Page 364 of Filthy Elites

Mom is only joking, but Hannah and I both stop smiling.

I let go of Mom’s shoulder and join Hannah in the kitchen. “Thank you again,” I say seriously. “This was beyond amazing of you.”

“Really, it was no trouble at all,” she assures me.

“Are you sure?” I ask, not because of all the work she did, but because of the other things. “You won’t get in trouble, will you? Does your stepmom know where you are?”

“No. It doesn’t matter.” I don’t get the idea it’s the truth, just that she doesn’t want to talk about it. To change the subject, she holds out a bowl of soup with a thick slice of bread sticking out of it. “Careful. It’s hot.”

I accept the soup and the subject change, but as I sit at the table and eat the food she made for me, I start to think about all the reasons I should not have called her. It was selfish to do it, a moment of weakness because I was just completely fucking depleted. I’m always the one taking care of someone, and right then, I needed someone to take care of me.

But I shouldn’t have asked that of her.

I know I’ve potentially put her in harm’s way—in more than one scenario, even.

Hannah walks me down the hall to show me around the sparkling clean bathroom and tell me the load of clothes she washed is in the dryer.

Standing in the bathroom mirror, I think more about what she said. “Your mom doesn’t—”

“Stepmom,” she interrupts, shaking her head. “That awful woman is not my mother.”

“Oh. Yeah, I’m sorry, I meant stepmom.” I shake my head, feeling dumb. Hannah is rarely testy about things, so I feel even worse. “You said you clean your whole house. Don’t they have maids?”

Hannah shakes her head, but the sparkle goes out of her eyes. “What do they need to pay someone for when they have me?” she asks lightly. “My dad left everything to her when he died because she was his wife, and he thought she would take care of me. She lets me live in my own house, but I have to effectively play housekeeper and wait on them hand and foot for an allowance.”

“That’s horrible. I’m so sorry, Hannah.”

She shrugs, putting a smile back on her pretty face. “At least I’ve gotten efficient. Look how quickly I got this whole place cleaned.”

I shake my head. Then I think about all the stuff she made for us today. I don’t even think we had all those ingredients, so she must have bought them herself—and she’s not rich like I thought, she just lives in a big house that was basically stolen from her.

I look down guiltily and feel the chain of my necklace move across my skin.

I touch it.

I’d forgotten that was there.

I don’t know how after last night.

Anae’strophy.

I unhook it from around my neck. Hannah watches, instinctively putting her hand up to catch it when I offer it to her.

“What’s this?” she asks.

“Dare bought it for me. It’s from Dior, so it’s probably expensive. Take it. Maybe you can sell it and get some money. You should have something for yourself.”

“Oh, no, I can’t take your necklace…”

“Please.” I insist, closing her hand around it. “I want you to have it.”

She looks up at me. “Are you sure Dare won’t get mad?”

I shrug. “I doubt it. If he thinks I’d still want it after last night, he’s crazier than I realize.” Obviously, she doesn’t understand what the pretty necklace reminds me of now, so I offer a brief explanation. “From what I’ve gleaned, Anae picked it out. Dare bought it for me, but told her she could have it as a ‘trophy’ after they killed me.”

Hannah loses a shade of color. “What?”

“He didn’t mean it, he was playing her, but…”

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