“Oh, please. I know hair extensions when I see them. She probably only asked you to go to keep you away from Hudson.”
“Will he be there?” I asked.
“Probably.” Her question sounded innocent, but I knew she was digging.
Shrugging, I said. “I just wondered.” Trying to play it down.
Harper gave me a knowing smile. “I heard about it. The kiss. Fuck, it was all over the school how could I not.”
The bottom of my stomach fell out. “Sorry?”
“Hudson, pinning you against the lockers. You don’t have to hide it. News travels fast at The Heights, it seems.”
“It’s nothing. He was trying to prove a point.”
“What, to prove that you're hot? Maybe? Maybe not? Why don’t you come to the party and find out? Although I wouldn’t encourage you to get involved with Hudson on any level. He’s as screwed up as they come and from what I’ve heard, is a total player.”
“Thanks, Harper. I’ll think about it.”
“Cool.”
I watched as she walked away, her shoulders stiff. Harper presented a tragic picture and I felt sorry for her and protective. She projected that little lost girl vibe even more than I did.
As I branched off towards my father’s street, I accepted that Harper Radcliffe needed a friend, and if nothing else, I could be that. I knew I needed to monitor her ‘big plans’ for her future, as running away wouldn’t solve anything.
Letting myself in through our front door, I wondered what my father would say when I told him about the party. I could have said I was having a sleepover, but I wasn’t one for lies.
As I made my way into the empty house and threw my bag down, Reed’s words came back to needle me.
“Hudson’s backstory is worse than any of ours and believe me when I say we’ve all seen our fair share of shit.”
If Reed was including Harper in that, what the hell had Hudson been through?
THIRTEEN
So, Harper Radcliffe proceeded to message me for most of that evening, and I finally caved and agreed that I would go with her.
When I told my father about the party, I played it down by describing it as a few juniors from school having a house barbecue. I could tell from the sceptical tilt of his head that he already knew about it. And why wouldn’t he? He was the principal of the same school those ‘juniors’ attended, and he had eyes and ears everywhere. My peers had been talking about Straker’s bash for days, so it wasn’t surprising that the staff were also in the know.
“I was your age once,” Dad explained when I’d first mentioned it.
Feigning a nonchalance, I wasn’t feeling I’d shrugged. “I don’t even know if I want to go yet.”
That was a lie, although I hadn’t been bothered when Laura and Lilly mentioned it, or when Storm brought it up. I filed away the details so I could unpick them and make an informed decision later. When Harper explained that Hudsonwouldbe there, it had sealed the deal, and I’d messaged her earlier to tell her I would go.Ifmy father would let me.
Don’t tell him. Harper had messaged back.
“Why wouldn’t you want to go?” Dad popped out, interrupting my thoughts with a troubled frown.
Shrugging, I pointed out. “I won’t know anyone.” It was reverse psychology at its best, and it worked. Old people could be so gullible.
“Well, if Ididagree to it, who would you go with? I wouldn’t want you to go alone,” Dad said.
I kept it breezy. “A friend from school asked me. Do you know Harper Radcliffe?”
Her name caused my father to purse his lips before he muttered. “I do.”
“Anyway. Maybe I’ll just catch up on school work instead.”
