Red(42)
Tyler looked skeptical. “Will there be lots of red ones?”
“Tons of red ones. As many as you want.”
Her brothers looked at each other, then nodded. “Okay.” They ran out the door with their model airplanes and resumed their game as if nothing had happened.
Brent pulled on his shirt and got up to go. Their romantic mood was utterly destroyed, and he and Felicity had nothing more to say to each other. Though he didn’t seem angry, he was sullen and subdued, and the good-bye kiss he gave her was halfhearted at best.
It was only when she was alone that the reality of the situation hit Felicity full-force. She, who hadn’t been without a date to a school function since she was twelve, was about to attend the most important event of the year alone. She had done so much thankless work on the prom committee to make sure everything was perfect and magical, and now she wouldn’t even get to share in the rewards. No matter what the decorations looked like or how beautiful her dress was, she would have a horrible evening. Plus, she knew that these humiliating demands would just keep coming until she figured out Gabby’s mysterious endgame and found a way to shut it down.
She texted Gabby:
It’s done.
And then she collapsed on her bed and cried stormy, furious tears.
A few minutes later, her mom tapped on her door. “Baby, are you okay? Can I come in?”
“Yes,” Felicity choked out.
Her mom was beside her on the bed in an instant, rubbing her back and making soothing sounds. “Tell me what happened.”
“Brent’s taking someone else to prom,” Felicity sobbed. “Now I have to go alone, and I’m going to look so stupid, and everyone’s going to laugh at me.”
“He’s taking someone else? Did you break up?”
Felicity sniffled. “No. I don’t think so. It’s all really confusing.”
“How could he do this to you? Brent adores you. And he’s such a good boy.”
He was a good guy, and none of this was his fault. Felicity thought of the hurt on his face when she told him she wouldn’t be his date, so similar to the expression on Haylie’s face when she had nominated Gabby for prom queen. Keeping her secret safe had seemed like the most important thing in the world, but she had caused so much pain to the people she cared about. They were the ones who deserved sympathy, not her. Thinking about that just made her cry harder.
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” her mom said, misinterpreting the fresh flood of tears. “I know how hard it is when someone breaks your heart. Is there anything I can do?”
Felicity was about to say no, but it suddenly occurred to her that maybe there was something Ginger could do. Maybe it wasn’t necessary for her to carry this burden alone. The blackmail was starting to spiral out of control now, and it would be such a relief to tell someone what she was going through, to ask for help. Her mom was smart and competent. She would know exactly what to do, and together maybe they could finally end Gabby’s reign of terror.
She sat up and faced her mom. “I need your help,” she said.
“Of course, baby. Anything for my girl.”
Felicity swallowed hard, and then all the words she’d been keeping back came spilling out in a rush. “I’m being blackmailed,” she said. “Gabby Vaughn—Rose’s daughter—somehow she found out about … about my hair, and she’s been forcing me to do all this horrible stuff, like nominating her for prom queen when I was supposed to nominate Haylie, and hanging her super-offensive painting in the art show, and now she’s making me manipulate Brent into taking her to prom. And I’ve tried to fight back, but nothing works because she doesn’t even seem to care about her own reputation. She has all the power, and I can’t figure out what she wants from me or why she hates me so much, and I have no idea what to do.”
When Felicity met her mom’s eyes, she expected to find sympathy and compassion there. She was totally unprepared for the cold, hard look of panic she saw instead. “Has Gabby told anyone?” Ginger asked.
“I … No, I don’t think so.”
“Oh, thank God.” Her mom took a deep, shaky breath and put a hand to her heart. “How long has this been going on?”
“Since just after Scarlet Sunday. Two and a half weeks.”
“And she still hasn’t spread it around. That’s good. That’s really good.”
“But she’s only keeping it a secret so I’ll do whatever she wants, and … Mom, it’s just been awful. She’s making me hurt my friends, and it’s not like I can explain to them what’s going on, and I never feel safe, and I’m afraid I’m going to lose everyone.” Two more tears trailed down Felicity’s cheeks and dripped onto her jeans.
Ginger’s face softened, and she took Felicity’s hand. Felicity waited for the soothing words she’d been craving for weeks: This must be so awful for you. I’m glad you came to me. We’ll figure out a way to make it all stop.
“I know this is hard, baby,” Ginger said. “But sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the things that are really important. You’ve been doing such a good job of handling this … inconvenience so far. You’re my strong girl, and I know you can do whatever it takes to keep Gabby quiet and protect this family.”