by Cotton, L A
Kara: How are you feeling?
Me: Ask me again later...
Kara: I’m worried about you.
She always was. But what was there to say? I was a mess.
Me: I’m fine. I’ll call you later
It was almost ten by the time I managed to drag myself out of bed.
“Good morning, Sweetheart,” Mom’s overly cheery voice greeted me as I entered the kitchen. “How was the party?”
“Okay, I guess.” I brushed past her and made a beeline for the coffee maker.
“I didn’t hear you come in.”
Pausing, I met her gaze. “I was home before midnight. I didn’t realize I had a curfew now?”
It was a white lie. What I didn’t tell her was I spent the night avoiding Kyle, and by the time Kara and Trina found me down by the beach, it took both of them to carry me to Trina’s car.
“Macey, that’s not...” she sighed. “I just worry about you. It’s senior year and you’re so...”
“So what, Mom? Angry? Detached? Cold? I’d love to hear what you think I am.” Rage boiled underneath my skin as my jaw clenched.
“It’s been months, Sweetheart.” Her eyes softened. “I thought you would be—”
“Over it? I’m sorry if I can’t just get over it. You lied, Mom. All these years you lied for him. You covered for a man who physically hurt you. You let him dictate Maverick’s future. Mess with his life. You let that piece of shit jeopardize his whole future. It’s bad enough you never told me the truth about why you left him, but this is different. It’s not something I can just forget.”
The blood drained from her face and her bottom lip quivered. But in true Rebecca Prince style she smoothed her hair and rolled back her shoulders. “I did what was necessary to protect you and your brother.”
“Protect yourself more like,” I snapped.
“Mornin’, Momma P— what’s going on?” Kyle entered the room, glancing between the two of us. “Should I?” He motioned back to the hall, but Mom shook her head.
“You don’t need to leave, Kyle, but for the love of God, please stop calling me that.”
“What can I say? I’m a creature of habit.” His eyes flicked from her to me. “How’s the head this morning?”
I scowled. “Fine.” It wasn’t, but there was no way in hell I was admitting that to him. Or to Mom, who was watching us with pinched brows. “How’s your ego?” I shot back.
“Ouch.” He flinched feigning shock. “So prickly, Sis. You wound me.”
“Kyle,” Mom warned, and he cussed under his breath as she continued, “Macey, I was hoping we could—”
“No can do, I’m busy.”
“You don’t even know what I was going to say.” She let out a resigned sigh.
But that was the point—I didn’t want to hear whatever she had to say.
It was too late.
Grabbing my coffee mug, I started for the door. “Doesn’t matter. Like I said. Busy.” I left them to it and padded up to my room. Family breakfasts were never my favorite, but lately they sucked on a whole new level. And with Maverick gone, things were different.
It used to be the two of us against the world. Macey and Maverick Prince. We were inseparable. High school royalty. But then she moved here, and everything changed. Eloise Stone, our stepdad’s niece. I knew the second Maverick laid eyes on her, he wanted her. What I didn’t know was he’d actually had a piece of her the summer before.
It hurt that he’d never told me. Hurt even more when they started sneaking around behind everyone’s back. But a funny thing about life... it often kicks you when you’re down. And as if losing my brother to an outsider wasn’t bad enough, I learned the truth about Mom and Dad.
My carefully constructed world didn’t just spin.
It imploded.
The knock at my door pulled me from my thoughts. “Mace, it’s me,” my half-sister Summer’s voice filtered into the room.
“Come in.”
The door creaked open and a head of long blonde hair appeared. “Are you okay? Mom said...”
“I’m fine.” I dropped my eyes, not wanting her to see the truth because if anyone could, it was her.
Summer wasn’t like the rest of us; she still had an innocence about her. The three of us—Maverick, Kyle, and me—had tried to protect her from all the bullshit that came with being a Stone-Prince. And so far, it had worked. She was quiet and compassionate. Kind and warm.
She was everything I wasn’t.
“Kyle wants to know if you want a ride.”
