by Dakota Lee
“Was this your plan all along, Jordy?” He jumps out of his seat, staggering over to me. “To come back here and fuck me over?”
After everything, and despite how pissed and violated I feel again, I was gonna let it go and be the bigger person, but look how easy it was easy for him to fall back into his old patterns. Bella gives him a drop of info and he didn’t even come to ask me about it. This just shows where his loyalty really is.
“Now, baby.” I coo. “Don't act like I took advantage. You enjoyed every screaming minute of it.”
"I told you..."
“What. That you were sincere this time? Totally and completely in love with me?” I suck my teeth. “You expect me to believe that bullshit? Look where your are right now. The first hint of trouble, you went to booze and your bitchy little friend instead of coming to talk to me.”
“I thought we meant something to each other.”
“So did I. Once. But not anymore,” I sneer, raking my eyes over him in disgust. “Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm grateful I learned how to fuck from the best.” Noel snickers behind me. “But there was never any future for people like you and me.”
“This isn't you.” Logan says, glaring at Noel over my shoulder. “This is his influence.”
I hit send on my phone. “No, Logan. This is me, now, and I'm nobody's puppet.” Alerts start going off around me, and I know it’s because a file has hit each of their Prospectus inboxes.
My eyes slide to Bella’s. I saw the game she was playing before she ever revealed her hand. She had her minions lurking in corners, following me, and got Monty to do one last job. I know she thinks she found an expose focusing solely on Logan, but that was just the bait I left lying around.
“What the hell is this?” Hal roars, shaking his phone at me.
“Insurance. If any of you come after me, a copy of those files gets delivered to the press.”
Those files, are my real story. They include dates, names, and places of all the dirty little things the Beautiful People from Kingsley Hollows like to get into in their free time. It’s an embarrassment of epic proportions for them and their families.
“They’d never print this without proof.” Logan says, still sober enough to know that I might be full of shit.
“True, but then again, I’ve agreed to sit down and give an interview about Penn.” I flutter my lashes, letting tears well up in my eyes. “And while I was dealing with my step-father’s trial, I was sent to school with the hateful offspring of some of the most powerful families in the world. They targeted me because I did the right thing. Can you imagine how hard it is, having an entire school against you because they cared more about their bank accounts than they did the innocent people my step-father took advantage of?” I make sure I sniffle and let my voice crack in the right places.
Cutting the performance, I meet Logan’s gaze. “The internet is forever, and pictures of me are already out in the world, might as well alert the authorities and let them hunt around for proof of that.”
Bella’s phone pings and her eyes widen. Got her. “You’re a heartless cunt.” She hisses.
“I’m only what you made me, Isabelle Lance.” I sweep my eyes across the group. “Like I said, I’m the only one with a copy of this information, which will stay safely in a folder.” I return my attention to Bella, giving her a pointed look. “And you can continue with the life you’ve been living. Unless one of you comes after me.”
I stretch my hand, tossing a cold smile at Logan, as Noel links his hand with mine. I twist my lips, tossing my hair over my shoulder the way Bella does. “Bella, you can have him back now. He and his dick have outlived their usefulness.”
Noel laughs uncontrollably as he leads me away from the people who get off on breaking the weak. I'm not that girl anymore. I know I've sealed my fate going against them, but whatever's coming, I'll deal with it. Today felt good. It's a win. And I've told them unequivocally that I'm nobody's victim.
This is the last weekend I have to come home before I lock myself down to study for finals. And just as soon as the semester ends, I’m heading out of town for a few weeks. There’s someone I need to talk to, and this time it has to be done in person. But first, I need to fill my mom in on what I’ve been up to.
The house is empty and I have maybe an hour before she and Summer get home. I go to the kitchen and put a bottle of wine in the freezer before heading to my room to change out of my clothes. When I come back downstairs, I have all my research notes and pictures with me. Sitting on the couch with my feet tucked under me, I order dinner, then read through my information, making sure I’ve got my thoughts lined out in a logical order.
I’m still grappling with what I’ve learned so far, and I’m expecting them to have a ton of questions. A lot of which I probably can’t answer. Hopefully, I can persuade mom to visit Pepper with me. And a trip to Italy with her and Summer wouldn’t be a bad idea. I’d like as many perspectives as I can get before deciding on how to proceed. If Pepper’s right, next school year I’ll need to decide about my future, and it has nothing to do with art or journalism.
Stepping forward and starting the process to validate my identity could help us get our lives back. But do I want the type of drama and scrutiny that will come when the cousins try to defend their claim to our share of the inheritance?
This would surely thrust us back into the public eye, and I don’t want that. Not for mom and not for Summer who’s finally feeling like people notice her as more than the phenomenal basketball player she is. A boy asked her to Prom and mom says she’s been floating around town like she’s OD’d on cupid’s arrows.
I’m trying not to let my crappy view of relationships filter into our conversations, but it’s hard. She’s a lot like I was, sweet and trusting, and I can’t stand the idea of one of those kids at her school doing to her what Logan did to me.
