Take the path of least resistance, right? Why not? That’s what I’m trying to do too. No room to judge, Cadee.
Something crashes on the other side of the door and everyone goes still again, watching. Waiting to see who emerges from the office.
The door opens and Mona appears, scowling at everyone. “What the hell are you all looking at?” Funnily enough, and without realizing it, echoing Cooper Valcourt’s words to me just a few minutes ago.
She storms past us and then disappears in the crowd.
“You’re up!” Laurie says.
“What?” I turn to her. “Now? After that?”
“You’ll be fine. He’s always liked you, Cadee.”
“Liked me? He doesn’t even know me.”
Laurie points at the door—still open. “In, young lady. We have thirty-seven more kids to discipline this morning. That party last night was one for the books.” She winks at me. “That’s not why you’re here, honey. Don’t worry.”
Of course, that’s not why I’m here. I’ve never gone to one of the infamous graduation parties. “Do you know why I’m here?”
She’s just about to open her mouth and answer me when Valcourt bellows, “Cadee Hunter! I do not have all day!”
“Go,” Laurie says. “You’ll be fine.”
I don’t know about that.
After my mother’s death two weeks ago, I doubt I’ll ever be fine again.
CHAPTER THREE - COOPER
I have feelings for Cadee Hunter right now.
Hateful ones.
Jesus Christ. I haven’t been face to face with that girl since I was a senior at Prep three years ago and she was the last person I wanted to see coming out of my father’s office this morning.
Forget it. Put her out of your mind. Because, Cooper, you have bigger things to deal with.
Like the fucking truck parked on the front lawn of my small three-room red-brick cottage and the half a dozen huge men who are currently removing my furniture.
I start running through the woods, yelling. “Hey! What the hell?” I stop right in front of the biggest one, a huge dude with cannons for arms who is currently holding up his end of my fucking couch. “Put it back! Right now!”
“Cooper?”
I whirl around and find Sheriff Woods walking up to me. He’s a short, middle-aged man with a bushy handlebar mustache you mostly find on throw-back cowboys. And he’s mostly a nice guy, but he’s also one of the High Court cronies—i.e. he works for my father. “Make them stop.”
“Your father called me this morning—”
“I don’t care. This is my stuff. Not his.”
“Do you have receipts?”
“Receipts? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Look, son.” Woods places a hand on my chest and I’m immediately reminded of how Mona pushed me in front of the admin building.
I look down at his hand. Take a breath. And then slowly track my eyes back up to his.
He removes his hand from my chest. Wise choice, asshole. Because I’m not in the mood.
“You’ve been kicked out. I have the eviction notice right here.”
I snatch the piece of paper from his hand and scan it, then crumple it up and toss it aside. “Eviction notice? Tell me, Sheriff, how does one go about getting an emergency eviction notice for student housing without the occupant even being served?”
I’m gonna lose my shit. I can feel the anger inside me ready to explode.
Woods, to his credit, looks ashamed. Because we both know this so-called eviction notice might have the Judge’s signature on it, but it was obtained in secret, during the early morning hours, probably in the Judge’s fucking kitchen, without due process, and in exchange for either a healthy sum of money or the promise of a future favor.
“I thought you were better than this.” I figure it doesn’t hurt to shame the sheriff. He did take an oath to protect and serve.
“Son,” Woods says calmly. “It’s done. He wants you out.”
“He wants me to move home. You know that’s what this is about.”
Sheriff Woods looks out across Monrovian Lake. Right at the Valcourt family mansion on the opposite shore. It’s an imposing home, even from this distance, which is a good half a mile away. Then he looks back at me. “Cooper, if you’re this pissed off because your father is going out of his way to make you move back in the family mansion, then—”
“You don’t understand—”
“Shut up.” He pauses so his sharp words can sink in. “Just go home. Your personal things are already there. This is just… stuff. And it’s going into storage. I’m sure you’ll be back at the end of the summer.” But then he stops and shrugs. “Or not. I don’t really give a shit if you’re coming or going. But you need to get the hell out of my face or you will be spending the day in lockup.”
My own words to Cadee Hunter thrown back at me. And it feels like karma. I run my fingers through my hair and turn away. “Fuck this shit.”
I’m just about back to the central gardens when I spy Ax coming towards me. His mouth is moving long before I can hear his words. So when he’s finally in earshot, I get the middle of his monologue—
“… and you know the worst part? He took my fucking bank account! My bank account. With my name on it! Filled with money I earned! He can’t do that, Cooper!”
Ax is tall, broad, and tatted up from shoulder to wrist with images of demons. Lots of fangs, and horns, and hooves on his arms. His head would normally be covered in light brown hair, but he started shaving it back in ninth grade and never really stopped. Right now, it’s about a quarter-inch long. If the sun hits his green eyes at just the right angle, they turn yellow. He looks… evil. But he’s one of my best friends and we’ve been in this shit together for so long now, there’s no way to back out now.
I sigh, feeling pretty defeated. “To be fair, Ax, it was drug money.”
“Not the fucking point!” He yells this. “And what the hell is going on here?”
I look over my shoulder at the movers. Then turn back to Ax. “Apparently the Judge signed an eviction notice for my father while we were sobering up.”
“What?” He grabs his head with both hands. “But—”
“Hey!”
We both turn to find Lars, the other leg of our tight trio, jogging across the gardens towards us. Lars just looks like a Lars. He’s tall, and lean, and well… just think Alexander Skarsgård. That about sums him up. “What the hell is happening? I just made bail and the Mayor called saying we were kicked out or something and—” He stops mid-sentence. Presumably because he’s spied the movers.
I press my fingertips to my forehead, then cover my eyes with my whole hand. My head is pounding so hard. “They really have kicked us out.”
“What’s that?”
I remove my hand from my eyes and find Lars pointing at the folder in my other hand. “This?” I sigh. “This is my new job packet.”
“What job?” Ax says. “We’re on a fucking plane in three hours to goddamned New Zealand. Please tell me that’s a job in New Zealand, Coop. Or I’m gonna lose it.”