“It’s fine, darling. Come eat with us.”
Isabella looked shocked by his term of endearment. She used to call me that when we first met. But not in a nice way. The wayMr. Pruitt said it reminded me of how my mom used to say it to me. There wasn’t a hint of evil behind it. He sounded almost loving. And I had a weird feeling that maybe he used to call my mom that too. And that maybe she called me that because it reminded her of him.
“Are you deaf?” Isabella said. “Don’t just stand there when Daddy tells you to join us.”
Mr. Pruitt shot her a harsh stare.
I hurried over to my seat, trying to ignore the fact that I was in a robe and slippers and they were all fully dressed. I was sure Mrs. Pruitt was displeased, but I made sure not to look at her. “This looks great,” I said as I stared at the normal breakfast buffet. It was too much food. What did they always do with the leftovers?
“So are we allowed to eat breakfast in our pajamas now, Daddy?” Isabella asked.
“No,” her mother said. “We’re not troglodytes.”
At least as I sunk lower in my seat I was comfortable because my robe was so lush.
“Have you even given her the rules to sign yet?” Mrs. Pruitt asked. “Or will homeless-casual be the new dress code for all of our meals? We have to raise both of them with the same rules, Richard.”
“She’ll sign them once she’s read over them,” he said, seemingly oblivious to her hateful tone.
“It’s okay, I actually did sign them,” I said. “I’ll go get them now.” I doubted anyone protested, but I wouldn’t have known because I practically ran out of the room. Once I got upstairs, I quickly changed into clothes that would be suitable for the homecoming game. I opened up one of my boxes that I hadn’t unpacked yet so I could find my Keds. But the first thing I saw on top was Matt’s varsity jacket. I tried to swallow down the lump in my throat, but it wouldn’t go away. I’d never even gotten a chance to wear it.
In a different world, I’d be wearing it today. I’d be cheering him on from the crowd. But I wasn’t even sure if he’d show up to play. And I wasn’t exactly in a cheering mood. For him or anyone else at Empire High. Honestly, I was surprised that Kennedy still wanted to go.
I tried to shove the thoughts aside, along with the jacket, as I pulled out my Keds. Mrs. Pruitt would hate them as much as Isabella did. And for some reason I found that wonderfully pleasing. I laced them up, grabbed the signed stack of papers, and headed back downstairs.
“Here you go,” I said and handed Mr. Pruitt the papers, trying my best to ignore the evil ladies of the house staring at my shoes.
“Splendid. I’ll update the will immediately.” He snapped his fingers and a staff member I hadn’t met before appeared. “Have this sent over to my lawyer at once,” he said.
“Your will, Daddy?”
“Yes.” He took a sip of his coffee. He was so calm when all I felt in the room was building tension.
“You have to be joking,” Mrs. Pruitt said.
“I’m not. I have two daughters now, and I’m splitting my will accordingly.”
“Without discussing it with me first?”
“If either of you say another word I’ll alter the will a third time, and I promise you that you won’t be pleased.”
Mrs. Pruitt’s jaw actually dropped. I would have reached across the table and pushed it back into place, but that was probably against the rules. Besides, I was a little shocked myself. “It’s okay,” I said. “You don’t have to update it at all. I don’t want anything.”
“Which is exactly why I’m updating it. You haven’t used your Amex card once since I’ve given it to you. Do you have any idea how much these two spend in a week?”
“Richard…”
“I’ve already made up my mind,” he snapped. Instead of throwing his coffee mug against the wall like I expected him to do, he just drank another sip calmly. “I’m going to call the lawyer in my study. Please do not disturb me.” He stood up and grabbed the newspaper. But before he walked off, he peeled away the page with the crossword puzzle and handed it to me.
He must have seen me staring at it last weekend. He noticed. He cared. He was changing his freaking will. What if I was entirely wrong about him? Some beasts had a Belle. Maybe my mom was his. And maybe he didn’t resent my existence. Maybe I really wasall that he had left of the woman he truly loved. Maybe he was telling the truth when he said he didn’t know I existed. It was a whole lot of maybes. But even if a single one of them was true? He wasn’t such a monster after all.
Isabella’s chair squeaked across the wooden floor as she stood up. “You’ll never replace me, Brooklyn. Hell, your name says it all. Go back to the borough you belong in. Because Daddy only has one daughter. Me. And I’m not sharing him with you. And I’m certainly not sharing my inheritance with trash.” She turned on her heel and walked out of the room.
I knew her sweet act was in fact an act. But the way she could flip the switch so easily was terrifying. I never found the part in the rules about not murdering people. But I hoped there weren’t any loopholes to that rule. Because if there were, I was seriously worried for my wellbeing.
“Your mother was a slut,” said Mrs. Pruitt. She was so quietly sinister that I had practically forgotten she was still at the table.
“Excuse me?”