My baby sister will be a college freshman. Damn, where did the time go? She hasn’t formally announced her decision about school yet, but we all know she wants to be a Lady Vol. That’s the only team she’s ever really talked about.
“This is a surprise.” Mom says as she walks through the door. Summer pops by her, running upstairs without speaking.
“Hello to you, too, sis.”
“My feet are killing me, and my clothes are sticking to me. I’ll be back down after I shower.”
“Yes, please!,” Mom says, fanning her hand in front of her nose.
“Does she really smell that bad?” I cover my laughter behind my hand.
“No, but she’s damp and I want to toss those clothes in the wash.” She walks towards the kitchen, and I stand to follow her. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but why are you here?”
“Can’t a girl catch a bus and visit her family?”
“Yes, but not if the girl is you, and finals are in a few weeks. You usually insist you have to live in the library until they’re over.”
“And I will starting Tuesday, but there're some things I need to talk to you about.”
She holds the juice bottle over her glass. “Do I need something stronger than this?”
“Probably.”
“Jordanna…”
“I’m not pregnant, so it’s not that kind of talk. But wine will probably make this conversation easier to handle.”
“So that’s why there’s a bottle chilling?”
“Yes, and I ordered dinner. We’ll get started when Summer’s finished with her shower.”
Mom puts the juice back and uncorks the wine. “So it’s a family meeting.”
Yeah, it is, and if Pepper is right, our family is a lot bigger and messier than we thought.
Forty-Two
Logan
She played me, and I never saw it coming. How could I have been so caught up in her that I didn’t know she was faking it the entire time? One side of my brain says I’m an idiot, the other side says there’s no way she faked her reaction whenever I was inside her. That part was real. She even sa
id as much. But how did she go from loving me to wanting to destroy me in the span of a few months? Shouldn’t some of what she felt last semester have still been there?
Tabitha and I are alone in the coffee shop. There’s a larger fracture in our group than before, because I’m having trust issues. More than usual. Once again, Bella was at the center of blowing up my life.
“When did Bella start following Noel and Sterling around?” I ask, staring into my coffee cup. I’m wishing it was whisky, but finals are coming up and I need to be sober.
“You’re looking at this all wrong, Logan. I don’t think they’re who she was stalking. Bella’s had it out for Jordanna since the beginning. She was still trying to dig up dirt on her even though we agreed to let it go. Now the question you have to ask yourself, is why.”
“I know why. It’s because she’s a vindictive bitch who gets off on making people miserable. She had proof Jordanna was playing me and she chose to keep it quiet until it was too late.”
I cut my eyes at Tabitha when she says, “You should never have taken that stupid bet.”
“It’s-“
“Come on, admit it. It was stupid.” She prods. “I mean who cares that Jordanna was a virgin and wrote an article that locked up a thief? Be honest. Was it so bad that she had a moral compass before she came here?”
“You’re saying what Jordy did is my fault?”
“Keep up. You’re pissed off that she played you, and your feelings are valid, but this conversation is about Bella. How is it that you’re no longer King of the school? You and Jordy hooked up again, and I know it was way earlier than you let on. If anything, Bella should’ve been going after the VP spot, at McKay Media.” She raises her glass. “Instead, we coronated her as the new king.”
I lower my drink, mulling over Tabitha’s words. “You don’t think the VP spot was the motivation behind the original bet.” Hadn’t I thought that same thing for a brief second? Why didn’t I follow up on that?
Tabby shakes her head. “I think running VDU for a year sets her up for a better future than the VP spot at Davis’ company ever could. Think of what you did, and how long it took for you to move all the pieces around before you took a run at Noel.”
I studied him on campus for months, to find his weakness, but my plan was years in the making. I just sped up my timeline because he’s an ass and it was time for him to go. “This would have to go back to before Jordanna ever showed up on campus. There’s no way Bella pulled this off in a few months, so she’d have to have been plotting this for a while.”
Tabby nods. “That’s what I’m thinking.”
I cringe as a sharp pain stabs through my chest. “Are you also thinking Jordy was in on it from the beginning?”
She turns her head, meeting my eyes. “I don’t know. She was hurt, and she was definitely looking for payback, when she came back to school. I’m your friend and I admit, we were all guilty of putting her in that position last semester. But, as a woman, I think a little retribution was justified. Jordanna’s probably not the first person to feel that way, she’s just the first person I’ve seen bold enough to try to get it. As for whether or not she was in cahoots with Bella?”
She squints her eyes, giving a small shake to her head. “That girl had a target on her back before we ever met her. Sure, she could have been in on it. But that’s a lot of shit to endure for nothing. I mean, if she was playing the long game, what did she really get out of it other than embarrassing you in front of the school?”
“I’m not the one who was embarrassed. My ass wasn’t on display.”
