by Kelly Oram
Kaylee began to tremble slightly from the rage building up inside her. She was going to explode any minute. “So you’re just going to dump me for her? Are you going to ask her to be your fake fiancée instead?”
I was so horrified by that thought that I lost my temper. “I’m not doing this fake shit with you anymore! We have to break it off right now. I’m going to go to Boston to meet Ella. I’m going to tell her who I am, and I don’t want her to think I have a girlfriend when I do. I want to date her, and I refuse to keep it secret or make her wait for me while I prance around LA with my fake fiancée in front of cameras.”
I hadn’t thought Kaylee’s eyes could open any wider, but I was wrong. They grew so big they nearly popped out of her head. Her mouth fell open, too, and she leaned forward over the table that separated us. “Wait a minute.” She threw a hand up, as if she were going to shake a finger at me. “She doesn’t know who you are? You’ve never met her?”
My cheeks grew warm with embarrassment. I knew it sounded crazy, but I also knew what I felt. “My relationship with Ella is…complicated.”
“Define ‘complicated.’”
I didn’t want to talk about Ella with Kaylee. Kaylee would never understand. Ella was the best thing in my life, and Kaylee would only want to tear that apart. Kaylee was like poison. I wasn’t going to let her taint what I had with Ella. “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”
“Yes, you do!” Kaylee hissed. “You’re breaking up with me. I deserve an explanation.”
I clenched my jaw and once again tried to keep my temper in check. “We aren’t really breaking up. We aren’t actually together.”
“We may as well be. It’s what everyone thinks. What about the publicity? What about our careers? What about proving you’re not just some arrogant player? What about our plan, Brian?”
“If we make it amicable, say it was mutual and that we’re just better as friends, it won’t be so bad. You’ll still get plenty of publicity when the movie comes out, and I’ll just stay out of trouble. We’ll be fine.”
“Sure, we’d be fine,” Kaylee agreed, spitting out the word fine as though it left a bad taste in her mouth. “But think of how much more we could be if we stick to the plan. We could become the next Kanye and Kim, the next Brad and Angelina! Between your father and mine, and the way the entire nation loves us, we could own this town. Fame is just a popularity contest, and we’re the prom king and queen. We’re supposed to be together.”
Her anger died just a tad and her voice softened. “We could be great together. If you would just stop fighting this and do it for real, you’d see. I could make you happy, Brian.”
There was no way in hell Kaylee could ever make me happy, but I managed to keep that thought to myself. “I can’t do that. I’m in love with Ella.”
The force of my statement shocked us both. I sucked in a breath and blew it all out of my lungs after that admission, but it felt so good to admit it out loud that I said it again. “I love her, Kay. I can’t be with you—I can’t even pretend anymore—when all I want is her.”
Kaylee sat back in her seat and stayed quiet, surprising me with the amount of pain in her eyes. I expected her to be pissed off that she wasn’t getting her way, but I never dreamed she’d be hurt by my rejection.
I reached across the table and placed a hand over hers. “I’m sorry.”
After a minute, Kaylee looked up as if she were contemplating a new approach. She pulled something small out of her purse—an engagement ring—and held it out for me to see. She slipped it on her finger, as if she just wanted to see what it looked like, and sighed wistfully. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
Oh shit. I was the one who was supposed to get the ring. What the hell was she doing with it? “Why do you have that?”
Kaylee pulled her eyes away from the diamond. The look she gave me caused a bad feeling in my stomach. “I’m not an idiot, Brian. I knew you were going to try and weasel out of this tonight.”
In a flash, her entire countenance changed and she became the evil woman I had just pictured devouring my assistant. “I don’t give a shit who you love. I’m not going to let you ruin this for me. I will, however, ruin you if you don’t step up your game right now. I’ll ruin your father, too. There are going to be four more Cinder Chronicles movies, and directors can easily be replaced. My father owns the two of you, and Daddy gives me whatever I want. I’ll make sure neither of you ever work a real job in this town again. And then, when you’re finished in Hollywood and you finally run crying to your precious little Ella, I’ll destroy her worst of all.”
