross a line. A line I’m not ready to think about yet.
“It’s why I freaked out when I saw you. I was so shocked to see you there, and then Gray reacted to your surname, and I panicked… Seeing you, it reminded me of everything I’ve lost. I know it’s stupid. I live in luxury now, but I can’t help but think we sold our souls to get it.”
The Destruction of Rose: A High School Bully Romance (Albany Nightingale Duet Book 1) Page 9