Private 10 - Suspicion (18 page)

"I never understood why you learned to give pedicures," I said as I took a seat in the chair. The muscles in my feet let out an almost audible sigh as the warm, bubbly water closed around them. "Don't you guys all go to salons to get them done?"

"My mother has this woman Charlotte come in and do her nails every week, and when I was a kid I was kinda fascinated by it, so she taught me," Taylor said with a shrug. Her blond curls were held back with a skinny black headband, and she wore a black spaghetti-strap nightgown with eyelet cutouts at the hem. She grabbed the bottle of polish she had mixed for me and shook it up, inspecting it closely as the polishes incorporated.

"It came in handy at Billings when there was too much snow to go out and nothing else to do," Kiran said, dropping onto my bed and reaching for a chocolate from one of the many open boxes we had tossed there.

"Ah, Billings. I can't wait to get home," Tiffany said, tilting her head back as Amberly filed her fingernails.

Kiran and Taylor exchanged a look. They had left Billings last year, never to return. I wondered if, all protestations aside, they actually missed it. I'd only been kicked out for a month, and I definitely had.

"I've been thinking about it, and Reed, I think you should move in with me," Noelle said. She dropped onto the bed near the pillows, sending the boxes of chocolates--and Kiran--bouncing.

"What?" we all blurted in unison.

"You're going to give up your single?" Tiffany demanded, sitting up so fast Amberly dropped the emery board.

Noelle rolled her eyes like it was no big deal. "I can't make her and Amberly live together. They'll kill each other."

There was an uncomfortable silence, filled only by the sound of the bubbling foot spa. My last roommate had, after all, tried to kill me. At this point there could be a club--a small, very exclusive club--of people who'd tried to off Reed Brennan. I wondered what the meetings would be like--Ariana, Sabine, and Mrs. Ryan all gathered in the same room comparing notes. The very idea made me shudder.

"Bad choice of words," Noelle said. "But you know what I mean. We'll just move Astrid in with Amberly and get those girls out of that horrid triple, and Reed can live with me."

"Areyou sure?" I asked.

"Clearly someone has to be looking out for you at all times," Noelle said, flipping open a copy of Vanity Fair on the comforter in front of her. "Who else is going to do it? Besides, if it wasn't for me convincing you to stay after the whole near-drowning episode, you wouldn't have even been here to get kidnapped. I think that makes you my responsibility." She said this all very cavalierly, like it wasn't the biggest deal, but I knew her. I knew she never would have said a word about it if she didn't feel horribly guilty. Of course, it wasn't her fault. Not really. I made my own decisions. I was the one who had decided to stay. But I didn't say it. Dwelling on it would probably just piss her off.

Everyone looked at me. It was as if Noelle was asking me to the prom in front of all our friends and everyone watching was on the edge of their seats, wondering if I was going to break her heart. While I doubted that Noelle had anything emotionally invested in what I was going to say next, I felt suddenly nervous.

"Um, okay," I said.

"Cool!" Amberly blurted, then turned beet red.

Everyone laughed. Clearly she wanted to room with me about as much as I wanted to room with her. Suddenly I found myself looking forward to getting back to school. I couldn't wait to move back to Billings, to settle in with Noelle. Living with her was going to be amazing. I just knew it. And even if it wasn't, it couldn't be worse than living in that crappy single in Pemberly.

"Then it's settled. But I get the bed by the window," Noelle said, lifting a finger.

"Of course you do," Kiran replied with a touch of sarcasm.

"Oh, turn this up! I love this song!" Amberly gushed, waving a hand at the iPod. Kiran got up and strolled over to the dock, cranking up the volume. It was some doofy pop song I couldn't believe Noelle had downloaded, but before I could make a crack about it, Amberly was singing along, bopping her head to the music as she filed Tiffany's nails. Soon the rest of us were watching her, trying not to burst out laughing so she would continue obliviously, amusing us for as long as possible. Finally she must have realized how quiet we had all become, because she looked up at us and turned pink all over again.

"What? I'magood singer!"

We all burst out laughing, and Kiran tossed me a piece of chocolate. As I sat back to enjoy my pedicure, I looked around at my friends and realized this was the last time we'd all be together for a long time-maybe even forever. For a split second it felt like old times. Like the 189

days when Ariana was my friend--before I knew what she had done to Thomas, before she had threatened my life. It felt like those rare nights when we were all hanging out, letting go, keeping the outside world at bay.

I missed those times. But maybe I could have them again. Not with the same people, of course, but still. I was headed back to school. Back to Billings. And while a lot of my relationships there needed some serious repairing, after everything I'd been through on this trip, the fact that my Billings sisters had wrongfully ousted me no longer seemed like the biggest deal. Soon I would be home. I'd be back with my friends. With no one stalking me or trying to kill me or playing stupid pranks on me. My life had been saved on that island, and this was why. So that I could go back. So that I could go back to where I belonged. 

NEW STUDENTS

Once again, my bags were piled by the door, but this time they were joined by Noelle's, tripling the size of the pile. We were going home this afternoon. Finally. When I had first arrived on St. Barths I couldn't imagine ever wanting to leave. Now every inch of my body itched for the door, the car, the plane. I just wanted to get back to normal. Then Upton squeezed my hand. I looked at him and my heart contracted. "Can I take you with me?" I whispered.

"I wish I could come," he replied. "But I promise I'll visit you soon."

"No whispering at the table," Noelle interjected. "You two lovebirds are so rude." I blushed and glanced around at the parents on the other side of the brunch table, all of whom were now looking at us either with amusement or approbation. Noelle was obviously kidding, but it was still embarrassing.

"Reed, could you pass the fruit, please?" Sawyer asked, breaking the silence and giving me something to do. I released Upton's hand and passed Sawyer the big frosted-glass bowl.