My heart stopped beating at the threat, and all my blood turned to ice. Kaylee could definitely do some major damage to both my father’s and my career, though I doubted she could ruin them entirely. But she could destroy Ella. It didn’t matter that she didn’t know who Ella was; the second I met Ella, the world would know—the world always knew everything I did. Once I moved beyond anonymous Internet friend status with her, I’d never be able to keep her secret.
Kaylee was cruel, and Ella had been through so much. If Kaylee wanted to, she could find every crack in Ella’s armor and use her tragedies to break her to pieces without ever even meeting her. There was no doubt in my mind that if I scorned Kaylee now, she would do exactly that.
“Ah,” Kaylee said with satisfaction. “I see we finally understand each other, don’t we?”
“If you even think of dragging Ella into this—”
“Oh, no, you’ve already dragged her into this, and if you want me to stay away from her, then you go all in. No more half-assed appearances and bad attitudes. You take all that sappy, pathetic puppy love in your heart and you make the world believe it’s all for me. Make me believe it, Brian.”
Kaylee jumped to her feet without warning, squealing loudly and hopping up and down with crazy, giddy excitement. “Yes!” she cried. “Yes, yes, with all my heart, yes! Of course, I’ll marry you!”
She bounded around the small table and jumped on me before I even realized what was happening. She planted a kiss on my mouth while everyone in the entire room gathered around, clapping and cheering.
As soon as I could break free of the kiss, I took a few deep breaths and pulled Kaylee close so that I could whisper in her ear. “You have no heart, you bitch.”
“Sure I do, baby, and it only beats for you.” She thrust her newly blinged-out hand out to the crowd for everyone to see and cried, “We’re getting married! Best birthday present ever!”
Kaylee gave me another evil smile and fluttered her eyelids, saying, “I love you so much.”
She waited for me to say it back, but I wouldn’t do it. I would never say those words to her, whether I meant them or not. “Good” was what I replied instead, earning a hearty laugh from the crowd.
Rage flashed in Kaylee’s eyes, but she couldn’t say anything with everyone watching. She forced her smile a little brighter and kissed me again. I hated it, but I had absolutely no choice other than to kiss her back. I couldn’t let her hurt Ella. I wouldn’t even let her figure out how I knew Ella. I’d just have to wait to tell Ella the truth until after Kaylee was finished with me. I could only pray Kaylee’s plans didn’t include a trip to Las Vegas and a legitimate marriage certificate.
The weeks started to pass. Each day blended into the next, and nothing ever changed. I hated it, but I learned to deal with it. For the most part, I left people alone and they left me alone. When the kids at school did tease me, they were never too outwardly aggressive. They mocked me from a distance. I ignored it as best I could. I kept my head down, I did my work, and I never cried. At least, not in school.
I always managed to save my tears until I was locked in my bedroom. I’d get it out of my system, and then I would e-mail Cinder. He’d tell me some ridiculous story, or say something completely moronic about a book or a movie, and I’d be compelled to argue. Either way, he always made everything okay.
Cinder asked about my accident, an
d my mom, and living with my new family occasionally. I knew he was worried about me, but I just couldn’t talk about it with him. He was my ray of sunshine. He was the only thing that kept me sane. I couldn’t do anything to change that. When he asked, I told him I was doing okay, and that was it. He never pushed for more. When I said I didn’t want to talk about sad topics, he said okay and then distracted me with things he knew would make me laugh.
He also talked me into blogging again. I’d watched that Brian Oliver movie he told me about and was pleasantly surprised. Cinder had been right. There was more to Brian Oliver than a pretty face. He had some depth, and there was a possibility—a slight possibility—that he might be able to save The Druid Price from being total Hollywood crap. When I sent Cinder my review, he’d liked it so much he insisted I post it. It took some coaxing, but eventually I did. After that, writing other reviews was easy. My followers welcomed me back with open arms, and another tiny piece of my broken heart fused back together.
