Page 52 of Necessary Cruelty

Eighteen

“This house is ridiculous.Why does one family need all this space?”

Jake shakes his head in disbelief as we walk down a deserted upstairs hallway, his question obviously rhetorical. He stops at an impressive portrait of some Cortland ancestor from a hundred years ago that stares imperiously down at us from the wall. “My dad makes good money, but this is something else. How rich are these people?”

I shrug in answer. Not just because of the cone of silence, but I also don’t have an answer to his question. I’ve wondered, myself, just how much the Cortlands are actually worth. Grandpa used to say they were all cheats and fakes, but I don’t know how much of that was the dementia talking.

Regardless, the Cortlands have ruled like kings on the mountain since our town was founded. It really doesn’t matter how much money is actually in the bank when no one ever denies them anything.

Jake turns a corner, but I don’t immediately follow him. I recognize this part of the house. We’re about to enter the wing where the family has their bedrooms.

We definitely shouldn’t be here.

It was one thing when Jake asked if I wanted to find some place quiet. Maybe I even hoped he wanted to make out a little. But I don’t have any interest in snooping around Cortland Manor when I would never live it down if we were caught.

I’ve seen enough of this house to last a lifetime.

Jake turns back to me with a question in his eyes. I shake my head and gesture in the direction we just came, back to the party.

His smile teases me. “Aren’t you even a little bit curious?”

I just shake my head again, more resolutely this time.

But Jake doesn’t take the hint. Or if he does, he makes a conscious decision to ignore it. Grabbing my wrist, he pulls me down the hallway. “Just a few more minutes. I want to see as much of this freakshow as I can while we have the chance. Don’t worry, I’ll take the blame if someone catches us.”

I don’t actually want to go back to the party, not with Vin staring daggers at me whenever our gazes meet. We can’t leave this early without some sort of explanation to Jake. At least hiding out like this, I won’t have to deal with anyone but him.

Against my better judgment, I let Jake guide me down the hallway and toward a familiar set of rooms. I’m surprised we were able to get this far past the roaming staff and into a part of the house I know is supposed to be very off limits. The staff assigned to keep everyone corralled probably assumed nobody would be stupid enough to duck under the Do Not Enter! sign. No one in this town would dare sneak around Cortland Manor during the Founder’s Ball and risk never being invited onto the property again.

I think that might be what I like most about Jake. He doesn’t care about breaking the rigid and unspoken set of rules that the rest of us are forced to live by, because he doesn’t have any idea how important they are. As soon as he does, I’ll probably never see him again, so I should appreciate his ignorance while I can.

I still haven’t quite figured out what Jake wants from me.

He can’t be putting up with all this — the muteness, the threats from Vin, the general unpleasantness — because I’m the most interesting girl at Deception High. If anything, the opposite of true. My silence practically makes me a blank slate — people fill in my margins with whatever colors they want. I don’t need to have low self-esteem to know that nothing about me is worth all this hassle, not when we’ve only just met.

Maybe he just likes the idea of getting under Vin’s skin.

It was impossible not to notice Vin’s death glare when we walked into the house together. The grand entrance I hoped to make into the Founder’s Ball had been curtailed by just how long it had taken to tame my hair. I never straighten it, but tonight I did my best to turn the kinky curls into something approaching sleek. The entire time I was picturing Sophia’s perfectly styled waves and wishing that hair transplants were a real thing. Jake’s appreciative reaction when I finally came downstairs made me happy I’d made the herculean effort.

I want to feel fabulous and strong, that is the only defense I have left against Vin.

He asked me to fucking marry him.

I still can’t shake the feeling I’ll wake up and realize the last few days never happened, just feverish imaginings from the strangest dream I’ve ever had. Last night was the first time I didn’t wake up to the sound of my house creaking from rotten wood. There was enough food in the house that it actually tempted Zion to stay in for the night instead of running around the streets. I hate that money is my greatest weakness, but I can’t ignore that it wouldn’t take much to completely change my life.

It just can’t come from him.

Saying yes isn’t an option.

Vin has spent his entire life getting everything he wants without needing to lift a finger. I refuse to add myself to the long list of his personal possessions.

No matter what he might be offering.

“I wonder what’s in here?” Jake murmurs as he pushes open a door that creaks on its hinges.

Too many years have passed, which is my only excuse. I spent more time in the gardens and grounds of Cortland Manor, rarely coming inside. The layout is vaguely familiar, but I didn’t realize just how far we’ve ventured from the ballroom.

A blast of frigidly cold air blows over my skin as the door swings open, like opening a freezer door in the summer. The manor is always cold, but I don’t understand how anyone can stand this. Giselle keeps the air-conditioning running pretty much every day of the year. She told my mother once that sweating prematurely ages the skin.

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