Privileged

by Stevens, Madison

  “Yes, do tell her I’d love to see her latest work. I was very sorry we weren’t able to use that last shoot.” If I kept smiling like that, my face was going to crack.

  Either way, now I knew the root of things. The dig was subtle, but there was nothing subtle about not using my mother’s pictures.

  “I’m sure she was as well, but there’s always a market for her work.” I smiled sweetly. “But I’ll be sure to let her know your concern.”

  Her thin lips pressed together, and her eyes narrowed as she stared me down. I stood tall, chin held high. My mother might not be much a mother, but she’s an excellent photographer. This was a witch hunt, and she had gotten caught in the crossfire.

  “Mother,” Grace called from the bottom of the stairs. Mrs. Locke and I turned to look at Grace. Chance had left her to fend for her own bags and despite how things were, the sight burned me up. I shut my eyes briefly and then turned back to the older woman.

  She had seem my momentary lapse and reveled in her victory.

  “Well,” I said shakily. “Have a good Thanksgiving.”

  Was it mean to pray she choked on a bone? What if it was a very small one? Or maybe develop gout.

  “You too,” she said with a sly smile.

  When the driver opened the door, I found Gavin’s face staring back at me. The sight of Julia firmly planted to his side made my heart twist. I slipped my shades over my eyes and busied myself with the radio. It didn’t matter. None of it mattered. I just needed to get out of here and away from all this.

  * * *

  The drive hadn’t been all that bad, about an hour with traffic. It would be quite the distance when I was able to move in full time, but I’d just drive in for the day and stay.

  I sat in my car, staring at the house I’d always considered home. It was a two-story building that was far from most other country homes. Gran might have liked the setting, but she was hardly living in the poor country house.

  In truth, it was far more house than I really needed, but I loved it. It was like stepping into an English country manor. The gray stone seemed to go on for ages, with patches of ivy climbing the walls. On either end there were two small, rounded cylinders that formed a sort of cone shape, reaching to the second floor. As a child, it was like staying in a castle.

  I smiled. It felt that way even now.

  The massive wooden door seemed so cold without Gran there to greet me. I cringed, thinking of the state of things. The cleaning crew had cleared out all the food in the house but left everything else intact. Really, all I needed to do was go through Gran’s room.

  I started the car back up and eased it into the garage. After grabbing a few things, I made my way to the back entrance. The door opened to the kitchen, and I set down the items. When I flicked the light, I was grateful it came on. Someone had been taking care of things. It hadn’t occurred to me.

  I put the food in the fridge and went in search of the thermostat, something else I had never really paid much attention to. I wandered through the house and realized that everything there was now mine. It was strange. I stared at the formal sitting room and wrinkled my nose. Gran was a great woman, but we were living in two different ages. The floral seating and scrolling furniture was not my cup of tea. Too bad I had never asked if anything was a family heirloom.

  Both of the towers held my favorite rooms, the music room and the library. These held the most memories for me, and I shied away from them. It was doubtful they would have the thermostat.

  I climbed the great stairs to the many bedrooms. Oddly, I had never really thought much about how many rooms there were, but there were far more than I ever seemed to remember. In all, I counted ten doors, three of which I knew to be bathrooms. I stared down the hall to the right. Gran’s room was at the end of the hall. Despite it not being the master bedroom, she had liked the view from there best. The other end was the master bedroom. Once my mother’s and now mine. The comfort of it called to me.

  Looking back down at Gran’s door, I spied a little box on the wall. I cursed and made my way slowly. The quiet of the house was unnerving and made the trip far more eerie than it ever should have been. I turned the heat up and smiled when I heard it click.

  The smile slipped from my face as I placed a hand on Gran’s door. This was it. The whole reason for coming out. Well that and being totally ditched, but I wasn’t thinking on that. Or trying not to at least.

