Masked Truth: Harrington Hills Academy: Book One

by Mae Reese

  I look to my dad, to see if he as appalled with this ludacris conversation as the two kids in the room and he sits as stone face as ever.

  Prick.

  I bite my lip, tossing the words around in my head before I let them cautiously fall from my mouth “Wes and I will not be getting married…” both women gasp.

  “Oh Skylar, don’t think so down about yourself. You may need to lose fifteen pounds but I am sure once you do that Weston will happily make you his wife” my mother chirps.

  I mentally flip her off before continuing “It’s not that I don’t think Weston wants to marry me, Mother. It’s that Weston and I aren’t even dating anymore so I doubt we will be getting married anytime soon” another gasp.

  What the hell is with these women?

  The room explodes. Not literally, there are no flames or falling walls but it's surprising given that the devil herself has made an appearance.

  “What do you mean you’re not dating?!” My mother seethes standing from her place on the couch, her face red with anger. I expect her to sprout horns and a tail any minute with the wrath I see in her eyes.

  “Wes and I broke up” I say, straightening my spine.

  I can do this, I will do this. I will not be pushed over and I will not back down.

  “Like hell you did. We have been planning this engagement for THREE YEARS” his mother yells, standing up and knocking her cocktail onto the floor when her leg hits the table.

  Make that two she-devils.

  “You two are not breaking up, the Montgomerys and the Santoras will be married to each other” Wes’ mom states, crossing her arms over her chest like that statement is the end all and no one else can say anything other than an agreement.

  “Well, unless you and my dad get married or my mom and Mr. Montgomery then there will most certainly not be a Montgomery/Santora wedding” I snap my fingers like I just had an aha moment “Unless Wes turns gay and we bring Silas back from that prison you lie and call a boarding school!”

  I don’t expect the slap that rings across my face, forcing my head to the side with such fierceness I think I get whiplash.

  “You ungrateful little bitch” my mother hisses, her face a mere two inches from mine. Her eyes alit with fire, the same fire I carry that she has tamped down for so long.

  “Fuck. You.” It’s all I can get out before she slaps me again on the same cheek causing the burning to radiate even further into my face.

  I back away, turning quickly and running out of the room.

  “Go after her” I hear Wes’ mother yell, I am assuming to Weston.

  I make my way up the stairs, my heels clicking loudly against the wood. I get into my room and run to the closet, grabbing my LV Duffle and pulling all of my uniforms out, leaving them on the hanger and throwing them on the bed. I pack everything I can think of that I will need, quickly. I grab my laptop and shove it in my laptop bag, throwing all the chargers for it and my phone in with it.

  Weston appears in my doorway, a look I cannot decipher on his face.

  “Where are you going?” He asks.

  “Maisie’s” I reply.

  Picking up my bag and my uniforms he stands there for a second “You know once your mom calls her mom she will kick you out” he says quietly.

  Fuck, he’s right. Her parents might not be the nightmares that mine are, but they don’t like to rock the boat. If Linda Santora told them to kick her daughter out they would do it in a heartbeat.

  Grabbing another bag I throw all my bathroom items in it and zip it up. I make my way to Wes and try and grab my duffle out of his hand. “I got it” he says, turning and walking out the door. I stand there, dumfounded for a minute before I hear my mother calling my name from downstairs.

  Lighting a fire under my ass, I grab my purse and run out of my room taking the stairway that leads down to the kitchen so I can avoid seeing them. Weston is waiting at the bottom of the stairs with my stuff in his hands.

  We walk into the garage and I open the trunk, depositing my stuff and letting him throw my other items in with it.

  “For what it’s worth I had no idea this would happen tonight” he says, his hands in the pocket of his slacks.

  I do something that shocks the shit out of both of us, I wrap my arms around him and hug him. I can see that tonight damaged him as much as it did me. He had never seen Linda Santora on a war path and he got a small inkling of it tonight.

  “Be safe Sky” he says letting me go, reluctance written all over his face.

