by Grace Reagal
Whatever he has on my family, I am going to find out and turn it back on him.
***
“So what is it like?”
“What’s what like?”
Mell watches me with amusement as she takes a bite of her sandwich. “Yesterday when we were texting you said ‘it’s not like that’. But I can only think of one reason you’re going to the dance with Chase.”
“Hm?”
“To lose your virginity.”
I start choking on my water. Mell bursts out laughing. Leaning over, she pats my back. “There, there.”
I glare up at her. “Don’t ever say that.”
“So you are a virgin?”
I blush bright red and avoid her gaze. Picking up my pizza, I start nibbling on it. “Yes. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“A virgin?”
I sigh, putting my pizza down. “You have no idea how many times I’ve heard that word today.” Before she can ask, I say, “From people I would rather not talk about, so please, drop it.”
She shrugs. “Fine. Whatever.” She looks down at her sandwich and I swear she mutters, “Virgin.”
“So why weren’t you at school yesterday?” I ask, taking another sip of my water.
Mell freezes up. Ha, now the tables are turned. But my satisfaction dims as I see her look up with a plastered fake smile. “Nothing.”
“Hm?” I can feel something is wrong.
She shrugs, looking away. “Just some issues with my step-dad. Nothing major—” Suddenly her whole tone changes and she nudges my shoulder. “Oh, look who’s coming!” She winks. “Your man.”
Valentin?
Why the heck would you think Valentin?
When I turn around, I see Chase walking toward us with a couple of his friends.
I turn quickly around, trying to cover my face with my hair.
But my hair is short now so it doesn’t do anything.
I look up at Mell who is looking at me with a confused look. Quickly I blurt out, “So…funny story. He asked me to the dance yesterday and I said no. And later in class that day, I told everyone that I was going with him.”
Mell looks at me for a moment before she bursts out laughing. “Oh, my God! You did not!”
I glower at her. “Stop. Laughing.”
“What’s so funny?”
I look up at Chase, who’s directly behind me. He’s sporting a smile and a twinkle in his eyes. Before he can say anything, I get up.
But before I can do anything more, he grabs my wrist, shaking his head with a grin, “No, no, no. You are not escaping me this time, Caterina Callahan.”
Chapter 12
Caterina
I look at him like he’s crazy. “Pshh, I wasn’t leaving…I was just…” I look at Mell for help but she looks like she’s about to burst out laughing again. I look back to Chase. “I was just, I was uh…” Suddenly, I grab his wrist and pull him aside. “I just wanted to talk.”
Once we are a couple of feet from his group of friends…who are sitting at the table and having a conversation with Mell…oh, God. What is she telling them? Mell, I swear to God if—
“You wanted to talk?”
I snap out of my thoughts and look up at Chase. “Yeah, um, about yesterday, I…”
His arms crossed, he waits for me to continue. There’s a grin on his face, but it doesn’t irritate me like Valentin’s.
Maybe because Chase isn’t a complete arsehole.
Correcto!
“Okay, so I know I said no to the dance but I kind of told people that you did ask me to the dance and that I said yes, which I think you already know from the grin on your face, but uh, I just uh, I don’t know what to do or say right now—”
“Caterina—”
“I kind of put myself in an awkward situation but if you already have a date or don’t want to go anymore that’s totally and completely—”
Chase steps toward me with a kind smile. “Caterina.”
I take a breath and stop. “Hm?”
“I would love to go to the dance with you.”
Relief overwhelms me.
My heart beats fast. “You would?”
He smiles, and I can see his dimples. “Why wouldn’t I?”
Without my notice, my hand rises to touch his cheek. Almost mesmerized I say, “You have dimples…”
I hear a burst of laughter from our table and I quickly drop my hands, turning bright red. “Oh, God, I don’t know why I did that.”
Chase laughs, leaning back to look at me. “You are one hell of a something, Caterina Callahan.”