Meeting her concerned gaze, I forced a smile. “Tell Kyle, like every other morning this semester, I’m fine.”
“But—”
“I’ll see you later, okay?”
Defeat flashed in her eyes and her shoulders sank. “Okay, bye, Mace.”
“Bye,” I whispered. The door closed, and I released a long breath. Ever since the truth came out, they had all been dancing on eggshells around me.
And I hated it.
Being a Prince had always been intense, but my walls had been high enough to keep the vultures out. I hated things changing, but I didn’t know what to do to stop it. It was an itch. A deep unreachable itch that no matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t seem to soothe. For years, I’d protected myself from everyone around me.
But there was one thing I couldn’t protect myself from.
Me.
Chapter 2
“Macey, come in.” Miss Tamson, the guidance counselor, beckoned me into the room. “Take a seat.”
I slung my backpack down and dropped into the seat slouching.
“So, I just wanted to check in, see how your college applications are coming along?”
I shrugged. “I still haven’t decided.”
“I don’t need to remind you, time is of the essence, Macey.” She glanced down at the papers on her desk. “University of California, and Florida State are still your top choices?”
I nodded.
“Do we need to talk about the fact you’re applying to one in-state college and one across the country?”
“I don’t know, do we?”
“Macey, I’m no fool. I know things haven’t been easy the last year. What with Maverick moving away, and things with your father—”
“This has nothing to do with my father.” I shifted uncomfortably on the chair.
“Doesn’t it?” She levelled me with a hard look.
That was the thing about being a Prince and living in a place like Wicked Bay, everyone who was anyone knew your business. There was no escaping it.
“Maybe a fresh start would be good.” I narrowed my eyes. Why couldn’t people just butt out of my business?
“And I don’t disagree. But I have to ask, are you sure Florida State isn’t just an opportunity to run away from your problems?”
“It’s a good school with an excellent dance program,” I shot back defensively.
“Okay, I can see you’re not in the right headspace to talk to me about this. All I ask is that you really think about this. If Florida State comes knocking, which with your grades and extra curriculars, I have no doubt they will, are you really looking to move three-thousand miles across country for their superb dance program? Or are you looking for something else?”
I dropped my eyes to avoid her questioning stare. She wanted answers I didn’t have.
When the silence became deafening, Miss Tamson finally added, “Okay, get out of here.”
I didn’t need telling twice. Grabbing my backpack, I leaped up, but her voice stopped me in my tracks just as I reached the door. “But, Macey, I want you to check in soon, okay?”
Lips pressed together, I managed a curt nod and then got the hell out of there. I found Kara and our group in the cafeteria. “We saved you an egg roll.” She smiled, pushing the tray toward me. “You, okay? You look tense.”
“Thanks for the roll.” I shuffled in beside her. “Tamson is on my back about college, is all.”
“Yeah, but what’s up with that, Mace?” Trina asked. “Florida? It’s practically a whole other world away.”
“It’s college.” I gave a half-hearted shrug. “People move away for college all the time. Anyway, I haven’t decided anything yet.”
“Well decide fast, girl. Christmas break will be here before we know it.”
“Hey,” Kara whispered. “You wanna talk about this?”
“I’m fine.” I picked at the egg roll.
“It’s just... UCLA was always the plan wasn’t it? And now it’s not?” Her brows furrowed.
“Look, it’s complicated.” I sighed, flicking my gaze to the other girls around the table.
Kara was one of the few people I didn’t keep completely at arm’s length. But I still didn’t make a habit of telling her my deepest darkest secrets.
Maybe Miss Tamson was right. Maybe applying to Florida State was a smokescreen for dealing with everything, but that was the thing—I didn’t want to deal, I wanted to forget. The shit with Mom and Dad, my sham of a childhood, my deteriorating relationship with Maverick; I wanted to forget it all and moving across state seemed like the best shot at doing that. Besides, come graduation, Kyle and Laurie would be making plans to move to USC, Lo would be going off to college no doubt somewhere close to Rick, and Summer could finally have a normal life. Sticking around only meant more fake family dinners and strained conversations. There was nothing keeping me in Wicked Bay.