  I get in my car and back out of the garage, punching my foot on the gas once I clear the gate.

  There’s only one place I want to be right now, only one person’s arms I want to crawl into.

  Chapter 25

  Barron

  It’s been four hours. Four miserable fucking hours since I talked to Sky on the phone. I tried calling her but it went straight to voicemail. I knew she planned to tell her parents about her and Wes and the fact her phone is going straight to voicemail is worrying me.

  I check my phone for what feels like the hundredth time, not even paying attention to the TV as it plays some show.

  The knock on my door startles me. I jump off the bed and open the door to find Cruz, our head of security standing with Skylar. She looks gorgeous in a blue dress that hangs off her shoulders, but then I notice the red mark on her face and the bruise that is already starting to form.

  “You better tell me what happened and it better not involve Weston laying a finger on you or I swear to fuck Skylar I will go to jail for murder” I seethe, grabbing her hand and pulling her to my chest before I wrap her in a hug. Cruz quickly disappears down the hall leaving us.

  As soon as she is wrapped in my arms she collapses, her body shaking with the brutal force of her sobs. I pick her up and bring her to the bed, laying her down and sliding in next to her, pulling her back to my chest.

  I don’t ask questions but the millions of thoughts raging through my mind are making me feel lethal.

  “What…?” I hear Breanne at my door but my back is to her.

  She stands there for a few minutes before I hear her pick up Skylar's stuff “I’m taking her stuff to the blue guest room” she says before she shuts the door.

  I let Skylar cry, she doesn’t offer an explanation and I don’t ask for one. I let her cry out everything she needs to get out knowing that she will talk to me when she is ready and when she can.

  After about 10 minutes, Skylar starts to calm. I lightly brush my hand up and down her back, kissing her head every so often to try and give her some comfort.

  “They want me to marry Weston” she says, her voice scratchy from crying.

  I don’t trust myself not to lose my shit so I let Sky continue. “They actually said they needed to start planning our wedding soon because ‘a big elite wedding takes years to plan’” she mocks who I can only assume is her mother’s voice.

  “Who hit you” I ask, surprised by the softness of my voice with all the rage inside me.

  “My mother. When I told her I wasn’t marrying Weston and that we had broken up she slapped me. Then when I told her she could marry Weston’s dad if the Santoras and Montgomerys had to be married, she slapped me again… or maybe it was when I said Wes could marry Silas, I’m not sure what her trigger was that time” she laughs but its humorless.

  I bring her face to mine, lightly brushing my fingers over the bruise on her cheek.

  “Why didn’t you call me? I would have come to you in a heartbeat” I say.

  “Weston broke my phone when he apparently saw something that indicated you and I were dating on there” I answer.

  I fist my hand at her back, trying to get the tension out.

  I rest my forehead on hers, closing my eyes and breathing her in.

  “Can I stay here tonight until I can figure everything out?” Her voice comes out small, tentative.

  “Of course. You can stay as long as you’d like” I say, pulling her closer to me
and placing a soft kiss on her lips.

  “I need to make a few phone calls” she says when I pull back.

  “Here” I try and hand her my phone but she shakes her head and gets up, heading out of the room but coming right back in “Where is the blue room exactly?”

  I laugh at the confusion on her face and walk her down to the room she will be staying in, or at least where her clothes will be staying because there is no way in hell Sky is not going to be in my bed if she is under this roof.

  She grabs a laptop bag off of the bed and we make our way back to my room. She takes the laptop out and opens it, plugging it in to the charger.

  “Wi-Fi?” She asks, and I type in the password for her.

  Within minutes she is calling someone on FaceTime, the computer speakers blaring the ringing tone.

  Silas’ face takes up the screen and you can clearly see he had been asleep, the only light coming from a small lamp next to his bed. He has lines on his face from the pillow and he isn’t wearing a shirt.

  “What’s wrong?” He asks the minute he takes in her face “Is that a bruise?” He sits up immediately in the bed looking panicked.

