Empire High Betrayal

by Ivy Smoak

“To my house. We live just down the street.”

  I looked down at my squirrel pajamas and slippers. I wasn’t dressed to go anywhere. “I can’t.”

  “Why?”

  I didn’t really care how I looked. It wasn’t the slippers or the pajamas. Or even the fact that Matt was fighting with him. Matt only cared if I hung out with James, not Rob. “I can’t walk that far.” My feet still hurt.

  He laughed. “Such a diva.” He turned around, leaned over, and patted his back. “Hop on then.”

  “Rob…”

  “Come on, Sanders. You gotta fill me in on what happened so I can stop all those rumors. We can even plan that Isabella prank I promised you. Plus you get a piggyback ride out of it.”

  I swallowed hard. I didn’t want everyone to think I slept with James. If Matt heard that, I could only imagine how mad he would be. And I did really want to pull a prank on Isabella. I wasn’t a monster, so revenge was out of the question. A prank though? She deserved at least that. “Can’t I just fill you in here? And we could just go with that frog idea you had.”

  “Nope. I’m not allowed into enemy territory. And you were right…Isabella would probably just kill the frogs.”

  So the Caldwells and Hunters were still fighting. I bit the inside of my lip. Maybe this was my chance to fix everything I broke. If I could convince him to see Matt’s side…Matt would be happy. He’d have his best friends back.

  “How long are you going to make me present my ass to you?” Rob said, rubbing his backside seductively. “Get on my back, Sanders.”

  I laughed. “Okay,” I said and climbed onto his back.

  “Diva,” he said again as he held on to my thighs.

  I wrapped my arms around him so he wouldn’t drop me. We walked past Matt’s pool. I smiled to myself, remembering how Isabella had gotten the nickname Wizzy. I could just imagine a young, hateful tween Isabella trying to swim away from a purple cloud following her through the pool.

  I looked around for Miller, but I didn’t see him anywhere. “Can we stop by security so I can tell them where I’m going?” Also, I had no idea where the Caldwell security was, and I was hoping Rob knew. It would kill two birds with one stone.

  “We have our own security,” Rob said.

  So much for that.

  “So if you didn’t bang my brother, I guess that also rules out the threesome rumors?”

  “Threesome rumors?” What the hell?

  “With you, him, and Rachel.”

  “God no.”

  He laughed. “Not a fan of Rachel?”

  “I’m not a fan of any of what you just said. But yeah…Rachel doesn’t exactly like me very much.” And I didn’t like her. She’d called me a slut and hadn’t been very nice to James either. He deserved better.

  “She probably doesn’t like you because James’ tongue was down your throat at homecoming.”

  I rested my chin against Rob’s shoulder. “Yeah. And the fact that she was completely naked when I walked in on her and James.”

  Rob laughed. “I thought you were the naked one?”

  “I had on underwear. And a map.”

  He laughed again and turned his head, putting his lips dangerously close to mine. “You were wearing a map? What does that even mean?”

  I lifted my chin off his shoulder. The last thing I needed was for my lips to somehow end up on another Untouchables’. “I wrapped it around me like a towel. What was I supposed to do? Isabella abandoned me in my underwear.”

  “Ah, so that part was true. Did she really try to kill you?”

  “Yes. And Kennedy.” And I’m pretty sure she still wants me dead.

  “How is Kennedy doing?” he asked.

  I smiled. I’d forgotten that I didn’t have to worry about Rob kissing me. He seemed much more interested in my friend. “I think she’s about as freaked out as me. But she said she was going to school today, so hopefully she’s doing alright.”

  “That’s good. So are you actually moonlighting as a prostitute now?”

  I laughed. “No.”

  “Sure about that? I think that kind of work pays pretty well.”

  “I’m not a prostitute.”

  “Hmm…that rumor is going to be pretty hard to squash. A few students swore you even admitted it.”

  God. I had admitted it. I was hoping they’d never put two and two together. “You know the worst part about that night? No one stopped to help me. The only person that was nice was James.”

  “I would have been nice,” he said.

