Empire High Elite

by Ivy Smoak

  “Because you’re mine.”

  “I’m not yours. That’s the whole point. You didn’t want me. And even if you’ve changed your mind, you can learn about me over dinner once a week or something. I don’t need to live here.”

  “I’m trying to protect you.”

  “I don’t need to be protected. Please just let me go back to the Alcaraz’s place.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t let you live there. Ah. Here, your presents have arrived.”

  One of the bodyguards I didn’t know came out with a big wrapped package complete with a huge bow on top. He placed it down in front of me on the table.

  Did he seriously think he could buy my love? “I really don’t need anything else. Honestly, you can return all those clothes upstairs. I already have everything I need.”

  “Nonsense. You like your new clothes. Or else you wouldn’t be wearing them. Besides, you need these things. Just open it.”

  I stared at the gift like it was toxic. I shouldn’t have put on this stupid outfit. It didn’t matter how soft the sweater was or how good it looked. Putting it on made him think I wanted something from him. I didn’t. “Really, it’s…”

  “You look lovely this morning by the way. That color suits you.”

  His compliment threw me off guard.

  “And your mother would have wanted you to have nice things. Go on. Open it.”

  I was wrong before. He didn’t know my mother at all. She cared about quality time, not quality items. The only expensive thing she owned was a floor-length cobalt blue dress that she wore on special occasions. Like when I pretended to open a bakery in the middle of our kitchen and she came to my opening night. Mr. Pruitt didn’t know me or my mom. He wasn’t my family. But I also didn’t want to fight him. I’d be gone soon enough.

  I pulled the bow and lifted the lid off the box. There was a laptop and a cell phone staring back at me. And a black Amex card with my name on it.

  “This should make you feel more at home,” he said. “You’ll still be able to converse with the Alcaraz girl over the phone without actually seeing her in person.”

  Throwing expensive things at me wasn’t the way to make me want to stay. And talking about my best friend like that? It made me want to run in the opposite direction of him. “Her name’s Kennedy.”

  “This will be better for everyone. You’ll stay nice and safe here instead of ever being in that dingy building you came from.”

  Wait. “Am I not allowed to leave?”

  He laughed. “Of course you are. I have a whole list of approved visitors and of people you can visit as well. Miller will accompany you for all outings. And itineraries for the upcoming week must be submitted to me on Sunday mornings so I have time to approve them. If you’d like to give a list of friends to Miller, he’ll do the proper background checks.”

  He had to be kidding. I waited, but he didn’t laugh. “There’s a code on the front door. What is it?”

  “You don’t need to worry about that, since Miller will be accompanying you.”

  “But…”

  “It’s for your safety.”

  It was a fire hazard. Not a safety precaution. But I didn’t care. I’d already gotten a plan in my head. I wouldn’t be coming back. I just needed to get out of here once and I’d be all set. “My friend Felix Green lives in the building. Can I go see him today?”

  “The Greens?” He took a sip of his coffee. “They’re art dealers, right?”

  “Yes.” Although, Felix had implied that was just a front for something much more sinister. The less Mr. Pruitt knew about that, the better.

  “Very well. Miller can take you over to their place after our round of golf.”

  “Our round of golf?”

  “Yes. I thought it would be nice to show you around the club and introduce you to some of my associates.”

  That sounded worse than my nightmares last night. I didn’t want him to parade me around to his associates. Whatever that meant. “Unless you count mini-golf, I don’t know how to golf.”

  “Really?”

  Where the hell would I have learned how to golf? “Really.”

  “Then I’m afraid today won’t work. Bill is a real stickler for speed-of-play. I’ll have to teach you another day. As it is, I have a tee time.” He placed his napkin down on top of his plate. “Enjoy the rest of your day. And please don’t hesitate to ask the staff for anything at all that you need. Their numbers are already programmed into your phone.”

  “Wait.” He’d sidetracked the conversation so much I’d completely forgotten my most important question. “I have work tonight.” It seemed like telling him was better than asking. “So I won’t be here for dinner.”