I blush. “Call me Kitty.”
Might as well right? I’ve completely mortified myself with him at least five times in the past three minutes.
“Where do you live, Kitty?”
“What?”
His eyebrow raise at my shocked voice. “So I can pick you up tonight?”
I laugh nervously, licking my lips. “Oh, sorry. I—uh, I’ll just meet you here, Chase.”
Chase smiles sweetly. “No. It’s okay. I can pick you up.”
“No, no. I would really feel more comfortable getting picked up here.” Everything will blow up to smithereens if he comes to my house. For one, he would know my family was rich. And for two, he would not get out alive.
“Are you sure?”
I nod, maybe a little too enthusiastically. “Yes, totally.”
“Okay, then, Kitty.” Chase smiles down at me strangely. “See you tonight.” And before I can run away, he leans down and kisses me quickly on my cheek.
“Oh!”
He walks away quickly and his friends follow.
I look up at the ceiling, trying to calm my beating heart. When I turn, I catch a familiar pair of burning green eyes. Valentin is all the way across on the other side of the cafeteria and Cassandra is sitting on his lap. No one seems to notice us looking at each other.
I gulp at the dark look on his face.
Why did he seem angrier than before?
And as he turns, I see the tension on his back.
I might have just made the bomb explode before it was supposed to…
Wow! Great job—
Oh, fudge off.
***
I’m silent when I get in the car. I notice Mom isn’t there and I feel like if I say even one word, Dad is going to figure out what we are planning on doing today.
“Hello, Caterina.”
“Hi, Dad.”
“How was school today?”
“It was fine…great. It was great.”
I see his eyebrow rise in the rearview mirror. He is already starting to get suspicious.
I blurt out, “Why isn’t Mom here?” to distract his mind.
I can see his frown when he says, “She is mad at me.”
“Mad at you?” I know the exact reason why she is mad but I am playing the innocent angel tonight.
“Yes,” he sighs, “because of what happened at dinner yesterday.”
I nod. “Oh…”
His grey eyes flicker to me in the rearview mirror. “You’re not mad at me too, are you?”
I shake my head. “Oh, no. Of course not. I understand why I can’t go. And plus it’s just a dance. Whatever.” I shrug as if it doesn’t mean anything.
“Thank you. Now if only your mother shared your thoughts.” His mouth twists in distaste.
I roll my eyes. It is just one dance. Why can’t he let me go to one dance? It isn’t like someone is going to kill me!
Dad always thinks he is right. It would be really annoying if I didn’t have the same trait.
“She has been giving me the silent treatment all day. She did not say one word to me. She did not come to my office for lunch. She did not even…” He sighs, looking sad. I am starting to feel bad for him now. “She did not even kiss me goodbye.” His words are laced with his thick Italian accent. Now I know he is definitely down. His thick accent only comes out when he is angry or sad.
“Aw, not even a smal
l peck?” Mom always gives Dad a kiss. Not over the top like Aunt Raven and Uncle Smoke sometimes, but a small one, which I know holds meaning to them.
He grumbles. “Not even a peck.”
I know the exact reason why she is avoiding him. It is the exact reason why I don’t want to talk too much. Because if I do, he will instantly pick up that something is different.
I take out my phone and start playing a game, trying to make my voice nonchalant. “I’m sorry, Dad, but she kinda has the right to be mad at you after the way you acted toward her last night.”
“I know, I know, but even when I tried apologizing, she brushed me off!”
I shrug.
Suddenly a brilliant idea comes to mind. “Maybe take her out for dinner tonight!”
“For dinner?”
If they are at dinner, she can distract him until my dance finishes. “Yeah, you guys haven’t gone out in a while, and I’m sure she misses being treated to something nice.”
Nice is an understatement and we both know it. Dad is extravagant when it comes to dances and balls and dates. He goes all out.
My lips lift up without me knowing. I want a husband like that.
A husband who will treat me like I am his world.
