“Locking everything down when Mr. Pruitt retires extends to everyone in the household.”
Okay.“But Felix invited me over.” I waved the note in the air. “He lives in this building. I’ll be back in just a few hours,” I lied. I was never. Ever. Coming back to this place.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you out.”
“You’re…that’s…isn’t this kidnapping?”
The corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. “If I was allowed to let you out or give you the code, I would. But I can’t. And I almost forgot, I have about ten missed calls and a voicemail for you on my phone from…Matt?”
Oh God.“I’m sorry about that.”
“Is he your boyfriend?”
Why was he so interested in whether or not I had a boyfriend? “No.” My voice came out harsher than I meant for it to. But I didn’t want to have this conversation with him. I wanted to be on the other side of the door.
“Pretty sure he thinks otherwise. Mr. Pruitt will want a full disclosure on all your relationships.”
Ew. No.I stared at Miller. “What did Matt say in his voicemail?”
“Something about needing to talk. And that his lawyer is having trouble finding a loophole. He said he was sorry like ten times.”
I knew I’d asked him what Matt had said in the message. But the fact that he’d listened to it was a little invasive. I was too defeated to care though. A part of me had been holding out hope that Matt’s lawyer would come through, even though Matt never seemed to. Matt had promised I wouldn’t have to stay here. But another broken promise added to the list was no surprise. And honestly, he probably didn’t even care anymore. If the rumors about him were true, he was probably getting over me by working his way through the cheerleading team a second time.
“Are you okay?” asked Miller.
I nodded even though I was anything but okay.
“I’ll mention to Mr. Pruitt that you need a phone.”
“No, that’s…” I let my voice trail off. Honestly, getting a phone would be really nice. Especially if I was trapped here. “That would be great actually. Speaking of which, is there a phone I can use in the house?”
“You can use mine again if you’d like.” He pulled it out of his pocket.
I wasn’t sure why, but this felt like a trap. Was someone going to jump out from behind that antique vase and punish me for accepting the cell phone? “Am I allowed to use your phone?”
“No, not really.”
“I don’t want to get you in trouble.” That was the last thing I wanted to do. Miller was the only one in this house that seemed capable of a genuine smile. I didn’t want to lose that.
The smile that I’d just been thinking about spread across his face. “It’s fine. Really.” He held it out to me.
I wasn’t going to fight with him over this. He was handing me a lifeline and I was going to take it. I called Felix first and let him know I wasn’t allowed to leave. I was very aware of the fact that Miller was staring at me. And because of it, I ended the call sooner than I wanted. “Can I make one more call?” I asked.
Miller nodded.
I dialed the number and held the phone back up to my ear. Kennedy picked up after only one ring.
“Please tell me this is my best friend and she hasn’t been murdered by Isabella yet?”
I laughed. “It’s me. And I’m alive…for now.”
“Oh thank God. I’ve been so worried. I looked all over for you after school ended and you were nowhere to be found. I’ve been answering the phone all day like this by the way. I really freaked out the pizza delivery guy.”
I laughed again. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too. What’s it like there?” asked Kennedy. “Oh wait, let me guess. Creepy as hell?”
“Pretty much.”