Nothing except bad memories and more heartache.
“Hey, hotties at two o’clock.” I followed Trina’s head as she blatantly stared at Kyle and his friends as they breezed into the cafeteria like they were gods and the rest of us mere mortals.
“Seriously?” I groaned. “He’s my brother.”
“So?” She shrugged. “I’m not his sister.”
I wanted to knock the smirk right off her perfectly made up face. But that would be uncheer-like of me.
“Trina, he’s with Laurie, and believe me when I say the second it’s socially acceptable to put a ring on her finger—”
“They’re seventeen. Life’s too short to be tied down to one person. Right, Kara?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” She sipped her smoothie, her cheeks flushed pink. “I think it’s sweet.”
“Sweet, yeah right.” Trina fake gagged over her chips. “I heard Lonnie Breaker is back on the market. I might see if he wants to meet up at Scarefest.”
“We’re doing that?” I asked. It was a lame tradition. One I thought we’d have grown out of now we were seniors.
“Hmm, yeah, why wouldn’t we be? I heard it’s going to be even scarier this year. Lonnie knows a guy who knows Sam Limer.”
“Of course he does,” I grumbled. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to make it. It’s Lo’s birthday, and my mom is insisting we all go.”
“But that’s Saturday, right?” Kara pressed. “Scarefest is Friday.”
“Yeah, so you can totally come,” Trina said as if that was that. “Things still sour between you and Lo?” she added, catching me off guard.
“What do you think?” I stared at her. She really was clueless sometimes; more interested in cheerleading, and which guy she could blow next to move further up the social ladder.
“It was only a question. You don’t need to be such a bitch all of the time, Macey.” She flipped her hair off her shoulder. “Maybe you need to get laid. Fuck the bitch right out—”
“Trina!” Kara gasped. My chair gave an almighty screech as it scraped against the ground as I pushed it away from the table. Seconds later, I was out of my seat and walking away. If I didn’t move, I couldn’t be held responsible for my actions, and the last thing I needed was to get suspended from the cheer squad. Next to getting wasted, dancing was the one thing I still loved.
The low rumble of whispers followed me through the room. Trina and her big mouth. I narrowed my gaze on a group of younger girls and their mouths snapped shut, their eyes darting away from me.
“Whoa, Sis, what happened back there?” Kyle appeared in front of me, a frown distorting his all-American, boy-next-door looks. “Did she upset you?”
“Upset me? What are we, five? Trina’s a bitch.”
He smirked. “You know what they say, takes one to know one.” His brows waggled, but the joke was lost on me.
“Fuck you, Kyle.” I tried to dodge around him, but he side-stepped, cutting off my escape.
“I have Laurie for that, but thanks. Joking aside, are you sure you’re—”
“I swear to God, if you ask me one more time if I’m okay, I will scream.”
His hands flew up as he backed up a few steps. “I’m just worried about you. We all are. This mega-bitch routine is getting old.”
I reared back, shocked he was confronting me about this here of all places. My eyes swept over the tables around us. A few people were gawking, but most kept their eyes down, wanting to avoid pissing off the school’s football captain no doubt.
“Shit, Macey, that was...” he trailed off, raking a hand through his hair.
“The truth hurts, right?” I threw back, widening my eyes at him to move.
“There you are,” a voice said, and I used Laurie’s appearance as a reason to excuse myself. Ducking out of the cafeteria, I headed straight for the bleachers. At least there I might be able to finish my lunch in peace and quiet.
THE REST OF THE WEEK didn’t go much better. Trina avoided me except at practice where we had no choice but to deal with each other. Kyle finally gave up hounding me, and Mom worked late most nights. At least I didn’t have to deal with her sad eyes every time we crossed paths in the house. But as the weekend crept closer, so did Lo’s birthday dinner, and the Scarefest event at the old farm on the edge of town.
