Empire High Untouchables

by Ivy Smoak

  “How about we just go downstairs,” Matt said and walked over to us. “Let James work in peace and we’ll come back up in a bit.”

  I was happy to get away from James’ room. But significantly less happy when Matt wrapped his arm around my back.

  “Don’t touch me,” I said and tried to maneuver away from him, only to bump into Rob in the hall.

  Rob caught me in his arms. “She has a boyfriend, man. You should probably lay off.”

  I pushed myself out of Rob’s arms. Why did they all keep touching me? I didn’t want to be touched. I folded my arms across my chest, trying to look as uninviting as possible.

  “She doesn’t have a boyfriend,” Matt said.

  “She swears she does. She’s even wearing Felix’s jacket.”

  “Felix? Do we really need to talk about this again?” Matt asked me.

  I tried to hold my head up a little higher. “There’s nothing to talk about. Felix and I are dating. Exclusively,” I added.

  “Take off his jacket.”

  Was he serious? “No. Felix gave it to me. So I’m going to wear it.”

  “Rob, if you’ll excuse us for a second.” Matt veered me away from Rob and into…a dark room.

  Son of a bitch. Not again. “Matt, stop.” I pushed on his chest, but he didn’t budge.

  “We need to talk. Alone. Now.” He switched the lights on, stepped into the bathroom behind me, and then locked the door.

  “What can’t you say to me in front of Rob?”

  He lowered his eyebrows. “You know what we need to talk about. But first I need you to take off that pothead’s jacket.”

  “Screw you. There’s nothing to talk about. You promised you’d leave me alone if I told you I felt nothing. Do you need me to say it again? I. Felt. Nothing.”

  He looked so angry. “That’s not true.”

  “You’re such a prick. And how’d you get my phone number anyway? You’re not just a prick. You’re a creepy prick. Are you stalking me?”

  He stepped forward and I stepped back. But I had nowhere to go. My butt collided with the vanity.

  “Take the jacket off. Now.”

  “Take it off yourself.” I had no idea why I said that. I meant it to be a retaliation, but I was very aware of the fact that I’d just asked him to strip me.

  The anger in his eyes was suddenly replaced by something else. I swallowed hard. He was looking at me like he wanted to devour me.

  I cleared my throat. “I meant…”

  I couldn’t finish my sentence because he grabbed the back of my head and slammed a kiss onto my lips. His kiss was hard and frantic. Like he really did want to devour me.

  And I kissed him back. I didn’t know how not to. It was so easy to get wrapped up in everything Matthew Caldwell. And I wasn’t sure I was capable of keeping my hands to myself anymore. My fingers wandered into his wet hair, pulling him closer.

  He groaned into my mouth as he shoved the jacket off my shoulders. I didn’t need the jacket when his hands were on me. His fingertips felt like fire on my skin. He groaned again and I was very aware of the fact that the kiss was even more smoldering than his touch. He lifted me up onto the vanity and my thighs slid around his waist. It was like my body had a mind of its own.

  “Nothing?” he asked, as he pulled away. “You don’t look at me like our kisses mean nothing.” His chest rose and fell as he caught his breath. “You’re looking at me like you want to kiss me again right now.”

  My fingers were still buried in his hair. I quickly pulled them away. “I most definitely do not want to kiss you.” Idiotic. Stupid. I had just kissed him. I had no rebuttal. Especially because he was right. I could stay right here in the bathroom until 8 o’clock with him and be perfectly content. But that wasn’t an option. Because I hated him. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…” I tried to slide off the counter, but his hand caught my hip.

  “This is about the pictures, right? I know you saw them.”

  I rolled my eyes and tried to get past him.

  His fingers tightened on my hip, keeping me firmly locked in place. “It’s not what you think.”

  “And how the hell could you possibly know what I’m thinking? You know nothing about me.”

  “I know that you’re the only one that calls me out on my shit.”

  “Well, someone has to.”

  “And I know your mom passed away a couple months ago. I can’t even imagine how much that hurts.”

