Page 83 of No One But Us

“Of course not. I haven’t told anybody,” I spitout.

James’ worried eyes meet mine, reminding me that I did tell someone. I told the police, who told special counsel, and God knows whoelse.

“Look,” he says, “just avoid reading the papers, and if you get calls from the media, tell them you have noresponse.”

“As long as he tells the truth. But I’m not letting him destroy myreputation.”

“Eleanor, youhaveno reputation because no one knows who you are. Or cares. Therefore your ‘reputation’ doesn’t matter. But mine does. We’re on the cusp of recovering here. I get that job and you can have your allowance back and your credit card and everything else. And it’s probably time we got you a car. Everything is turning around is what I’m telling you. As long as you don’t mess itup.”

I sit back, momentarily speechless. “So basically you’re trying to buy mysilence.”

“Jesus,” he snorts. “Must everything be such a drama with you? Maybe you should be looking at a career on Broadway instead of thenews.”

“Explain to me how I’m wrong,” I reply. “You just told me that no matter what Edward says about me, I’m supposed to stay quiet, and if I do I get an allowance and acar.”

“That isnotwhat I said,” he snarls. “I need towork. I don’t know who you think is paying for Cornell next year if both your mother and I are unemployed, but unless you want to stay in Delaware waiting tables for the rest of your life, you’d better stop acting like a child and get with the program. It’s not just my life that turns to shit if this doesn’thappen.”

“Good talking to you as always, Dad,” I say as I hang up, feeling so sick I barely have the heart to meet James’eyes.

“It’s because of the restraining order, isn’t it?” he asksquietly.

I shake my head. “I don’t know forsure.”

“He has no other reason to be going on the defensive like this,” James says. “Elle...I’m so fucking sorry. What are you going todo?”

“I have no idea,” I tell him. My voice is empty. “I guess I’ll ask Corinne if she knows anything.” What I want to do is fall asleep until this whole summer is behind me. This, in combination with leaving James, feels like the laststraw.

* * *

Corinne does some double checking. She confirms that there have been murmurs in the press about the restraining order. Edward’s PR team is trying to get his story out ahead ofit.

“Do you know what he’s going to say?” I askher.

“I’ll try to find out,” she says. “But my guess is he’s either going to blame you, or make you sound crazy. And neither of those is particularly good foryou.”

Chapter 49

JAMES

She is killing me.

Everything changed after we had that fight. She is wary of me now, and I want to beg her to come back, to be the girl who looked at me the way she did before, the one who trusted me. I could tell her the truth, except in the end, we’re still going to end up apart. Is knowing I care about her really enough to offset the knowledge that her mother and my father planned to run off together at one point? Like she doesn’t have enough to dealwith.

Right now the things that distress her about her mother are rumors. It feels entirely different once they’re confirmed. I should know. I feel like I never want to hear my father’s voiceagain.

For Elle’s sake, though, Iwill.

I call my father and tell him about the article. Nearly half of their practice is defending celebrities, threatening whoever they must to keep stories quiet. Usually they’re defending the guilty. Since Elle is innocent, I’m guessing shutting this story down should be a walk in the park compared to other things they’vequelled.

Unsurprisingly, my father stillrefuses.

“Is this a joke?” he asks. “You know precisely why I can’t helpher.”

“It’s going to ruin her, Dad. She’s going to spend the rest of her fucking life trying to live thisdown.”

“What they’re going to do is compare her to her mother,” he says. “Even if I wanted to help her, I can’t. Your mom has suffered enough, and this would open everything right backup.”

* * *

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