Hate Me (14 page)

Me:
 
I’ll be waiting.

I sneak into my room, unlock the window, and get under my covers.
 

A few minutes later, Aiden has his arms wrapped tightly around me, and my face is snuggled into his neck.
 

“You sound like you’ve been crying,” he whispers.

“Just, you know, family stuff,” I say, sort of telling him the truth.
 

“Tell me. Maybe I can help?”

“No one can help, Aiden,” I say pathetically.

He runs his hand over my tense neck muscles, kneading them gently.
 

“That feels good.”

“You’re stressed and I want to make you feel better. In the morning, I’ll be gone, but I want you to . . .”
 

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1ST

You come to me.

7:14am

I’ve just hit snooze for the third time when there’s a knock on the door. I look over at Katie’s bed and see she’s already gone. I vaguely remember her mentioning a Spanish club meeting.

“Come in.”

Aiden walks in carrying a bag and a cup of coffee. He’s dressed in a pale green Oxford, making his eyes look even greener than usual. He sits on the edge of my bed.
 

“Brought you some breakfast.”

I sit up, pushing my messy hair out of my face.
 

He rubs his thumb across my cheek. “You seemed upset last night. I wanted to make sure today gets off to a good start.”

I close my eyes and press my face into his hand, which causes him to wrap his arm tightly around me.

“Shit,” I say, “it’s getting late and I need to get ready. Do you wanna stay here while I do?”

“Of course,” he says, sitting down at my desk.
 

I run into the bathroom, get ready quickly, then run into my closet and throw on a white blouse and my skort. I walk back into my room, looking for my black sweater, and find it draped over the back of the chair Aiden is sitting in.
 

He stands up quickly, pulls me into a hug, and then kisses me.
 

The perfect kiss. Soft. Slow. Sweet.
 

“Do you remember what I told you last night?”

“That you’d help me?”

“No, after that. About what you’re supposed to do this morning?”

I shake my head. “Sorry. I must have fallen asleep.”

“I thought so,” he says, kissing my nose. “I told you to wear the cowboy boots your grandpa gave you. That they’re lucky and they’d make you feel better.”
 
 

A lightbulb goes on in my head.
Grandpa.
 

“Ohmigawd, Aiden, you’re brilliant,” I say with a big grin, running to the closet to grab my boots. “That’s
exactly
what I need.”

I come out of my closet wearing a smile.
 

“That’s what I like to see. You smiling,” he says.
 

I give him a long kiss, letting my body melt into his. “Thanks for coming over last night, and for breakfast. I really appreciate it.”

“I’m gonna have to bring you breakfast more often if I get kisses like that,” he says adorably.

“Come on, we better get to class,” I say, pulling away.
 

But he holds me firmly.
 

“But from now on, when you’re upset, you come to me, okay?”

I get lost in his sweet eyes and nod in agreement.
 

“You and me. That’s all we need,” he says, giving me another long kiss then leading me toward class.
 

Riley sits next to me in history and says discreetly, “So I talked to Cam last night. Asked how the hell we’re supposed to get stuff there. Get this. He told me to go back on Saturday night before curfew and all will be revealed.”

“All will be revealed?”

“I guess.”

“What did he say about taking other people there?”

“Pillowcase over the head unless you know one hundred percent that you can trust them.”

“So who do you think we can trust?”

He looks up toward the ceiling, thinking. “Aiden and Logan.”

“I’d agree. What about girls?”

“Girls are tricky. I trust Ariela but what happens if we break up? If it got ugly?”

“I don’t know. What about Peyton?”

“Maybe, but I definitely don’t trust Whitney.”

“Lets keep it small for Saturday night.”

“Do sort of a dry run and see how it goes?”

“Yeah, I think that would be smart.”

“You know, I was thinking that might be just the place to take Ariela on Sunday night.”

“I thought you were coming to dinner for Aiden’s birthday?”

“Well, it’s our one month anniversary, and I want it to be special. Like, I’m hoping it’s
really
special,” he says, lowering his voice.

“Ohhh, do you think you will?”

“I think so. And I’m going to ask her to Winter Formal.”

“How are you going to ask?”

“I bought her a Hello Kitty purse. Well, no, it’s not a purse—more like a tiny purse. Fancy.”

“An evening bag?”

“Yes, it’s all crystals.”

“She’ll love that.”

“I’m putting a note inside it that says,
Please take Kitty and Riley to Winter Formal with you
.”

“Ahh, that’s adorable, Riles.”

“Has Aiden asked you yet?”

“No. Do you think he will?”

“Yeah, don’t you?”
 

“I think we’ll go together, but I don’t know if he’ll do anything special . . .” I stop talking and chuckle quietly. “Actually, he will do something special. Everything he does is special.”

“You love Aiden,” Riley taunts.

I sigh.
 

“What’s the sigh for? Shouldn’t you be agreeing with me?”

“Sometimes life is just complicated.”

“Well, it’s about to get very uncomplicated, because all we’re going to be doing is hanging out in the . . . we need a code name for it.”

“Stockton’s. Remember? Stockton’s door.”

“Oh, yeah. Awesome. That’s where we’ll be.
Party on, friends, evermore.
I’m in love with that saying.”

I’d marry a pirate.

