Empire High Betrayal(74)

Someone tapped on the microphone and we looked up at the cauldron stage.

Mrs. Caldwell was standing up there in her towel with even more fake blood dripping down her shoulders than before. “We hope everyone’s having a great night!”

Adults and kids alike cheered.

“The votes are in, and it’s time to announce the winners of our costume contest!” She lifted up two gold envelopes.

I looked up at Matt. “I didn’t see anywhere to vote.”

“Because we were dancing. There was a voting box over by the pumpkins.”

Shit. What if Isabella had won by just a few votes?

“And the first winner is…”

My heart felt like it was beating in my throat.

Mrs. Caldwell tore open the envelope. “…Robert Hunter as Rocky!”

I could hear Rob laughing from somewhere.

“Seriously?” Matt said. “He’s just half naked.”

I laughed as I looked at Matt’s pants-less legs. “You’re one to talk.”

He smiled down at me.

“But seriously…you definitely should have won. You even put on a performance.”

“Right?” Matt spun in a circle.

I shook my head at him. I did believe he should have won. But I was secretly glad he hadn’t. Because the odds of Isabella winning over me were very high. And James had told me Isabella had rigged the homecoming voting. I wouldn’t have put it past her to do again. But now if Wizzy won, she’d have to dance with Rob. Which would be hilarious because they hated each other.

I held my breath as Mrs. Caldwell opened the second envelope.

“And the second winner is Kennedy Alcaraz as Princess Jasmine!”

“Oh my God, really?” Kennedy said as she grabbed my arm.

I laughed. Kennedy looked amazing. And she deserved to win. But I kind of thought that maybe it was Mrs. Caldwell that had rigged the voting this time. To get Rob and Kennedy together. Mrs. Caldwell was diabolically wonderful. Or maybe Kennedy and Rob had actually won and it was fate.

I looked up at Matt. I was becoming quite the believer in fate.

“Let’s get Kennedy and Robert up here for a dance!” Mrs. Caldwell said into the microphone.

“I can’t believe this is happening!” Kennedy said. She released my arm from her grip and made a beeline to the stage.

I looked around, hoping to see Isabella’s reaction to losing. But I didn’t see her in the crowd. My Sandy lookalike was gone. I breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully she’d left when she’d realized that no one wanted her here. And hopefully it would be the last event at the Caldwell mansion she was ever invited to.

“Do you want to get out of here?” Matt whispered in my ear as Kennedy and Rob started dancing.

I looked up at him. “We live here.”

“I just want to steal you for a few minutes. Or maybe more like thirty minutes. We’ll see what happens.” He pulled me toward the ballroom doors before I even had a chance to respond. But I knew what was on his mind. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t on my mind too.





Chapter 30


Saturday

I was holding Matt’s hand so tightly that I was sure I had to be hurting him. But he just laughed as we ducked under spider webs in the hallway.

I screamed as a vampire popped out of the coffin.

“It’s all fake,” Matt said as he tucked me into his side.

“Even the blood?”

He put his fingers through one of the fountains. “It’s just red food dye.”

I knew that. And yet…it was all still creepy. “Your house was pretty much made for Halloween parties. I’m surprised this isn’t always the décor in here.” I jumped when a spider fell from the ceiling.

“Are you really scared?” Matt asked.

“I’m terrified.” I held his hand even tighter.

He stopped in the middle of the hall and pulled me to his chest. “You have nothing to be afraid of. Not when you’re with me, Brooklyn.”

A fake scream echoed from somewhere down the hallway and I flinched.

Matt walked me backward until my butt collided with the side of a smoke machine. “I’ve got you,” he said as his lips brushed against mine. “And I’ll never let anything bad happen to you.”

It didn’t seem nearly as scary in this hallway when I focused on him. Tonight had been perfect. He was perfect. Halloween was quickly becoming one of my favorite days of the year. “So this is what you wanted to steal me away from the party for?” I asked. “To make out behind some spider webs?”

He laughed. “No, not exactly. I was hoping I could get you pants-less like me.”

“Very smooth.”

He winked at me and then pulled me away from the fog machine. We started running down the hall. I only flinched one more time, which I considered a win.

“I can’t run in these shoes!” I yelled to him.

We were both laughing as he picked me up and ran out into the foyer. He didn’t waste any time as he carried me up the stairs to his bedroom. He somehow managed to open the door while holding me. And he kicked it closed. He skipped the lights, carried me right to the bed, and threw me down into the middle of it.

And my excitement quickly turned to disgust. “Matt, why is your bed so wet?” I blinked, trying to make my eyes adjust to the dark room. Oh God, it smelled gross too. What was that?