  He laughed. “No. Absolutely not.”

  “No?” I purposely didn’t ask his permission. He didn’t get to tell me no. Despite what he thought, he wasn’t my parent. He wasn’t even my legal guardian. He was a kidnapping psychopath.

  “You won’t be working anymore,” he said.

  “But I have to work.”

  He tilted his head to the side as he stared at me. “I can give you everything you need.” He gestured to the presents still sitting on the table.

  I don’t want anything from you. “I’m saving up for college. I…”

  “You get decent grades. I looked at your transcript. Pick any school you please and I’ll make it happen.”

  I opened my mouth and closed it again. “I don’t want to get into a good school because of your name.”

  “Of course you do. You’re already reaping the benefits. Why do you think you didn’t have detention yesterday after you started that food fight last week? I got you a clean slate at the school. Have fun with Mr. Green. And expense whatever you want to your card.” He strolled out of the dining room.

  I honestly hadn’t thought about my detention at all. I’d been a little too preoccupied with my grief and being taken from my uncle’s funeral. And a food fight was stretching it. I’d thrown one green bean at Isabella after she’d berated me and my uncle. I didn’t even deserve detention. Isabella did. And it twisted my stomach into knots knowing that it was Isabella’s last name that had gotten me out of it.

  Chapter 12

  Saturday

  “You really don’t have to come with me,” I told Miller when we reached the front door.

  “Actually I do.”

  “But you could just give me the code…”

  “You know I can’t.”

  I felt bad dragging him into this. But I couldn’t think about what would happen to him when I ran off. All I could focus on right now was myself and getting as far away from here as possible. My backpack was stuffed with everything I needed. I’d even snagged a few bottles of water and some granola bars from the kitchen. I wasn’t coming back.

  Miller typed in the code, being careful not to let me see. And then we walked in silence down the hall and into the elevator. The elevator music played through the speaker system. For some reason it was really soothing.

  “So what are the two of you doing today?” Miller asked as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

  “Just hanging out.” Felix didn’t even know I was coming. But hopefully he was home. If I didn’t see a familiar face right now I was pretty sure I’d lose it. I knew Mr. Pruitt was trying to be nice this morning. Gifting me a phone, inviting me to his tee time, complimenting my outfit. But at the same time, he was also controlling and rude. I didn’t want to be here. I couldn’t do this.

  “Sounds like fun,” Miller said.

  “Mhm.” The doors opened on the 24th floor. “Are you sure you want to be an awkward third wheel?” I asked as we stepped off. I wasn’t sure anything about Miller was awkward. Which made me think I’d somehow wind up being the awkward third wheel with him and Felix. This was going to be a disaster.

  “You won’t even notice that I’m there. That’s the whole point.”

  “I’m pretty sure I’ll notice that you’re there.”
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br />   The corner of his mouth ticked up.

  I wasn’t giving him a compliment. I just meant that if he was staring at me and Felix it was going to be weird. But his smile made me smile. We stopped outside of apartment C and I knocked on the door that looked exactly like the Pruitt’s apartment door. After a few seconds I knocked again. Please, Felix. Please, please, please. If he wasn’t home I wasn’t sure what I would do. The thought of being dragged back to the Pruitts place was horrifying. Felix was my ticket to freedom. But first he had to show up.

  “Can I use your phone?” I asked.

  “Didn’t Mr. Pruitt give you one this morning?”

  Oh right. I pulled it out of one of the pouches in my backpack and tapped out a text to Felix.

  The door opened a few seconds later. “Sorry about that, newb,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t usually get many visitors. How are you doing…”

  I launched myself into his arms before he could finish his thought. God it was so nice to be hugged after walking around the Pruitts haunted house for the last day. I’d started to believe in ghosts for goodness’ sake. And the chill that wouldn’t leave my skin dissipated in his arms.

  “Uh…hey, man,” Felix said, his arms wrapping more securely around me. “Can I help you?”

