Empire High Betrayal(47)
He nodded. “Good, good.” He took a sip of his milkshake.
For a minute neither of us said anything at all. And I really hoped that was the end of the conversation. But then he started talking again.
“But do you mean good as in you are being sexually active?”
“Dad.” Wasn’t this a weird thing to bring up in public? I looked over to see if any of the waitresses had heard him. Fortunately they all seemed busy.
“Okay, we don’t have to discuss it any further. But, Brooklyn, if you’re planning on moving in that direction with Matt, I think it’s better to stay in front of all of this. If you’re okay with it, I’d like to go ahead and set that appointment with Dr. Wilson sooner rather than later. It’s better to just get it out of the way, don’t you think?”
“Sure.” If he was going to keep pressing the issue of birth control maybe it was just better to get it over with. “Do you mind if I do it alone though? This whole thing is very awkward.”
“Oh. I mean, yes, if that’s what you want. But if you’re uncomfortable talking about it with me, then maybe you aren’t ready to…”
“It’s fine. Really.” Just because I didn’t want to talk about sex with my dad didn’t mean I wasn’t ready to have sex. I didn’t even think I’d be comfortable having this conversation with my mom.
“Okay. I won’t mention it again.” He smiled.
I took a huge bite of my sandwich. Now that the question was out there…was I ready to have sex? I knew Matt was. He said he was waiting for me. And I knew he loved me. I was all in with him. So shouldn’t I go all the way with him?
“Are you getting excited for the holidays?” my dad asked.
It was a normal question to ask in the fall. But I honestly hadn’t been thinking about it at all. This would be the first time I didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with my mom. “Mhm,” I said, even though my heart wasn’t really in it.
“I know it’s several weeks away, but no matter what’s going on with Isabella, I’d like you to come over for Thanksgiving. It’s always a pretty big celebration for us. We have family coming in from out of town that I want you to meet. And you can invite whoever else you want. I just…it’s a day for family. And I want you to be there. Besides, Isabella’s always in a lovely mood around Thanksgiving.”
The Hunters had mentioned Isabella being cheery during the holidays. I couldn’t really imagine a sweet and charming holiday Isabella. But it had to be better than a gun slinging Isabella. “Yeah. That would be nice.”
He smiled. “It’s so easy to see your mother when I look at you. But I see a lot of myself too. You go after what you want and you get it. You should consider applying to the business school of whatever college you plan on going to.”
“Did you study business in college?”
He nodded. “I used to think that Isabella would take over the family business one day. But I’m seeing everything a little differently now.”
I couldn’t help but smile. I still didn’t know exactly what it was he did. But it was the first time I truly thought that being a Pruitt maybe wasn’t such a bad thing. And no matter how hard I fought it…I was a Pruitt. I belonged here. I just needed to prove it to Isabella too. And I think James and Rob were right. Pudding seemed like a pretty great way to put her in her place.
Chapter 19
Tuesday
“Are you sure you don’t want to come with me to the club?” my dad asked as we pulled up outside Empire High. “I can give you that golf lesson I promised you.”
“Can we do it another day?” My dad and I had stayed at the diner for hours talking about my mom, holiday traditions, and what I wanted to study in college. And despite how tempting it was to ditch my final class of the day and take him up on his offer…I wanted to go back to school. I knew Matt would be worried about me if I didn’t show up for entrepreneurial studies. Plus, if I was supposed to take over the family business one day, maybe Mr. Hill could actually teach me a few things.
“Of course, princess. We’ll do it another day,” he said and patted my knee. “Enjoy your last class. And call me if you need anything at all. Or if Isabella talks to you. Or does something that doesn’t involve talking, like getting someone to leave you a threatening message.” He raised his eyebrows at me.
“I will, I promise.” I unbuckled my seatbelt and climbed out of the car. I waved goodbye as his car sped off.
I looked up at the ornate wooden doors of Empire High. For the first time, I was going to walk through them knowing that I belonged. I wasn’t there because my uncle was a janitor anymore. And I wasn’t a dirty little secret. I belonged in this world.
I walked up the stairs and pushed through the doors. Isabella had tried her best to knock me down. All those embarrassing moments in lunch. Literally pointing a gun at my head. Making me feel inadequate. But all she’d done was make me stronger. Isabella could have people paint targets on me all freaking day. It wouldn’t stop me from taking her down.
I kept my head held high as I walked toward my locker. The bell rang, signaling the end of the class I’d just missed. Students filled the halls. When I reached my locker, Matt was already waiting for me.