by Cassie James
I lean back in my chair, shaking my head. It’s an idiotic, juvenile plan. But if there’s one thing Jude Alton knows, it’s how to pluck the strings of the elite to get exactly what he wants from them. And Jackie Hawthorne is just desperate enough to fall for it.
By the time school ends and we’re actually shuffling toward that damn yellow door, I’m less sure of the plan again. Jackie may be certifiable, but she’s not stupid, not by a long shot. The door opens before we’re even halfway up the walk, though, and Jackie Hawthorne’s waiting there for us, all wringing hands and furrowed eyebrows. Her eyes shoot to Jude, and all I can do is shake my head. Clearly he’s the crazy rich lady whisperer or some shit because she’s pulling him into a hug before we’re even all the way through the wide-open door.
“I’m glad you guys are here,” she says breathlessly. I shoot Tyler a look, raising my eyebrows, but he only shrugs. If I didn’t know how committed Jude is to acting, I’d think he was suddenly in training to be a junior politician, the way he’s playing Jackie Hawthorne.
“We heard about the accident,” Jude tells Jackie, his voice low and calm. Her face crumples for half a second before a cool, collected mask slips over it again. Jude presses on, “We got worried when Piper wasn’t at school. Is everything okay. Are you okay?”
Jackie glances away, her eyes landing on the stairwell. I can see the discomfort written all over the side of her face that’s turned toward me. She’s got to be struggling to keep up this charade. Some part of her, deep down past the crazed grief, must realize that we obviously know something’s up. That we’re not going to just play along, pretending nothing strange is going on when there so clearly fucking is.
“We’re fine,” she says, forcing a light laugh at the end of the short sentence. “We’ve just had a little setback. Piper’s better now.”
I feel like I’ve just been sucker-punched. Her words are all the confirmation we need that the backup didn’t work. I need to get into Piper’s servers again. See what happened and whether I can still access the backup and find a way to bring her back. I’m not sure how, though. I’m pretty sure Jackie’s not letting me anywhere near her daughter with a computer.
“Mom?” Piper’s voice floats through the foyer. My stomach leaps as she appears from the back of the house, leggings and a tank top on as if she’d been mid-workout. She looks so damn casual that my stomach sinks all over again. “Oh, hey guys.”
“Piper, your friends were worried about you,” Jackie explains as Piper eyes us with poorly concealed confusion. She has no idea why we’re here. I watch as her eyes pass right over me, coming to stop on Tyler with a smile. No. I’ve failed spectacularly. My heart fucking breaks.
“Why?” Piper scoffs. “I thought you said everyone at school knew about me.” Her tone is hard, accusatory. For one glorious moment, Jackie’s mask slips.
Jackie blinks back her irritation, plastering a smile across her face. “They do,” she says in a strained tone, “but your friends are allowed to be worried about you, Piper.”
“You haven’t been at school since—”
“April,” Jackie cuts me off, turning a warning stare in my direction.
I can feel the heat of a flush rushing toward my cheeks, not from embarrassment. No, I’m light years beyond being embarrassed that I’d failed Piper. I’m fucking furious. Because here we are, standing around awkwardly, and there’s not a part of me that doubts that every one of us is going to play along with Jackie Hawthorne’s demented games if only to appease her and ensure we even get to see Piper. It’s such bullshit.
I grind my teeth as my fists clench by my side. I force a deep breath as Tyler says, “Yeah, April.” He takes a step forward, and she does, too, the two of them moving as if drawn to each other. Jesus. I’m not sure if I can watch this. Tyler continues, “It’s been a long year, Piper. There were rumors that you were back, and we had to come see for ourselves.”
“But not all of you?” she challenges as her hip juts to the side and she quirks a disbelieving eyebrow. “Tori and Chelsey couldn’t be bothered to show up? That seems right. Is Tori as insufferable as I imagine she is?”
Jude laughs, outright, and I’m thinking about his future in Hollywood again. Because even though he’s standing there laughing like Piper’s just said the funniest shit in the world, I’m positive he’s just as fucking gutted by this as I am. But he’s Jude Alton, Hollywood’s golden boy. He could act his way out of a paper bag and the paper bag would be fucking charmed by him, just the way this Piper seems to be.
