Empire High Betrayal(43)

“Isabella didn’t kill anyone, baby. It’s okay. You’re okay.” His breath was warm in my ear. It was usually as comforting as his arms around me, but right now I couldn’t breathe. His breath was too warm. His arms were suffocating me. It was too much.

“She’s having a panic attack,” James said.

I wasn’t even sure where he’d come from.

“You need to give her room to breathe,” James added. “It’s okay, Brooklyn, just take a deep breath.”

“I think I know what I’m doing,” Matt said. “You’re just making it worse. Get out of here.”

“You’re the one making it worse,” James said. “Get off of her.”

“I swear to God, James. Leave us alone.” Matt held me even tighter.

“I can’t breathe,” I gasped.

Matt let me go, like my words singed his skin. He was staring at me like I was broken. Like he broke me.

“Brooklyn,” James said and put his hand on my back. “Take a deep breath.”

He wasn’t supposed to be the one comforting me. I kept my eyes on Matt. He was hurt. And I wasn’t sure if it was because he thought he hurt me. Or because it seemed like I wanted James to help me calm down. I didn’t want this. I didn’t want any of this.

“Breathe,” James said.

I couldn’t handle James’ gentle touch. Or the look of torture on Matt’s face. Instead of taking a moment to catch my breath like James suggested, I started running again. I knew what I needed. And I needed my dad. I needed him to be alive and healthy. I needed to get Isabella’s words out of my head.

I burst into the principal’s office.

The school receptionist gasped.

No. Please, please, no. I couldn’t lose anyone else. I couldn’t. I was gasping for breath as I put my hands on the desk to steady myself.

“My word, what’s going on?” she asked.

I tried to catch my breath. “Aren’t you supposed to be telling me that? Where’s my dad? Is he okay? Is he hurt?”

“Dear, your father’s been waiting for you outside. Didn’t Isabella give you my note? Your father called this morning to let me know he wanted to take you out of school for lunch. I saw your sister walking by the office and gave her the early dismissal note.”

What? “He’s alive?”

“Of course. He’s right outside. He’s been waiting for a while, that’s why I made the announcement. I was just on the phone with him…”

I ran out of the principal’s office. I heard yelling down the hall. James and Matt’s voices echoing in the empty hallway. I cringed. I didn’t want them to fight. I don’t want any of this.

I pushed through the front doors of Empire High. My dad was leaning against his town car, his cell phone pressed against his ear. He looked up at me as I ran down the stairs.

“I’ll have to call you back,” he said and ended the call as he ran over to me. “Princess, what’s wrong? What happened?”

I threw my arms around him and sobbed. And sobbed. And sobbed. I clutched at his perfectly pressed suit like he was my lifeline. “I can’t lose you,” I said through my tears.

He ran his hand up and down my back. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise, princess.”

He couldn’t promise that. No one could promise that. My whole body shook as I cried. But he didn’t seem to care that I was wrinkling his expensive suit. Or crying on his silk tie.

“I thought she killed you,” I said. I was finally catching my breath as he held me.

“What? Who?”

“Isabella. She said she was going to end my bloodline. I thought…I thought…”

My dad snapped his fingers at the bodyguard standing next to him. “Call Miller. Get him to remove Isabella from the school immediately.”

“Yes, sir,” he said. He was already pulling out his phone.

“No.” I tried to clear my thoughts when all I could think about was that my dad was okay. “You can’t. She’ll kill me.”

“Isabella’s not going to hurt you.” He gently ran his fingers through my hair. “I promise.”

Another promise that I wasn’t sure he could keep.

“You’re shaking. Should I call Dr. Wilson?”

“No,” I mumbled into his chest as I tried to catch my breath. “You can’t take Isabella out of school.”

“Take a deep breath,” my dad said. “Can you do that for me?” He ran his fingers through my hair, just like my mom used to do when I was upset.

I knew students were probably looking out the window at the weird new girl hugging her dad. And I didn’t care one bit. They could call me a prostitute behind my back. And draw targets on my forehead. And refuse to speak to me. But it didn’t matter what they did. Because I was the lucky one. I knew how fortunate I was to have a living parent that cared. And I’d hug my dad on the steps of Empire High whenever I got a freaking chance.

“Just breathe,” my dad said.

Eventually his words and his fingers running through my hair got my heart to stop racing. And my lungs filled again. I looked up at him. “Isabella didn’t actually say to me that she was going to end my bloodline. She didn’t speak to me all day. There was this note written in lipstick but I thought it was blood. It talked about the bloodline thing. And I freaked out. She had Cupcake draw a target on my forehead. And she kept running her fingers across her throat whenever she stared at me like she was going to kill me. The school receptionist gave her the early dismissal note to give to me. And she just used the opportunity to mess with my head. I thought she’d killed you. But she didn’t actually speak to me. Please don’t take her out of school. It’s just going to make everything worse. You taking my side always makes everything worse.”