  Yeah. He would have been. I put my chin back on his shoulder. Just like he’d helped me breathe during my panic attack.

  We walked through another backyard that was just as lush as Matt’s. If you could even really call these expanses of property “backyards.” Each one seemed more extravagant than the last. There were statues, pool houses, beautiful gardens, and even fountains. A few fences and rich people backyards later, Rob stopped beneath a treehouse and let me slide off his back.

  “Home sweet home,” he said.

  I smiled. There was something adorable about him taking me to his treehouse so I could tell him all about what happened at homecoming. I never had a treehouse growing up, but I’d always wanted one. It had been a long time since I’d felt like a kid. Taking care of my mom had forced me to grow up really fast.

  “Girls are allowed,” Rob said. “You can go up.”

  “Well, it’s good I’m not breaking any rules,” I said with a laugh as I climbed the little ladder. But as soon as I poked my head through the hole in the treehouse’s floor, I knew I was about to break a very important rule. James was sitting in the treehouse with his usual frown. But when his eyes locked with mine, a smile stretched across his face.

  Nunca. I couldn’t be here. I tried to climb back down but Rob put his hand on my ass cheek.

  “What are you doing?” Rob asked. “Go up, not down.”

  “I can’t.” I’d just promised Matt I wouldn’t hang out with James. I wasn’t going to break that promise.

  Rob’s hands shifted on my butt.

  What the hell was he doing? I felt myself tense up.

  Rob laughed. “Sanders, your ass is as heavy as it is firm. Go up.” He shoved me up just as James grabbed my hands to help pull me into their treehouse.

  Damn it.

  “Hey,” James said with a smile. One of the rare real ones. “Are you feeling better today?”

  I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, but I can’t be here with you, I…I promised Matt.” It was better to be honest.

  “You can’t be in my treehouse?” James said. “That seems like a strange promise.”

  I laughed. “No. I can’t hang out with you at all.”

  “Why? Is he scared I’ll steal you for myself?”

  I guess? Or maybe he just doesn’t trust me.

  Rob laughed as he climbed up and sat down beside me. “He should be more worried about me. I’m the single one. And now that I’ve touched your butt, I’m not opposed to touching more.” He put his hand on the inside of my knee.

  I immediately pulled away from him. What is he doing!? I thought he liked Kennedy? I needed to get out of here.

  “Actually, I’ll renounce my claim on you for the greater good,” Rob said and turned to James. “Mom seems hellbent on you marrying a Pruitt. Maybe you should just marry Sanders. What do you think, James? Marry Sanders instead of the troll?”

  “You’re right, that’s not a bad idea,” James said. “How ‘bout it, Brooklyn? Shall we make it official and get hitched?”

  “What?” I laughed even though he seemed pretty serious. Why did the Caldwells and Hunters just keep throwing out marriage proposals like it was no big deal? “No.”

  “Why? I’ve already seen you in your underwear, and I liked what I saw. You’ve already seen my dick and I know you liked that or you would have looked away.” He winked at me. “We’ve already showered together. My current relationship is doomed and so is yours. Let’s just ma
ke it official and make my mom happy.”

  What the hell? “My relationship isn’t doomed. And neither is yours. You love Rachel.”

  “And love can’t be one-sided.” He reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, letting his knuckles graze my jaw. “Besides, I can’t get you out of my head. What was it that I said the other night? Let’s be miserable together?”

  “James…” my voice died away when he moved to be on one knee.

  His smile grew a little brighter, as if he was happy with the shocked expression on my face. “I’d like to alter what I said about being miserable together. Let’s just be together. I don’t think we’d be miserable. Not even a little bit. I think we’d actually be a lot happier together than we are apart. Like when we were together on Saturday night. I liked that. What do you say? Marry me?”

  What the actual hell is happening?

  Chapter 12

  Monday

  I didn’t know what to do. I was completely frozen. Matt was going to freaking kill me.

  “What do you say?” James asked, his hand still on the side of my face.

  I finally found my voice. “No.”