“We need you back, Piper,” Jude tells her. “Tori needs a real Rose to show her how it’s done.”
She rolls her eyes. “I start back next week. Right, Mom?” She looks to Jackie, who offers a tight nod. “Anyway, if you guys want to stick around for a few, I’ll change into some real clothes, and we can go grab a bite?”
“Piper, that’s probably not a good idea,” Jackie starts, but Piper’s already halfway toward the staircase. “Piper!” Jackie tries again, but she waves her off and bounces up the stairs, just as carelessly as she would’ve done in life. She’s more like the real Piper than ever. My stomach churns at the thought, and I’m afraid I’m going to be sick right here, right now. Because I don’t know how many goddamn times I have to say it before something sticks, but I don’t want the original Piper. I want my Piper.
Jackie’s nostrils flare as she turns back toward us, and her hands fly to her hips. She squares her shoulders as she fixes Jude with a hard stare that has me shifting from half a room away. Jude doesn’t flinch, and her lips curl into a sneer. “You’ll have her back here by seven.” He nods, but she doesn’t give him the chance to talk. “And don’t you dare ruin her, or so help me…”
She lets the threat hang in the air as the seconds tick by slowly. She just stands there, eying us, as minutes pass until Piper comes back. I heave a sigh of relief when she appears at the top of the stairs in jeans and a skin-tight shirt. She pulls her hair up into a sleek ponytail as she takes the stairs and comes back to us.
“You guys ready?” she asks, either ignorant to the tense atmosphere or disregarding it entirely. No one speaks as she moves fluidly through the room, wrapping her hand around Tyler’s bicep as she stands on her tiptoes to drop a kiss on his cheek. A stab of jealousy reminds me that this Piper isn’t mine anymore, but I push it down as she turns a blinding smile in her mom’s direction. “We’ll be back later!”
I’m in a daze as I follow her and Tyler out to Jude’s SUV. The lights flash as the door slams behind us, and Piper’s pulling Tyler in the backseat of the car with her before I can really process what the fuck just happened in there.
Jude catches my arm. “We go to your house,” he mumbles. I nod along numbly. “We figure out how the fuck to get that backup to work in the next two hours or so fucking help me, I’m going to burn that house to the ground with Jackie fucking Hawthorne in it.”
The car is eerily silent as Jude turns out of the driveway and starts off through the neighborhood. I glance in the rearview mirror, surprised and more than a little confused when I see Piper staring out the back window as if she’s checking to make sure we’re not being followed. We’re leaving West Ex completely before she turns back to the front with a deep sigh and tired grin.
“Thank fuck you guys finally showed up.”
3
Piper
I sag against the soft leather seat next to Tyler, emotions welling up inside of me in wave after crashing wave. Silence meets my sudden proclamation, and I turn toward Tyler with furrowed brows and a slight frown as Brennan jerks around in the front seat. I’ve been on radio silence for days now, waiting impatiently for someone to just fucking show up after last weekend’s shit show. The same questions that have been haunting me since I woke up in my room Sunday are plaguing me now, and it’s only their dumbfounded stares that keeps me from completely losing my mind.
I’d gone down kicking and screaming when Jackie took me back to Stan’s fo
r another reset. Since pleading hadn’t worked the first time, it was the only thing I could think of to do. But in the end, it hadn’t mattered. Jackie wouldn’t take no for an answer, and neither Roman nor Stan were willing to stand up to her request. Jackie had held me down as Stan plugged me in, restarting that same goddamn reset process.
I’d expected to lose everything, so when I woke up Sunday with the perfect recollection of who I was and everything that had happened, I was surprised and emotional all at the same time. The wake up had been different this time, too. No one was there when I came to. The only hint I had about what had happened came from the fact that my phone and laptop were noticeably missing.
