by S. A. Hunter
“Obviously false. You attend Noble.”
“Sarah is excellent. Just because her parents aren’t rich doesn’t make her lesser in any way,” he said.
Patricia’s words were not upsetting me. I didn’t care what she thought of me. Her open disdain was actually refreshing. “You can’t force him to date someone.”
“But I can forbid him from dating someone.”
“No, you can’t. Not if you ever want to see me again,” he said.
“The courts were very clear with the custody—“
“I’m sixteen. In less than two years, I’ll be eighteen and then I can decide if I ever want to see you again. If you keep doing this, I won’t.”
“Your father doesn’t care about you! He barely remembers he has three children. Even when we were together, I was your only parent! Do you know how difficult it was to raise you alone?”
“Yes, it was so difficult managing the nanny, the au pair, the housekeeper, and the chauffeur, and when none of them were available to watch us, the gardener would do in a pinch.”
“I did the best I could!”
“Your best wasn’t very good.”
“You know, I think you’re right. Sarah should go. We have so much to discuss.”
“No. I’m not going to stay here and listen to you badmouth her through dessert.” He rose and took my hand. I’d manage to eat half of my beef wellington. It was excellent, but if he was leaving, there was no way I was staying alone with his mother. I might not find her verbal abuse very upsetting, but I didn’t want to sit through it if I didn’t have to.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Back to Noble.”
“Wait, darling. What about Christmas?”
“I’m spending it with Sarah.”
My eyes widened at this declaration, but I didn’t dare protest.
“We’ll see about that!”
“Whatever, Mother.”
Noah left the dining room with me in tow.
We had to go through the main dining room again. Noah strode through it swiftly. I had trouble keeping up. My eyes briefly scanned the room and landed on Dean Crowe who watched us with obvious concern. I wouldn’t be surprised if I got called into his office the next day.
We reached the main entrance of the Hasbrook, but our limo was not there.
Noah turned irritably to a valet. “Where is the Nash car?”
“One moment, sir.”
Noah’s jaw tightened in obvious frustration.
“Hey, it’s over,” I said softly. I put my hand over the one he had clutching my wrist.
He dropped my wrist and stepped away from me.
I rubbed my wrist. He’d been holding it quite tightly.
“I’m sorry you had to see all of that,” he said.
I shrugged. “Not your fault. Your mother is something else.”
“That’s a nice way to put it.”
The valet that Noah had spoken to was watching us with unease. Other valets were congregating around him. They were all uneasy.
Noah noticed them. “What now?” he muttered.
“You’re not going anywhere,” Patricia said from behind us.
“You can’t keep me prisoner.”
“I’ve reserved you a room. You will stay here tonight, and tomorrow we’ll talk civilly over breakfast.”
“Is Sarah staying with me?”
I had to clench my muscles to prevent myself from making an “X” with my arms. That was not happening. I would walk back to Noble if I had to.
“She can secure her own transportation. I’m sure she’s a resourceful girl. The poor value that type of trait.”
“Wow,” I said. The word slipped out unconsciously. Patricia hadn’t only taken the gloves off, she’d sharpened her nails.
“Sarah, Noah, don’t you have exams tomorrow?” Dean Crowe asked. We turned in surprise to him. He came up beside us and lifted his hand for us to go.
A sleek black Noble car had pulled up to the front. One of the valets opened and held the door.
I slipped my hand around Noah’s elbow. “Dean Crowe’s right. We need to head back. It was nice meeting you, Ms. Nash.”
Noah initially resisted my tug. He was in a staring contest with his mother.
“Noah, come on,” I said gently.
He finally broke eye contact and went down the steps to the car.
Dean Crowe said good night to Patricia, who wasn’t even trying to mask her anger.
“Noah!” she called out.
But he didn’t look back as he got into the car. He squished into the corner and turned his face to the window. I slid in beside him and the dean sat across from us.
Once the door was closed, the car pulled away.
“How was your dinner?” Dean Crowe asked.
“Bitter,” Noah answered.
Chapter 4
When the car pulled up in front of the school, I got out of it gratefully. Sitting beside Noah had been uncomfortable. He was clearly upset, and I was worried he’d lash out if anyone tried to talk to him. Thankfully, Dean Crowe seemed to pick up on this and didn’t attempt any further small talk after his initial question when we got in the car.
“Thank you for the lift, Dean,” I said.
“My pleasure, Sarah. Noah, would you like to come back to my study for a coffee?”
I was relieved that he didn’t include me in the invitation. I just wanted to go home and give my parents big hugs.
“No, thank you, Dean,” Noah said. He surprised me by taking my hand. We walked through the school to the courtyard. I tried to turn us toward the West Dorm, but Noah shook his head. “I should walk you home.”
“No need and you look exhausted.”
“The boyfriend walks the girl home. Come on, Sarah.”
I didn’t argue. He seemed really fragile at the moment. Like if I protested, he might cry.
When we reached the apartment building, we stopped.
“Sarah, thanks.”
“For what?”
