Empire High Betrayal(52)

“Oh, and Brooklyn, your order is almost ready. Diane is just putting the finishing touches on a few things.”

“Your order?” Mrs. Caldwell asked.

“You didn’t tell her about all your clothes?” Justin asked. He shook his head. “That wench of a sister she has cut all her clothes to bits. The little horror. Some of them were one-of-a-kind pieces. And now they’re all in literal pieces in the garbage.”

“What?” Mrs. Caldwell looked over at me. “Isabella did that?”

I really didn’t want to talk about Isabella right now. I’d had to deal with her all week at school.

“You should hear about all the other stuff she’s done,” Kennedy said. “She poured milk all over her blazer once. She’s tried to sabotage her relationship with Matt on several occasions. She leaves Brooklyn threatening notes at school, and I’m pretty sure they’re written in blood.”

“It’s lipstick.” I think. The notes hadn’t stopped. But I wasn’t scared of Isabella. As far as I was concerned, she could choke on the red lipstick she used to write the notes. I’d kept my dad updated on everything she’d done. Or that she made Cupcake or one of her minions do. Isabella hadn’t acted on any of her threats. She was just trying to scare me out of town.

“Oh and there was that one time when she tried to kill both of us,” Kennedy said. “That was loads of fun.”

“No,” Justin gasped.

“Yeah, at homecoming. She drugged me and then abandoned Brooklyn naked in the middle of the city.”

“I was wearing underwear,” I said. I could feel my cheeks turning red.

“What?” Mrs. Caldwell said and turned to me. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this?”

“I…I thought you knew,” I said. “Didn’t Matt tell you?”

She pressed her lips together. “No. No he did not.”

That was news to me. Why wouldn’t Matt tell his mom about Isabella? “Why did Matt tell you I was staying with you?”

“Because of the issues with your father.”

I bit the inside of my lip. That made sense. His parents hated my dad. It was a good excuse for me to move in with them if I hated my dad too. But because I was trying to escape a psychopath? That made me a considerably worse houseguest. I didn’t blame Matt for lying. I was just relieved I was able to stay with him. But a heads up would have been nice.

“I’m sorry…”

“No reason to apologize, sweetheart,” Mrs. Caldwell said. “It doesn’t matter why you’re staying with us, I’m happy to have you. I just feel bad because I already invited Isabella to the Halloween party. This is a disaster. She’s already RSVP’d. I can’t take it back.”

“Of course you can,” Justin said. “Go snatch her invitation and rip it to shreds just like she did to Brooklyn’s clothes.”

Mrs. Caldwell laughed. “If only it was that simple. The last thing I need is to upset the Pruitts.” She seemed to realize what she said and shook her head. She wrung her hands together and I wasn’t sure if it was because she was worried about how I’d react to her comment, or if she was actually worried that there would be some kind of repercussions for upsetting my father.

“It’s okay,” I said. “Isabella’s not allowed to talk to me. It doesn’t matter if she’s at the party.”

“Really?” Mrs. Caldwell looked so relieved.

“Yeah, it’s fine.” I didn’t love it. It basically meant Isabella would have full access to the only place I truly felt safe. I might as well have been living with her.

“Just make sure to lock your bedroom door,” Justin said with a laugh. “Now where were we.” He snapped his fingers. “Sandy from Grease. That tight little black number. You’d look divine, Brooklyn.”

“That’s perfect!” Kennedy said.

Mrs. Caldwell smiled. “Oh, I love that movie. You really would make a perfect Sandy.”

I’d watched Grease with my mom half a dozen times. She always used to stand up and make me dance with her to all the songs. I didn’t know whether I was smiling or about to cry. “Yeah, that sounds good to me.”

Justin clapped. “This is going to be perfect. Fingers crossed Halloween doesn’t end with you naked and alone in the middle of the city.”

I half laughed half groaned. “I will never get in a car with Isabella again. It’ll be fine.”

“It’s showtime,” Justin said and spread his hands. “Let the shopping begin!”





Chapter 21


Friday

Kennedy disappeared behind a rack of clothes and I followed her out of earshot of Justin and Mrs. Caldwell. The clothes were all glamorous. But I really didn’t know a thing about fashion. I’d leave all that to Justin. What I really needed was to talk to Kennedy. We used to hang out all the time, and now that I was living at Matt’s we didn’t get to see each other nearly as much. And there was a question I needed to ask her that I didn’t want anyone at school to overhear.

“Hey, have you heard from Felix at all?” I asked.

She shrugged. “No. Why?”

“I really need to talk to him. I’ve texted him a few times, but he never responds.” Besides, it would be better to talk to him in person. Even though he hadn’t been to school all week, I assumed he had probably heard the rumors about my engagement ring. Everything that happened at Empire High seemed to travel like wildfire. Except for Felix’s whereabouts.