When Jackie did finally come to my room, she gave me a sloppy version of the same story I’d gotten the first two times I woke up anew. Terrified about what would happen if she found out the truth, I’d pretended to be a fresh reset, nodding, wide eyed as I played along with every word.
It was fucking terrible, and I struggle to find the right words as I explain all of that to The Thorns. I finish by explaining to them, “Jackie hasn’t given me my phone or computer back yet, and she’s barely given me a moment to myself since that first day, either. I’m so fucking sorry I wasn’t able to get ahold of you guys earlier. It’s been absolute misery playing along with her bullshit and not being able to at least get ahold of you guys to let you know I’m all right.”
For a long moment, none of them speak, and my mind races wildly. I can’t imagine what they’ve been through not knowing that I’m okay, but they can’t seriously be mad at me right now, right? It’s not like I had a choice in the matter. Jackie barely let me sleep by my fucking self the past few nights. Sneaking around to try to call or message one of them literally wasn’t an option. Brennan’s eyes light up, though, like he’s finally caught on to what I’m saying, and a wide grin breaks over his face like it’s Christmas and he’s just gotten the only thing he’s ever seriously wanted.
“I can’t believe it worked. I thought for sure—when we didn’t hear anything… Oh my god, holy shit. Piper, you’re—” he starts, but he cuts off with a laugh of disbelief as he struggles to put his thoughts into words. There’s a giddy sort of relief shining in his eyes as he shakes his head at me, and I offer him a relieved smile of my own.
Tyler’s hand wraps around my arm at the same time Jude slams the brakes and throws the car in park. “It worked? It actually fucking worked?” Tyler asks frantically, and I nod along even though I don’t know what the hell it is. Clearly they’d tried something that they’d thought had failed.
“What did you guys do?” I ask around the distraction of Jude throwing his door open and half-stumbling into the middle of the street. A car honks at him as it swerves around his parked car, and he throws it a finger before he runs his hands down his face and storms back toward the SUV.
“There was a backup,” Brennan says, and my mouth’s just falling open to ask him what exactly he means when my door is yanked open and Jude drags me from the backseat.
“What the fuck, man?” Tyler calls out, his voice laced with confusion.
Jude doesn’t answer. He pulls me against his chest, holding me there for a long moment. His embrace tells me exactly how hard the unknown was for him—and I’m sure the others, too. I pull back slightly, wanting to console him in the only way I know how. Well, the only way I know how that’s acceptable while out in public. I wrap my arms around his neck and drag his face down to mine, kissing him with enough force to hopefully convince him that I’m never actually going anywhere. Not as long as I can help it, and not as long as I have them.
4
Piper
It’s Friday before I get the chance to sneak away from Jackie. She has to go to the Valley to show some houses, and even though she left me with firm instructions to stay put, the second she’s out of the driveway I shoot a text off to Jude. It doesn’t take any prodding from me at all for him to agree to ditch school and meet me just after lunch.
My hands shake as I get ready, tucking my silk shirt into a pencil skirt that I’m hoping makes me look mature and classy. I pull on a pair of simple, black pumps just in time to hear the doorbell. I tuck my hair behind my ears, casting one last determined glance at the girl in the mirror. I smooth the silk shirt one last time and nod my head. You’ve got this. There’s no reason to be afraid. Man up, Piper, it’s only your whole future at stake.
I fly down the stairs, my feet carrying me quickly toward a moment that could very well change my life. My stomach lurches when I yank the door open and see Jude standing on the threshold in his slim cut slacks and white button up. The Rosewood blazer is nowhere in sight, and he’s wearing the shirt with the top two buttons undone and the sleeves rolled to his elbows in a subtle fuck you to the powers that be.
“Damn, Piper,” he says as his eyes rove over me in a quick, sweeping glance. I pull the door shut and step into the circle of his arms, pressing a quick kiss against his lips, relishing in the feeling of his smile spreading beneath my lips. “I can’t wait to peel you out of that skirt.”
I push his chest as I chuckle. “Maybe let’s get through this meeting first, yeah? I actually tried to look respectable. The last thing I need is for you to destroy all of my hard work in a few minutes.”