The first time a box of books arrived at my house from a publisher, I was forced to explain myself to my father. He’d been relieved that I had a hobby besides hiding in my room. He went straight out and got me a set of bookshelves filled with books, and a new e-reader. He even got me on some kind of press list so that I could go to media screenings of movies for free. I still didn’t like the guy, but even I could admit that was cool of him.
Between my blog and Cinder, life had become somewhat bearable. Time passed this way until Halloween, and then my world took another spin. I was in my second class of the day and my teacher, Mrs. Teague, gave us the last ten minutes of class as free time. It wasn’t a minute after I pulled out a book that I felt someone looming over my shoulder.
Jason Malone, one of Anastasia’s on-again off-again playthings, was smiling down at me. “What’s up, Ella?” he asked when I’d finally given in and looked at him.
“Nothing.” I knew this wasn’t a friendly gesture. Jason had been one of my most obnoxious torturers this year. “What do you want?”
He laughed and stepped up to the side of my desk. “I was just wondering what you were doing for Halloween tonight. Are you planning on going to the dance?”
“No.”
I turned my attention back to my book, hoping he would leave. He, of course, didn’t. “Bummer,” he said. “They’re having this contest to see who can come as the most horrifying monster. Your sister thinks you could win.”
I knew where this was going, so I didn’t play into his game. I simply said, “She’s not my sister.”
“She said you wouldn’t even need a costume. She said you could come in shorts and a tank top and they would just hand you the crown. She said people would run screaming at the sight of you.”
“Yeah, that sounds like her.”
I scanned the room to check the time and saw Juliette sitting a few seats over, watching Jason and me with a scowl on her face. I met her eyes and she quickly looked away, trying her best to pretend I didn’t exist.
I wasn’t surprised that she wouldn’t make Jason stop, even though she was the only girl in the class that probably could have. She and I had two different classes together, and she’d watched me take this kind of harassment all year without ever saying anything. But at least she wasn’t standing over Jason’s shoulder, giggling and egging him on the way Anastasia would have if she were here.
Class was almost over now, thankfully, so I reached for my backpack. I guess Jason didn’t like the fact that he hadn’t upset me, because he took the book out of my hands before I could slip it in my bag.
“I’m curious, Ella. Are you really as hideous as she says you are?”
“Give me my book back.”
“You want it? Show me your scars.”
I’d become a pro at not reacting to the things people say, but that was so shocking that I gasped. “Excuse me?”
Jason smirked, excited to see that he’d finally hit a nerve. “You always wear those long-sleeve shirts and tights. The whole school knows what you’re trying to cover up. Just let me see. I promise not to run screaming.” He laughed. “Unless it’s true.”
I chose to get angry because when I was mad it was a lot easier to control my tears, and I would not cry in front of this jerk. “Go to hell.” My voice quivered, but it didn’t break.
“Is that where you went to get those burns? Why’d they send you back? Are you such a freak that even hell didn’t want you?”
My whole body started to shake. I had to lay my bad hand flat on my desk to keep from balling it into a fist and hurting myself. Jason watched the action and then said, “Come on, Ella, let’s see it.”
He reached out, quick as a flash, and yanked my arm up, reaching to push up my sleeve. He didn’t pull that hard. It never would have hurt a normal person, but I’d never regained full movement in my right arm. I wasn’t capable of fully extending it. When Jason jerked it, I felt the skin tear near my elbow.
I screamed as fire shot up my arm and through my whole body. Jason dropped me as if he’d caught fire from me. I clamped my good hand over my arm, but it didn’t stop the pain. For the first time since I started school, I cried in front of my classmates.
Juliette reached Jason and me at the same time as Mrs. Teague did. I saw the rage in Juliette’s eyes, but was in too much pain to be shocked when she pulled Jason away from me and screamed at him. “You stupid asshole!”
“What is going on here?” Mrs. Teague demanded.
