Page 2 of Promising You
“It’s no problem. I don’t mind playing with her.”
“Yes, well, she’s used to playing by herself, so don’t feel like you have to entertain her.”
“Really, it’s no problem. I like—”
“Hey, there you are.” Garret walks past Katherine into Lilly’s room. “Did Lilly wake you up?”
Before I can answer, Katherine does. “Yes, she did. I’ll have a talk with her. It won’t happen again.”
“It’s okay,” Garret says. “I’m sure Jade didn’t mind.”
“No. Not at all,” I say, going over to stand next to Garret.
“Still, Lilly knows better than to go into someone’s room like that,” Katherine says as she glares at the two of us. She hates seeing Garret and me together.
In the past, Garret’s girlfriends were chosen for him based on how the girl would benefit the family and the family name. Then I came along and changed all that which infuriates Katherine.
Garret’s dad seems to have accepted the fact that I’m dating his son. Or at least he acts like he does, especially now, after the scene that happened downstairs almost a week ago. A scene witnessed only by Garret, his dad, and me. A scene that might have changed the future of the United States.
Garret’s dad shot and killed Royce Sinclair, the frontrunner nominee for the next presidential election. I’d just learned that Sinclair was my father—the man who raped my mother years ago, resulting in me.
Last week, Sinclair showed up here with a gun, planning to kill me to wipe away the evidence of the horrible crime he committed years ago. He also tried to kill Garret, which I’m sure is the real reason Mr. Kensington shot Sinclair dead.
The incident took place in the study, a room just off the foyer. After it happened, a crew of people came in and cleaned up the scene. The story that came out in the media said that Sinclair committed suicide back at his estate in Virginia.
Mr. Kensington ordered me to never speak of the incident again. After that, he welcomed me to the family. Normally that would sound like a good thing. After all, the guy tried to break Garret and me apart for most of last semester, so I should’ve been thrilled when he welcomed me to the family. But the tone he used when he said it was eerie. It was like it had some hidden meaning. Like I’d been initiated into some secret club. A club I’m sure I don’t want to be part of. And there was a finality to the way he said it. As if I would be forever tied to this family after witnessing the scene in the study.
“So what are you two doing today?” Katherine asks as she nervously smooths her long blond hair with her hand. The woman always seems on edge.
“I don’t know yet,” Garret says. “Maybe we’ll do something with Lilly. Jade and I could take her sledding.”
“You know that’s not a good idea.” Katherine’s tone is harsh, almost like she’s scolding Garret for even offering up the idea.
“I didn’t mean we’d go somewhere. I just meant here on the property.”
She considers it. “I suppose that would be okay. I’m taking her to ballet soon, but we’ll be back in the afternoon.” Katherine turns and walks out.
“What’s with her?” I whisper to Garret. “She acts like Lilly can’t even leave the house.”
Garret checks the door to make sure Katherine is gone, then leads me over to Lilly’s bed to sit down. “I told you my dad has a lot of enemies, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So because of that, Lilly is a target. If they want to get back at him, they’ll go after Lilly.”
“Are you serious? Like they’d try to kidnap her or what?”
“Kidnap her. Hurt her. Bad shit. We basically can’t let her out of our sight.”
“That’s horrible. Has anything ever happened?”
“When Lilly was a baby, they had a nanny taking care of her. One day the nanny said she was taking Lilly to the park, but the woman never came back. She took her. My dad had to use his connections and pay a shitload of ransom money to get Lilly back. After that, they never hired another nanny.”
“What about friends? Can she have friends over to play?”
“After what happened with the nanny, Katherine doesn’t trust anyone to be around Lilly. So she doesn’t really have any friends. She doesn’t even go to regular school. She has a private tutor who comes to the house.”
“No wonder Lilly’s so desperate for a playmate. That’s so sad. I should play with her more.”
