The Wicked Trilogy by S. Massery
Margo
On Saturday,Riley arrives at the Jenkins house early. Early enough to interrupt brunch, which is apparently a tradition. She charms Lenora and Robert, sitting and helping herself to a pancake.
“I was hoping to take Margo to the mall,” she says, smiling at both of them. “Is that okay?”
“Oh, that would be excellent.” Lenora pats my hand.
She’s fond of that.
“I’ll get you some cash. You can pick out some new clothes if you want.”
I manage to smile.
On Friday, after a week of staring at me from afar, Caleb approached. I was sitting on the bench, tying my running shoes on for gym class. My boots and bag were next to me.
It wasn’t fair that he looks perfect in a form-fitting t-shirt and shorts. I felt like a bag of marshmallows beside him.
He lifted my boot, grimacing. “Did they give you these as compensation?” he asked.
I raised my eyebrow, choosing not to answer. Choosing not to start anything. Who knows what he’s talking about, anyway.
But apparently that was the wrong thing to do, because he dug his fingers into my boot and nearly ripped the bottom half of the tread off. I wore my sneakers for the rest of the day, soaked from the rain we were running in.
So, yeah. New boots are in order. But I don’t tell Lenora that. I tossed my boots in the dumpster in the school parking lot, and Robert didn’t notice my disgustingly old sneakers when I met him by the car. He doesn’t seem to notice much.
I wonder if he hears the rumors about me. He works in the art department. More specifically, painting and film. He teaches four different classes of various difficulty, and he likes to discuss what his students are doing over dinner.
Several times this week I’ve had to take a step back and evaluate how far I’ve come. I’m back in my hometown after seven years. I’m going to a fancy school that has classes like Art and the Media and Film in a Digital Age. My foster parents handed me two hundred bucks to go shopping.
Rose Hill is unlike any other place I’ve lived. Just three streets over, I used to live in the guest house of a mansion with my parents. Dad went to work like a normal person, and Mom was the family’s personal chef. Things were normal. I ran with the other kids, got into the prep school on scholarship, loved life. Had friends.
And then things disintegrated.
What started as a dream childhood turned into a nightmare. One I couldn’t wake up from.
Robert catches Riley and I before we leave. “Margo. Would you mind picking up a few paints? And a roll of film.” He hands me a piece of paper with the details.
I tuck it into my pocket. It’s the least I can do for him.
We pile into her car, and I look around it.
“Damn, Riley,” I murmur. “You’ve been hiding your wealth on me.”
She snorts. “No more than you’ve been hiding the Jenkins’ wealth.”
“What’s theirs is not mine,” I say.
She backs out of the driveway, and I turn up the radio. “It’s always been that way.”
“Eh, they seem pretty eager to share. But anyway, the mall is the place to be. Forgive me if you already know that. I know you used to live here, but—”
“It was a long time ago,” I finish. Some streets look familiar, like I used to drive them in a dream. Others… Well, things change, I guess. I’m getting a weird sense of déjà vu. “So, who goes to the mall on Saturday?”
“The most elite of Emery-Rose Elite,” she says, lifting her chin. “And us.”
“We’re on a mission,” I remind her. After a week of subtle threats—the nickname Sheep is sticking like Velcro, unfortunately—and a spike in the number of times my knees have hit the floor, I’m ready for some normalcy.
She turns onto the mall driveway, up a steep hill, and pulls into a parking space near a side entrance. “I need a birthday present for my mom. Something classy. Dad gave me his credit card.”
I shake my head. Imagine a world where someone handed me a credit card and said, Pick something nice out for your mother. We link arms and walk into the mall, and we’re greeted with loud pop music and a lot more people than I was expecting.
“Wow,” I murmur. Some people I automatically recognize from school. I duck my head, pulling Riley to the side. “I’m not ready for this.”
“You totally got this,” she says. “Head high, yeah?”
“I get the urge to turn invisible.”
She shakes her head. “This is your public debut. There are no golden boys here looking down on you—just mean girls and their boyfriends.”
I snort. “I think that’s worse.”
She shrugs. “Arguably. Let’s go check out the makeup. I loved that lip stain you wore the first day.”
I follow Riley from store to store, and the hours creep past. I’m hesitant to spend the money the Jenkinses gave me, but in the end I cave. I walk out of the shoe store with new sneakers and boots, tossing my old sneakers in the trash and lacing on the boots.
They feel like my old pair, immediately soft and comfortable.
“Ready to eat?”
“Only if we can get froyo after,” I say.
For the first time, I feel light. I make a mental note to call Claire and Hanna, to make sure they’re okay. It’s been a week, and I don’t even know where they might’ve been placed.
“Do you ever think of seeing your dad?” Riley asks.
We grab food and find an empty table.
“No.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Okay, that was a snappy answer. So, you’ve obviously thought about it.”
I lift one shoulder. Mom’s been MIA for years, and I’ve known exactly where Dad is… until he gets released. And then I’m assuming he’ll be in the wind, too. “I don’t want to talk about this. Sorry.”
“Uh-oh, Margo,” Riley says. “Incoming.”
The temperature in the room drops by ten degrees.
I twist in my seat, staring at the escalator. Four gorgeous boys lean on the railings, in various poses, on the way down. Liam, Eli, and Theo are joking around… but Caleb’s already found me.
Somehow.