French

Before French starts, I send Sam an email with the changes I want made to my will. The most important change being that if something happens to me, Mom, and Tommy then Damian becomes executor and makes sure my sisters are well taken care of. I also noted the changes I told Cooper about. Taking care of his family if something happens to us both, as well as what to do if I die but Cooper doesn’t.

I notice an email from Tommy labeled
Top Secret
.

-Your mom told me everything. All the things she’s been keeping from me. How scared she’s been. You know, I’ve been wanting to ask her to marry me for a while now, and I think it’s time. A reaffirmation of our love. She won’t want to get married until we can all be together, but I need her to know that I want her to be my wife more than anything.
 

S0, attached are four ring designs. I have no idea which one to choose.

Help!

P.S. The good news: Your mom and the girls are safely moved. The bad news: Bad Kiki came to NY with me.
 

I open up the first sketch. This ring is beautiful. A huge emerald-cut diamond set flush in a thick band covered in different sized diamond chunks. It’s very unique but seems a bit too contemporary for Mom’s taste.
 

“What are you looking at?” Aiden asks, leaning over my shoulder.

“My mom and my stepdad have been together for quite a while, but they’re not actually married. He’s going to propose soon and wanted my opinion on some ring designs.”

“How come they haven’t gotten married yet?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. Busy with work and life. And, for them, marriage is just a piece of paper. They say all that really matters is their commitment to each other.”

Aiden thinks about it and nods. “That is really all that matters.”

“Yeah, but my little sisters are at the age where they’ve started asking why Mommy and Daddy aren’t married.”

“What do you think of that ring?”

“It’s cool, but too unusual for my mom.”

I click on the next photo. This setting is very popular now. A large, oval stone surrounded by a circle of smaller ones. What makes this one impressive is that the center stone is over eight carats.

“What do you think of that one?” Aiden asks.

“Too traditional.”

“I don’t know much about diamonds, but I have seen a lot of rings like that.”

“Yeah, me too.”

I click on the third sketch. “Oh, she’d love this one!”

I show Aiden the sketch of a large, oval-cut diamond wrapped with trapezoid and round diamonds. It’s funky but traditional. I count the round stones. “And there are seven little diamonds for the seven of us!”

“Sounds like you’ve found the winner,” Aiden tells me.

“I like the design the best and the number of stones would make it really special.”

“I think so too.”

I click on the last sketch. This design literally takes my breath away. It looks nothing like Mom and everything like me. “Wow,” I whisper.
Hello, beautifully gorgeous ring that needs to be on my finger.
 

“You like that better?”

“What?”

“I asked if you like that ring better.”

“Oh, I didn’t hear you.”

“I take it you like it?”

“I love it, but for me, not Mom. And it’s not extravagant enough for my stepdad. Everything he does is big.” I stare at the sketch. This ring is so me. A three-carat round canary diamond set on a wide platinum band. The platinum band is completely covered with tiny baguette diamonds. “I’m going to vote for design number three.”

Miss Praline asks Aiden to hand back our quizzes, so I fire off a reply.
 

-You love that dog and you know it! As for the rings, I’m in love, love, LOVE with #3.
 

It’s big and chunky, but still has a traditional feel.
 

Did you plan it so there are seven round stones surrounding the main diamond? One for each of us?
 

That will totally make Mom cry.
 

(I think #1 is a little too funky and #2 is too traditional.)

Love you!!
 

P.S. If any boy ever asks for my hand in marriage, show him #4. I’m in love. I’d marry a pirate for a ring like that.

When Aiden sits back down, I tell him that I’m leaving school tonight to go visit my uncle who’s in town.

Go for broke.

6:10pm

After signing out, I drive through the gates of Eastbrooke, down the long drive, and out onto the highway.
 

Cooper pops up from the back seat, where he was hiding under a blanket, and slides into the passenger seat next to me.
 

“Brooklyn totally bailed on me last night. His dad decided he can’t use his trust to help me buy Vincent’s company, and he didn’t even have the guts to tell me himself. He let the buyout guy tell me instead. That guy was a dick, too. Treated me like I didn’t have a clue—or the money—to do a buyout.”

“Do you have either?” Cooper asks.

“A clue? Not really. About the money, sorta, but not quite. I was really upset last night, but Aiden came over . . .”

“Kissed it and made it better?”

“He did make me feel better, for sure. But just when I thought prong two of our plan was history, he mentioned my grandpa. And a lightbulb went on in my head. I’m going to call him now.”

Cooper nods.
 

I tell my car to dial Grandpa’s cell.

His booming voice fills my speakers. “Well, howdy, hotshot.”

“Hey, Grandpa. Do you have a minute? I need some help.”

“Of course, I do,” he says loudly then whispers, “It’s good timing, actually. If I talk to you, I won’t have to help your grandma with the dishes.”

“I heard that,” Grandma yells in the background.
 

Grandpa chuckles. “So, shoot.”

“Do you know much about hostile takeovers?”

“I’d say so. We bought out fourteen companies over the years and none of them were particularly friendly.”

“So, if I were to maybe—”

“Keatyn, if we’re gonna talk business, you’ve gotta give it to me straight. No beating around the bush. Tell me what you need and how I can help.”