Then I stopped and the silence grew painful. My heart beat in my ear and I gritted my teeth, but then she replied in a quiet voice, “Why are you calling me?”
“Uh, because I miss you. You haven’t talked to me for three months, since…” I clasped my eyes shut. “I’m just happy that you answered! Thank you. Thank you for that.”
There was some more silence again.
Then she murmured, “You don’t ever call me, Sam. You were calling. Is something wrong?”
“No.” I glanced around at the empty house. “Well, I mean, not really. I mean…”
“What’s going on?”
“You see, my bio dad moved here. Did you know that?”
She seemed in pain as she admitted, “I might’ve heard that, yes.”
“Okay, well, and I told him I’d stay with him for a week, and today is the first day, but he’s not here. He had to fly back to Boston so I’m all alone, and this is a really big place with a theatre in the basement. It’s pretty great, actually. I was thinking we could order a pizza, maybe have some wine even? I know he’s got a bunch in one of these rooms, but I don’t feel like exploring on my own and…” My heart was pounding now. “I don’t know who else to call. Do you want to come over?”
“Why don’t you call Mason or Logan?” She sounded so small.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. It wouldn’t be fun with them.” And they had things to do after school, like their first basketball practice.
“Oh.”
“So will you come?” I kept my eyes closed and waited.
“It’s the new house close to the Kades, right?”
Why wasn’t I surprised she had known that? I gripped the phone tighter and grinned into it. “Yes, that one. My car’s in the driveway. It has the red gate.”
“I know! I’ll be there quick.” She hung up, sounding in a breathless excitement like I’d known her to be so many other times.
I shook my head as I let loose a deep breath. The girl was going to kill me. She’d become a friend when no one else wanted anything to do with me, but she found out three months ago that her fairytale hero had been using her to get to me and Becky ceased to exist from my life. The rumors hit not long after that about Mason and me and nothing seemed like normal anymore. I had people trying to be friends when they’d been the ones gossiping behind my back and others who decided they wanted to kill me when they had gotten along with me previously.
It didn’t take that long before my doorbell rang. I had taken my bags to my room, ordered a pizza, and worried if I’d given the right address before I opened the door to Becky. She looked up and gave me a small smile. Her red hair was pulled back in two pigtails that were low on her head, and she had her hands clasped together.
“Hi.”
I grinned. I was just glad she’d shown up. “Hey.” And I opened the door wider. “Come in. Please. I need company.”
She grinned but stepped in and started to swivel her head around. “This place is gorgeous, Sam. I can’t believe it.”
“Well,” I felt so awkward. “My bio dad is a senior partner in his law firm so I guess…” I spread my arms wide. “That means he can own something like this.”
She went from one room to the next. She started in the main living room with leather couches and a chandelier from the ceiling and moved through to the next living room with red couches. She walked past a piano placed in an open area by a small fountain and looked in the dining room and patio room. Both were extensions from the kitchen.
She arched an eyebrow. “Is this place bigger than the Kade mansion?”
“No.”
“Really?” Her awestruck tone had come back.
“I mean, that place is so formal and all.”
“Is it bigger or not?” She pinned me down with her eyes.
I squirmed under her gaze and then relinquished, “No, it’s not, but it’s more modern. James’ place is just huge.”
She glanced under her eyelids at me before she looked away. “I wouldn’t know. You never invited me over.”
This was where I held my tongue. I only knew one other person that’d been invited inside, and I wasn’t going to start any drama by inviting Becky over. It was something that I knew had hurt her, but I gave her a small smile instead of telling her that she hadn’t made the short list to be allowed inside. That conversation wouldn’t end well.
“So you said you had a theatre here?”
“I did!” I perked up as I led her downstairs to the room with a screen that covered an entire wall. A few rows of lounging chairs made up the rest of the room. Each chair could be reclined and had a resting place for drinks and anything else someone might’ve brought.
“Oh my god!” Becky gasped as she walked inside. “This is amazing, Sam. Your bio dad thought about this all on his own?”