“I can’t see Archie’s grey trident car.”
“Grey trident?” she asked, amused.
“Yeah it has a trident on it I’ve never seen before.”
“Yeah. That’s because it’s a Maserati GranTurismo, Esme.”
I shrugged. “Okay, it’s just a car.”
She laughed. “Yeah, he got it for his 17th birthday – it’s basically an extension of his manhood.”
“Tay!” I slapped her arm playfully. “Could you please not talk about my brother’s manhood?”
“I’m sure there’s not much to talk about.”
I grimaced as we stopped in front of an electric blue Ford Explorer. “Ford?” I looked around at the Ferraris, Mercedes, Jaguars, Porsches… “Not what I expected,” I admitted.
“My dad wanted to buy me a Lamborghini but Mom refused. She wants me to learn the value of money.”
“Between you and me, you know that a brand-new Ford Explorer is not a hard life, right?” I chuckled. “From where I come from it means you made it.”
She laughed, waving her hand dismissively. “I couldn’t care less about the car, Esme – It’s taking me from point A to point B. It was just as low as dad was ready to go. I’m a true daddy’s girl!” she grinned. “Hop in.”
“So what’s their deal?”
“The Kings?” She rolled her eyes as I nodded. “Caleb is pretty much their leader, total sociopath if you ask me, just like his dad. He’s the worst of them.”
I thought about him – when I first saw him through my window the other day I thought he was the most beautiful boy I’d even seen, with his blond hair, icy blue eyes, lean muscles – he looked like an Angel of Light. How could appearances fool you? He was more like the demon rising from darkness and yet I couldn’t help but be aggravated at his instant hate. Was it to support his friend?
“Have they been friends long? Archie and Caleb?”
“Ah,” she seemed to ponder that for a while. “They were always in the same circle but I guess they got closer when they joined Brentwood.”
“Why is that?”
“Archibald stopped being the lovely boy he was and became a clone of Caleb and all the hateful fathers.”
I might have just met her, but I didn’t miss the longing in her voice. Had she been closer to my brother than she said? It was too early to ask.
She stopped the car in front of the iron gates. “Okay, this is where I’m stopping, I’m not going into this house.”
I chuckled. “I can’t blame you, if it were up to me, I wouldn’t go in either.”
Her joking smile turned soft. “I’m sure it’s hard to get used to it and your father and brother are certainly not making it easy for you to feel welcome, but you’ll get used to this life, I promise. It will take a while; mom still has issues now after 10 years, but you’ll be okay.”
I took her hand and squeezed it gratefully. “Thank you, it means so much more than you think.”
“Anytime.”
She stopped me before I got out of the car. “Can I give you another piece of advice?”
I nodded.
“Don’t react when the Kings push you.” The word ‘Kings’ in her voice sounded all but reverent – it was sarcastic and mocking.
“I don’t understand.”
“You will,” she sighed, running her hands back and forth on her steering wheel. “They will push you, test your limits and if they find a weakness…” she trailed off.
“They’ll go in for the kill.”
She nodded with a grimace. “That’s what makes them feel alive, belittling everyone who’s not them.”
“Did- did they do that to you?” I asked, hating the idea of anyone hurting this happy-go-lucky girl.
She chuckled but the hurt flashing in her eyes was hard to miss. “Nah. Oppenheimer, remember?”
“Ah yes,” I laughed. “See you tomorrow?”
She nodded. “Yes, friend. See you then.”
Chapter 5
Taylor Oppenheimer was a lot of things but one thing stood out – she was a godsend. She was waiting for me the next day as my silent brother parked the car and left me behind without a look back. Well, truth be told he warned me I didn't exist in his world from the first day we met, he was just keeping true to his words.
She looked at his retreating back before rolling her eyes and joining me, intertwining our arms together.
“Stand straighter,” she nudged me, “head high. You belong here, my dear, don’t let them say otherwise.”
I don’t want to belong here, I thought, but refrained from saying so because it would be a rejection of her as much as it was a rejection of this life.
I was building a plan for my future in my head, a plan that would help me until graduation. They didn’t have to love me and I didn’t have to love them. We just needed to co-exist for a few months.
I knew the school internet was very limited and we couldn't access any social media, but I could check universities, their scholarship programs and I could start building a resume, build a life after Brentwood – I’ll move away, get a part-time job and have Luke move in with me, it would be like nothing ever happened. I would go back to being Esme Danvers and leave the Forbes and all this ‘Patrician’ business behind.
We sat together at the back of the room shortly followed by Caleb and Archie – the Wonder Twins, as I mentally called them. They looked at me with matching glares and I met their eyes with the brightest smile I could muster.
“Hi boys!” I waved at them, making their scowls deepen before they took their seats a few rows ahead of us.
Tay looked down at her book and chuckled. “Good one.”
I winked at her. “Yeah, thought so.”
“But I advised you to ignore them, not antagonize them.”
I shrugged.
Taylor sighed. “I know putting fuel on the fire can be fun, but it can get to a point where you can’t control it anymore and end up being burned. Just –”
“Be careful?” I tried, not feeling like laughing anymore at the seriousness of her tone.
She nodded. “Your brother, he wouldn’t push it too far – he is too scared of daddy dearest to hurt his precious newly found daughter.” She shook her head. “But Astor,” she shivered, I didn’t think it was voluntary. “I’m not sure he even has hard limits. He enjoys watching people bleed.”
“Figuratively?”
“Sure… right.”
I looked at Caleb again, having a hard time believing that he could be so bad. He had the kind of looks you would grant absolution to without even hearing his confession. He looked like the perfect little angel.
As if he could feel my eyes on him, Caleb turned around, raising a challenging eyebrow at me. I kept up with his eyes, not giving him the upper hand until the teacher called the class to order and he turned back.
I looked down at my book with a sigh of relief before meeting Taylor’s questioning glance which I answered with a shrug. I wasn’t sure what his beef was with me but I didn't care enough to find out.