In the Arms of the Elite (Rich Boys of Burberry Prep #4) - C.M. Stunich Page 0,42

at my math class where Tristan’s waiting, and everything seems to be going just fine until we step into the hallway after and find Harper and her friends waiting. I’m sad to see that Isabella is with them, too, and wearing a cheer uniform. She's on the JV team though, so hers isn’t a midriff. Instead it’s similar to the one I wore during second year.

“Look, it’s the charity cases,” Harper says, tilting her head to one side, blue eyes gleaming. Everyone but her and Becky is dressed in a cheerleading uniform, and they’re all watching me very, very carefully. “Do you need some lunch money?” Harper’s new red hair slithers over her shoulder like a snake, and my eyes narrow.

“No bullying allowed at my school,” I tell her, before Tristan can even open his mouth. I don’t need to tell you how unusual that really is, considering he’s so used to being king. “Not toward me, Tristan, or anyone else.” I step forward, filling the space between us, and then I turn, reaching down to grab Tristan’s hand. “Let’s go. I’m not feeding her fire anymore.”

“Doesn’t it strike you as odd that your own sister’s standing against you?” Harper says as I try to pull Tristan away. He’s glued to the spot though, determined to stand his ground. He’s a man used to taking the offensive in most situations. The key here, however, is to play it neutral. “I mean, what does that say about you if even your own family is disgusted?” Harper walks around and comes to stand in front of me, putting her hands on her hips. She looks a bit like a witch with that bloodred hair and all black uniform. Then again, maybe that’s a little insulting to witches? “Or do you think it’s because your sister is so ashamed at the fact that her father isn’t actually Adam Carmichael, CEO and heir to a multi-million dollar fortune … Instead, he’s a drunk, just like yours.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, my voice cool and calm. Because if even I don’t know the truth, there’s no way that Harper does. My eyes slide over to Isabella’s brown ones, narrowed into two slits on her pretty face. She turns away from us suddenly, like maybe Harper’s struck a nerve.

Fuck.

Is this what Harper’s holding over my sister? Or did … did Isabella tell her willingly?

“You know what I’m saying: Isabella Carmichael is really Isabella Reed, right? I mean, she should be, considering your whore of a mother threw herself at a rich man while at the same time warming the bed of a poor one?”

My hands clench into fists on my skirt, and it takes everything I have in me to keep from slapping this brat again. She seriously needs to be put in her place; that is, back down on earth with all the rest of us.

“Don’t you dare call my mother a whore again,” I say, and there’s ice in my voice, shards of it that seem to cut.

“A spade’s a spade,” Harper says, shrugging her thin shoulders and smirking. “You’re lucky your fancy prince trotted in on his white horse to save you and your soon-to-be-dead dad, or I would’ve bought that house and knocked it down in front of you.” She smirks, and keeps talking, like she’s completely unaware of the anger burning inside of me. Tristan watches us carefully, almost like he’s holding back, curious to see what I might do. “Did I mention I already own the trailer park where that stupid Train Car of yours is? That’s right.” She steps toward me when my eyes widen and reaches out to pick some imaginary lint from my uniform. “Didn’t your new boyfriends tell you? My father knew the man who owned it, so he bought it without it ever touching the market. Your boy toys tried to win it for you at the Club meeting, but they lost. Just like they lost so many other things that week. Have they talked about it? Any of it?”

“I don’t care what happened at the Infinity Club meeting,” I say, reaching down with a shaking hand to pull the giant bandage off my hip. The infinity symbol with the slash through it shows, and several of the girls gasp. That’s when it hits me.

Maybe Isabella … is trying to get into the Infinity Club? I look past Harper again, but my little sister won’t look at me. The little sister