  It hurt like hell.

  “And I know that you never met your father. And you put on a brave face, but I see your pain, Brooklyn. I see it.”

  I felt tears prickling the corners of my eyes. There was no way I was going to cry in front of him. “You don’t know me.” All he knew was how to kiss me when I didn’t want him to.

  “I know your face lights up when you see me. It’s the only time when you don’t look sad.”

  “That’s not true.” Was it true?

  “I’m addicted to that look. Like I’m the only one that can make you happy.” He lightly touched my bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. “The only one.”

  I swallowed hard.

  “I know I’ve been an ass. All I’m asking is that you hear me out.” He leaned forward so our lips were only an inch apart.

  I could smell his body wash. The sweet smell was making me dizzy. But I wasn’t dizzy enough to forgive him. Or believe him. “I’ve been waiting to hear you out for weeks. I don’t care what excuse comes out of your mouth. I’m seeing someone else. And if you don’t let me out of this bathroom in five seconds I’m going to scream bloody murder.” I was trying to be strong, but I was pretty sure I was whispering.

  “Isabella’s blackmailing me. And I’ve been trying to turn the tables on her. I’m trying my best here.”

  That was not at all what I thought he was going to say. But as surprising as it was, I knew it was bullshit. “You expect me to believe that? I know you’re sleeping with her.”

  “What? No. No,” he said more firmly. “Remember what I told you when we first met? She’s toxic. Her whole family is. I would never. Ever. Sleep with Isabella Pruitt.”

  “Even if she was blackmailing you?”

  “I swear, Brooklyn.”

  “I saw the way she touched you. How comfortable she was on your bed…”

  “She’s been spending time with me because she can.” He ran his fingers through his wet hair. “But I haven’t slept with her. I haven’t even kissed her. She’s just stolen all my freaking time. Time that I’m very aware that I’m not getting back. Time I’d rather be spending with you.”

  “Why should I believe anything you say?”

  “I wouldn’t lie to you.”

  I laughed. “You said you’d come back for me on Saturday night. I sat in your closet for fifteen minutes. All you do is lie to me, Matt.”

  “And I’m sorry…”

  “If you’re really sorry, tell me what she has on you.”

  He pressed his lips together. “I can’t.”

  I shook my head. “All that time you feel like you’ve wasted with Isabella? That’s how I feel about you. I’m done, Matt. I’m done wasting time on you.” This time he let me slide off the vanity. But I didn’t get far because he grabbed my wrist.

  “I’m having someone follow her. That’s what all those pictures were. It’s just surveillance, but my guy hasn’t found anything.”

  “So you’re trying to blackmail her back? That’s your solution?”

  “It’s the only solution.”

  I pulled my wrist out of his grip. “Fighting fire with fire is never the solution.”

  “It is in this case.”

  I stared at him. If Isabella really was blackmailing him, it would explain why he didn’t talk to me at lunch or in the halls. Just in class where we were assigned a project together. And even then he never came to my defense against Charlotte. Charlotte. “What about Charlotte?”

  “What about her?”

  “Are you
sleeping with her too?”

  “God no. I’m not sleeping with either of them. I swear.”

  I wanted to believe him. But I was pretty sure lies fell from his lips more often than the truth.

  “I have to be careful around all of Isabella’s minions because they’ll report back to her,” he said. “Even just a friendly hello in the hall and Isabella will lose it. And I can’t let this thing come out. I can’t.”

  “So you’re trying to tell me that Isabella asked you not to talk to me as part of the blackmail? Why?”

  “Apparently she doesn’t like the way you looked over at our lunch table on the first day of school.”

  God, I had been trying to break that habit. I knew it would get me in trouble.

  “And she figured out that I like you. She’s trying to make my life hell. The only way I can see you at all is thanks to this group being randomly assigned.” He put “randomly” in air quotes.

  “It was randomly assigned. Why are you using air quotes?”

  “Everything in Mr. Hill’s class can be bought for the right price.”

