of the assholes who tried to block Awake from succeeding at every turn. He even lobbied Congress to try to break up Awake.”
“Why?” I asked in confusion.
“You have a lot to learn, my dear,” Abby said with a sigh. “When Awake first started cutting into the traditional sales markets, everyone banded together to rally against Richard. Now, the retail dynasties are struggling, and Awake is soaring. The old money dudes take it as a personal attack against them.”
I shook my head at how petty it all seemed.
“If they were willing to work together, they’d all benefit,” I pointed out.
Abby giggled. “They might be polite to each other in public, but they’re all secreting plotting each other’s deaths. That attitude carries over to their offspring – hence the drama.”
“It sounds like cheerleaders fighting over who gets to be on top of the pyramid,” I told her with a smirk.
Sadness flashed in Abby’s eyes. “Maybe. But the ones at the bottom are struggling to bring the top girls down so they can climb up. Then, the ones who fall are trampled under everyone’s feet.”
I raised an eyebrow. “It sounds like you might know from personal experience.”
Abby hesitated. “You’re new here, so sometimes I forget you don’t know everything, but other times I’m glad you don’t.”
“You don’t have to tell me,” I said softly.
Abby let out a deep breath. “I’d rather be the one to tell you.”
I didn’t push her; I just waited for her to gather her thoughts. I knew something was off based on the way that the other teenagers treated Abby, but I hadn’t expected it to be quite so heavy. This was more than kids making fun of each other for what they decided to wear or how they did their hair.
“My dad did some bad stuff,” Abby confessed. “He…made some risky business decisions because he thought it would pay off big, but instead, he lost a lot of money.”
“I’m sorry, Abby,” I said gently.
She shrugged but avoided my eyes. “It wouldn’t be so bad if it were just his money, but his bad decisions cost all of his friends millions of dollars as well. They dropped him immediately, ostracized our family, and led a witch hunt against him. He wasn’t the only one involved, but he was the only one to get blamed.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. I wanted to comfort Abby, but anything I said would just sound empty.
Abby raised her head to look at me. “The courts didn’t touch my academic trust fund, so I still have enough to pay for tuition here at Bedford and then college. My family lost everything else. My father had to sell the houses, our yacht, and all of his other investments. My mother even had to sell her jewelry and artwork.”
“How did she handle all of this?” I asked cautiously.
Abby had never mentioned her mother before – only that she visited her dad once a year for Christmas.
Abby made a face. “She isn’t handling it – at all. She’s desperate to find a way out of this by marrying someone else. Unfortunately for her, no one with money wants to be tainted with our family’s scandal. She’s pretty much gone into hiding at this point, and I haven’t seen her for a couple of years.”
“Shit, Abby,” I said as I leaned forward and wrapped her up in a hug.
Abby laughed, but I heard the tears threatening to break through.
“It’s okay,” she said as she squeezed me back. “I have no idea what I’m going to do with my life, but I know I won’t repeat my father’s mistakes.”
She wiped some tears from her eyes, and I ran to the bathroom to grab her some tissues.
“Thanks,” she said with an embarrassed smile. “I never let anyone see me break down like that.”
“That’s what best friends do,” I said with a smile. “We help each other through tough times.”
Abby’s smile fell, and she looked down at the floor. “Are you sure you still want to be friends?”
“Of course!” I assured her. “You know I don’t care about how much money your family has. I like spending time with you, and you’re a good friend.”
Emotions flitted across her face too quickly for me to track.
“Everyone else acts like I’m going to steal their money out from under them,” Abby said with a defeated look.
The mean girl comments about Abby floated back through my memory, and I scowled.
“That’s ridiculous,” I said. “You’re a good person, and I trust you.”
Abby gave me a