“Because my dad’s company is shot,” he said. “After ignoring those building codes, he lost all the money in a class-action lawsuit, and they’re going out of business. Our condo on the Strip is up for sale so we can move to the suburbs, but the market sucks right now. No one’s buying.”
“It’ll sell eventually,” Savannah said, even though she knew nothing about real estate. “If your dad’s anything like you, he has to be smart. He’ll find another job.”
“I hope so,” he said. “I’ve been working every hour I’m awake to pay for this year at Goodman in the hope that next year, my dad’s business would be back on track so we could afford my senior year. But it’s looking like that’s not going to happen, so I’ll probably be spending my senior year in public school.”
“Wow.” Savannah toyed with the ends of her hair. “But according to Brett, there are a lot of great public schools in this area. They don’t sound anything like the school I went to in Fairfield. And your parents are back together, so that’s a good thing, right?”
“I guess.” Nick shrugged. “But I have my friends here, I used to have great grades and I’m the quarterback of the football team. Coach has been talking me up to the scouts, and he told me they already have their eye on me for playing in college.”
“You’re going to be amazing at football, whether you’re playing at Goodman or at a public school,” Savannah said softly. “And won’t you feel a lot better next year, not having to worry about paying all the money for Goodman?”
“Yeah,” he said. “You’re probably right. But enough about me. You’re the one who recently found out that Madison Lockhart is your half sister. I was going to text you when I heard, but I got caught up with work... How’s everything going with her?”
“It’s weird,” Savannah started. “It hasn’t really been ‘going’ anywhere. I have no idea what to say to her. Since we’re all going to Aspen over break, I guess we’ll deal with it then? I have no idea. It’s the most awkward thing ever. I know she’s technically our sister now and all, but it doesn’t really seem like she wants to get to know us.”
“She probably does,” Nick said. “I know you all haven’t seen the best side of her since you’ve met her, but remember, I did date her last year. She acts tough—and admittedly, kind of bitchy—when she feels threatened. But there’s more to her than that. She understands people, and she’s easy to talk to.”
“Except that Madison wasn’t ‘threatened’ by me or my sisters,” Savannah said. “She just decided she hated us the second we arrived.”
“Are you so sure about that?” Nick picked up a pen and twirled it with his fingers. “At the start of last summer, Madison had been dating me, thought she had a thing for Brett, Damien followed her around like a lovesick puppy, and who knows what was going on with her and Oliver. Then you and your sisters arrived. Suddenly Brett was with Courtney all the time, Damien asked you out, Oliver hooked up with Peyton, and I reached out to you. In Madison’s mind, that would make her feel extremely threatened.”
“You’re sticking up for her a lot, considering that I thought you hated her after last summer,” Savannah said. “Are you sure you’re over her?”
“Trust me, I’m sure.” He chuckled. “She’s not the girl for me. But she’s your sister, and I think she would be a good one, if you let her try.”
“Maybe.” Savannah shrugged. “But I already have two sisters. I never asked for another.”
“All I’m saying is that it might not hurt to give Madison a chance. She might surprise you.” Nick glanced at his watch. “Anyway, I need to finish up this paper. Have fun in Aspen, and let me know how it goes with Madison, all right?”
“I will,” she promised, although she doubted it would go well.
She was heading out of the library when she saw someone she hadn’t thought about in a while—Wendy, the girl who had been nice to her on her first day of school when she’d been crying. Wendy sat in one of the cubicles downstairs, hunched over a notebook, her hair pulled back into the same thick bun that she’d been wearing on the first day of school. Savannah hadn’t spoken to her since that day—when she’d ditched Wendy’s lunch invitation to sit with Damien and Alyssa. At the time, she’d figured she and Wendy had nothing in common, and she was happy to have an in with the girls on the volleyball team.
But those girls had turned on her, if they ever truly liked her. And while Savannah didn’t know Wendy well, she had a gut feeling that Wendy wasn’t the type of person to go behind the back of someone she called a friend.
She stood there, staring at Wendy’s back for a few seconds. Wendy had no idea she was there. She could leave, and no one would know any differently.
But she didn’t want to do that.
So she gathered her courage and walked over to where Wendy sat.
“Wendy?” she said softly, playing with the strap of her bag.
Wendy turned around, looking at Savannah from behind the rims of her thick black glasses. She still held onto her pencil, and the side of her hand was smudged with lead. “Hey, Savannah,” she said. “What’s up?”
She was so casual—as if Savannah hadn’t ditched her at lunch on that first day. Was it truly possible for someone to be that nice?
Yes, Savannah knew. Because it was something that Courtney would do, also.
“Is it okay if I sit?” Savannah glanced at the chair next to Wendy.
“Sure.”
Savannah situated herself in the chair, aware of Wendy watching her the entire time. It was going to be up to her to speak first—she knew that. If only she knew what to say.
“I was in the library doing homework, and saw you sitting here, and even though it’s been a while, I figured I would come over and say hi,” she started. Wendy scrunched her forehead, and Savannah fidgeted, her legs bouncing. She was babbling, and wasting Wendy’s time while she was clearly working. She needed to get to the point. “I shouldn’t have left you on the first day at lunch. I’m sorry.”
