Michael and Sabrina had spun a web of lies around me so tightly that people believed them. They didn’t question why, until recently, I’d never appeared at family functions or why I never left the estate.
It was hardly any surprise that all morning I’d been greeted with a mix of expressions ranging from curiosity to pity to downright hostility.
I hated it. Hated their attention and interest and the way they looked at me like I was a science project they hadn’t quite figured out. But if I was going to ever escape from Darling Hill, if I was ever going to forge my own path, I had to stick to the plan.
“So what are we doing later?”
“Sorry, what?” I frowned at Miles.
He reminded me of a puppy with his big brown eyes, mop of dark wild curls, and toothy grin. The Mulligans were good friends with my father and Sabrina so I’d seen Miles at the house a few times since I’d returned. He was always polite and friendly. But I wasn’t looking to make friends. My heart was already shattered enough.
“After school, what are we doing? I thought we could head to Samphire and check out their fall menu.”
“And Samphire would be…”
Celeste chuckled. “It’s a little bistro downtown. It does the most amazing stone-baked pizza. So freaking good.”
“Right.”
“Sorry.” Miles dipped his head. “I forget that you don’t—”
“Miles,” Celeste said quietly.
“Guys, it’s okay. You don’t have to do that. We all know I’m not… used to this.”
I wasn’t sure I was ever going to be used to it. But it was my life now, at least for the next ten months.
“Okay, I have a better idea.” Celeste smiled. “What about if we get ice cream from Banana Splits and head down to the park? We might be able to get a table and it’s such a nice day.”
“I was going to head back to the house and study.”
“But you have to come. It’s our Monday afternoon ritual. We always do something.”
“Celeste is right.” Miles nodded. “Besides, you need the tour.”
“The tour…” My brow quirked.
“Yeah. I know you haven’t ventured out much, so we could give you the behind-the-scenes tour.”
“You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?”
“Nope.” Miles grinned, stealing a bunch of grapes off Celeste’s plate. “I need to head to the library, but I’ll see the two of you later.”
As he walked away, I murmured, “He’s very…”
“Cute?”
“I was going to say peppy.”
“Don’t be deceived by his good looks and charm. Miles Mulligan rocks a mean left hook.”
“Good looks, huh?” I teased. “Sounds an awful lot like someone has a crush.”
“On Miles? Please.” Celeste scoffed. “He’s like a brother to me.”
“Hmm.”
“Harleigh, I mean it. I don’t like Miles like that. Besides, he wasn’t gazing longingly at me.”
I almost choked on my juice. “Don’t be ridiculous. He doesn’t even know me.”
“Exactly. You have that mysterious new girl appeal.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not looking to get involved with anyone. Good looks and charm or not.”
“Miles is good people. He’s—”
“Celeste, I said leave it.” Appetite gone. I stood, threw my bag over my shoulder and grabbed my tray. “I’m going to go to the bathroom before I head to next period. I’ll see you later.”
Regret washed over her, but the damage was done. I needed to get the hell out of there.
Before I said something I couldn’t take back.
No expense had been spared restoring and maintaining Darling Academy’s original buildings and that extended to the ground floor girls’ bathroom. It reminded me of a nineteen-twenties powder room, the kind you saw in old black and white movies. The hex floor tile and backsplash, and the art deco mirrors seemed far too elegant for a high school bathroom. But when money was no issue, I guess only the best would do for the girls of Old Darling Hill.
I ducked into the end stall and closed the toilet lid so I could sit. I knew it wouldn’t be easy being here, pretending, keeping up the façade, but I had underestimated how much it would take out of me. I felt drained. Especially after my run in with Marc.
Avoiding him was impossible, but I hadn’t expected him to remember me. Or maybe I’d foolishly hoped he wouldn’t.
He and Nix were bitter rivals on the football field, and even worse off it. Marc and his friends had wandered into our territory once and things hadn’t ended well for him. It was the same night when everything changed. When my life as I knew it went up in flames.
It was also the same night Nix had kissed me.
Kissed me, then ripped out my heart.
Because that’s what the people around me did. They hurt me. Abandoned me.
My father.
My mother.
Nix.
Dropping my head, I inhaled a ragged breath, pressing my palms against the stall partition, needing to touch something to ground me. To remind me that I was in control of my emotions.
They didn’t control me.
I wouldn’t let them control me. Never again.
Never again.
My father.
My mother.
Nix.
None of that mattered anymore. They had broken me. Each in their own way. And I would never—
The bathroom door opened and laughter filled the room, sending my heart into a tailspin.
Relax, breathe. No one knows you’re in here.
“You saw her right, the new girl?” a girl’s voice said in a gossipy tone.
“Yeah, she’s in my AP English class. Total loner. Sat huddled to herself the entire time, staring at nothing.”
“Yeah, rumor has it, she found her mom dead. Overdose. I mean, that’s got to leave emotional scars. No wonder her dad sent her away last year.”
“He’s probably worried she’s going to follow in mommy’s footsteps.”
“Ange, that is cold. So cold.” They chuckled. Three, maybe four of them. Their dulcet tones blended together over the roar of blood in my ears.
I pressed my hands to my head, trying to block it out, block them out. I didn’t care about what they were saying.
I didn’t.
They were no one to me. Nothing.
Liar. It hurts and you know it.
My heart was a wild beating thing in my chest, making my palms sweat and my head pound. Slipping a hand down my body, I dipped it under my skirt and pinched the fleshy part of my thigh, digging my nails in until the pain blotted out everything else. Hand closed over my mouth, I smothered the yelp as I drew blood. Some of the tension seeped away like a balloon popping, and I sagged against the wall, desperately trying to remain silent.
The girls continued talking, waiting on their friend to pee. But I was too spaced out to focus on the details of their conversation.
When they left, the gentle click of the door behind them echoing through me, I grabbed a wad of tissue paper and wiped the blood away. It wasn’t much. Just a few droplets. But they quickly absorbed into a fading smudge on the tissue. Funny how something so small could spread into something so gruesome.