Page 267 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol 4
I wasn’t at all surprised when Matt stood up and walked toward the door without saying a word to me. But he turned his head at the last second and glanced at me. I’d recognize the look on his face anywhere. Pity. It’s how everyone looked at me after my mom died. But he didn’t know anything about my mom. He actually didn’t know a single thing about me. And I didn’t need his pity. I didn’t need anything from him. Not in this classroom. Not ever.
“Later, Brook,” Charlotte said and followed Matt out of the classroom.
“Brooklyn,” I croaked. “My name is Brooklyn,” I corrected again, not that anyone was listening to me. Charlotte was right. I didn’t fit in here. It was one thing for the other students to hate me. It was another for my teacher to pick on me too. I rushed out of the classroom.
I gathered my things from my locker and shoved them into my backpack. Fuck entrepreneurial studies. Fuck Matt. And fuck Empire High. I was done with this school. I didn’t have any intention of coming back. I was going home.
I heard the click of Kennedy’s camera but ignored it.
“Why are you emptying out your locker?” she asked.
I didn’t respond.
She leaned against the adjacent locker. “Cold shoulder, huh? I get it,” she said with a sigh. “I owe you an apology for earlier. It’s just…freshman year I thought Felix liked me. And for like five minutes I maybe sorta liked him back because…it’s hard not to like the guy. It turned out he just wanted to sell me pot though. I guess I’m still a little bitter about it.” She grabbed my hand to stop me from shoving more stuff into my backpack. “Seriously, Brooklyn, what are you doing? I said I was sorry.”
“I can’t do this anymore.” The tears I’d been holding back for the past hour were seconds away from spilling over.
“Can’t do what? What happened?”
I shook my head and the dam burst. Tears cascaded down my cheeks.
Kennedy closed my locker before I could pack anything else up and pulled me to the restroom. I thought she was going to ask me a million questions. Instead she just hugged me.
She hugged me while I cried. And cried. And cried some more.
I was an idiot. Because instead of appreciating that someone had my back, I was just sad that Matt hadn’t followed me into yet another bathroom to see if I was okay. I cried even harder.
Everything Charlotte had said was true. Matthew Caldwell was a god at this high school. And all I’d ever be to someone like him was a joke. Clearly.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Kennedy asked as she rubbed her hand up and down my back.
“There’s not much to talk about.” I sniffed and pulled away from her embrace. “Matt didn’t talk to me in class. Not even a hello. And he just sat there while Isabella’s underling, Charlotte, berated me for five minutes. I don’t know what happened. Matt just pretended I didn’t exist. And then Mr. Hill yelled at me for talking during class and I had to read out loud for an hour.”
Kennedy cringed. “So which one should I kill first…Charlotte, Matt, or Mr. Hill?”
I laughed.
“See, you’re better already. Fuck them,” she said and pulled me back into a hug. “Who needs any of them?”
“I really just want to go home,” I said, ignoring her question. Because the truth was that I needed Matthew Caldwell. He was the only one here that made it feel like my heart hadn’t stopped beating after I buried my mother. And I couldn’t let go of the feeling he gave me or else I’d be drowning again. As I stood there crying in the bathroom, I realized it was already too late. I’d been lying to myself the whole time anyway. I was drowning. I’d been drowning for weeks.
“Then let’s go home.”
She didn’t get it. I didn’t want to go back to my uncle’s apartment. I wanted to go home to Delaware. Where people had known me my whole life and smiled at me when I walked by instead of sneering. I wanted to sit on my mother’s grave and tell her about my shitty day. I was too far away from her here. And I didn’t know how much longer I could keep going with so much distance between us.
Untouchable - Chapter 8
Friday
I pushed my sweaty bangs off my forehead as we started our fourth mile.
“Are you coming tonight?” Felix asked. He didn’t seem out of breath even though he still preferred the bleachers. Today he didn’t have a choice though because the rest of our gym class was playing frisbee golf outside. Coach Carter had a clear view of the bleachers and the track.
I wanted to go to his party. Despite what Kennedy seemed to think, Felix was a genuinely nice guy. Every day since he’d first talked to me on the bleachers he kept talking to me. Which apparently was a rarity when it came to Empire High. I tried to shove the thoughts of Matt aside. I wasn’t sure why one stupid moment in a bathroom had gotten under my skin. Matt was an asshole. Ever since Monday, he’d pretended I didn’t exist. Like I was as invisible as I always felt. Each day that went by, it hurt a little less. It wasn’t like I even really knew him. Besides, I was used to living in pain. What did one more scar on my heart matter? I just wished he’d never talked to me at all.
Felix on the other hand? I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. Kind, sweet, handsome.Drug dealer.“Who else is invited?” I asked.
He smiled. “That means you’re coming.”
