Elite (Empire High, #2)(5)

“Are you with someone?” I asked.

“Rob. He borrowed James’ car.”

Something about the way he said borrowed sounded a lot more like stole.

“Don’t worry, Sanders!” Rob yelled. A car honked. “We’re coming to save you!”

Matt and Rob were coming to save me from being trapped in Isabella’s home. It was such a preposterous thought that I almost laughed. But instead “I love you,” tumbled out of my mouth.

There was a long awkward silence.

So long that my eyes burned. And my throat felt parched. And I couldn’t breathe.

“We’ll be there in ten minutes,” Matt said.

“Okay.” Maybe we could just pretend I never said it. I could take it back. I could…

“Brooklyn?”

“Yeah?” I closed my eyes tight, wishing I could rewind time.

“I love you too.”

I could already hear Rob making fun of him. The call ended, but I kept the phone pressed against my ear. Matthew Caldwell loved me. For just a second, my heart didn’t feel so broken.





Chapter 3


Thursday

I waited for Matt to come. And waited. And waited. Ten minutes turned to an hour. An hour to two. Two hours to three.

Miller showed me back to the room that the doctor had been in. I didn’t bother getting ready for bed. I just laid down and stared at the ceiling as three hours became four. And four became five. I stared at the ceiling waiting for Matt to come. But he never did. And my already broken heart broke a little more.

***

There was a knock on my door and I turned my head to see Miller walk in.

“Did you sleep okay?” he asked.

No. But there was no point in telling him how pathetic I was. That I didn’t know how to fall asleep without Matt’s arms around me. That somehow sadness gave me insomnia. Matt had an uncanny way of lifting my spirits just to crap all over them. It wasn’t the first time that he’d let me down. It was just the first time he’d let me down immediately after dropping the L word. “Yeah,” I lied.

“Mr. Pruitt will be here in about 30 minutes. There’s some things for you in the bathroom so you can shower and freshen up.” He left before I could respond.

I slowly sat up and made my way to the huge bathroom. The water pressure in the shower was amazing. The shampoo smelled like a million bucks. And I hated all of it. I just wanted to be able to go back to Kennedy’s house. I quickly dried off, ran my fingers through my hair, and pulled on the same clothes I’d worn to my uncle’s funeral.

As much as I wished Matt would appear last night, I also wished that I wasn’t a Pruitt. The first wish didn’t come true. So the second one had to. The universe owed me this. Just this one tiny thing. After everything that had happened in the last few months? Yeah, it definitely owed me. I made my way out into the hall.

But the universe hated me. Mr. Pruitt was standing in the living room holding a freshly pressed Empire High uniform. That couldn’t be a good sign. I didn’t think I’d be allowed to go back after my uncle died. He was the only reason I was a student there. So if Mr. Pruitt was holding that uniform, it either meant he was really nice and somehow persuaded the board to let me keep attending through the end of the semester. Or I was allowed to attend because… I swallowed hard. No. Please God, no.

He smiled, but it seemed forced. “Did you sleep well?”

I liked him less than I liked Miller. So I didn’t bother sugarcoating it. “No. I didn’t sleep at all.”

“Me either.”

We both just stared at each other. I tried to ignore the fact that he may have said that to imply that we were more similar than I thought. I didn’t want to inherit anything from him, including insomnia. Including a ticket to Empire High. Including half my freaking genes. But instead of saying any of that, I just kept staring. Don’t say it. Please don’t say it.

“Good news,” he said with that same fake smile. “You are in fact my daughter.”

I was pretty sure I was grimacing.

“So…” he cleared his throat. “Classes start in half an hour. I’ll have someone stop by this afternoon to take your measurements. But in the meantime, Isabella said you could borrow this one.” He draped the uniform on the back of the couch.

He wanted me to wear a uniform that belonged to Isabella? Was he kidding? There was no way that his daughter was okay with that.

He smiled again. It almost seemed like it was a new action for him, it looked so forced. But he was trying. I could tell he was trying. He wasn’t nearly as cold toward me as he was yesterday. And yet…I still didn’t like him. Not even a little bit.

“Miller will escort you to and from school,” he said. “I’ll officially present you to my family tonight at dinner. So make sure the stylist gives you something to wear for that.”

“I…no.” I shook my head. “I don’t want measurements. I don’t want dinner. I don’t want any of this. Please just let me go back to Kennedy’s place.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible. But Miller will also grab all your old things this afternoon and set them up in your new room so you’ll feel more at home. Speaking of which…what’s your favorite color?”