“I’ll be careful.”
Mom nods and moves toward the door. “Honey?”
I lift my eyes to hers. We have the same coloring. Same dark eyes, same brown hair.
“Just be careful.” She blows a strand of hair out of her face and gives me a considering look before she ducks out of my room. “I’ll leave you to your studying. Gotta get those good grades for college. Dinner in thirty.”
She closes the door. Careful, I wish I could be more careful. My alarm goes off and I open the program I never installed on my laptop. I don’t think Luke installed it either. He doesn’t seem like the tech type, but one of my horsemen did.
The window opens with four streams. I recognize each of their rooms, but they aren’t in them yet. For all I know, they’re going to go hang out at Caden’s for a few hours and no one will be in their rooms.
I sigh. This will be my life, waiting for them to decide what they want to do with me until they get bored with me. That makes my heart ache a little, but I know it’s coming. I’m just an average girl. Not enough to hold onto four guys who are the top of the social totem pole.
They may want me now, but it can’t last.
Harper’s Phone
Kenz:
Do you think Mr. Wick will accept a drawing of Shakespeare for our first report?
Me:
Maybe if you used the words of your essay as the lines?
Kenz:
Boo! That means I still have to write it
And do a drawing
Me:
Something tells me English Lit means written word
Kenz:
But a picture can tell a thousand stories
Me:
*eyeroll emoji*
CHAPTER 15
The Package
Eli
Not going to lie, I can’t wait to get my hands back on Harper tomorrow. Instead of going to hang out at Caden’s tonight, we all went home after practice. Catching me at home, Mom insisted on me eating dinner with her and Dad like we’re some sort of Norman Rockwell painting instead of the dysfunctional shitshow we are.
I escape to my room as soon as I finish eating. The light on my laptop’s camera is lit. I sit at my desk to see who’s on. Harper’s room is empty. I can hear movement in one of the windows and see Luke pass by his camera in only a towel.
Bet my kitten will be sad to have missed that. I see a flash of pink in the corner of Harper’s camera.
“Are you there, kitten?”
She comes into frame. Her long brown hair falls in waves around her shoulders. The large shirt she wears hides her shape and does nothing for her. If this is an example of what she wore for the past few years, it’s no wonder we missed her.