“No worries.” Wendy shrugged. “It’s cool.”
“No,” Savannah said. “It’s not. You were the first person who was nice to me here. When I was crying in the bathroom, you talked to me and invited me to sit with you. Then I blew you off. I feel awful about it.”
“It’s okay,” Wendy said. “I didn’t take it personally.”
“Really?” Savannah asked. If she were Wendy, she definitely would have taken it personally. “Why not?”
“Because I have my friends, and they’re awesome,” she said, as if it were obvious. “If you wanted to sit with the seniors or the volleyball team, that was your call. Although I always wondered how, in the few minutes it took for you to buy a sandwich, you went from crying by yourself in the bathroom to sitting with the most popular kids at school.”
“It happened when I was waiting in line,” Savannah said. “Damien Sanders said hi to me—I knew him from over the summer—and Alyssa saw. She hadn’t wanted to talk to me in first period, but then I guess she figured that since Damien and I knew each other, she would be nice to me. He invited us to sit with him and his friends, and that was that. I made the volleyball team that week, and thought Alyssa and all them were my friends. But they’re not—they never were. They’re fake and they talk about people behind their backs, and I feel like an idiot for not seeing it sooner.” She sniffed, not realizing that a tear had escaped until it was halfway down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly, embarrassed for spilling her guts out like that.
Wendy reached into her bag and pulled out a pack of tissues. “Here,” she said, handing one to Savannah.
“Thanks.” Savannah blew her nose lightly.
“Anytime,” Wendy said. “I always knew those girls were fake. I’ve known them since I transferred to Goodman in middle school, but I figured that either you were just like them, or that you would r
ealize it on your own time.”
“I’m not like them,” Savannah said. “I would never treat a friend like they treated me.”
Her throat tightened, because even though she meant it, was it true? Besides her sisters, Evie was the only person in her life that she’d ever called a true best friend. Then she and Evie had fought at her sixteenth birthday party, and Savannah had shut her out. She’d ignored her calls, her texts, her Snapchats...everything. It was so easy to tell herself that because Alyssa, Jackie and Brooke had been fake friends, that Evie was a fake friend, too. But she knew Evie better than that. And she’d been no better to Evie than Jackie, Alyssa and Brooke had been to her.
Her eyes filled with tears again, and she wiped them away, the tissue smeared with mascara.
“Do you want to go upstairs?” Wendy closed her notebook. “It’s more private up there. We don’t have long until next period, but it seems like you need to talk to someone.”
“You’re right.” Savannah sniffed and swallowed away the tears. “There is someone I need to talk to. Someone I need to call. I should do that now. But...thank you for listening to me. And for not hating me.”
“I can’t hate you.” Wendy laughed. “I don’t really know you.”
“True,” Savannah agreed. “But it means a lot.”
“I’m gonna get back to work,” Wendy said. “I’ll see you around?”
“Yeah,” Savannah said. “See you around.” She smiled at Wendy and hurried out of the library. Once she found an empty bench outside, she took out her cell and called Evie. Her heart raced, but she took a deep breath, waiting for Evie to pick up.
It rang five times, and went to voice mail. What was Savannah thinking by calling during the school day? Sure, she had a long lunch at Goodman, but Evie was probably in class.
She was about to put her phone away and head to her next class when it buzzed with a text.
Saw you called...in class and can’t talk. What’s up?
From Evie. Although they technically weren’t allowed to use their phones during class, it never stopped them from texting. Savannah replied quickly, wanting to get it out before she could overthink it.
I’m sorry for being such a bitch these past few months. You’re my best friend and I miss you and I want to make it up to you. I know we have the same week off for spring break...want to come to Aspen? Perry and Noel from One Connection will be there :P
Her phone rang a minute later.
“How are you using your phone during class?” Savannah asked.
“I got a bathroom pass,” Evie said, breathless. “But that’s not the point. Of course I want to come to Aspen!”
Savannah grinned. Just like that, all the months of fighting and not talking were forgotten, as if they’d never existed at all.
chapter 18:
For the sixth time in her life, Courtney was sitting inside a private jet—and not just any private jet, but the Diamond jet, which could easily hold fifteen people. Adrian had chartered a jet to China and let them have the Diamond jet for Aspen, probably because he felt bad for not being able to come on the trip.
Right now, thirteen of them sat inside the roomy interior that looked more like a living room than an aircraft—Courtney, her sisters, Madison (who was technically a sister, but Courtney wasn’t counting her as one yet), Brett, Oliver, Brianna, Damien, Evie, Emily Nicole and their bodyguards. Perry and Noel had their own jet and would be meeting up with them in Aspen.
Courtney had naturally rushed to the frontmost seat, and Brett had settled across from her. Oliver was sleeping in a fully reclined seat on the opposite side of the plane, and Peyton was across the aisle from him, her earbuds plugged in as she stared out the window. The three bodyguards were in the back. Everyone else was in the center.