I didn’t want to attend either. But Caitlin was insisting the cheer squad attend together, and Gentry, my stepdad, had reminded me that he and Mom expected me to be at the Cali Grill Saturday.
“Macey, quit slouching.” Speak of the devil, Caitlin glared at me from up front. “We need to nail this routine for the next game.”
I straightened up. Keeping my mouth shut, only because I needed to dance.
“From the top.” The music blared out of the gym speakers as we performed the routine for the third time in a row. Caitlin stopped us to correct our positions or point out where our steps weren’t tight enough. My thighs burned, my arms were heavy like lead, and my skin was coated in a layer of sweat. But I enjoyed the pain. It gave me something to focus on.
Something to quiet my mind.
The music cut, and Caitlin yelled, “Good.” She paced in front of us. “Now after the high v, I think we should go left k, right k, low v, and Trina and Monica can do back handspring full twists while the rest of you move into formation for finale. The Swedish fall.” Her eyes glittered with excitement.
We all nodded, moving into position and waiting for the music to start up again. Our routines were always the perfect blend of dance routines, tumbles and stunts, but Caitlin was all about the big finishes.
“Yes. Yes!” she yelled. “Now hold it. Three, two, one.” Caitlin clapped, eyes as wide as saucers. She might have deserved her head bitch label, but no one could deny Caitlin was good at what she did.
“Okay, bring it in.”
We grabbed our water bottles and dropped to the floor around her. “Good practice. I think we’re looking more than ready. Don’t forget, we’re meeting at seven for Scarefest.”
A groan slipped from my lips and her eyes snapped to mine. “Problem, Macey?” She inclined her head, glaring at me, and I mumbled a quick, “No.”
“Good. I expect everyone to be there.”
Some of the girls lingered to talk plans with Caitlin, but I made my way straight to the locker room. Trina followed behind. “Macey, wait up.”
“What, Trina? I’m kind of in a rush.” I shouldered the door.
“I’m sorry about the other day. It was a bitch thing to say.”
“
Yeah, it was.” I pulled my hair from its ponytail holder and grabbed my towel.
“Jeez, Mace, I’m trying to do the right thing here, but you’re not making it easy.”
“I never asked for an apology.” I met her crestfallen gaze, and her shoulders dropped.
“No, you didn’t. But I thought we were friends. You’ve always been closed off, but lately you’re, I don’t know... different.”
People thought they knew me. Macey Prince. Rich entitled daughter of Alec and Rebecca Prince. All they saw was the designer outfits, big house, and flashy cars. They didn’t see the girl underneath. A girl who had spent a lifetime not knowing whether someone wanted to be friends because they genuinely liked me or because they wanted to get close to Maverick, or my family, or because they wanted to be able to say they were friends with a Prince.
“Whatever, Trina, I need to get a shower.” I brushed past her, but she couldn’t just drop it.
“Be careful, Macey. You can only push people away for so long before they stay away.”
It was a warning. But what Trina didn’t realize was that was the plan—push everyone away until they couldn’t hurt me. Because being alone was better than being surrounded by people who only wanted to use you.
Wasn’t it?
Chapter 3
The walk down to the old Limer farm was brutal. Thankfully, we managed to talk Caitlin down when she suggested we all dress as sexy She-Devil’s, complete with sky-high red stilettos. Instead, we went solo, picking our own outfits. Kara was rocking a Harley Quinn ensemble while a couple of the other girls had gone for the more traditional look, dressing as a vampire, and ghost bride. Trina decided to make a statement with her zombie cheerleader outfit which much to Caitlin’s disgust featured an actual torn up Wreckers squad outfit. I’d settled for something more incognito.
“It’s like you don’t want anyone to know who you are,” Trina said as we made our way down the winding drive.
Since I could remember, the Limer family went all out at Halloween. It started with them decorating the porch of their farmhouse, but as the years passed, their efforts became increasingly outrageous until their eldest son, a guy a few years older than us, decided to turn their barn and the surrounding fields into an authentic spook fest. There had been a time it had been good fun, but now I wanted to be anywhere but here.