  I turned the knob, and the door swung in. When I walked in, the faint hint of lavender hit me and tears welled in my eyes. It still smelled like her. The room looked slightly dusty, which would have driven Gran nuts, but other than that totally normal. Like she’d walk in any minute tutting about the dust.

  I walked in and sat on the bed, numb. Maybe it was still too early. I shook my head. Nearly a year and a half. I couldn’t put this off forever. Besides, someone might break in, and I’d never even know what had been taken.

  I popped off the bed and strolled to the closet to tackle the easiest of thing. Gran’s clothes.

  * * *

  I stared at my handy work and marveled at the amount of clothes Gran had. Her shoe collection alone took up nearly four trash bags. Very little had been worth keeping. A few pairs of shoes that would fit my mother, Gran’s old wedding dress and the fox fur coat. Personally the idea of it creeped me out. All those poor little foxes dying for a coat, but I wasn’t really sure that the shelter had much use for it. In the end I, set it in the Mom pile and would just let her deal with it.

  Finishing the rest of my sandwich, I peered out the window. The sun was low on the hill and would soon slip behind the horizon. I sighed. I still needed to get the rest of the stuff from the car. It wouldn’t be such a big deal if the house were like any other, but instead there was a standalone just off the kitchen door.

  I grabbed my keys and made my way out back. It didn’t take long to grab the rest and lock up the garage. After lugging it up the stairs, I made it just part the door when my phone began to ring. I dropped everything on the ground and shut the door quickly.

  The phone buzzed again from the counter. Unknown caller.

  My heart raced and stomach twisted. Something was wrong. I needed to stop this. Now.

  “Who is this?” I yelled into the phone.

  Silence. Just like all the other times.

  “Look, don’t call me,” I said, the edge clear in my voice.

  Still more silence. I started to pull the phone away when a quiet voice came over the line.

  “He’s not yours,” a female voice said.

  I shivered at her sound.

  “What are you—”

  The phone went dead.

  I shook as I leaned on the counter. The threat was there, even if the words weren’t.

  When I turned the lock on the door caught my eye. I raced over and locked it quickly. Peering out the window, I stared at the pitch black yard.

  Worry ate at me until I had tested every lock on the ground floor. Rational or not, it was unsettling being so far away from help.

  Trying not to think too much, I brought my things to my room and locked the door behind me. No harm in being extra careful.

  I tossed myself on the bed and looked around. Everything still just as it was the last time I’d been there. It all seemed like ages ago.

  I rolled to my side and looked out the window. The phone calls had been pretty consistent recently. Now that my theory of it being Chet was a bust, I wondered who would have issues with me. As far as I could remember, I’d never really made anyone mad enough to warrant these kinds of calls.

  And what the hell had that even meant? Maybe someone had mistaken me for someone else, and this was all just a misunderstanding. I yawned. Either way I had to get this figured out when I got back. If anything, I could always just get a new phone.

  Feeling fatigue set in, I got up and padded into the bathroom. I changed and got ready for bed. As I made my way back into the room, my phone chimed on the bed. My pulse race
d. I looked down at the phone.

  Grace: I’m sorry about my mother.

  I sat hard on the bed and tried to hold back the tears that threatened to spill. It was the first time she had said anything to me in the past two weeks and this was it. The phone chimed again.

  Grace: I’m sorry. I miss you.

  I choked on a sob that broke free.

  Grace: We miss you.

  I rolled into a ball on the bed and let the tears fall. Writing her back would mean so many things. Maybe it was better to just have her out of my life. My heart twisted at the thought, and I knew that deep down this wasn’t her, but the pain of the betrayal stung all the same.

  After taking a deep breath, I picked up the phone again.

  Emma: Have a good Thanksgiving.

  I turned the phone off and rolled over. If she wanted to be my friend, then it would be in the light of day. I closed my eyes and tried to clear everything from my mind. The last thing I remembered before drifting off was the feel of Gavin’s warm body wrapped around me.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Hello?” Heather’s voice echoed through the house.