  Skylar fills him in on all of the night’s events, I can hear him cussing and growling through the speaker.

  I feel the same way, dude.

  “I’ll be right back” I whisper into her ear, I need to go talk to my dad and I want to give her a little privacy to talk to her brother.

  “Is that B? Hey B! That offer to off someone is still on the table…” he says, sounding like he is only half joking.

  “I’m considering doing it for free” I toss out as I walk out of the room.

  I make my way across the house to the wing that my father’s study is in, I jog down the stairs and knock on his door.

  I walk in when I hear him tell me to enter and see him sitting behind his desk, a stack of folders in front of him.

  “Barron, what can I do for you?” He asks, indicating for me to take a seat across from his desk.

  “Skylar is here. I want to know if it's ok if she stays for a while. She is friends with Breanne so it wouldn’t look so weird on the outside…” I trail off, not sure how exactly to ask my dad if my girlfriend-whatever she is-can stay with us.

  “Why is she here?” He asks, not with anger but more like curiosity.

  “She had a blow-up with her mother tonight and she slapped her. I don’t feel good letting her go back to that house” I answer.

  “Did her mother slap her because of her relationship with you?”

  “No, she slapped her because she isn’t marrying some douchebag…” I answer, still confused about my father and the Santoras connection. I need to ask him about that soon, but not tonight.

  Dad nods his head, his eyebrows furrowing. “She can stay, but I do not want any unnecessary drama. I do not want the police sniffing around here. You know that will be an issue.” He tells me, like I wasn’t aware of the massive issue that would be for him.

  “Thank you, sir” I say, standing up and walking towards the door.

  “You really like this girl, huh?” He asks me, making me pause with my hand on the door handle.

  “I do” I answer, turning and walking out.

  Chapter 26

  Skylar

  When Barron comes back I am just hanging up with Silas. I had to talk him out of buying a plane ticket home, we both knew that wouldn’t go over well. I promised him I would get a new phone tomorrow and I would text him often keeping him updated.

  “My dad says it’s fine if you stay” he says to me, collapsing on the bed beside me and pulling me down to him. He kisses me softly, almost like I’m breakable.

  “You’re always saving me, Tucker” I whisper against his lips.

  “Knights always save the princess” he says, kissing me one more time.

  I reluctantly pull away “I have one more call to make.” I tell him.

  I sit up to call the one person I trust most in the world knowing that I’m about to unleash another she-devil, only this she-devil will be on my side, not against me.

  Having a thought, I jump up and run into the bathroom, taking my hair down and fluffing it up before quickly stripping out of my dress. I open Barron’s dresser and grab a tee shirt, tossing it over my head. I see the curiosity on his face as I make my way back to the bed.

  “I thought maybe if I hid the bruise my Granny wouldn’t see it. If she does it’s not going to be pretty” I answer his silent question.

  “Maybe you should tell her then, teach your parents a lesson” he tells me, shrugging.

  I hit a few buttons on my laptop to FaceTime Granny, preparing for the worst but hoping for the best. I need advice, I need her.

  “My sweet love bug!” She exclaims as soon as she answers, a smile beaming on her face. I can see a bunch of people in the background of her house, drinking and standing around.

  “Oh Gran, I hate to interrupt your party” I say, biting my bottom lip.

  “Oh hogwash little one, let me just get to the library and I can talk” she says as she walks through the crowded house, waving to people and being the perfect host.

  I feel Barron’s hand snake around my waist, resting on my hip as he leans forward to see the screen.

  “Who is that hot little thing?!” Granny exclaims as she opens the door to her study and slips inside. I can feel Barron chuckle.

  “My boyfriend, Barron” I answer, looking at him out of the corner of my eye. He squeezes my hip and smiles at me.

  “Oh! So I guess that Montgomery jackass is no more, huh? How did the succubus take it?” She raises her perfectly shaped eyebrow at me.

