Empire High Betrayal(16)

I swallowed hard.

“You have nothing to be nervous about,” Matt said as Miller climbed out of the car. “My parents are going to love you.”

Are they? Matt hated the Pruitts. He said his father used to be in business with my dad but they’d had a falling out. Did his parents think the Pruitts were as toxic as their son did?

Matt opened up the back door and held out his hand for me. I grabbed his hand and immediately felt a little calmer. Before I could step down, he lifted me up in his arms and I laughed as he spun me in a circle.

He carried me up to the front door, past the bushes trimmed to look like gargoyles. The inside of his house was just as spooky as I remembered. It really seemed like whoever had decorated my dad’s apartment had also done the decorating for this one. Dark marble floors. Dark red wallpaper. Black and white pictures on the walls in what were probably pure gold frames.

I trained my eyes on Matt instead of the chandelier above us. And I swore he winced when he walked beneath it. What a cruel daily reminder of losing his aunt. How could his family stay here after that? How could they keep the chandelier?

But my thoughts trailed away as Matt pushed through a door down the dark hallway. The light was suddenly blinding. A complete contrast to the horrifying foyer, ballroom, and bedrooms of this place. We were standing in a light and airy kitchen. Everything was still ornate, but the colors were more white and gray instead of blood red. There were skylights in the ceiling, letting in the final rays of the setting sun. And there was music filtering through a sound system.

Mrs. Caldwell was humming to the music as she watched something on the stove.

“Hey, Mom,” Matt said.

She spun around with a huge smile on her face. “You must be Brooklyn,” Mrs. Caldwell said as Matt set me down on my feet. “I’m Matthew’s mom.”

“It’s so nice to meet you.” I put out my hand.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” She wrapped me up in a hug. A real one. Like the kind Mrs. Alcaraz gave. I closed my eyes for a moment. Like the kind my mom used to give me.

“Matthew mentioned that you love hot chocolate,” she said as she pulled away.

I smiled at him. He’d remembered my story of my mom always making it for me on snowy days. A cup right now sounded like the most comforting thing in the world. “I love hot chocolate.”

“Give me one second. The milk is almost done heating. Sit down, sit down.”

Matt grabbed my hand and pulled me over to their kitchen table. This room was not at all what I was expecting. It seemed a lot more like the staff’s kitchen at my dad’s place. It just felt…light.

Mrs. Caldwell started humming again as she stirred the milk in the saucepan.

It felt like a home. Mrs. Caldwell was in her element at the stove. This room felt like an extension of her. Which meant the rest of the house was an extension of her husband maybe?

“Where’s your dad?” I asked.

“Probably finishing up some work,” Matt said.

On a Sunday?

“And are you Donnelley or Miller?” Mrs. Caldwell asked, suddenly realizing there was another person in the room.

“Donnelley, ma’am,” he said.

“Well, go on and take a seat too.”

“I’m alright,” he said. “I’m just going to stay right here.”

“Nonsense. I’ve made plenty.”

Donnelley looked over at me like he was asking my permission. So now he wanted to know my opinion? He didn’t seem to care when there was a gun pointed at my head. But I couldn’t be mad at him. I knew Isabella was blackmailing him. And he’d gone straight to my father after the fact. And his face looked absolutely awful. Was the rest of him that beat up?

I patted the seat beside me. I wasn’t Isabella. I wasn’t a monster. And it looked like he was in as much pain as me. The worst part was that I was pretty sure my father had done it to him. Donnelley smiled and made his way over.

Mason wandered into the kitchen. His plaid pajama bottoms made me suddenly feel a lot less out of place. “Something smells good, Mom” he said.

“It’ll just be another minute.” She continued to stir. “Brooklyn is here. Have the two of you already met?”

Mason smiled over at me. “Yeah, we’ve met.” He patted Matt on the back before giving me a side hug. He sat down in the seat across from me. “You decided to come join us after all?”

“Mhm.” I’d forgotten how nice he’d been last night. Standing up for me in front of Isabella. Inviting me to stay with them so that I could avoid her. I should have taken him up on the offer immediately. I could have avoided a half-naked run around the city.

“So…” he said, his voice trailing off. “Are you okay?”

Matt put his arm behind me, giving my shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” I said. “Last night was definitely a little scary.”

“Are the rumors true?”

“What rumors?” I asked. Oh God, what were people already saying?

“Mason,” his mom said and put down a tray of hot chocolate. “Don’t antagonize Matthew’s girlfriend.”

I could feel my cheeks blushing. I kind of wanted to know what people were saying. But it probably involved the words whore or prostitute, so maybe it was better if I didn’t know.