“For putting up with my mother, for standing up to her even. I’ve never seen her this awful before.”
“She really cares about you.”
“How can you say that?” he asked in angry disbelief.
“I know it might not seem like it to you, but why else would she go to the trouble of finding you a nice girl? Why would she be so interested in who you are dating? It’s because she cares.”
“Gah, you’re like so good. It’s almost sickening. You don’t know my mother. She doesn’t care about my feelings. Trust me.”
“What about your older brother?”
“What about him?”
“If she really cared about herself only, no one would know about his difficulties. Your family could’ve easily covered it up. But instead, didn’t she donate money to that substance abuse non-profit? She spoke about how drugs affected your family.”
He shook his head. “She used him. He was her cause of the week. She doesn’t care about helping people, only about making sure she looks good. She didn’t even try to get to know you. She doesn’t like you because you don’t have the proper connections.”
“I didn’t really try to endear myself to her.”
“You shouldn’t have to! She should be happy with whomever I bring home. Or at least pretend to like them!”
I had no counterargument. If Patricia had treated a real girlfriend of Noah’s like she’d treated me, the girl would have been devastated. But then again, if he had presented a real girlfriend, the girl would’ve been from a better family. Someone more suitable. I was the worst girl to pick as a fake girlfriend, never mind the fact that I had no interest in dating Noah. I was not his social equal at all. I had no special talents or wealth. Any other girl at Noble would’ve been a better choice than me. I began to wonder if he’d picked me because he’d known how angry it would make his mother.
“You should get back to your room. It’s late and we do have exams tomorrow.”
>
“You’re right, but can I have a hug?”
His request surprised me. I had no idea how to answer. He seemed so down. He looked like he needed a real hug, but I wasn’t sure if I should be the one to give it to him. I took too long to protest. He pulled me into an embrace. I let him, still unsure if this was a good idea. I realized it had been a mistake when I felt his lips on my cheek and saw the flash. I pushed him away.
“What did you just do?”
He was looking at his phone and smiled. “Perfect.”
It was obvious he had taken a picture. “Delete that!”
“But it turned out really good.”
He turned the phone toward me to see. His lips were on my cheek. Someone would think I was happy, but I knew I was only confused and unsure. I tried to snatch the phone from him, but he pulled it back and held it over his head. I jumped to grab it, but I couldn’t reach it.
He was laughing at my attempts.
“You can’t post that!”
“Too late.”
“No!”
I dug my fingers into his side, and he folded under the tickling. I wrestled the phone from him but was greeted by a lock screen. “What’s your passcode?”
“Like I’d tell you!”
I shoved his shoulder. “Come on! This isn’t funny.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Dear God, your mother is going to order a hit on me. She’ll probably contract Mr. Jones.”
“Don’t be a drama queen.”
“Says the boy who won’t even meet the nice girl his mother has picked out for him.”
“That’s not drama queen-ish. It’s self-preservation.”
I gave back his phone. There was no way I was going to crack the code. It probably had fingerprint recognition as well. “Just remember, you sleep in the same building as Damien.”
“That’s why I didn’t kiss you on the lips.”
“You swore you wouldn’t kiss me.”
“Sorry. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.”
“Next time just let the opportunity go on by with no physical contact whatsoever.”
When I got home, my parents were on the sofa waiting for me.
“Hello,” I said feeling out-numbered.
“Where did you go tonight?” Mom asked.
I hadn’t told them where I was going. I’d let them assume I was staying on grounds. “The Hasbrook.”
“And who did you go with?”
The fact that they asked and didn’t assume it was Damien meant they’d gotten some information from somewhere.
“How many times has he called?”
“Five.”
“What were you doing with Noah Nash?” Mom asked. I knew she didn’t like him, and I approved of her dislike, but it would make the mess I was in trickier to explain.
“His mother wanted to meet me.”
“Why would she want to meet you?”
I had to tell them. There was no way to avoid it. “Because I’m pretending to be Noah’s girlfriend.”
“Sarah, why?” Dad asked. I knew Mom wouldn’t like it, but his disappointment surprised me.
“His mom wants to set him up with some girl. He doesn’t want to meet her, so he asked me to pretend to be his girlfriend.”
“Why would he ask you?” Mom’s question hurt a little like I wasn’t good enough to be Noah’s girlfriend fake or otherwise.
“Because I don’t have a crush on him. A lot of girls like him. He wanted someone he didn’t have to worry about falling for him. He doesn’t want a relationship right now.”
“Damien is pretending to date Angela, and you’re pretending to date Noah. Why can’t Angela and Noah pretend to date each other?” Dad asked.
He made a good point, but he didn’t know about Noah’s former mega-crush on Ang. “That wouldn’t work. There’s some history there.”
“What type of history?” Mom asked. I realized she was thinking he had done something awful to Angela. If I wanted them to go along with this ruse, I’d have to tell them almost everything.