  James just smiled. “No you don’t like when I touch you like this? Noted.” He turned his hand so that his knuckles caressed the side of my jaw again. It was both soothing and inappropriate at the same time.

  “No, not… No. I’m not going to marry you because it’ll make your mom happy. That’s ridiculous.”

  “Do it for me then,” James said, like what he was proposing wasn’t insane. Which it was. Because he was proposing a proposal and apparently every boy at Empire High had lost their minds.

  “You don’t even like me!” I pushed his hand away.

  “That’s not true. I told you the other night that I did. And it’s the truth that I can’t get you out of my head. I’ve been dreaming about kissing you again.”

  “Well, stop dreaming that. And try harder to get me out of your head.”

  “No thanks,” he said. “Come on, Rob, help me out here. Don’t you think we’d make a great couple?”

  “Actually, yeah I do,” Rob said. “Look how happy he is, Sanders. He doesn’t usually look like that.”

  I stared at James. He did look happy. The real kind. Not the fake smile that he gave to strangers. Why was he looking at me like that?

  I couldn’t be responsible for his happiness. I couldn’t even handle the weight of my pain. I couldn’t possibly bear his too. I shook my head at the same time James’ eyes landed on my left hand.

  “I guess I’m too late,” he said and finally got off one knee. His eyes stayed trained on my left hand.

  I clenched my hand in a fist. Of course he’d seen the ring. It was impossible not to see.

  “What the hell is that thing?” Rob asked and grabbed my hand.

  “It’s a…promise ring,” I said.

  “It looks like a freaking engagement ring to me.” He whistled.

  I pulled my hand back. “I really need to get going.” I couldn’t be here with them talking about stuff like this. I was in love with Matt. Period. And if that meant I couldn’t be friends with them, then that was how it had to be. Even though I hated when James’ smile turned to his usual frown.

  “I thought you were too much of a diva to walk?” Rob said.

  “Shut up, man,” James said and lifted one of my slippers off my feet. “She’s hurt. Not lazy.” He tossed the slipper at his brother.

  Rob’s eyebrows pulled together. “Shit. I’m sorry, Sanders.” He reached out and ran his thumb along the bandages on my feet.

  Why did they both keep touching me? “It’s fine,” I snatched my slipper back. I didn’t want either of them staring at me like I was some kind of dainty damsel in distress. I didn’t need saving. The bandages made it look worse than it was. “James can fill you in on what did and didn’t happen at homecoming. And you don’t need me to plan a prank against Isabella. I’m just gonna head back.”

  “Hey,” Rob said and put his hand on my shoulder before I could move. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were hurt.” He turned his attention to James. “A heads up would have been nice.”

  “It wasn’t my story to tell,” James said. His eyes dropped to the ring on my finger again.

  I swallowed hard. I didn’t want him looking at me like that. Or being so nice. I needed to get out of here.

  “Come on, Sanders,” Rob said. “Stay. It’s gonna be fun. And we definitely need the story about how you got that ring.”

  I looked down at the beautiful diamond on my finger. It didn’t feel right to talk to them about this. I’d already messed up just by leaving Matt’s house. “I can’t be here. I promised Matt. Please just let me go.”

  “We won’t tell anyone you were here,” James said. “Come on, I promise I won’t propose again.” He lifted up a notebook that had been on the floor. “Isabella deserves to pay for what she did to you. That’s what we meant to talk about. So let’s just stick with that. Any ideas on how you want to get her back?”

  I stared at James for a moment. He’d just lost two of his best friends. He was fighting with Rachel. I certainly wasn’t giving him the answers he wanted. And I shouldn’t have cared, because Matt didn’t want me to. But I did. I cared about James. The more we hung out, the more his cracks were starting to show. And just because Matt had stopped worrying about him, it didn’t mean I could shut it off so easily. If Matt wasn’t looking out for him, who would? And I’d agreed to come with Rob so that I could try to fix the rift between the Caldwells and the Hunters. If I left right now, I would have just made everything worse. “Just a silly prank?” I asked.

  James smiled again. “Yeah. Something to embarrass her in front of everyone.”