Even though Mom and Dad fight often, they always make up just as quickly. When I was four, I noticed just how much they love each other and ever since that day, I’ve never seen that love fade away. In fact, they seem to love each other more and more, if that is even possible.
Suddenly, Valentin appears in my head. What he said this morning runs through my mind.
But what he said has to be false. It has to…because Mom and Dad will never stop loving each other. I know that with every single bone in my body.
“You know what, Caterina?”
Dad’s voice shakes me out of my thoughts. “Hm?”
“That is a great idea. I think I will.”
I laugh. “I know.”
“I don’t know if your mother told you this, but we will be going to the beach this whole weekend, so make sure you do all your homework today, okay, Caterina?”
“Okay, Dad!”
There’s silence for a moment, and not able to handle it, I lean over to turn the radio up. I have a feeling if the silence goes on longer I am just going to blurt out, “Dad, Mom is letting me go to the dance and I’m sneaking out without you knowing.”
I feel his hand grab my wrist. “Caterina.”
I gulp. “Yes?”
“Is something going on?”
Darn! How does he know?
I force myself to be calm.
Caterina, if you want to outsmart Dad, you have to be like Dad.
Nonchalance, talk slowly, keep direct eye contact, laugh if he gets too close to the truth as if it’s ridiculous. Ahem, okay now go!
“Uh…other than my load of homework…that I’m going to spend all night doing?”
Why the heck did you have to add that?
I chuckle. “No, Dad. Nothing else.”
“So why are you turning the radio up?”
“Uh…because I wanted to listen to some music?”
“Why not use your phone?”
Oh, yeah! I forgot my phone has Bluetooth. All I have to do is click on a song.
I shrug and laugh as if he is making a big deal out of nothing. “I just wanted to. So what, Dad?”
He narrows his eyes. After a long moment, in which I try to keep a cool face, he lets go of my wrist. Quietly sighing in relief, I turn up the music loud.
Loud enough to drown down my secrets.
***
Everything goes smoothly when I get home. I eat the snacks that Nana made me, run to Kennedy’s house to give him a toy that he left in my room, go to my room, do my homework, come down to say goodbye to Mom and Dad, and then started changing.
Dad took Mom out for a dinner in the city’s most famous restaurant which is luckily far away from our house. She had texted me that I had until nine.
I look in the mirror and took a deep breath. I look like Cat, but spiced up. The red dress seems way too much, but it is what my mom had chosen and I trust her…mostly.
“I should have asked Aunt Raven…” I mutter to myself, brushing my teeth.
I watch myself in the mirror. The anxiety hasn’t gotten to me yet, but I am sure it is going to arrive soon. This is my first official party. At least, the first one that isn’t an extravagant ball with old rich people showing off all their jewelry.
Mom and Dad drag me there sometimes when a large portion of our family is there, but most of the time I am content staying in with Annalise. I mean, I call her “Nana,” but everyone else calls her by her first name. She demands it, saying it makes her feel young.
She had moved in with us recently to help out full-time with my mom since the babies are coming. She had been the one who raised me and I guess she hasn’t gotten tired of me yet.
I smile and quickly walk down the stairs.
“Cat, stop stomping down the house like a hyena!”
I laugh. “I’m not, Nana! Did Mom tell you where I’m going today?” I circle to the living room, where she sits, sewing a sweater. She looks up at me and drops her whole ball of yarn. “What are you wearing?”
I look down and blush. “Is it too much? Oh, crap, I know it’s too much, but Mom picked it out!” It is a simple red dress that falls to my knees. But the fact that it is red…and kind of tight makes me feel really, really naked.
“Oh, Nana. What should I wear, then?”
Her hand comes up to touch her forehead and she looks like she is about to faint. “Does your father know you’re dressed like this?”
“I’ve dressed like this before to the balls.”
Truth is, I haven’t. For the balls, there are always clothing fitters to find a modest dress. But those are always uncomfortable and…long.
