Ruin Me (27 page)

I raise an eyebrow. “It’s not the worst idea we’ve ever had.”

“I agree.” He sits back and slides the phone into his jeans pocket. “So, what are we going to tell them?”

“We tell them the truth,” I say. “Honesty is best, right?”

“And are you going to be honest with your dad about why you ran away?” he asks.

“Actually…” I recall. “I was kind of surprised when he said you told him you didn’t know anything about where I was. I thought you would have told him everything for sure.”

“Oh, I definitely thought about it a lot on that
long
plane ride back…” he admits, “but in the end, I figured it wasn’t up to me to tell him.” I nod. “I told him that I turned around for a minute in Madrid and you were gone, but I was sure you were safe. Which wasn’t too far away from the truth anyway.”

“And they didn’t find it suspicious that you stayed an extra week with me?” I ask.

He brushes a hand through the air. “They were used to me needing very little excuse to party, I think. After today, they’ve probably figured it out, though. The only one that put anything together themselves without help was Mandy.”

I smile. “Of course, she did.” I pick up my coffee again. “Yeah, I’ll be honest with him.”

He leans forward and lays a hand on my knee. “And I’ll be there for you.”

I smile and take a drink.

***

I borrow a little black dress from Mandy to wear to dinner. It’s sleek, but not revealing, and most of all, comfortable — the perfect trifecta I search for when making fashion decisions. It’ll be easy to slip out of at the end of the night as well, either in celebration of a night gone well or in defeat of a night gone wrong, both of which deserve sex as a just reward.

I can tell by Kai’s lustful glances in my direction that he’s thinking the same thing. He looks amazing tonight in a white, button-down shirt, a black suit jacket, and matching pants. One could almost confuse him for a straight-up gentleman.

“So, Shawn let you borrow the car…” I slide a finger across the dashboard as the wind blows through my hair.

He revs the engine of the little, red corvette. “Yes, he did,” he purrs.

I laugh at him. “Just admit that you miss this thing,” I say.

“I’m over it,” he laughs back. He revs the engine again and we speed off towards our parent’s home.

As we pull up the driveway and the large estate comes into view, I feel more and more nervous. The instinct to run and hide teases at the back of my mind, but it’s not as strong as my curiosity. It’s been six months since I’ve stepped foot inside of my own home. How much of it has changed, if at all? Is my room still exactly as I left it? Or has it been ransacked for clues (of which, I made sure there were none)?

Kai parks the car and stares over at me. “You all right, Pipes?” he asks.

I take a deep breath, hoping that it’ll cool off my nerves a bit, but I still feel the nervous heat radiating off my skin. “I think so…” I say.

He unbuckles his seatbelt and leans over to wrap an arm around me. “We’re going to be okay,” he whispers in my ear.

I look at him and smile before planting a small kiss on his lips. “Promise me,” I say.

He doesn’t hesitate. “I promise, Piper.”

Kai believes in me, this much is certain. I wish I could say the same.

Chapter 27

Kai

Piper and I walk into the living room hand-in-hand and I think for a moment that my mother will faint.

I see her eyes fall to our hands, but then immediately glance away. You’d think she was just flashed by the local pervert. Her eyelids flicker and her cheeks turn bright red, just like Philip’s face.

“Hey, guys,” I greet them, making light of the situation. I smile at both of them. Philip sits in his chair, this big, ugly monstrosity of a thing that only he’s allowed to touch while my mother sits stiff on the sofa. There are two open chairs between them, obviously set up for the two of us, but I pull Piper over to the love seat across the table from them and we sit there together instead. I look into Piper’s eyes to make sure she’s still okay. She looks nervous, but her hand is steady as a rock.

“Hello, dear,” my mother greets with a forced smile. She fidgets nervously before standing. “How about some drinks?” she asks.

“Sounds great,” Piper says with a smile. Her eyes bounce to her father’s and they stare at each other silently while my mother prepares a few glasses of soda for us at the drink cart in the corner.

“You look nice tonight, Piper,” my mother says as she drifts back over. “Your new hair suits you.”

Piper takes a glass from her. “Thank you, Ava,” she says.

“Philip, doesn’t she look lovely?”

My mother is trying very, very hard, but I give her all the credit in the world for attempting to keep the room as pleasant as possible.

Philip stares at Piper and shrugs. “Her make-up is too thick,” he mutters as he takes a sip of his own, obviously alcoholic, beverage.

Piper looks away from him.

“Well, it’s a little darker than what’s allowed in the Belle Academy student handbook,” I argue, “but she still looks nice.”

His eyes flick in my direction and I stare him down with a smirk. I told Piper I’d be here for her tonight. If that means openly defying the word of Headmaster Lynch in his own home, then I’ll do it for her.

“I should go check on dinner,” my mother announces.

“I’ll go with you.”

I flinch as Piper shoots up from the love seat and follows my mother into the kitchen, leaving my stepfather and me alone. He stares at me with a villainous intent.

I clear my throat. “So, did you two stick around for any Parent’s Weekend festivities?”

“How long has she been here?” he asks bluntly, ignoring my question.

“Uhh…” I count the time in my head. “
Specifically
… twenty-seven hours, give or take. That I know of.”