  “How much did you pay him to put me in your group?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Of course it matters.”

  Matt shook his head. “It doesn’t. What matters is that I like you. I really like you, Brooklyn. And I know you like me too.”

  I did. I don’t. Screw me. I shook my head. “Then just tell me the truth. Tell me what Isabella knows.”

  “I would if it was just about me. But it’s not. And if it comes out…it’s not me that will get hurt.”

  I took a deep breath. “I heard you out. And I’m sorry that you’re being blackmailed.” But I was being blackmailed too and I wasn’t going around being a dick. I was just getting all of Isabella’s wrath because of Matt apparently. He’d made my life hell. I picked up Felix’s jacket off the floor. “I hope it all works out for you.”

  “It can’t work out for me if you’re dating Felix.”

  I just stared at him.

  “Stop seeing him.”

  “Are you kidding me? You just told me we can’t be together anyway. What’s the point of us both being miserable?”

  “Don’t play games with me, Brooklyn. We both know you don’t even like him…”

  “I do like him. I like him a lot actually.”

  Matt shook his head. “You don’t. And my private investigator will find something on Isabella any day now. Until then we have to keep our relationship private. But it’s only temporary.”

  I’d discovered something new about Matthew Caldwell. He’d lost his mind. “You and I don’t have a relationship. You’re an insane person.”

  He reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. For some reason I didn’t move away or punch him, both of which crossed my mind. And I didn’t do either when he leaned down and kissed me.

  And kissed me.

  And kissed me.

  I should have tried to push him away. But his kiss made me weak in the knees. And turned my mind to mush. My fingers dug into the skin of his neck, pulling him closer. I had the same feeling that I did the first time he’d kissed me. Like it was easier to breathe when his exhales were what I was inhaling. Like I wasn’t drowning anymore.

  “You’re mine and we both know it,” he said against my lips. “And you do drive me crazy. Especially when you hang out with other men. Now I need you to hand me Felix’s coat so I can burn it.”

  I pulled away. What was I doing? I was kissing the enemy. Again. “No.” I took a deep breath and tried to step away, but now he had me sandwiched between him and the door. “I’m no one’s dirty little secret, Matt.”

  “That’s not how I see you.” He dropped his forehead against mine. “You’re a very clean large secret.”

  I laughed even though I really didn’t want to. His time was up. I should have been screaming at the top of my lungs for help. Instead, I breathed in his exhales and tried to stop myself from kissing him again.

  “All I’m asking for is time, Brooklyn. I just need you to wait a few more days until my PI finds something. But in the meantime…we can sneak around.”

  “So you’ll still ignore me in the halls?”

  “And pull you into dark rooms to kiss you senseless.”

  My throat made a weird squeaking noise. “And I wouldn’t be able to tell anyone that we’re together?”

  “Not a soul.”

  For some reason I wanted to say yes. The word was at the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed it down. There were a whole lot of buts. Despite what Matt called it, I would be a dirty little secret. I’d have to sneak around. I’d have to lie to my only two friends. And I was a bad liar. I’d be grounded until I was 18 at this rate. And then there was another really big reason to not be with him. I didn’t know who my father was. I stared into Matt’s eyes. But I didn’t look anything like him. Not even a little bit. I couldn’t be related to him. Right?

  “What do you say?” Matt asked. He gave me that perfect smile of his.

  And I nodded. I have no idea why I did it. It was like a horrible reflex to that smile. My mind knew not to nod. It was like my heart had taken over my whole body. Which was probably why I really wanted him to lift me up on the vanity again. Stop it, stupid heart.

  “Great,” he said and grabbed the doorknob. “Make sure you return Felix’s jacket tomorrow, because if I see you wearing it again, I’m pretty sure I’m going to lose it.” He walked out of the bathroom.

  Matt needed to learn what the word no meant. But I was very aware of the fact that I hadn’t actually told him no. I’d nodded like the fool that I was. I looked down at Felix’s jacket in my hand. What had I just done?