  “Yes, we broke up. My mother did not take it well at all” I say, debating on whether to tell her the truth of what happened.

  “Is that who put that bruise on your face, the succubus?” Her face morphs into one I have never seen, it’s filled with hatred and anger.

  I nod my head, trying to hold the tears back.

  “I’ll be there first thing in the morning” she says, her tone clipped.

  “Gran no, it's ok. Barron is letting me stay here…” I say but she cuts me off.

  “I will not let that woman beat on my grandchildren. She has already ruined my boy, she is not going to ruin you and Silas too” she spits.

  “Seriously, I don’t think they’re going to do anything and I’m not going back there” I ramble.

  “Fine, I won’t come tomorrow. But I have business there in a few weeks and I will be there to talk to them both. In the meantime I am overnighting you a package with a credit card in it, use it for whatever you need. I mean it Skylar Elizabeth, anything you need. I will call The Academy and make sure your tuition is paid through the end of the year. I will also call Bill Thompson and set up an appointment for you to go buy a car, I will pay for it but you’re not keeping the one they bought you. If you have one lick of trouble you are to call me, immediately” she says, her tone dead serious.

  “Yes, ma’am” I answer.

  She nods her head with acceptance “Good, now… let me talk to that fine piece of ass sitting next to you”

  I seriously thought Barron was about to choke on his own tongue. I’m pretty sure it's not every day someone’s grandma calls you a fine piece of ass.

  “And Skylar?” She says, drawing my attention back to her.

  “Yes, ma’am?” I ask.

  “First, I love you. To the moon and back. Second, get out… I want to make sure this one isn’t as big of a dick sucker as that Weston Montgomery and his slime ball daddy” she smiles.

  “I’m sorry” I mouth to Barron as I slide off the bed, his eyes going wide and pleading silently for me to stay.

  “Love you Gran!!” I say as I run out the door, laughing up against it as I pull it shut behind me.

  “Well what a difference an hour makes” Breanne’s voice sounds from beside me.

  “Hey” I say, pushing off the door and walking to her. She surprises me by grab
bing me and wrapping me up in a hug. I wrap my arms around her and return it, feeling good to have someone show concern.

  “I was worried about you” she says quietly, her eyebrows furrowing. There aren’t many times I see the distinct resemblance between her and Barron, but when they furrow their eyebrows it’s like staring at the other one.

  “I’m sorry I came barging in here crying like a crazy person” I reply, toying with the hem of Barron’s shirt and suddenly realizing I’m very much standing in the hall of his house half naked. Luckily his 6’4 frame compared to my 5’3 frame makes the shirt more like a dress.

  “Hey, we all have stuff” she waves it off like it's no big deal. “What’s my brother doing?” She asks, looking at the closed door when suddenly we hear him bark out a laugh.

  “Talking to my grandma…” I bite my lip and look back at her, she laughs and shakes her head.

  “I’m not sure why I was concerned…” she muses to herself.

  Whatever that means.

  “Come on, we happen to have a very large selection of ice cream downstairs and tears always deserve ice cream” she grabs my hand and pulls me down the stairs to the kitchen. She pulls out bowls and tells me to pick a flavor while she gets spoons and a scoop out.

  I grab the mint chocolate chip and put it on the counter.

  “That’s my choice too” she says dipping us both bowls.

  ∞∞∞

  We’re about halfway done with our ice cream and Breanne is telling me the story of how the clown at their sixth birthday party was so scary that Barron wet his pants when he emerges from his room and joins us.

  “Seriously?” He says, looking at Breanne and getting a bowl down for himself. “You don’t want to start sharing stories, unless you want to talk about ‘the Justin Bieber incident’”

  “Nope, sure don’t” she says, jumping off the counter and rinsing her bowl out.

  “I must know this incident” I say, finishing my last bite.

  Barron opens his mouth but Breanne jumps on his back, wrapping her hand around his mouth. “If you tell her, I swear to god I will tell her about your first kiss” she says.