Juliette shoved Jason and Mrs. Teague out of the way and knelt down beside my desk. “Are you all right?”
“No.” I lifted my hand off my arm and showed her the bright red stains seeping through my white turtleneck. “He tore the skin graft.”
Juliette swore.
Jason looked as if he were about to faint, and the rest of the class was freaking out. Even Mrs. Teague gaped down at me with wide, panicked eyes. Only Juliette never lost her cool. “We need to call your nurse. Where’s your phone?”
“Backpack,” I gasped. “School nurse should have pain meds. It really hurts.”
Juliette nodded. “Come on.” She helped me out of my chair. Instead of handing me my cane, she pulled my good arm over her shoulders.
Mrs. Teague picked up our backpacks and my cane. “I’ll take this stuff to the office,” she said, and then snapped her fingers at Jason. “You, come with me now!”
My father was on a rampage. The guy was a prosecuting attorney, after all. He lived to deliver threats. He was in the principal’s office with the door closed, and I was down the hall in the nurse’s office, but I could still hear his muffled, angry shouts. So far he’d threatened to get Jason thrown in jail, sue his family, sue the school, and get Mrs. Teague fired.
After yet another roar, I cringed. “If I have to have another surgery, he’s going to bring this institution to utter ruins.”
My nurse, Cody, gave me a sad smile as he finished taping the bandage around my arm. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you do need one. Your arm shouldn’t have torn so easily. The scar is too thick inside your elbow. I want you to schedule an appointment with your surgeon when you get home today, and you need to take it easy for a while during your PT.”
When Juliette called my dad and explained what happened, he’d called both my nurse and my psychiatrist and asked them to come to the school. I couldn’t decide if it was a paranoid move, or if he just wanted to make more of a show for the poor staff he was terrorizing.
I felt enough like an idiot for being hurt so easily in the first place. Then there was the spectacle my dad was making. Add the special doctors coming to the school just for me, and I was even more of a freak than ever. But at least Cody was cool. It was nice to have one friendly face amidst this chaos.
“You’ll have to give Daniel that message about taking it easy in physical therapy yourself,” I told Cody. “He’ll never believe me. He loves to torture me.”
“I know,” Cody teased. “I’ve seen a few of your sessions together. The
guy is a sick, twisted harbinger of pain.”
Cody and I were both laughing when my dad came in the room with Dr. Parish. “She’s laughing?” Dad asked, surprised. A smile crossed his face. “You’re a miracle worker, Cody.”
“Nah, I just gave her a lot of good pain medication.”
“So that’s your secret?” Dr. Parish asked. “I can’t ever get a smile out of her.”
“That’s because you suck all the fun out of everything,” I grumbled. Dr. Parish was a nice enough woman, but I hated our sessions. “You’re always so serious.”
“Your mental well-being is serious, Ella. I wish you would take our sessions more seriously.”
“Is she all right?” my dad asked Cody, then looked at me. “Are you?”
“I’m fine.”
“I’ll need to come by every day to check on her until the wound is closed, but she should be fine in a week or so. She needs to have it looked at by her surgeon, just to be safe.”
“I’ll schedule it this afternoon. Is she okay to talk now? Her principal and the police would like to speak with her.”
“She’s on some pretty heavy pain medication, but her judgment shouldn’t be too impaired.”
“I wish it were,” I muttered as I followed my dad down the hall.
“In here.” Dad held open the door to a small conference room. “Juliette, you too!”
I looked back as Juliette scrambled from a chair in front of the reception desk. I still couldn’t believe she’d helped me. I met her eyes as she walked past me into the room, but she quickly looked away. Obviously, helping me out in an emergency didn’t make us friends.
Before I walked into the conference room, the door to the principal’s office opened. Two police officers escorted a dejected Jason out in handcuffs. A pair of highly pissed-off parents followed them. I tried to hurry inside the conference room, but Jason’s mom saw me and stopped me. “Miss Coleman?”
I suppressed a sigh and turned around. “My name is Rodriguez, not Coleman.”