  Chapter 23

  Wednesday

  I opened my locker to grab my gym clothes before class. But instead of a neat pile of clothes staring back at me, there was an insulated lunch box. I looked over my shoulder. Part of me expected to see Matt, but as promised, he’d been ignoring me all day. Isabella had been attached to his hip as he walked past my locker this morning. He’d kept his eyes trained ahead, laughing at something Isabella whispered in his ear. The more I saw them together, the less I believed him. He liked to whisper me promises in dark places. But in the light of day? I was invisible.

  The lunch box was placed exactly where one of Matt’s notes had been last week. The note showing up in my locker could be explained away. But a lunch box could not fit through the slats. There was no doubt about it now. Matt somehow had access to my locker. And my phone number. What else did he have access to? I unzipped the lid on the lunchbox and looked down at a note on top of a salad.

  Thought you might like this better. See you tonight.

  Tonight? The note wasn’t addressed to me. And it wasn’t signed by Matt. It was definitely from him though. But what on earth was he talking about? We didn’t have plans tonight. I’d be spending the rest of my nights this week in my room. Grounded. And honestly, I was a little relieved. All this drama with Matt and Felix and the rest of the Untouchables was too much.

  Last night I’d sat outside on the fire escape thinking about all the ways Matt and Felix were different. But there were a lot of similarities too. And honestly, a lot of those were bad. I knew if I made a pro/con list for either of them, they’d both have more cons. I wasn’t sure there was a right choice between the two. All I should be focused on right now was putting one foot in front of the other. Establishing a new life here in New York. Matt and Felix only complicated things. And my life was complicated enough without them.

  I pushed Matt’s note to the side and looked down at a prepared Caesar salad with extra parmesan shavings on top. We’d ordered pizza last night at the Hunters’ mansion. Or estate. Or whatever rich people called their too big homes. I’d barely touched the pizza though because I was too nervous with Matt watching me.

  So he’d bought me a salad for lunch today. Which could have just been a weird thing he did with everyone he dated. Or it could have
been the fact that he was worried I didn’t eat enough last night. Paired with the fact that I ordered a Caesar salad with extra parmesan shavings almost every day at lunch. He’d noticed. He’d definitely noticed even though he sat across the cafeteria. He noticed me. I zipped the lunchbox shut. It was sweet that he’d been paying attention. Sweeter that he bought me a salad for lunch. I wasn’t sure why, but thinking about how sweet it was made my eyes watery. It had been a long time since someone had taken care of me. A really long time.

  I grabbed my clothes, tucked them under my arm, and hurried to gym. I wasn’t going to break down crying in the halls of Empire High. That would be asking for trouble. Isabella would probably slip on a puddle of my tears and sue me. She’d do the whole thing right in front of Matt, and he wouldn’t say a word.

  I delayed going to the gym for as long as possible. Just like Matt had been avoiding me today, I’d been avoiding Felix. I didn’t know what to say to him. Matt had made it clear that he wanted me to end things with Felix. But I hadn’t exactly agreed. I did like Matt. I really did. But I liked Felix too. So what if Felix didn’t know what kind of salad I liked to eat? Although, Felix literally sat next to me at lunch. If anyone should know what I ate, it would be him.

  None of it mattered. I knew what I had to do.

  After roll call, Felix caught up with me on my way to the track.

  He threw his arm around my shoulders. “How was your third night of being grounded?”

  I pressed my lips together. I knew what I needed to say to him. But I had all class to break the news. I looked up at him. “Actually, I was allowed out of the house for a group project.”

  “Oh, that’s brilliant. What kind of group project can we make up together?”

  I laughed. “I doubt my uncle would believe I had a gym project. Especially with you.”

  “I can be very persuasive.”

  Like when you persuaded him you and I wouldn’t drink at that party and then pressured me to? Or when you persuaded him that you’d have me home by 1 am? Maybe Felix was good at persuading people to do things, but he wasn’t good at keeping his word. He was a liar. Just like Matt.