Empire High Betrayal

by Ivy Smoak

  My tears felt hot on my cheeks as the cool autumn air blew around us. For just a few minutes, James held me. Until I was able to catch my breath.

  “Oh God, I’m getting blood all over your tux.”

  James laughed. “I don’t care about my tux. But why exactly are you covered in blood?”

  I made sure not to wipe my face as I pulled away from him. “We went upstairs and found Isabella’s dog dead on our bed with the words, ‘You’re next,’ written in blood on the wall.”

  “We?” James asked. “You mean you and Matt?”

  I wasn’t sure why that was the part that he was questioning. I nodded.

  “And he left you?”

  “He left me with Mason. But then Mason saw Isabella and I told him to go after her.”

  James ran his fingers through his hair. “Are you okay?” He shook his head. “Sorry, that was a stupid question.”

  I tried to blink away my tears.

  “We should probably take a shower real quick to get you cleaned up,” he said.

  I laughed, which made him laugh too. “What are you dressed as?” I asked.

  He looked down at his ruined white tux jacket. “James Bond. From The Man With the Golden Gun specifically.”

  Oh. That made sense. And Rachel was one of his Bond girls. “Where’s Rachel?”

  “Dancing. I just stepped out for a second. I needed some air.”

  Air? I wasn’t blind. I’d seen all the smoke in the air out here. “What were you smoking?”

  He shoved his hands into his pockets. “What does it matter?”

  “It matters to me.”

  He smiled. “Because I matter to you? Last time I checked, you turned down my proposal.”

  “That doesn’t mean I don’t care about you.”

  “I’m Rachel’s problem. Not yours.” He sat down on the step.

  I didn’t really know how to respond to that. “So are you two good?”

  He exhaled slowly. “You mean do I think she actually likes me instead of just wanting my money?” He shrugged. “I don’t know. But it doesn’t make me like her any less. I don’t know how to quit her. She’s like a freaking drug.”

  I nodded. I didn’t really understand, because I never did drugs except that one time I accidentally had pot cupcakes. But I was more addicted to Matt than I think I even knew.

  We both sat in silence.

  I was glad James was staying with Rachel, even though his words were slightly disturbing. I wanted him to be happy. But as I thought about happiness, I realized that there was one thing holding me back from it. Isabella. She’d always be standing in my way. And I needed to make a stand. Enough was enough. I wasn’t going to suffer the same fate as poor Sir Wilfred. I was not going to be next.

  “I want to do the prank,” I said into the cool autumn night.

  James smiled. “Yeah?”

  I nodded. I didn’t tell him that I wished that Isabella was just dead. Hopefully an innocent prank would get this feeling out of my stomach. I just needed Isabella to know I wasn’t rolling over. I wasn’t going anywhere.

  “You sure? I thought you didn’t want to stoop to her level.”

  “I’m not threatening to murder her. Although I don’t know why Rob keeps asking me for blueprints to my dad’s apartment.”

  “Who knows.”

  “But it’s still just the pudding thing, right?”

  James nodded.

  I took a deep breath. Pudding. It was just a silly prank. But it meant I was fighting back. “And the deal is still on? About trying to make up with Matt?”

  “A deal’s a deal, Brooklyn.”

  I put my hand out for him to shake.

  He looked down at my bloody hand, shrugged, and shook it.

  Chapter 31

  Saturday

  The front door opened and Matt was standing there looking…super pissed.

  Crap. I stood up and stepped away from James. “Did you find Isabella?” I asked.

  “Yeah, we found her. The cops are on their way. I was looking all over for you.”

  I knew he was talking to me, but he was staring daggers at James. And James was wearing a cocky smile. Apparently he had no intention of helping me out and telling Matt that we were just talking.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I came out to find Miller and I ran into James.”

  Matt lowered his eyebrows slightly. And I wasn’t sure if it was because of the mention of Miller or James. But he didn’t know that I’d been with Miller. Right?

  I felt like I needed to give him a better explanation. “I was having another panic attack.”