  I leaned back. “As long as it’s not revenge.” Matt was right. I wasn’t and never would be more Pruitt than Sanders. And that meant no revenge. Even if I did want Isabella to die.

  “It’s not technically revenge,” Rob said. “Because we’d already started plotting before Wizzy tried to kill you. Pre-emptive revenge maybe…”

  “Just a prank,” James said. “Something epic.”

  Something epic. Hmm. “You know what would make it more epic? Getting the whole gang back together,” I said. “The Untouchables back at it again.”

  James shook his head. “The Untouchables? I always hated that nickname.” He doodled something in his notebook. “Who came up with that? Clearly whoever first said it was dead wrong.”

  Oh, James. He was trying to hide his broken heart. But random proposals weren’t going to fix things with Rachel or bring the Untouchables back together.

  “Well, revenge is a dish best served cold,” Rob said, ignoring James’ comment. “Isn’t that a saying? Maybe we could do something with pudding.”

  I laughed. “And she couldn’t kill any frogs that way.”

  James jotted down the idea.

  “You know who probably makes a good pudding?” I asked. “Mrs. Caldwell. I bet if we looped Matt and Mason in on this…”

  “Sanders,” Rob groaned. “We said we wouldn’t talk about your engagement to the enemy. So stop mentioning the enemy’s name in our treehouse. This is a sacred place.”

  “But…”

  “No buts. When you hang out with us, you’re one of us. When you hang out with them, you’re one of them.” He made a gagging noise. “No in the middle. Right now you’re a Hunter. Be a gross Caldwell later. Unless you want to sleep in my bed tonight instead.” He winked at me. “I’ll buy you a nicer ring.”

  James cleared his throat. “I kind of like the pudding idea. Could you imagine how much Isabella would freak if she got that in her hair?”

  I tried to focus on James instead of Rob. I couldn’t handle any more teasing today. And seeing James smile again made being here feel like less of a mistake. He needed this.

  “Or we could shave her head,” Rob suggested.

  I laughed.

  They went back and forth, ma
king me laugh, harder and harder as I looked around the small treehouse. There were toys and comic books on the floor. It looked so much more lived in than James’ room had. Pictures lined the wall. Photos of James as a happy little boy. He had the same facial features, in an adorable little boy kind of way. "You used to be so cute,” I said and leaned over to look at one.

  “Used to be?” James asked. “You’re just not looking hard enough now.”

  I laughed at him and then looked back at the pictures. “Is this all four of the Untouchables as kids?”

  “Again with that terrible nickname,” James said with a laugh. He leaned over and unpinned the picture from the wall. "But yeah. That was taken one summer when we were little."

  “We look ridiculous,” Rob said.

  I smiled down at the picture. James and Mason both had braces and looked so scrawny, sitting on the edge of a pool. It looked like the pool in Matt’s backyard. Rob and Matt looked even scrawnier. Rob was pushing Matt into the pool in the picture and the expression on Matt’s face was priceless. The four of them were having so much fun. How could they just let this friendship fade away?

  “You can keep it, if you want,” James said. “I don’t really want it anymore.”

  I pressed my lips together. Maybe he didn’t want it right now. But he would again one day. I’d make sure of it. “Thanks.”

  “No problem. And I’m still cute.”

  I laughed. “Sure.”

  He ran his fingers through his hair. “You’ll see, Brooklyn. One day you’ll look back at all of this and wish you would have said yes to me.”

  I smiled. “You never know.” But I did. I looked down at the picture. I wanted Matt. And I wanted what was in this picture too. Yes, their friendship had fallen apart. But that just meant it could be put together. I knew that. My heart was being put back together too.

  And as I looked down at the picture, it made me want something else too. I could so easily picture Matt and my kids hanging out by the pool. With smiles that big. I’d never thought about kids before. Hell, I was still a kid. But it was so easy to picture it with Matt. Maybe because he seemed to have pushed down the gas pedal on our relationship. And one day, I wanted our kids to be friends with James’ kids. And Rob’s.