I gritted my teeth, refusing to believe that.
“Seems to me like you already have all the puzzle pieces. You just need to believe what your gut is already telling you,” Jason advised.
“The Montgomerys are broke.”
“Yes,” Jason confirmed without hesitation.
I didn’t trust that fucking gleam in his eye, but my gut also told me that he wasn’t lying. I wasn’t blind. I’d noticed the missing paintings, their lack of servants, and most recently, the sale of their summer home in the Hamptons.
“What the fuck does that have to do with Bee and Ever dating?”
“Elliot is looking for someone with a large enough cash flow to keep his company afloat and pull them out of debt.”
My fists balled at my sides. “So you’re telling me Bee was after our money?”
All this fucking time, that was what she’d wanted all along?
I wasn’t sure if finding out that Bee was a gold digger pissed me off more than thinking she’d been in love with my cousin. I would say the two were running about neck and neck.
“Aw, don’t be too hard on her,” Jason said while clasping my shoulder again. I shrugged his hand off even while my mind was busy racing. “This lifestyle of ours is hard to give up once you’re used to it. Our Bee’s a survivor. Always has been.”
Hearing that, for some reason, pissed me off. Bee had played me, used my friends, and ripped my fucking heart in two again. When I got through with her, fighter or not, she wouldn’t be surviving me.
BRYNWOOD’S SENIOR CLASS HAD BEEN plagued with a fever. In exactly one week, we’d be accepting our diplomas. While many of them, even the ones attending college in the fall, weren’t thinking past their summer plans, I was thinking much farther ahead. In two weeks, I’d be eighteen. I’d also be far away from my father, Jamie, and Blackwood Keep. Forever. Today was just one more step closer.
It was also our senior breakfast day.
The entire senior class had been loaded onto two school buses to prevent the rowdiest of the graduates from skipping breakfast altogether and finding trouble somewhere else. The country club my parents frequented every weekend had graciously given Brynwood access to their ballroom and renowned chefs.
Finding an empty bench on the musty bus, I sat my bag down on the seat next to me. No one would be sitting there, anyway. It was ironic that I’d been crowned queen of the school only to be treated like a pariah. It was only when Ever was around that anyone bothered to bow and scrape, which was fine with me. I’d prefer not at all, but I was no longer interested in changing anyone’s opinion of me.
I’d just pulled out my journal filled with poems, keeping it hidden from view, when my bag was lifted from the seat. A body too long for the cramped space took its place, and when I turned my head, I was surprised to find Ever smiling nervously at me. I hadn’t spoken to him in almost a week, not since he sent me a text Sunday morning saying that he was coming over. His only explanation when he never showed up was that something had come up.
“Mind if I sit here?” he asked over his shoulder. His back was half turned to me as he stretched his long legs out in the aisle. “Four snuck onto another bus with Tyra, and Vaughn said it was either his lap or nothing.”
Sure enough, I spotted Vaughn two rows ahead, lying on his back with his feet planted in the aisle, forcing people to step over his legs to get by. What an asshole. Of course, no one dared bitch about it to Brynwood’s star quarterback. I wanted to ask where Jamie might be lurking since he was technically still a member of the senior class, but when I remembered the last thing I’d said to him, I swallowed the words.
“So here you are,” I said instead.
“So here I am.”
Shrugging, I refocused on my journal. I wasn’t sure how long I stared at the empty page before flipping it shut. No longer alone, I felt too self-conscious to express my most secret thoughts and desires—especially when I could still feel Ever’s gaze boring into me. Sighing, I slipped the book back inside my bag where it was safe. His attention, however, was now fixed on my left hand and the pear-shaped diamond ring. I should have taken it off right then, but as meaningless as it had always been, it still had its use.
Knowing Ever wasn’t going to ask for it back, I turned away to stare out the window and the trees passing by.
A few seconds passed, and I could still feel him watching me, so finally, I broke the silence. “Don’t look at me like that, Ever. I’m fine.”
“Yeah, I hear that from you a lot, so here’s me being honest—I didn’t believe you then, and I don’t believe you now.”
“What do you expect me to say?”
He didn’t respond right away, and when I finally met his gaze, I could see the apology in his eyes. Ever had nothing to be sorry for.
“I’m sorry that I can’t be there for you like I promised. If you hate me, I understand.”
Rolling my eyes, I gave him the first real smile I’d offered all week. “I’m not sure that’s possible.” Ever, just like his cousin, but in different ways, had put a mark on my heart a long time ago, and there was no erasing it. Still, he didn’t seem convinced, so I added, “Have I told you lately that I can take care of myself?”
With a frustrated growl, he shoved his fingers through his dark hair with dusty ends. “Jesus, you’re as bullheaded as Four. I can’t believe I’d forgotten how much.”
“I haven’t exactly been myself lately.”
He shot me a look that was full of disbelief. “You call five years lately?” After a rueful shake of his head, he added, “How did everything get so fucking screwed up?”
“I’m not sure,” I blandly admitted.
Once again, Ever pinned me with that golden gaze of his. “Maybe it’s not too late to fix things.”
I frowned at his cryptic statement. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, when you turn eighteen in a couple of weeks, don’t run.” He took a deep breath and exhaled. “Please, Bee.”
After everything Ever had done and all that he’d risked, I would have kept any promise he demanded, but not this. He wasn’t the boy I wanted to beg me to stay. And even if Jamie had known, I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t.
Before I could respond to Ever’s plea, the bus slowed and rolled to a stop. Both of our gazes flew to the window and the country club waiting on the other side of the parking lot.
While a tour of the grounds was being given, those of us whose parents were members took advantage of the amenities since it was much less busy during the week. After the buses emptied, Four and Tyra found us in the crowd and stunned me with their genuine excitement to see me. It wasn’t until I couldn’t take Ever’s watchful pleading gaze any longer that I snuck away to pay Klara a visit.
Lying face down on the massage table, I’d just begun to drift off when there was a knock at the door. Even though there was a sheet covering me from the shoulders down, I was feeling a little self-conscious when Klara opened the door.
“I’m sorry to bother you, Klara, but I could really use your assistance.”
“Anja, please tell me you didn’t burn someone with the stones again.”