  I pulled myself out of Felix’s embrace. “This is Miller. I believe you met him last night when you stopped by?”

  “Yeah.” When no one said anything for a beat, Felix added, “but that doesn’t explain why he’s here now.”

  “Miller has to follow me around all day because Mr. Pruitt is insane.”

  Felix looked back and forth between us when Miller didn’t even offer a hello. “What do you mean follow you around?”

  “He’s my bodyguard or something like that.”

  Miller nodded.

  “Well thanks for dropping her off,” Felix said.

  Miller shook his head. “If she’s coming in, so am I.”

  “Oooookay. Well, come in then I guess.”

  Miller walked past him and looked around the foyer like he thought there were explosives and guns about to go off. He peered behind a few pieces of framed art and looked under a console table.

  “What the hell is this?” Felix whispered.

  “I’m sorry. I only just found out that he’d be accompanying me during all my outings.” I watched Miller look behind another painting. He’d been so normal last night. And now he was acting like a guard dog. Was he sniffing that vase for a bomb?

  “All your outings?” Felix asked.

  “There’s a whole list of rules about who I’m allowed to hang out with. Luckily you made the cut, because it doesn’t seem like Mr. Pruitt is ever going to let me hang out with Kennedy again. He has some grudge against people that aren’t in his zip code or something. Which is why I need to ask you a favor,” I said, lowering my voice.

  “What do you need?”

  “Can you distract Miller for me for a few minutes so I can make a run for it?” Actually, I wasn’t sure if I’d need Felix for this. Miller seemed plenty distracted all by himself. Seriously, what was he looking for?

  Felix looked over at Miller and then back at me. “Where are you going to go? Why don’t you just stay here?”

  “I’m supposed to be back for dinner with Mr. Pruitt tonight. Miller wouldn’t let me stay here, he’d drag me out of here when the time came. He already dragged me away from the funeral. I have to get away from him in order to pull this off. I’m going to go to Kennedy’s. I’m pretty sure Mr. Pruitt would never follow me there. He’s repulsed by it.”

  “Doesn’t mean he won’t send Miller.”

  Good point. “Then I’ll just…go somewhere else. Please, Felix, you have to help me. I can’t spend another night there.”

  “Well you don’t have to make a run for it just yet. Come in and relax for a bit and we can strategize.”

  He was right. I didn’t have to flee this second. Mr. Pruitt would be gone for hours. At least, I thought golf took hours. Whenever I saw it on TV, it certainly felt like I’d been watching for hours.

  “I’ll let Kennedy know you’re here too.” Felix pulled out his phone and shot her a text. “Wait, you texted me.” He looked up at me. “Does that mean you got a phone?”

  “Yeah. And a laptop. And a new wardrobe. And an Amex card for…something. I don’t know.”

  He laughed. “I like your outfit.” He put his hand on my shoulder and gently ran it down to my elbow. “Your sweater is really soft.”

  Miller cleared his throat. “Everything looks good here. Can we maybe choose one room to hang out in so I don’t have to do this all day?” His voice practically echoed. The last time I’d been to Felix’s there were students everywhere dancing and drinking. It was weird seeing it so empty. But empty was a lot better than haunted.

  “Sure,” Felix said as he threw his arm around my shoulders. “Right this way.”

  I was pretty sure Miller was glaring at us as Felix pulled me to the family room. Yeah, I could definitely feel Miller’s eyes burning a hole in the back of my head. I knew this was going to be awkward. Miller had insisted it wouldn’t be, but he was the one being weird. And I hadn’t even run away yet. At least he was the third wheel instead of me.

  “Is this okay?” Felix asked.

  “Yeah it’s…”

  “It’ll take me a few minutes to make sure,” Miller said, cutting me off. “Just stand there for a second.” He lifted a couch cushion and inspected the zipper.

  “Welcome to your new life,” Felix whispered.

  I laughed. My life for the next few hours maybe. Because this? The weird precautions. The security detail. The clothes. None of it was me. “Is this normal?” I asked. “Do you have a security guard that goes into people’s houses and acts like this?”

