Page 19 of Bittersweet Legacy

“I don’t understand.”

“You will,” she sighed, running her hands back and forth on her steering wheel. “They will push you, test your limits and if they find a weakness…” she trailed off.

“They’ll go in for the kill.”

She nodded with a grimace. “That’s what makes them feel alive, belittling everyone who’s not them.”

“Did- did they do that to you?” I asked, hating the idea of anyone hurting this happy-go-lucky girl.

She chuckled but the hurt flashing in her eyes was hard to miss. “Nah. Oppenheimer, remember?”

“Ah yes,” I laughed. “See you tomorrow?”

She nodded. “Yes, friend. See you then.”

Chapter 5

Taylor Oppenheimer was a lot of things but one thing stood out – she was a godsend. She was waiting for me the next day as my silent brother parked the car and left me behind without a look back. Well, truth be told he warned me I didn't exist in his world from the first day we met, he was just keeping true to his words.

She looked at his retreating back before rolling her eyes and joining me, intertwining our arms together.

“Stand straighter,” she nudged me, “head high. You belong here, my dear, don’t let them say otherwise.”

I don’t want to belong here,I thought, but refrained from saying so because it would be a rejection of her as much as it was a rejection of this life.

I was building a plan for my future in my head, a plan that would help me until graduation. They didn’t have to love me and I didn’t have to love them. We just needed to co-exist for a few months.

I knew the school internet was very limited and we couldn't access any social media, but I could check universities, their scholarship programs and I could start building a resume, build a life after Brentwood – I’ll move away, get a part-time job and have Luke move in with me, it would be like nothing ever happened. I would go back to being Esme Danvers and leave the Forbes and all this ‘Patrician’ business behind.

We sat together at the back of the room shortly followed by Caleb and Archie – theWonder Twins,as I mentally called them. They looked at me with matching glares and I met their eyes with the brightest smile I could muster.

“Hi boys!” I waved at them, making their scowls deepen before they took their seats a few rows ahead of us.

Tay looked down at her book and chuckled. “Good one.”

I winked at her. “Yeah, thought so.”

“But I advised you to ignore them, not antagonize them.”

I shrugged.

Taylor sighed. “I know putting fuel on the fire can be fun, but it can get to a point where you can’t control it anymore and end up being burned. Just –”

“Be careful?” I tried, not feeling like laughing anymore at the seriousness of her tone.

She nodded. “Your brother, he wouldn’t push it too far – he is too scared of daddy dearest to hurt his precious newly found daughter.” She shook her head. “But Astor,” she shivered, I didn’t think it was voluntary. “I’m not sure he even has hard limits. He enjoys watching people bleed.”

“Figuratively?”

“Sure… right.”

I looked at Caleb again, having a hard time believing that he could be so bad. He had the kind of looks you would grant absolution to without even hearing his confession. He looked like the perfect little angel.

As if he could feel my eyes on him, Caleb turned around, raising a challenging eyebrow at me. I kept up with his eyes, not giving him the upper hand until the teacher called the class to order and he turned back.

I looked down at my book with a sigh of relief before meeting Taylor’s questioning glance which I answered with a shrug. I wasn’t sure what his beef was with me but I didn't care enough to find out.

Having Taylor in most of my classes helped, as I didn’t have to be the weird new girl that people looked at with either animosity or curiosity. I could concentrate on her and her happy chatter.

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