“So, my daughter has been in the country for an entire day and you didn’t think to inform me?” he asks. His voice is so firm, so steady, it sends a chill down my spine.

“It—” I choke on the words. “Some things came up—” I regret the phrasing immediately. My mother’s heels click back into the living room and I breathe a sigh of relief.

“It just needs a few minutes to cool and then it’ll be ready,” she says and she sits back down.

My eyes wander around when I notice Piper isn’t with her. “Where’s Piper?” I ask her.

“Oh, she went up to her room,” she answers. “She said there was something she needed and that she’d be right back.”

I feel a small panic, but I try to push it away. I’ve heard Piper say she’d be right back once so far today and she was gone for nearly an hour. Granted, she had a good reason, but I still can’t shake the feeling of suspicion. “I’ll go check on her,” I say as I stand up, “and we’ll meet you two in the dining room.” I rush out of the room before anyone has the chance to say another word.

I cross the house quickly towards the stairs and climb them two at a time until I reach the top. Piper’s room is at the end of the hall, just across from mine. The door sits slightly ajar and I see her shape moving through the small opening. I move quietly, careful not to make any sound as I inch closer to it.

My mother’s yorkie starts yapping and races down at the hall at me, cutting off my stealthy investigation before it ever even began.

“Dammit, Thor…” I whisper as I brush him aside with my foot.

The door opens quickly and Piper stares at me. She rolls her eyes.
“Down, Thor,”
she spits at him and snaps her fingers. The dog immediately backs off and races down the hall to our parent’s room.

I scoff. “How does that thing like you more than it likes me?” I step into the room and close the door.

“Because I don’t kick it, maybe?” she jokes.

“I’ve never kicked it…
per se.
” I look around the room. “What are you doing up here?” I ask.

She drops to her knees in front of her dresser. “I needed to get something,” she answers.

My eyes roam the walls. It’s been ages since I’ve been in this room. Most teenage girls’ rooms (that I’ve been in, anyway) have posters of bands on the walls, photographs of friends plastered against every mirror, and stacks of CDs in every corner. Not Piper Lynch. Her walls are covered with certificates, trophies, medals, and all sorts of other academic things she earned. The Piper Lynch I know now is the complete opposite of the girl I picture looking around this room. I glance down to see she’s pulled the bottom drawer of her dresser completely out and set it aside. “Get what?” I ask her.

“This,” she says as she reaches into the opening. She pulls out a small, black box, no bigger than the size of her palm.

“And what is that?” I ask.

She pushes the drawer back into the dresser and stands up again to place the box in my hand. I pull the lid off and a wave of deja vu strikes me as I gaze down at the silver pendant inside. It’s round, with a crescent moon etched into it. The words
live to dream
rise along the moon’s shape. “I know this…” I say, searching my memories.

“It was my mom’s,” she says, nodding her head. “She wore it every single day of my life.”

My memories play out in my mind. I remember now how I’d always see it hanging down on Penny’s neck when she came over to spend time with my mother. “And how exactly did you end up with it?” I ask.

“She gave it to me the day she left for Europe,” Piper says as she takes the box back. “I, of course, started wearing it all the time after that. Until one day, it went missing.”

“Missing?” I ask.

“I looked everywhere for it,” she continues. “
For days.
Then I found it in the trash can in my father’s study.” I stay silent as she pulls the pendant from the box. She feels the etched lettering with her thumb. “I asked my father then if he knew where it was. He said he hadn’t seen it anywhere.”

“Why would he do that?” I ask.

“He got rid of everything that reminded him of her.
Everything
,” she says. Her eyes shake. “Including me.”

I shake my head. “What do you mean, Pipes?”

“Just look around you, Kai,” she says. “Do you see
me
anywhere in this room?”

I take a deep breath. “No,” I answer. “But I don’t think that’s enough to count him out. Your father cares about you, Piper. I’ve seen it. You weren’t here when he found out you were gone. I was.”

She throws the pendant over her neck and lets it hang down against her chest. “Well,” she says. “If that’s the case, then I guess I should head back downstairs for a beautiful, thoughtful, and pleasant reunion with my father. Right?” She steps around me.

“Piper…” I reach out a hand to her, but she’s already out the door.

***

It took Philip Lynch less than a second to notice the pendant dangling down on Piper’s neck. We’ve been sitting at the dinner table for ten minutes already and if I had to guess, he’s been staring at it for at least seven of those minutes. He sends the occasional glance my way and nods his head as my mother attempts to force conversation with us, but he spends most of his time on that pendant.

“So, Piper…” my mother says. She hesitates a moment, then commits to the question. “Just what have you been up to?” It is the most pleasant way she could have phrased the question. If it were up to Philip, I’m sure it would have been something like,
‘Where the fuck have you been for six months, you ungrateful little shit?’

Piper has spent these ten minutes staring her father down, baiting him into saying something about the pendant. It’s not the method I would use, but I’m not Piper Lynch. She turns her attentions to my mother. “I’ve been traveling through Europe. A little in Asia,” she answers, remaining vague.

“Alone?” my mother asks with concern in her eyes. She’s obviously fishing for information. My mother has never been the type to come out and say what’s on her mind. Judging by Philip’s silence, she’s probably convinced him to try out her way first in getting Piper to own up.