  Matt’s eyes softened. “I’m sorry I ran off.” He pulled me into his arms. “I wanted to make sure we caught Isabella.”

  I nodded against his chest. I knew he was trying to remain calm. Because I could hear how fast his heart was racing.

  People started coming out the front door.

  “The party’s over,” Matt said to James.

  That was a “get lost” if I ever heard one.

  James laughed.

  God, the last thing I needed was for them to fight again.

  “Cool,” James said. “Later, Brooklyn.” He started to walk down the steps.

  I held Matt tighter and hoped he wouldn’t read into James’ words. I needed the calm, supportive Matt right now. Not the angry one that got into fist fights. Matt’s heart was still stammering in his chest, but he just held me.

  “I’m sorry,” I said again. “James was out here and I was having trouble catching my breath.”

  “It’s okay.” Matt rested his chin on top of my head.

  Red and blue lights lit up the sky as more people rushed out the front door. Yeah, the party was definitely over early.

  “Come on, let’s get inside. It’s freezing out here.” Matt grabbed my hand and pulled me back into his house. I nestled myself into his chest. He held me tightly as he ran his hand up and down my back. We stood like that in the middle of the foyer until the final guests were gone. The red and blue lights flashed through the open door of the Caldwell mansion. Someone turned on the lights in the foyer, making everything a lot less spooky. Although the red and blue flashes didn’t feel reassuring.

  “There you guys are,” Kennedy said and wiggled her way underneath one of Matt’s arms too. “We were looking all over for you, Brooklyn.”

  “I know, I’m sorry,” I said.

  “Where were you?”

  “Outside. I needed some air.” I didn’t bother to mention that I’d been looking for Miller or the fact that I ran into James. None of that mattered now. All that mattered was that we had eyes on Isabella. She was pretending to sob in the corner. At least, it seemed fake to me. She had nothing to cry over except for the fact that she’d been caught.

  I watched a cop walk into the house and start talking to Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell. Mason walked over and let them know that he saw Isabella go into Matt’s room. Isabella’s dramatic sobs grew louder and I tried not to roll my eyes.

  The police officer approached Isabella and she started screaming at him.

  “I’m not the one that you should be questioning,” Isabella said. “That little family-stealing psycho murdered my dog!” Isabella yelled, pointing at me. “She’s been out to get me ever since she found out we were related. She’s completely lost it.” Isabella pretended to sob again.

  The police officer sighed. It seemed like he knew it was fake too. “Ma’am, if you could please calm down…”

  “Calm down?” cried Isabella. “She’s the one with blood literally on her hands.”

  I winced. Damn it. She was right. Even though Matt and Mason had caught Isabella before she snuck out of the house, they hadn’t exactly caught her red handed. I was the one with blood on my hands. And Mason had seen what he thought was me going into Matt’s room. There wasn’t any evidence against Isabella. There never was. Honestly, Isabella was right. I looked guilty. Not her.

  “This is ridiculous,” Matt said. �
��I’ll be right back.” He walked over to the police officer.

  Kennedy hugged me harder. “Are you okay?”

  “No, not really.”

  “Matt told me what happened. Did she really kill her own dog?”

  I nodded. I didn’t want to talk about this. Just thinking about Sir Wilfred made me want to throw up. “Distract me. How was your dance with Rob?”

  “Great. But if I’m being honest?” She looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening to us. “Well, how big of a distraction do you want?”

  “A huge one.”

  Kennedy took a deep breath. “You were right. I’ve had the biggest crush on Felix since freshman year and he’s finally being nice to me. I know I should have told you, but…”

  I squeezed her so hard that she actually yelped. “I knew it.”

  She laughed. “You’re getting blood all over me.”

  “Oh my God, I’m so sorry.” I took a step back but she just pulled me back into another hug.

  “It’s okay,” she said. “I guess it’s what I deserve after not being honest with you.”

  “I think he likes you too,” I said. “He said you looked amazing tonight.”