  “I’m in the study,” I called to her. “Just keep following the hall.”

  The click of her heels drew closer until she came into view. Excited for some company, I waved at her cheerful face.

  “What are you doing in here?” She wrinkled her nose at the bags and piles I had made throughout the house.

  It had been a busy few days. Keeping myself busy had proved to be easier than I anticipated. The work was almost too much for one person, but I just turned on some tunes and enjoyed the time where I didn’t have to think about outside things.

  Heather leaned over and dipped down my clipboard, so she could see what I had been doing.

  “Are you seriously cataloging everything in the house?” She raised a brow at my anal tendencies.

  “Well, yes, but I have a very good reason.” I pointed to various pieces of bric-a-brac. “There is a lot of stuff here, and I’d hate to get rid of something that’s a part of my family history.”

  Heather looked around at the room and nodded. “I can see why that might be a problem.”

  I sat the clipboard down and dusted off my pants.

  “So, let’s go pick out a room.” I beamed at her.

  It was so nice to have someone else around. The nights were starting to wear on me, and I didn’t know how many more unknown phone calls I could ignore. Something was going to have to give. I thought about going to police, but they’d probably just brush it off as some stupid college kid thing. Besides, I had no real proof that anyone really wanted to hurt me, even if I strongly suspected it. There’d been no calls during Thanksgiving, but I expected them to start up again. Apparently my phone stalker had a family to hang out with at least. Still it was had remained quiet for the day, so maybe they had given up. At least, I hoped so.

  We chatted pleasantly as we climbed the stairs. Heather was nice to be around. Her family had made their money off a dairy farm, and there was just something about her down to earth attitude that you didn’t find often in our crowd. She and Dean really were a rarity.

  As we reached the top, I started to throw open rooms for her to choose from. In the end, she picked the one next to Gran’s.

  “The view here is just so amazing,” she said as she looked out the bay window.

  “Gran said the same thing.” I smiled at her.

  “So,” she turned and stared straight into me, “You know I don’t like to beat around the bush.”

  I nodded. It was one of the things I liked most about her.

  “Grace called me,” she said flatly.

  “What?” I felt the air rush out of my lungs.

  She held up a hand as she crossed the room to sit on the bed. When she patted the spot beside her, I sat dropped down.

  “Gavin heard us in class. I don’t really know what happened with you all, but I know what heartache sounds like.” She reached out and took my hand. “I’m not asking for you all to kiss and make up but just hear them out.”

  “Them?” I said just barely a whisper.

  She nodded. “You’re just going to have to put on your big girl panties and deal with this. We’re meeting them later.”

  I swallowed. Everything in me wanted to fight with Heather and tell her she had no right, but really, she did. Because true friends didn’t have boundaries. They said what needed to be said, even if it’s not what the other person wants to hear.

  “Mad?” Heather nudged my leg.

  I shook my head and looked up at her. “Thanks for wading into my shit.” I smiled.

  “Eh, it’s nice to step outside of the drama once and a while,” she said sadly.

  I poked her side. “’Kay, your turn to share.”

  She sighed and flopped back on the bed, her blonde hair fanning out around her. “I’m just not what my family was expecting. I keep telling them that I just like who I like, but they don’t want to hear it.” She sighed and threw an arm over eyes. “I think it would almost be easier for them if I just liked girls.”

  I laughed. “Really? I thought you did.”

  “I don’t like to be limited.” Heather moved her arm away and peeked at me with a sly smile. “Why, you interested?”

  She laughed loudly when I nearly choked.

  “Relax, Em. I know you and tall, dark and angry got something going on.” She winked at me. “Can’t say I blame you. There’s just something about him.”

  I smiled slightly. There really was just something about him.

  “So what do your parents want you to do?” I said, lying down beside her. It was nice to have a conversation with someone that wasn’t afraid to actually say what they were feeling.

