Empire High Betrayal (Empire High #3) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,46

- everything would be fine. And I did. His hand slid dangerously close to my ass and I laughed.

I heard a few whistles. A few laughs. A few cheers for Matt. And then the hush was gone.

“Nothing for them to whisper about now,” he said. “By the first bell, everyone will know you’re mine. And everyone will know not to mess with you,” he said a little louder for the benefit of the passersby.

“Brooklyn!” Kennedy yelled. She almost toppled me over in a hug, but Matt was there to keep us both upright.

“What is on your hand?” she said with a gasp. “Oh my God.” She looked at Matt’s smiling face and then mine. “What is going on?”

“It’s a promise ring,” I said at the exact same time that Matt said, “We’re engaged,” loud enough for anyone nearby to hear.

I laughed and Matt smiled down at me.

“What? Well, which one is it?” Kennedy lifted up my hand to stare at the ring. She didn’t wait for me to respond. She just threw her arms around me again. “It doesn’t even matter. I can’t even remember the last time I saw you this happy. And I’m so happy for you. Did you know that Matt and Mason sat with me at lunch yesterday?” She pulled away from her hug.

“No, I didn’t know that,” I said and smiled up at Matt.

“I’m going to let you two catch up,” Matt said. “See you at lunch?”

I nodded. I couldn’t stop smiling.

He leaned down and gave me one last kiss.

I heard the flash of Kennedy’s camera capturing the moment.

Kennedy waited for him to walk away before continuing. “I’ll definitely get that one developed for you,” she said and looked up from the screen. “You guys are so adorable.”

I opened up my locker to hide my face. After what she’d been through this weekend it felt inappropriate for me to be smiling so hard. But she seemed to be in a good mood. A great one, actually. She snapped another picture as I pulled out my books for first period.

“You said they sat with you at lunch?” I asked.

“Yeah, well, obviously Cupcake doesn’t sit with us anymore. And Felix wasn’t in school yesterday. Matt and Mason saw that I was sitting alone so they invited me over to their table. It was really nice. But I wonder what will happen today now that the Hunters and Isabella are back in school. Who do you think will claim the Untouchables’ table? I really hope it isn’t her.”

I lifted my gaze to where Kennedy was looking. Isabella had just walked in. Her normal minions were nowhere to be seen. All I could hear were her high heels echoing in the hall. I swore people jumped out of her way, but I was probably imagining it. She didn’t look at me at all. Her demon eyes were trained on something at the end of the hall. A pitchfork perhaps to match her red, dress-code inappropriate, heels. But right before she passed by us, she turned her head and smiled. At me. A real, horrifying smile. Her smile grew as she drew a line across her throat with her index finger like she was planning on beheading me.

I gulped. Did that warrant a text to Miller? Technically Isabella hadn’t said a word.

“Wow,” Kennedy said. “Subtle much?” She laughed.

“How are you laughing right now?” I asked. “She still wants to kill me.”

“Laughing is better than curling up in a ball and crying. Trust me…I already did that all weekend.”

I winced.

Kennedy sighed and leaned her back against the lockers. “There’s no point in being scared of her. Your dad promised she wouldn’t hurt me again.”

He’d promised me the same. But he wasn’t here at school with me. I closed my locker. “But what if she…”

“Drugs us or kidnaps us? Worrying about it won’t do us any good.”

That was true. But it wasn’t as simple as worrying about a grade or something. It was life or death when it came to Isabella.

“I can’t believe how wrong I was,” Kennedy said. “When I told you boys like Matthew Caldwell don’t end up with girls like us. How did he propose?”

“It’s a promise ring. We’re not engaged. That’s crazy.”

“He’s crazy for you. But spill it.”

“I was snooping, actually. I found the ring in his nightstand. And he told me to try it on. That’s really it.”

She snapped another photo. “Sixteen and engaged. The life of the elite, I guess. Do you think you’ll have one