throbbing sort of anger inside of him that I can see quite plainly in the tightness of his shoulders, the ticking muscle in his jaw, the heat in his gray eyes. He keeps it pretty well-contained though. “My father doesn’t know that Harper and I broke up, and I’d rather nobody but me was around when he finds out.”
My heart clenches, and my nostrils flare. That sounds like a really, really bad idea to me. I don’t want Tristan to get hit again. If I had my way, I’d follow him around forever to keep his father away. Maybe I should go and stay with him? But only if I might be able to help, not if I’ll make things worse.
“Why are you even here then?” Windsor asks, putting his hands on his hips and looking down at Tristan with an expression that reminds me of a cat stalking a rat. Tristan glances up at him and scowls.
“We have a common enemy now, don’t we?” he snaps, and Windsor raises his red eyebrows.
“Wait, wait, wait, let me get this straight: you’re here because of … Harper?” He just stares at Tristan, but the king of the school simply crosses his arms over his chest and says nothing. “You’re not at all interested in that girl over there?” Windsor points in my direction, and I flush. “Because I’m pretty sure that’s what all these other assholes are after: they want Marnye.”
The sound of the back door opening startles me, and I stand up from the edge of the bed just in time for Charlie to appear in the hallway. He sees me and starts to smile … and then notices the cadre of well-dressed boys in my room.
“Marnye,” he starts, brown eyes taking in the guys with surprise, anger, and then disgust. “What are these three doing here?” His voice is a hard snap, and I cringe. My dad is glaring at the Idols like he’d kill them if he could, snap their necks and toss them onto the driveway for the seagulls. He hazards a wary glance for Zack, too, and then looks at Windsor with confusion before turning back to me.
I open my mouth, but no words will come out.
A loud knock interrupts us all, and the sound of a door being thrown open is followed by Miranda's voice calling out.
“Marnye?”
“In here,” I reply, holding my breath until she rounds the corner to my room, face flushed, floral skirt flying. Miranda has her phone clutched in one hand, a purse strung over the opposite shoulder, and a glare laser-focused on her twin.
Creed stares back at her and narrows his ice-blue eyes to slits before she turns away and throws a smile in my dad's direction.
“Hello, Mr. Reed, sorry I'm late.” She grins, and I grimace. Her attempted cover-up is a little too peppy and excited. “I love your new home, by the way.” Dad smiles at her, but he's still not happy with me, tucking his fingers into his overalls pockets and glancing my way again.
“Thank you, Miranda. But Marnye still needs to answer my question.”
Wow. This is literally the most strict I've ever seen Charlie Reed in my life, and just before I turn seventeen, too. My heart skips a beat, and I glance at Windsor as I consider what, exactly, I should say to get out of trouble. Without having to lie, that is. I raise an eyebrow at the prince, and he raises one back at me. Something about him makes me want to tell the truth, and it just tumbles out.
“My friends are here to invite me to the Hamptons,” I say, and there's something surreal about that phrase. We're in California currently. The Hamptons are on the opposite side of the country, in the northeast. That means packing, a plane ride, a place to stay, parental supervision. Err, at least some pretend parental supervision.
“The Hamptons?” Charlie asks, and then he narrows his eyes slightly as he tries to think about where that is. “You mean in New York?”
“Sir, if I may,” Windsor says, stepping forward and stealing the show yet again. It's sort of a thing he does. “I'm Windsor York. I don't believe we've met?”
Charlie raises his eyebrows and gives him a look that very clearly says he's not buying what the prince is selling.
“I'm the president of the host club, to which your daughter belongs.”
“Host club?” Charlie asks, and pretty much everyone in the room groans. Wow. Windsor's making a joke about