  “No, I have a driver. And a chef. And a maid. No security. But even if I did…this would be a bit extreme.”

  Miller picked up a lamp and looked under it.

  “Scratch that,” Felix said. “This is very extreme.”

  It really was. “Do they have this many precautions with Isabella too?” I asked Miller.

  He looked up from the magazines he was overturning on the coffee table. “I don’t know. I’m not on her security detail.”

  “Does Mr. Pruitt have you do this with every room he walks in?”

  “No.”

  What? “So why are you doing it now?”

  “Because he asked me to.”

  “What does he think is going to happen to me?” I laughed.

  Miller didn’t respond. He just kept examining pieces of furniture.

  This was ridiculous. “You can stop securing the premises or whatever you’re doing,” I said. “No one’s trying to hurt me. Felix’s apartment is safe. I’ve been here before. What are you even looking for?”

  “Mr. Pruitt gave me strict instructions about this,” he said, ignoring my question. “Just give me a few more minutes.”

  “Why? Am I in danger or something?” I said it as a joke, but as soon as the words left my mouth, they freaked me out. “Wait, am I in danger?”

  He paused for way too long. “No, of course not.”

  That was not convincing at all. “So if I’m not in danger, why are you doing all this?”

  “Because he asked me to.”

  Well this conversation had gone in a perfect circle. I sighed and sat down on the arm of the couch. Mr. Pruitt had said something about wanting to keep me safe. That was why he didn’t want me staying with Kennedy. But what could possibly happen to me there? Or here? It didn’t make any sense. I was surrounded by good people. The only person I could even think of that wanted to hurt me was Isabella.

  “Okay, you’re good to go,” Miller said. He walked over to the entrance to the room, folded his arms, and stared at me.

  “You said this wouldn’t be awkward.”

  He ignored me.

  “It’s fine,” Felix said and sat down on the couch. “Just ignore him.” />
  I didn’t know how to ignore him. And I wasn’t even sure that I wanted to. Miller was the only person at the Pruitts that was nice to me. I didn’t want…whatever this was. I wasn’t cut out for a security guard following me around. It was too uncomfortable.

  “This is weird,” I whispered to Felix. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s fine. I’m just glad you’re here. How bad was last night?”

  I moved to sit next to him and let myself sink into the soft couch cushions. God, I was so tired. I was pretty sure I hadn’t slept at all. “Awful. I told Mr. Pruitt about the lunch incident and he threw Isabella and her mom out of the house.”

  “Whoa. I didn’t expect that to be the end of that story.”

  “Me either. I don’t get it. Why did he take my side? He was supposed to throw me out of the house for slandering his daughter. Not this.”

  “That was your plan?” He smiled. “Well I could have told you that would backfire. He sought you out, newb. He clearly wants to get to know you.”

  “But why? He didn’t want me. Why now? It doesn’t make any sense. Why can’t he just leave me alone?”

  “Is it really so bad that he cares? You lost your whole family. Why are you fighting off someone trying to take care of you?”

  Why am I fighting off Mr. Pruitt’s affection? I knew he was trying. In his own way. I looked down at my hands. My fingers were clasped so firmly together that my knuckles were turning white. I pulled my hands apart. “He left my mom to take care of me all on her own.” It didn’t matter if he thought she got an abortion. He still left her. I know what it felt like to be left. My mom left me. My uncle left me.

  “Maybe he’s sorry.”

  “Whose side are you on here?”

  He laughed. “Yours. Always yours. And I’ll help you get away if that’s what you want. You know that.”

  I smiled.

  He reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “But I really don’t mind having you in my building.”

  “You being close by is the only positive, trust me. But I can’t stay there, Felix. I couldn’t sleep at all. I’m pretty sure a…” I stopped talking before I could embarrass myself. I’d almost said there was a ghost in my room. He’d think I was nuts. Oh God, am I nuts? One night in that place and I’d officially lost my mind.