His eyes bore into mine, and I’m surprised at how much it hurts.
I turn back around, focusing on my food, and hold my breath.
It’s unnecessary, because they quickly join a group of girls. I zero in on Caleb again, who lifts a pretty blonde out of her seat and puts her on his lap. My heart spasms.
“Is that—”
“Savannah Dunley? Yep.” Riley sounds pained. Maybe because Eli is glaring at her, and Caleb is now completely ignoring my existence.
“She and I—”
“Used to be friends? I guess that was one of the rumors that was true.” She gives me a half-smile, shoving a bite of food in her mouth.
“Her and Caleb?”
“They used to date,” she says, covering her mouth with her hand as she chews. “It was a quick thing. Kind of unmonumental, if you ask me.”
I shift. “I haven’t seen her. Since I’ve been back.”
“I heard she was gone last week.” Riley shrugs. “Her family goes on random, luxurious and spontaneous trips. She’ll be back on Monday spinning stories of swimming with dolphins or having a private tour of the Taj Mahal.”
“That’s…” I wrinkle my nose. “Lavish.”
“She’s one of the lucky ones.” Riley sighs. “Trust me, if my parents could donate a building to the school, I’m sure they’d let me go for weeks at a time, too. She does half of her coursework online. Just watch, she’ll be here maybe four days of the five, every other week.”
“Why doesn’t Caleb do that?” I ask. “It’d certainly make our lives easier.”
I can’t help but turn and watch him. He leans in, talking in Savannah’s ear, and her cheeks are a pale shade of pink. Whatever he’s saying, she seems almost embarrassed by it.
Her eyes flash to me, hatred so blinding that I drop my fork.
It clatters to the floor, and I draw eyes. All of them.
“Fuck,” I mutter, diving for it.
When I straighten, Caleb is in front of me.
I have to crane my head back to see his face.
He doesn’t touch me, just stares. I can’t decide if it’s better or worse. “You’re clumsy, Sheep.”
I scowl at him. “I—”
“You—what? No one asked for your excuses.”
“Jesus.”
He grabs my wrist, squeezing so tight my bones grind together. “This is how you hold on to something. Go ahead. Try to break free.”
I stare at him, tugging on my arm.
His fingers hold fast. I stand up and yank, but he doesn’t let go. And then he’s walking me backward, twisting my arm behind my back. A twinge of pain travels up my arm, and I bend to relieve it.
“Caleb—”
“Beg.”
I stare up at him. “Are you serious?”
“You want it to stop?” He pulls on my wrist, inching me closer to him. “You want me to let you go?”
I shake my head. Helplessness crawls along my skin.
He yanks my arm up higher behind my back, until I’m doubled over in front of him. My face is level with his groin.
A sudden shot of fear bleeds through me.
“Please,” I whisper. “Please let me go.”
He drops my wrist, stepping back and grunting in disgust. Something flashes in his eyes—like he’s angrier that I’ve given in to him. And yeah, maybe I should’ve stayed strong. Maybe I should fight the bully next time and make an even bigger scene.
The whole food court is staring at us.
But will they reprimand him? No. He’s Caleb Asher, heir to a Rose Hill fortune. If his business up and moved out of the county, how many jobs would be lost? How many people would that devastate?
Just another thing I learned in my first week at Emery-Rose Elite.
He winds through the tables back to his friends like nothing happened. I glare at his back, hoping he can feel it like I feel his gaze. He’s unfazed. And when he sits back down, he leans into Savannah and kisses her.
Their lips part, and his tongue invades her mouth. They aren’t so much kissing as… he’s invading her.
Conquering her.
He must get off on that shit. Or he’s doing it to drive another nail into my heart, because my whole body feels like I’m drowning.
I glance over at Riley. “We need to leave.”
She smiles sadly. “Yeah, figured you’d say that.”
“I just need to get the paint, and then we should go.”
We do that, and I practically drag Riley to her car. He’s probably still lording over the food court, but I can’t stop looking over my shoulder. My wrist is bright red, but my pride hurts worse.
“Hey, Applebottom.”
Riley turns instinctively, her face shuttering when she sees Eli. Her grip on me is tight, her skin clammy.
“Where you running off to?”
“Just leave us alone,” I say to him.
He’s sinfully handsome, the yin to Caleb’s yang. Dark eyes, light hair, pale skin. He’s shorter than Caleb, bulkier. I wonder what position he must play, if he’s as fast as—
Stop thinking about him.
“Come with me,” Eli orders.
Riley casts a scared, wide-eyed look in my direction.
“Just you, Applebottom. I don’t really care about your friend.”
I scowl at him, but surprise radiates through me when Riley releases my arm.
“I’ll be okay.” Riley follows Eli around the corner of the building. She doesn’t even leave me her keys.
I drop my bags next to her car, leaning against the bumper.
When she returns, her eyes are red and glassy. Her hair is a little messed up.
I straighten, going straight for her. “What happened?”
“N-nothing. He just wanted to t-talk.”
“Uh-huh,” I say. “What’d he want to talk about?”
“Nothing.” She straightens her shoulders. “Let’s go home.”
I sigh. I get it. I don’t want to talk about my encounters with Caleb after they happen, because sometimes it just hurts too much to relive it. Maybe in a few days she’ll spill. But until then, I’m not going to mess with her. Or our friendship.