Nana spins her fingers. “Turn around, amore.” She still looks wary.
I turn around slowly and she sighs. “The back seems fine, although it shows your behind like no other.”
“Nana!” I scrunch my face. “I don’t have a…a…a behind!”
She laughs, setting down her sweater. “Of course you do. You’re seventeen, you’re starting to grow some. A real woman—”
I wave her off, going to the kitchen. “Stop! Stop!”
“Is Robin driving you to the dance?”
I call out, “Yes!” while checking the fridge for any food.
“And your father does not know, si?”
“Uh…can you keep the secret, Nana?”
“Oh, amore, you’re going to get me in so much trouble.”
Damn it. Where is the pizza that I stashed in here? “Don’t worry! Mom knows too!”
“For the name of God. That’s even worse!”
“Why?”
“Because she is his wife. You know how he feels about her lying to him.”
Nana is the only person who knows everyone’s family business, and ours isn’t any different. Even though she only works here, she also knows all my aunts and uncles. I love her more for it. She is a good gossiper when I’m in the mood.
“Nana?”
“Hm?”
“Where is the pizza from last week?”
“Kitty. You are going to that dance, no?”
“Yeah, but—”
“Robin is waiting outside, I can see the limo there. Why are you not there?”
“Because…pizza.” I swear I had left some here. My stomach growls and I put a hand on it. “Calm down, I’m trying to feed you.”
I hear Nana laughing from the living room. “I have some banana bread on top of the fridge. I’m pretty sure you finished the pizza, amore.”
I groan. Maybe I had. I eat it too much to keep count. Suddenly, I perk up. “Banana bread? Where?”
“Top of fridge. I told you. And hurry up!”
Grabbing the whole thing, I stash it in my bag and slip into my shoes. I am wearing simple white Toms. I have tried
to keep my whole outfit very simple.
My hair is out like it always is, I didn’t touch it up except to brush it. There is the dress, the gold necklace I got from Mom when I was ten, and my bracelet Kennedy made me at school. Overall, I think I look like a normal person.
Definitely not a billionaire’s daughter like most people knew me as. No, I was…a normal girl. I smile, putting on my backpack.
“All right, I’ll be back later tonight, before Mom and Dad get home. If Dad calls, cover for me please, Nana!” Giving her a quick kiss, I hurry to the door.
She grumbles, “Fine, fine. Now go.”
Mr. Simones comes and opens the door for me. He’s the butler, or one of them. There are a lot of butlers and maids in our house. A lot. But usually, they keep themselves hidden from view until people called on them. It always makes me feel bad that I sometimes forget their names.
There is just a lot of them. At least twenty. And they switch out often if Dad doesn’t think they are doing a good job.
“Amore, are you taking that bag with you? And are those, oh my god, are those sneakers you’re wearing?” Nana stands up from the couch, her mouth wide open. Her blanket falls from her shoulders to the floor.
My eyes flicker to the bag on my back. I shrug, laughing. “I don’t want to wear a purse, and these shoes are comfortable.”
Before she can say anything more, I slip out the door and run down our yard to the car.
Right when I slide in the car, my phone pings.
Mell: short skirt or short shorts?
She sends me a selfie of her with her in a pink skirt and one in jean shorts. Both of them look like she is sinning. They barely reach the top of her thighs and it is obvious her butt would be seen in them. For the top, she is wearing a tight black shirt that cuts off at the top of her stomach. I can see her belly button ring, a crystal infinity sign that sparkles.
But Mell pulls it off like nothing. Where other people would look homeless, she looks stunning, scandalous, and enticing.
Cat: Don’t ask me, Mell. You’re the expert in this situation. I’m in the car and I’m pretty sure I’m going to throw up just thinking about the dance!
Mell: lmao don’t worry. if you went all out, you’re going to fit in with all the girls! if not…well you’re gonna fit in with me at least