She turns onto the mall driveway, up a steep hill, and pulls into a parking space near a side entrance. “I need a birthday present for my mom. Something classy. Dad gave me his credit card.”
I shake my head. Imagine a world where someone handed me a credit card and said, Pick something nice out for your mother. We link arms and walk into the mall, and we’re greeted with loud pop music and a lot more people than I was expecting.
“Wow,” I murmur. Some people I automatically recognize from school. I duck my head, pulling Riley to the side. “I’m not ready for this.”
“You totally got this,” she says. “Head high, yeah?”
“I get the urge to turn invisible.”
She shakes her head. “This is your public debut. There are no golden boys here looking down on you—just mean girls and their boyfriends.”
I snort. “I think that’s worse.”
She shrugs. “Arguably. Let’s go check out the makeup. I loved that lip stain you wore the first day.”
I follow Riley from store to store, and the hours creep past. I’m hesitant to spend the money the Jenkinses gave me, but in the end I cave. I walk out of the shoe store with new sneakers and boots, tossing my old sneakers in the trash and lacing on the boots.
They feel like my old pair, immediately soft and comfortable.
“Ready to eat?”
“Only if we can get froyo after,” I say.
For the first time, I feel light. I make a mental note to call Claire and Hanna, to make sure they’re okay. It’s been a week, and I don’t even know where they might’ve been placed.
“Do you ever think of seeing your dad?” Riley asks.
We grab food and find an empty table.
“No.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Okay, that was a snappy answer. So, you’ve obviously thought about it.”
I lift one shoulder. Mom’s been MIA for years, and I’ve known exactly where Dad is… until he gets released. And then I’m assuming he’ll be in the wind, too. “I don’t want to talk about this. Sorry.”
“Uh-oh, Margo,” Riley says. “Incoming.”
The temperature in the room drops by ten degrees.
I twist in my seat, staring at the escalator. Four gorgeous boys lean on the railings, in various poses, on the way down. Liam, Eli, and Theo are joking around… but Caleb’s already found me.
Somehow.
His eyes bore into mine, and I’m surprised at how much it hurts.
I turn back around, focusing on my food, and hold my breath.
It’s unnecessary, because they quickly join a group of girls. I zero in on Caleb again, who lifts a pretty blonde out of her seat and puts her on his lap. My heart spasms.
“Is that—”
“Savannah Dunley? Yep.” Riley sounds pained. Maybe because Eli is glaring at her, and Caleb is now completely ignoring my existence.
“She and I—”
“Used to be friends? I guess that was one of the rumors that was true.” She gives me a half-smile, shoving a bite of food in her mouth.
“Her and Caleb?”
“They used to date,” she says, covering her mouth with her hand as she chews. “It was a quick thing. Kind of unmonumental, if you ask me.”
I shift. “I haven’t seen her. Since I’ve been back.”
“I heard she was gone last week.” Riley shrugs. “Her family goes on random, luxurious and spontaneous trips. She’ll be back on Monday spinning stories of swimming with dolphins or having a private tour of the Taj Mahal.”
“That’s…” I wrinkle my nose. “Lavish.”
“She’s one of the lucky ones.” Riley sighs. “Trust me, if my parents could donate a building to the school, I’m sure they’d let me go for weeks at a time, too. She does half of her coursework online. Just watch, she’ll be here maybe four days of the five, every other week.”
“Why doesn’t Caleb do that?” I ask. “It’d certainly make our lives easier.”
I can’t help but turn and watch him. He leans in, talking in Savannah’s ear, and her cheeks are a pale shade of pink. Whatever he’s saying, she seems almost embarrassed by it.
Her eyes flash to me, hatred so blinding that I drop my fork.
It clatters to the floor, and I draw eyes. All of them.
“Fuck,” I mutter, diving for it.
When I straighten, Caleb is in front of me.
I have to crane my head back to see his face.
He doesn’t touch me, just stares. I can’t decide if it’s better or worse. “You’re clumsy, Sheep.”
I scowl at him. “I—”
“You—what? No one asked for your excuses.”
“Jesus.”
He grabs my wrist, squeezing so tight my bones grind together. “This is how you hold on to something. Go ahead. Try to break free.”
I stare at him, tugging on my arm.
His fingers hold fast. I stand up and yank, but he doesn’t let go. And then he’s walking me backward, twisting my arm behind my back. A twinge of pain travels up my arm, and I bend to relieve it.
“Caleb—”
“Beg.”
I stare up at him. “Are you serious?”
“You want it to stop?” He pulls on my wrist, inching me closer to him. “You want me to let you go?”
I shake my head. Helplessness crawls along my skin.
He yanks my arm up higher behind my back, until I’m doubled over in front of him. My face is level with his groin.
A sudden shot of fear bleeds through me.
“Please,” I whisper. “Please let me go.”
He drops my wrist, stepping back and grunting in disgust. Something flashes in his eyes—like he’s angrier that I’ve given in to him. And yeah, maybe I should’ve stayed strong. Maybe I should fight the bully next time and make an even bigger scene.
The whole food court is staring at us.
But will they reprimand him? No. He’s Caleb Asher, heir to a Rose Hill fortune. If his business up and moved out of the county, how many jobs would be lost? How many people would that devastate?
Just another thing I learned in my first week at Emery-Rose Elite.
He winds through the tables back to his friends like nothing happened. I glare at his back, hoping he can feel it like I feel his gaze. He’s unfazed. And when he sits back down, he leans into Savannah and kisses her.
Their lips part, and his tongue invades her mouth. They aren’t so much kissing as… he’s invading her.
Conquering her.
He must get off on that shit. Or he’s doing it to drive another nail into my heart, because my whole body feels like I’m drowning.
I glance over at Riley. “We need to leave.”
She smiles sadly. “Yeah, figured you’d say that.”
“I just need to get the paint, and then we should go.”
We do that, and I practically drag Riley to her car. He’s probably still lording over the food court, but I can’t stop looking over my shoulder. My wrist is bright red, but my pride hurts worse.
“Hey, Applebottom.”
Riley turns instinctively, her face shuttering when she sees Eli. Her grip on me is tight, her skin clammy.
“Where you running off to?”