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They stored my car around here somewhere, but I haven't been outside much since I arrived. When one of the staff approaches at my lost look, they call a driver to take me to the campus. I don't have the strength to argue, especially if it's an extra pair of hands to help me carry anything I might need to bring back.
The car is something fancy and shiny and smells like old money. The driver opens the door for me, and as I climb inside, my phone vibrates with a text.
Sebastian. Of freaking course.
Sebastian: Be careful. Call if you need anything.
I shake my head as I type back.
Me: Yes, Dad.
His response makes me laugh.
Sebastian: Ew. Don't.
I tuck my phone into my hoodie pocket along with my keys and stare out the window as we drive toward campus. How long has Sebastian's family lived here? I guess I have to get used to calling them our family now even though it feels all wrong.
Why had Mother kept them a secret? Her letter didn't say much besides to trust Sebastian and that he would take care of me. How can I trust her in this when she doesn't know him any better than I do? Did she?
There are so many secrets that they feel like they are eating me alive and crawling under my skin. So many secrets and too many lies.
I'm thinking so hard as we drive to campus that the driver has to clear his throat when he opens the door to alert me to our arrival.
I climb out and give him a nod. "Thanks. I'll have some stuff to bring back to the house with me in a minute."
"Very good, miss."
I guess money really makes people respect you… or at the very least, afraid of you.
Gotta get used to that too.
I sigh and jog up the steps to the dorm building, then scan my card to enter. My body is tense as I walk. My nerves twinge with adrenaline as I walk down the hall to my room—my old room now, I guess. I unlock the door and stop dead when I spot Jackie sitting at the table in the middle of the main room.
We both freeze—her with a spoon halfway to her mouth and me with my keys dangling from my fingers.
She recovers first, as usual. "What the fuck do you want?"
Oh hell no, she doesn't get to speak to me that way after she completely betrayed me. "What's wrong, Jackie? Your sugar daddy tired of you already, now that you have nothing to offer him?"
Her face twists into an angry scowl, and she plops her spoon into her bowl, splattering milk around in an arc.
I shake my head and turn to my room, thankful I locked the door the last time I was here. Everything inside is just as I left it.
It takes a minute to find some tote bags and load them up with books and a few things I want to take. My laptop is too old to be crushed with the books, so I'll have to carry it.
"What, your sugar daddy can't afford to buy you new stuff?" Jackie sneers from the door.
"Sebastian isn't my sugar daddy. He's my brother," I say absently as I pack, refusing to let my anger ride me.
"What?" She sounds like herself with that, and another pang shoots through my chest. God, I miss her just as much as I miss my mom.
I bow my head and squeeze my eyes shut so I don't start crying. I can't let her see me cry.
When I've grabbed everything I want, I turn to face her. "Did you need something, or are you just standing there to watch me pack?"
"I don't need a goddamn thing from you. You ruined everything!"
"Me? How did I do that? I'm not the one selling secrets and my pussy for money."
