Empire High Elite (Empire High #2) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,8
like you’re not going to your first class today. Later, babes.” She blew me a kiss just like Isabella, pretended to gag again, and disappeared into the crowded hallway.
The bell was going to ring any minute. I opened up the note.
I think we have something more important to do than first period. Don’t leave me hanging. I can only steal James’ car one more time before he completely loses it.
I folded the note and slid it into my blazer pocket. He didn’t have to ask me twice. I thought being back at Empire High would be comforting. But it just made me miss my uncle even more. I kept thinking I’d see him like it was a regular day. Just thinking it made it hard to breathe.
Matt was the only person who could make me feel better. Missing a class or two was worth it if I could spend the morning in his arms. Or whatever he had planned. It would certainly be better than this.
Chapter 4
Friday
Matt was leaning against the side of James’ Benz, staring down at his phone. Him showing up each night after my uncle died was the only thing that had held me together. And if I was being truly honest with myself, just seeing him in the hallways when I first moved to the city had held me together too. Without him I’d still be in pieces.
I ran down the front steps. He looked up from his phone just in time to catch me as I launched myself into his arms.
He held me tight, not letting me put my feet back to the ground. “I’m sorry about last night,” he whispered into my hair. “I went to their apartment and Mr. Pruitt just kept saying you weren’t there. He wouldn’t tell me where you were. He wouldn’t even let me up. And then this morning when he left, he said you’d be at school.”
“Wait.” I unwrapped my arms from around his neck so I could look at him. “You stayed outside the Pruitt’s apartment all night?” I stared at the dark circles under his eyes.
“I thought he was lying,” Matt said. “I didn’t want to leave just in case you were up there. I wanted to make sure you knew you weren’t alone. And I called that number you called me from about a million times, but no one answered.”
Miller probably wasn’t thrilled about all those calls. But I didn’t care about Miller. Or Mr. Pruitt being annoyed. Or any of that. Matt had camped out on a city sidewalk because he was worried about me. He wanted to be there for me even though he couldn’t hold me in his arms. It was the sweetest thing I’d ever heard of. And that was all I cared about.
He reached out and traced the circles under my eyes with his thumb. “Where were you?”
“I thought I was at his place. But this morning he mentioned that I’d be moving into his actual apartment with the rest of his family. So maybe it was like…his spare apartment?” I didn’t know what sorts of weird stuff rich people were into.
Matt frowned. “Why would he have a second apartment?”
“I don’t know. Maybe a place to hide his illegitimate children?”
Matt winced.
“I’m kidding. He probably just rented it for the night or something.” I didn’t want to talk about this anymore. I wanted Matt to distract me like only he could. But I could see the question in his eyes before he even spoke.
“Did he…” Matt’s voice trailed off. “Did he get the results from the paternity test back yet?”
Everyone in the whole school was acting like they already knew. But it was probably just rumors circulating from the scene Mr. Pruitt created at the funeral. Matt was the only one that knew about the paternity test. He was the only person left that thought I was still just…me. I didn’t want that to change. Especially because I knew what he thought of the Pruitts. He told me Isabella was a disease. Toxic. And that it wasn’t just her. Her whole family was the same. Did that make me toxic too?
I took a deep breath and remembered what Kennedy had just told me. “I’m a Sanders. I’ll always be a Sanders. But yeah…he’s my biological father.” I shrugged like it meant nothing. But we both knew that wasn’t true. It changed everything. I swore it even changed the way Matt was looking at me. Or maybe it was just my own