  She laughed. “He did, didn’t he?”

  “Sweetheart,” Mrs. Caldwell said as she walked over to me. “Here, you should take my towel.” She started to undress.

  What is she doing? I tried to protest, but I was relieved to see that Mrs. Caldwell was wearing a very chic strapless dress underneath her bath towel. Because of course she was. Mrs. Caldwell was always prepared for everything. Meanwhile, I had rolled around in dog blood. I swallowed hard. I wrapped the towel around myself and tried not to think about the fact that I now looked a hell of a lot like the woman that got knifed to death in the shower in Psycho. Definitely more than Mrs. Caldwell had earlier.

  The police officer walked over to us. “Miss Pruitt is sticking to her story that you were the one that killed the dog, Miss Pruitt.” He scratched the side of his head as he stared down at his notes. “I hate Halloween.”

  “So you think I murdered my half-sister’s adorable puppy and then rolled around in his blood for fun? And then wrote, ‘You’re next,’ on the wall in his blood? Why would I do that?”

  He looked down at his notepad. “According to her…because you hate her.”

  Yeah, I freaking do hate her. But I’m not a dog killer! “She’s been out to get me ever since she found out we were related.”

  The officer just stared at me. “That’s exactly what she said about you.”

  “This is ridiculous,” Matt said. “My brother saw Isabella go into my room…”

  “No, he saw someone dressed as Sandy go into your room,” the officer said. “And no one else saw a thing. And we don’t have enough evidence to make an arrest.”

  It looked like Matt was about to punch him in the face. And the last thing I needed right now was for Matt to wind up in prison. I grabbed his hand. He slowly unclenched his fist.

  “Princess!” my dad said as he came rushing into the foyer.

  “Dad!” I said.

  And at the exact same time, Isabella called, “Daddy!” But she could choke on her words, because my dad came rushing over to me.

  “Are you alright?” He grabbed both sides of my face.

  I nodded. But just him being here and taking care of me made tears come to my eyes all over again. I glanced at Isabella out of the corner of my eye. The expression on her face was priceless. It looked like her head was about to explode. But I wasn’t having a competition with her over who our dad loved most. I was trying to get her freaking locked up before she killed me.

  “What happened?” my dad asked, his hands settling on my shoulders.

  I hadn’t realized how my story might sound to my dad. Me going into Matt’s room? Lying on his bed? But I didn’t care what he thought right now. I just needed him to know what Isabella had done. “Isabella murdered Sir Wilfred on Matt’s bed. She dressed like me so she could get away with sneaking into his room. There was blood everywhere. And she wrote, ‘You’re next,’ on the wall in Sir Wilfred’s blood. She’s telling the cops that I did it. But I swear I didn’t. I would never hurt an animal. I would never do something like that.”

  My dad looked shocked. And hopefully it was about the Sir Wilfred thing and not the fact that it was pretty clear I was sleeping in Matt’s bed.

  He turned to the closest cop. “I can handle this from here,” he said.

  “But, sir…”

  “I said I’ll take care of it.” My dad snapped his fingers and then pointed to the front door.

  And the cops…left. They just turned around and walked out of the house. Oh God. It was true. He was a mobster. And he had the police in the palm of his hand. For just a second I was scared of him too. But then he grabbed Isabella by her bicep and pulled her over to me.

  “Apologize to your sister. Now,” he added.

  “But, Daddy, I didn’t…”

  “We both know that you did. Now if the next words out of your mouth aren’t, ‘I’m sorry, dear sister,’ you’ll be spending the rest of your senior year abroad.”

  “But, Daddy!”

  “Do it. Or else.”

  Isabella locked eyes with me. “I’m sorry, dear sissy.” She said it with so much venom, she might as well have said, “You’re next, fuck face.”

  My dad snapped his fingers again. Donnelley grabbed Isabella and pulled her toward the front door.

  “Daddy!” she screamed.

