Empire High Elite (Empire High #2) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,69

it then?”

“Yeah,” I lied. I’d had homework to do, Cupcake revenges to plot, texts from Matt to ignore, plans to go over to avoid Isabella whenever possible, and of course my daily fifteen-minute cry session after school. When would I have had time to read that monster of an agreement?

“You’re sure about that?” he asked.

I hated when he treated me like a child. “Of course.”

He nodded and then turned away. “We should head out a little early so we can swing by and grab Kennedy before the football game.”

I almost forgot about the homecoming game. I could feel the smile stretch across my face. “Really? Can she get ready here too?”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you.” I leaned over and kissed him.

He caught my hipbone in his hand and pulled me closer. “You should go. Before you get caught.” He reluctantly let go of my waist.

I climbed out of his bed. “Maybe if I get caught, they’ll throw me out.” I pulled on my white puffy robe over my pajamas.

“And where would you go if that happened?” asked Miller.

“I don’t know.” I looked at my mother’s dress hanging in the closet. “Somewhere far away from all this.” Home. I turned back to him and he was frowning. “What?”

“I assumed you were no longer planning on running away.” He grabbed his watch off the nightstand and strapped it in place on his wrist. “They’ll be up soon.”

He was right. I didn’t have time for this conversation right now. But I didn’t want to leave it like this either. “You’re right. I’m not leaving. This place is finally starting to feel like home.” And by this place, I meant specifically Miller’s room.

He smiled.

“I’ll see you in a bit.” I looked both ways before leaving his room and then hurried off to my bedroom. I thought I was in the clear, but as I rounded the corner to the staircase, I saw the whole family sitting at the dining room table.

“There you are,” Mr. Pruitt said. “Where have you been? We were all worried.”

I saw Isabella roll her eyes.

Think of something to say. Think. “I was just exploring.”

Mr. Pruitt raised both eyes. “Exploring? Haven’t you been given a proper tour? I’ll have to talk to Miller about that.”

“No, it’s not his fault.” It felt like I was digging my own grave. Or maybe Miller’s. “I just get so easily turned around.”

“It’s fine, darling. Come eat with us.”

Isabella looked shocked by his term of endearment. She used to call me that when we first met. But not in a nice way. The way Mr. Pruitt said it reminded me of how my mom used to say it to me. There wasn’t a hint of evil behind it. He sounded almost loving. And I had a weird feeling that maybe he used to call my mom that too. And that maybe she called me that because it reminded her of him.

“Are you deaf?” Isabella said. “Don’t just stand there when Daddy tells you to join us.”

Mr. Pruitt shot her a harsh stare.

I hurried over to my seat, trying to ignore the fact that I was in a robe and slippers and they were all fully dressed. I was sure Mrs. Pruitt was displeased, but I made sure not to look at her. “This looks great,” I said as I stared at the normal breakfast buffet. It was too much food. What did they always do with the leftovers?

“So are we allowed to eat breakfast in our pajamas now, Daddy?” Isabella asked.

“No,” her mother said. “We’re not troglodytes.”

At least as I sunk lower in my seat I was comfortable because my robe was so lush.

“Have you even given her the rules to sign yet?” Mrs. Pruitt asked. “Or will homeless-casual be the new dress code for all of our meals? We have to raise both of them with the same rules, Richard.”

“She’ll sign them once she’s read over them,” he said, seemingly oblivious to her hateful tone.

“It’s okay, I actually did sign them,” I said. “I’ll go get them now.” I doubted anyone protested, but I wouldn’t have known because I practically ran out of the room. Once I got upstairs, I quickly changed into clothes that would be suitable for the homecoming game. I opened up one of my boxes that I hadn’t unpacked yet so I could find my Keds. But the first thing I saw on top was Matt’s varsity jacket. I tried to swallow down the lump in my throat, but