“Piper, it would take much longer than a few minutes to do what I want to do to you.” A shiver races down my spine, and I bite my lip as my entire body tingles at his words. Damn, he’s smooth. I push out of his embrace and take the few steps to the driveway with as much confidence as I can muster. If today goes well, I might just let him prove that to me in the back seat of his Maserati.
But if it doesn’t go well… I push the thought away with a shake of my head. Your future hangs in the balance, don’t fuck this up, Piper. If I could reach down my throat and strangle my inner voice, I wouldn’t fucking hesitate. The ugly thoughts slip away, though, at the sting of Jude’s hand landing on my ass. I jerk around in time to see him smirking down at me before he pushes me against the car and captures my lips in a much more thorough kiss than the one I’d offered him at my door.
His tongue fights its way into my mouth, tangling with mine in a show of dominance that I always love but never win. The metal of the car is hot enough to sear my skin, but the burn is nothing compared to the fire the consumes me under his wandering touch. My hands fist around the collar of his shirt, pulling him closer for one delicious moment before I’m shoving him away with a low groan.
“After, Jude.”
He grumbles, but drops one last kiss on my lips before letting me go so I can climb into his car. As he pulls out of the driveway, I pull the visor down to check my reflection, fretting over my hair and makeup, smearing away smudges left from Jude’s searing kisses, and running my fingers through my hair until not a strand is out of place. I tuck it behind my ears and snap the visor closed with a huff.
Jude’s hand settles on my thigh, and I try to focus on the way his fingers trace over my skirt instead of the weight of dread piling in my stomach with each mile that passes. “You’re going to be fine,” he murmurs after a long stretch of silence. I offer him a noncommittal sort of groan in response.
Neither of us knows whether that’s true, but I want to take his word for it. Because what’s the alternative? Finding out I’m stuck with Jackie Hawthorne for the rest of my life, constantly in fear of reset after reset until I’ve totally lost touch with who I actually am?
“Piper,” he tries again several minutes later as his car slides to a stop at a traffic light. I roll my head in his direction, and he’s staring at me with an emotion so soft and reassuring, I’m momentarily taken aback. Because my Jude is all sexy smirks and panty-melting grins, not gentle reassurance and thinly veiled affection. “She’s the best lawyer in the entire city. She’s fucking discreet. Trust me, everything’s going to work out.”
“But what if it doesn’t?” I ask, my voice impossibly small against the insecurities welling inside of me.
&
nbsp; I drop my hand over his, fingers ghosting over his knuckles as he squeezes my thigh reassuringly. Even in the best-case scenario, one where we can figure out how to break the Hawthornes’ lease on me, what happens after that? Does Stan just scrap me and start over again? Or does he keep loaning me out to Jackie Hawthorne, eventually just giving in and letting her reset me and reset me until I’m a shell of the girl she wanted and no longer anything like myself?
“It will,” Jude says with finality in his voice.
I hum in the back of my throat and turn my head back toward the window, content to watch the skyscrapers of downtown grow from pinpricks in the distance to towering monoliths in the sky as we draw closer and closer to our destination. My head stretches back to stare at the buildings as Jude turns his hand and threads his fingers through mine, squeezing gently as we inch forward slowly.
Every minute that ticks by somehow feels like it could be my last. I know it’s stupid to feel like I’m marching toward my death, but I can’t stop the panic that’s welling inside of me, crashing against my defenses and threatening to flood over my carefully constructed walls of false confidence and bravado. I chew my lip and try not to focus on my worried gaze reflecting back at me through the window. Jude’s steady presence in the seat next to mine doesn’t ease the anxiety that roils through me at the realization that this could be a total disaster.
I close my eyes and focus on my breathing, turning my focus from the dread threatening to cripple me to the warmth of Jude’s hand cupping mine. I run my thumb over his, wishing for some of his cool confidence to transfer through our touch. I don’t need a lot—hell, I’d settle for an ounce of his calm in this moment. I let my mind wander as the car slows again, trying to focus on some of the words I’d read from Stanley’s file before I’d relinquished it to Brennan.