“No, but your heart was. And for us Logan, that’s worse. The only person who’ll likely give you a straight answer to your questions about how involved Jordanna and Bella really are, is Jordanna, because you know Bella’s gonna lie through her perfect white teeth.”
I do know that, which is why I haven’t moved from my seat. “But what is your gut telling you?”
“Logan, you don’t-”
“Tabby, you know I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t really wanna hear your unvarnished thoughts. Break it to me hard and fast.”
“I think at some point Jordanna was in love with you. It’s only that type of heartbreak that could make her as bitter as she was the day she said Bella could have you.”
“When she came back to school, she kept telling me how much she hated me, and then…”
“Then she stopped.” She concludes.
“Obviously, it was a game to reel me in.”
“Or maybe she was just as conflicted about you, as you were about her.” She sighs into her cup, then takes a drink. I watch as she picks up a scone, chewing thoughtfully. “Unpopular opinion Logan, you need to talk to Jordy, which is exactly what you should’ve done the moment Bella approached you with that article.”
“Oh, I plan to talk to her all right.” I’m already planning on how to make her pay for making me feel things, and making a fool out of me, for being so chummy with Noel, and for costing me my throne.
“Logan, I see the gears turning in your head. Remember what she said about coming after her? None of us want what’s in those files becoming public knowledge.”
Each of us received a different file, and no one has mentioned what’s in theirs. Jordy has something no one else at this school has ever had on any of us. Leverage. I’d like to say fuck everyone, but I still owe this group. Not only for the friends we once were, but because, king or not, I still believe in the vision I had for all of our futures.
“I’ll make sure those files never see the light of day. And when I’m done with that mess, I promise,I’m taking Jordanna down. Hard.”
“I am so glad to hear you say that.” Bella says, coming to stand beside our table. She slips into the empty chair uninvited. The school’s her stage now and she’s confident in the fact that she can do whatever she wants. “I have a few ideas about what we can do.”
“Tell me the rumors I’m hearing aren’t true. You’re no longer in charge at school, and I had to hear it from someone at the club?” That’s how my dad greets me when I wander down the steps, looking for something to kill the hangover I’m sporting. My last exam was Thursday and I’ve been drinking since the second after I turned in my test.
“It’s true.”
“How did this even happen?”
“Dad, it’s a long story.”
“Give me the clickbait headline.”
“I had it. I had it all, and Jordanna…”
“The girl you’ve been seeing? She’s the reason? Dammit son, I thought I taught you better than this.”
There are few people I can be honest with. Tabitha, Simon- who’s so deep in his finals he hasn’t answered his phone or texts in two weeks-, my mom and my dad. Out of those people, Davis McKay is probably the only person who can even begin to understand how I’m feeling. “You said we all get one. Maybe she was it.”
He hates when I actually listen and use his words against him. “You’re too young to make that decision, right now.”
“Am I? You and mom weren’t that much older than me, when you made yours.”
“It was a different time back then. I didn’t run the school, and deciding to settle down with her still had its challenges. You have your pick of ladies. Beautiful, wealthy, smart. Think of the alliances we could make.”
“I know dad. That’s all I’ve thought about since tenth grade. But there’s something different about her.”
“Son…”
“I’m not being naïve. And before you ask, it has nothing to do with sex. I was drawn to Jordanna from the beginning. She might not come from where we do, but you’ve met her. Tell me you didn’t feel like there was something special about her.”
He levels me with his stare. The one I’ve emulated and perfected over the years. Then his eyes soften, slightly. “She’s great. Talented. I like her well enough, but, there’s a way to do things and if she’s cost you your position.”
“I gave it up, to keep the peace,
at school. And I admit I was distracted, but I’m seeing things clearer now. I made that stupid bet with Bella, in the fall, and I didn’t question her motives.”
“Come on, Logan. Not that goddamn bet again.”
“Dad, I didn’t make another one. But, I’m starting to think there was more to the reason why Bella pushed me to agree to it in the first place. There’s more to the story with Jordanna. One Bella’s known about since the beginning. I was too focused on other things to see she was playing the long game. Noel too.”
“Noel Hansen?”
I nod. “I missed the signs at first, but something tells me, he was in on whatever plan Bella had.”
“And you think this was to get back at you for dethroning him your freshman year?”
“Mmm, maybe.”
My dad lowers his briefcase back onto the table, pours some coffee, and takes a seat. “Okay, son, you seem to know the players. You’ve decided you smell a story. What are you gonna do?”
Davis McKay is cunning and ruthless, and he’s raised me to be the same. I was temporarily blinded by doe eyes, a nice ass, and pussy that grips me like a glove, so I couldn’t see all the moves laid out in front of me. Now I can, and despite what Bella and Jordy think, neither of them has me in checkmate.
He nods approvingly when I say, “I’m gonna find out just what the hell Isabelle Lance has got me mixed up in, and when I do, I’m going to make her regret ever minute of it.”
But first, I have to track down the little bird who flew the coop after her duplicitous nature was revealed.