  “Oh well, they’d love it if I married Matt.”

  I turned and watched as she wrinkled her nose. “Who’s Matt?” I asked.

  “Childhood friend. His parents are old money and deeply rooted in our town. He’s nice but…” she sighed. “Everything about him is just so stiff.”

  “Maybe that’s not such a bad thing,” I mumbled.

  The room was silent for a moment before Heather’s laugh filled the room.

  “I knew we’d be great friends.” Heather sat up quickly. “All right you, naughty girl, what are we wearing tonight? Let’s make it so hot it melts the pants off of lover boy.”

  The smile slid from my face as I thought about Gavin. “I’m not so certain that’s what he wants.”

  Heather winked at me. “Well let’s just remind him that it is.”

  * * *

  We sat in the little dive on the water and sipped our drinks. Heather had opted to drive so I was enjoying a rum and Coke while she just enjoyed the Coke.

  We had picked a booth in the back corner and from there I was able to watch the door. I watched the locals filter in and find a comfortable rhythm with one another. It was interesting and I wondered how long the people here had known one another. The seemed so open in their friendships. Wasn’t often I saw this, and a twinge of jealously hit me.

  “They’re here,” Heather said in my ear.

  I looked to the door, and my eyes fell on Gavin first. It wasn’t hard to pick him out. His dark gaze sought me out from across the room. Grace came around him and for the first time in weeks I got a good look at her. She looked like she’d lost weight, and there were dark circles under her eyes.

  Heather had been right. Grace looked like she’d been in pain. A small part of me rejoiced that she had been in pain, but when I looked into her eyes, that all faded. I just wanted her to be happy. Gavin made his way to the bar.

  “I think I’ll go help with the drinks.” Heather squeezed my shoulder as Grace came to stand beside the booth.

  “Thanks for setting this up,” she said to Heather.

  Heather pinned her with a hard stare. “Don’t fuck it up.”

  With that, she was gone.

  Grace sat across from me, her hands fidgeting
in her lap.

  “So,” she said and looked up at me.

  “So,” I said, not really knowing what to say.

  “I’m sorry,” she said in a whisper. “This stuff with Gavin, my mother, Chase, it all just seemed to pile on at once.”

  I leaned back. The mid-drift shirt rose up and exposed my stomach.

  “You need to level with me for once.” I leaned forward and put my arms on the table. “What the hell is going on?”

  “It’s you,” she said so quietly that I nearly missed it. “They don’t want you together with Gavin.”

  “I kinda gathered that,” I said. “Not that it’s really an issue considering how bad he’s blown it, but I just don’t get why. Your mom loved me. I’ve known your family for years. I come from money. It just doesn’t make sense.”

  “It’s not really you but more his reaction to you.” She sighed and looked over to him.

  “He loves you.” Grace turned back to me in the most straightforward way I had ever seen her. “When Chet hurt you, he lost it.”

  I nodded. Chet had said as much, and even Gavin admitted to the behavior.

  Grace went on. “He was supposed to go to a different school. Get over this and settle in a normal relationship. Instead Gavin went on self-destruct mode. Something happened.” I opened my mouth to ask what, but she shook her head. “That’s not for me to tell.”

  “And where do you fit in to all of this?” I crossed my arms over my chest.

  “It’s really our father pulling the strings,” Gavin said from my side. I jumped in surprise. His candid response and openness was refreshing.

  “But you’re adults,” I said. “Just don’t listen to him.”

  Grace shook her head as Heather and Gavin sat next to us. Gavin slipped into the booth next to me, his leg flush with mine.

  “He’s not like your parents,” she said sadly. “Your parents have a line. Our father will crush us if he feels like we’ll interfere with his chance of inheriting.” She stared at me flatly from across the table. “You know he’s capable of doing it. Grandmother is still the head of the hotels, and he wants nothing more than to inherit the lot. If we get in the way of that dream, he’ll just have us removed.”