“Noah used to have a huge crush on Angela. He actually wanted me to help him break up her and Damien. He found out at the West Estate that Ang is gay. Anyway, he figured pretending to date me will help me too by making people less suspicious of Damien and me.”
Both parents’ mouths formed silent “O”s of comprehension.
“Still don’t like this,” Dad said.
I couldn’t tell them about the blackmail or give them any hint of it. If they knew, they would insist on confronting Noah to make him stop, and even if he liked my parents like he claimed, he wasn’t about to listen to them. “It’s not a big deal. Promise.”
Neither Mom nor Dad challenged me on my statement, but they didn’t look like they believed me either.
THE NEXT DAY WAS A reading day. I had to prepare for my English and History exams. I wished they weren’t on the same day. Both were going to be primarily essays. Prof. Lowell had given us a list of possible essay topics. We wouldn’t know which ones exactly would be on the list, but if we prepared rough essays for a few we should pass easily. I was rereading an article we’d been given to help formulate an argument for one of the questions. That morning, I’d coordinated with Angela a meetup in Prof. Edward’s classroom to study. Both boys joined us. We hadn’t had to tell them where we were studying. They both just appeared. I think they tried to race each other into the room.
We had pushed four desks together into a group. When Damien saw the desk by me was empty, he shoved Noah aside to reach it first. Thankfully no one else was in the room to see his odd behavior. He sat beside me triumphantly and smiled widely at me. It was cute but totally inappropriate. While Noah pulled out his laptop, Damien’s desk stayed empty. I gave him a long look. This was a bit of a test. He’d helped me study before, but I wasn’t sure if he could manage two days in a row. I also suspected he’d had some sort of sugary cereal for breakfast or a pot of coffee. He almost vibrated in his seat.
“So how did last night go?” Angela asked me.
I side-looked Damien. I suspected he’d prompted this question.
“It could’ve gone better. Noah’s mom doesn’t like me.”
“So are you breaking up?” she asked, that was so obviously Damien’s question. I hoped she was being compensated for asking these coached questions.
“Sarah was perfect,” Noah said.
“Perfect?” Damien repeated with a frown.
“She didn’t let my mom steamroll her, she stood up for herself, and best of all, she ate.”
I didn’t understand the last part. “It was dinner. Was I not supposed to? The food was good.”
“My mother has a thing about eating.”
I waited for him to continue, but he didn’t.
“What thing?”
“She doesn’t think anyone can eat while upset,” Damien said.
Damien answering the question threw me off. “You’ve met her?”
“He was invited to the house once,” Noah said. He had a small smirk on his face.
“But not re-invited?”
“The insurance company wouldn’t allow it.”
I turned to Damien. “What did you do?”
“Don’t you need to study?” he countered.
“What did he do?” I asked Noah.
“He didn’t eat. And it took a special team to get the stains out of the fresco.”
“What does that mean?”
Damien was not happy that I was still asking about this. He twisted himself up and tried to shrug off my question. “They didn’t have any food I liked.”
“So you decided to paint the walls with it?”
“Don’t you need to study?” he asked again.
I could tell pursuing this story was just going to upset him more, and he was right I needed to study. I let it drop and started re-reading the handouts I’d received in English.
“Which essay questions are you working on?” he asked.
I pointed to three that I’d starred on the handout. “These ones are all kind of similar so I should be able to use a lot of the same sources for them to write my essay.”
To my surprise, he took a couple of the printouts. “I’ll highlight the bits that will be useful,” he said.
That would be a huge help. I gave him a highlighter and started reading again.
We studied quietly for an hour. It was surprisingly comfortable. Damien even stayed on task, highlighting bits that he thought would help me. Even though I knew he got straight A's, I rarely saw him doing actual schoolwork. Most people probably thought the teachers let him coast, but I had seen his tests. All of them were almost perfect. Maybe he was too smart to be normal.
“Damien, when do we leave for Hawaii?” Noah asked.
He pretended not to hear him. But we did need to discuss it.
“Have you talked to your parents?” I asked.
He pretended to not hear me either.
“If you can’t go to Hawaii, you and your parents can come to the chalet,” he said, clearly baiting Damien.
“Skiing and hot cocoa sound nice,” I said playing along.
“I'll even share my stash of mini marshmallows with you.”
We grinned at each other, but our smiles were fake. Damien, though, had not snapped at our bait like I'd expected. His silence was beginning to concern me.
“Did your parents say no? It’s fine if they did. I've always spent winter break at Noble. It’s fine.”
He finally responded, “They didn’t say no.”
“So you have asked them?”
“I asked them.”
His reticence on details was worrying me more and more.
“And?” I prompted.
“They said yes. Everything’s fine.”
His answer at face value was perfect. It was exactly what I wanted to hear, but his tone belied his words. He’d sounded defensive. He was hiding something.
“Damien, just tell her,” Angela said.
“Are they insisting on coming?” I asked. I knew that if the Wests were there, my parents would not want to go.
“No. They can’t make it.”
I opened and closed my hands as my frustration mounted. “Then what’s the problem?”
“There’s no prob—“