  My dad cringed and then straightened his tie as he walked over to Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell. “I’m so sorry about your party, Max,” he said, extending his hand to Mr. Caldwell.

  I looked over at Matt’s father. He’d abandoned his fake knife that was pretty much the only way anyone would know he was the crazy guy from Psycho. His arms were folded across his chest. And he did not look pleased. He looked like he had the first night he met me. Like he couldn’t believe a Pruitt was standing in his house.

  “You’re sorry?” Mr. Caldwell said, not shaking my dad’s outstretched hand. “Isabella killed a dog on my son’s bed and then wrote…”

  Mrs. Caldwell grabbed his arm and cleared her throat.

  Mr. Caldwell took a deep breath. “What I meant to say is, perhaps Isabella should no longer be allowed on our property.”

  “I couldn’t agree more,” my dad said. “It won’t happen again. But in regards to what she wrote on the wall…I’m almost certain that she was talking about Brooklyn and not your son, so you don’t need to be so alarmed.”

  “So alarmed? If that’s true, Isabella threatened your other daughter. And that in no way comforts me when we’ve extended the invitation for Brooklyn to stay at our house.”

  “I can guarantee that Isabella will stay off your property.”

  “Not just our property,” Mr. Caldwell said. “She’ll no longer be invited to any events hosted by our family either, no matter the location. Or the circumstances. Including the wedding this December.”

  Oh fuck.

  Chapter 32

  Saturday

  “What wedding?” my dad asked.

  “Matthew and Brooklyn’s of course,” Mr. Caldwell said.

  “This December?” My dad shook his head and then looked over at me. “You’ll have to cancel the plans, Max. There’s no way my daughter is marrying your son this winter. They’re sixteen years old. And I won’t let you push your agenda on my kid. Have you lost your damned mind?”

  “Do not insult me in my own home, Richard.”

  “Dad, can I talk to you for a minute?” I asked.

  My dad cleared his throat and walked away from the Caldwells without another word. “Not a chance in hell, Brooklyn,” he said as he made his way to the front door.

  I grabbed his arm. “It’s what I want.”

  “You can’t be serious. They’re clearly pushing the wedding date up so that they’re not housing someone with my last name.”

  Honestl
y, I’d thought the same thing. But it made no difference what Matt’s parents’ motivations were. I knew Matt didn’t care about any of that. I’d asked him flat out. “It’s what I want,” I said again.

  “You’re not old enough to know what you want. An engagement? Fine. I humored it. But you can’t marry that boy.”

  That boy? The way he said it made me want to slap him. Matt wasn’t just some boy. He meant everything to me. “Why?”

  “Because I said so.”

  That wasn’t a good enough reason. “Do you have any idea how scared I was tonight? Matt’s the only one that makes me feel safe. I need him. He helps me breathe through my panic attacks. Which I’m still getting because I’m terrified all the time. And that’s not going to change. Isabella’s never going to stop. And if his parents want us to get married so they feel better about my staying here, who cares? I don’t see what’s so terrible about me having a last name that’s not associated with a mobster.”

  For just a second my dad looked angry. The way he looked when Isabella and his wife upset him at our first family dinner. If there was a glass of wine nearby, it 100 percent would have been thrown against a wall. But the anger was gone in a flash. He just looked…defeated.

  “Is that what the Caldwells have been telling you while you’re living here?” he asked.

  “No.” It was Miller. “I just put two and two together.”

  He took a step closer to me and lowered his voice. “Don’t throw that term around lightly, Brooklyn. And a new last name isn’t going to make you safer. Or change what you are. As soon as everyone found out I had another daughter, you were put in harm’s way.”

  “Who do you mean by everyone?”

  “There’s been unrest amongst the families these past few months.” He looked over at the Caldwells. “Rumors have been swirling.”

  “What rumors?” I asked.

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  Actually, it kind of did. But I was more focused on what it seemed like he was confessing to me. “So it is true? You are a mobster?”

  He sighed. “I married into it. And I don’t fault you for trying to marry out.”