“Now it’s time for a toast!” Madison held up her flute of champagne, and everyone around her—Savannah, Evie, Emily Nicole, Brianna and Damien—raised theirs and watched her expectantly. How did Madison get onboard the jet for the first time and command everyone’s attention, looking so at home?
“To what’s sure to be an incredible week in Aspen,” Madison said. “Some of us already know each other well, and others will be getting to know each other for the first time. What better place to do that than in the most glamorous ski town in the world, with a house all to ourselves?”
“To a kick-ass week!” Damien held his glass high. “Aspen won’t know what hit it.”
They clinked glasses and launched into chitchat about what they were most looking forward to in Aspen, what they’d packed, advice on skiing, which celebrities they were hoping to spot and more. It was like they’d all known each other forever. Even Savannah and Madison were getting along. Courtney curled up in her seat, feeling like an outsider as she watched them. With all the years she’d spent dedicated to her work and only having time for her sisters, had she missed out on having a fun group of friends?
“Is everything okay?” Brett asked, nudging Courtney’s leg with his foot. Just the small contact made her heart speed up. She wanted to feel his arms around her so badly right now—probably more so because they had to keep a friendly distance. There were people around who didn’t know about their relationship. “You spaced out there for a minute.”
“Yeah.” She blinked and forced herself to focus. “I guess I just find all of this so strange.”
“You mean how random this group is, and knowing that we’re all going to be cooped up in one house for a week, along with two international pop stars? Because if that’s what you’re referring to, then yeah, I know exactly how you’re feeling.”
“It’s more than that,” she said. “Look at them...most of them barely know each other, but they’re so happy and natural, chatting away about nothing in particular.”
“That’s Madison for you,” he said. “I don’t always have the best things to say about her, but she knows how to bring people together. Damien’s like that, too.”
“When Madison and I rode home in the car together last week, she made an effort to talk,” Courtney said. “But it’s so awkward between us. I’m not sure what to say to her, or how to relate to her.”
“She’s grown up inside a bubble, and I don’t think she’s looked outside it much, but she’s not always so bad,” Brett said. “And who knows...maybe the last few months have changed her.”
“Maybe,” Courtney said. “I know I should give her a chance. I think that this week, I’m going to try.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” he said.
She sat back, her eyes still on the group. Everyone was excitedly talking over each other in a way that made her head spin and the conversation blur. How did people tolerate fighting to be heard like that? Just watching it was exhausting. But they all seemed to be enjoying it, as if it energized them.
“Do you want to go over and join them?” Brett asked. “There’s room for two more.”
If Courtney went over there, she knew what would happen: she would be stuck on the edge of the couch, listening to them going back and forth. When she had something to say, they would have moved on and her thought wouldn’t matter anymore. She was fine when one-on-one with a person, or even in groups of two or three, but six people, who were all outgoing and loud? They would drown her out.
She watched them for a few seconds more. Emily Nicole stood up and did a booty dance, Evie squealed as if it were the funniest thing in the world and Brianna threw a pillow at Emily Nicole’s butt. That was enough to solidify Courtney’s decision.
“I’m happy here,” she said, and Brett relaxed. He must not have wanted to join the big group conversation, either. “There’s a book I wanted to read on the flight. I’m sure we’ll get busy once we’re in Aspen, seeing the town and everything, so I might as well get some reading done now.”
“And I’ve got some TV sh
ows on my iPad.” He smiled, then lowered his voice. “Although I wish I was watching something with you in my condo, just the two of us. You’re gonna drive me crazy this week, you know that?”
Courtney blushed and looked at the group to make sure they hadn’t heard. Luckily they were too involved in their conversation to have caught a thing.
She took out her Kindle and tried to read. But everyone was talking so loudly that it was impossible to concentrate on the words. They sounded like they were all having so much fun.
She wished she could let loose and be a part of that, too.
* * *
The flight to Aspen was short—only an hour and a half—and as they began their descent, Courtney pulled her eyes away from her Kindle to watch as they landed.
The Rocky Mountains were one of the most beautiful sights she had ever seen. They seemed to go on forever, as if the ground would never flatten out again. As the wheels touched the runway, Courtney kept her forehead pressed against the window, tilting her head so she could take it all in. The mountains towered majestically over everything, shooting up into the clouds, blanketed in layers of untouched snow that sparkled under the sun. The tiny airport was a speck in a crevice of the summits surrounding them.
She paused when she exited the plane and rested her fingers on the rail, taking in a deep breath of the snow-scented air. It was a fantasy world, like Narnia when the White Witch reigned.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Brett whispered in her ear, his hand brushing against her waist.
“Yes,” she breathed. “The Rockies were never on my list of places to visit. Now I wonder why not...and how many other beautiful places are out there that I haven’t thought to explore.”
“You’ll see them all,” he said. “We’ll write down a list of all the places you want to go, so you’ll never forget them.”
“Are you guys coming?” Madison yelled from the tarmac, where a gigantic limo-truck waited. It looked like someone had taken an Escalade, chopped it in half, added pieces to the center and welded it all together.
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