"Thanks," he said, looking me in the eye.

I smiled back gratefully. "Thankyou."

Mr. Lange cleared his throat and stood up from his seat at the end of the table. He was wearing a pink oxford shirt tucked into perfectly pressed chinos, looking every bit the casual businessman. As he stood, he lifted his mimosa glass at his side.

"Everyone, if I could have your attention for a brief moment, I have an announcement to make," he said.

I glanced past Upton at Noelle, who lifted one shoulder in bemusement. What was all this about?

"These last two weeks--the last few months, really--have been a trying time for all of us," Mr. Lange began, glancing in my direction. "But with a new year comes a fresh start, and the board of directors at Easton Academy has made a move that I believe will help usher in a whole new era at our beloved school."

Across the table from Graham and Sawyer, Mr. Hathaway was touching his napkin to his lips, clearly trying to hide behind it.

"I'm happy that you will all be the first to know that Spencer Hathaway has accepted the position of headmaster of Easton Academy," Mr. Lange announced. "And that his two fine boys will be the newest additions to the student body."

"Noway," I blurted, looking at Sawyer. "You're going to Easton?" Sawyer nodded, pushing his hands into the napkin across his lap.

The Langes and the Gileses applauded, and Upton got up to congratulate Mr. Hathaway. Noelle went over and gave Mr. Hathaway a kiss on the cheek, then paused by Graham's chair on the way back.

"You two sure you can hang with us?" she joked.

"I think we can handle it," Graham said, taking a bite of his bacon. Sawyer didn't look quite as confident, though.

"What's wrong? Nervous about starting a new school?" I asked.

"I guess," he said, looking down at his plate. "It sucks, switching over midyear."

"Well, don't worry about it. You already have friends there, so that's a good thing," I said, glancing at Noelle. "And I'm sure with your dad as the headmaster, you guys will get placed in one of the good dorms."

"Which ones are the good ones?" Graham asked, on the edge of his seat. Noelle lowered herself into Upton's now vacant chair to be closer to us. "Well, for guys it's Ketlar. You definitely want to be in Ketlar. If anyone utters the word Drake, run in the opposite direction."

"What's wrong with Drake? " Sawyer asked.

"Nothing," I said, rolling my eyes. "Everyone just thinks there is."

"Whatever," Noelle said. "Little Miss Brightside here likes to believe everyone is created equal. You'd think she'd be over that by now."

"What dorm are you guys in?" Graham asked, turning sideways in his chair, his sport jacket falling open to reveal his somewhat wrinkled white shirt.

"Billings House," I replied.

"The best house on campus. We'll introduce you to our housemates. We have a few single girls on the prowl," Noelle added with a wink, taking a sip of her mimosa.

"Noelle? Could I see you for a moment, please?" Mrs. Lange asked from the other side of the table. Her cell phone was open and she held her hand over the receiver. "I'm on with Bliss and they need to update your information."

"Coming, Mother," Noelle replied.

I watched her go, wondering for the millionth time at the oddities of Mrs. Lange's behavior. Here she was, hosting a brunch--a celebratory brunch, as it turned out--and everyone was busy chatting up the guest of honor while she was on the phone booking spa appointments.

"You know, Noelle's dad and my dad were talking about Billings last night," Sawyer said, pushing his eggs around with his fork. "They were in my dad's office on the phone with someone on speaker. I could only hear one end of the conversation because the volume wasn't cranked up that loud, but the word Billings definitely came up a few times."

"What were they saying?" I asked.

"I don't know, but it didn't sound good," Sawyer replied, glancing warily at his dad and Mr. Lange. "Noelle's dad seemed pissed and my father kept trying to calm him down." Suddenly my heart felt like it was shrinking inside of me, bouncing around like a PingPong ball. What could this possibly mean? I leaned closer to the table and Sawyer, and kept my voice down.

"Can you remember anything specific? Were they talking about splitting us up?" I asked, my hand flat on the table, my palm sweating. Sawyer's eyes darted around, like he was suddenly nervous. My tension was rubbing off.

"I don't know. My dad kept saying, 'We understand,' over and over again. And there was something about a media crisis. . . ." He shrugged, but then his face lit up. "And oh yeah," he whispered. "Toward the end I definitely heard Noelle's dad agree it was for the good of the school. Although he didn't seem that happy about whatever it was." I swallowed hard. Usually "for the good of the school" was not a good sign for the Billings Girls. I looked up at Noelle, who was chatting merrily with her mother, and a chill went through me. What had her dad and Mr. Hathaway decided with whoever was on the phone? And did she know about it?

I decided right then and there that I was not going to ask. If she didn't know about it, she would grill me for information I didn't have. It would be better to just wait until we were back at Easton. I was sure that whatever it was, we would find a way to fix it. We'd have to. There was no way I was going back to Pemberly. Not now.

Besides, maybe Sawyer had misheard. Or I was misinterpreting. Anything was possible. And it wasn't worth getting all stressed over without knowing the details.

"Hey."

Upton's warm hand touched the back of my neck and his other hand clasped Sawyer's shoulder.

"Mind if I steal her away?" Upton asked.

Sawyer turned back to his plate, his spine curling forward slightly under Upton's grip. "Go ahead."

"Thanks, mate." He slapped Sawyer once on the back. "Let's go for a walk," he said, offering me his hand now. "It's gorgeous out, and I want you all to myself for a little while before you leave."

I took a deep breath and exhaled, blowing out all the stress about Billings and Easton. There was nothing I could do about it now, and I wasn't going to let potentially imaginary drama ruin my last couple of hours with Upton.

"Sounds perfect," I said, taking his hand.