A few weeks pass, and it’s living hell. Jared is still banned from my house and my life, and the only way I get to spend time with him is at school because there are no bodyguards to rat me out. A lot of the kids who go to school at West Lorian have bodyguards, and there are strict rules about them remaining outside the building during classes.
Outside of school, my bodyguards report my every move to my father. They are all on high alert and have been told I am forbidden to see Jared or any of the Kings. I managed to coax Keaton into delivering Jared’s painting to him, but he made it clear it was a one-off. That he couldn’t intervene and risk losing his job.
I don’t want anyone getting fired because of me, so I haven’t pushed it or tried anything since. But I’m getting desperate. And desperate times call for desperate measures. I’ve been wracking my brain, trying to think of ways I can sneak out to meet my boyfriend, but so far, I’m coming up empty.
“I hate this,” I sob against Jared’s chest as we steal a few precious moments in an unused classroom at lunch. “What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know.” His brow creases as he reaches into his bag. “But at least we can text and call one another now.” He hands me a cell phone. “It’s a burner. Untraceable. Just hide it someplace your dad can’t find it, and don’t let him see you on it.” His scowl deepens. “I still can’t believe he made you block my number and he’s spying on your calls and messages. That is so wrong.”
“Tell me about it.” I slip the burner cell into an inside pocket of my bag, already knowing where I’ll store it. My asshole father threatened to confiscate my cell and remove all phone privileges if he caught me unblocking Jared’s number or contacting him in any way. I suspect he’d demand the school keep us apart and pull me from shared classes if it wouldn’t mess with my education. Dad, Mom, and my brothers all went to NYU, and he wants me to attend as well, so he’s not fucking up anything here. At least not yet. “I’m scared he’s going to move me to another school.”
“He can’t do it mid-year. Private schools are at full capacity in the city, and they are used to wealthy benefactors. His money can’t buy you a place.”
“He could force me to leave for junior year.”
“Let’s not worry about that for now.” He smooths out the lines on my brow.
“You’re right. We have enough to concern us.” Looping my arms around his neck, I suction my body to his and inhale his familiar citrusy scent. “I miss you so much. Snatched minutes at school just aren’t cutting it for me.”
“Nor me.” Clasping my face in his hands, he peers deep into my eyes. “I am going to fix this. I don’t know how yet, but we will find a way. Our parents are not splitting us up.”
Tears stab my eyes. “I’m scared, Jared. Daddy is not acting like himself, and he seems determined to keep us apart. Every time I bring you up in conversation, he blows a gasket. He’s not changing his mind.”
Air expels from his mouth before he presses a lingering kiss to my brow. “I know, babe. My parents are arguing all the time, and things are shit at home. But Mum is on our side. She said we just need to be patient and wait for this to blow over.”
“I wish we knew what’s going on.”
He winces. “I think I know.”
“What? How? What is it?” The words blurt from my mouth in a rush.
“I overheard my parents arguing last night.” He nibbles on his lips as his hands tighten on my lower back. Uncertainty flares in his eyes as he stares at me.
“Just tell me.”
“Your dad staged a hostile takeover of my dad’s company.”
“What?” I shriek. “Why would he do that? Amos is his best friend. Your family is our family. I don’t understand.”
“I don’t get it either, and I didn’t hear anything else as Mum caught me eavesdropping and shooed me to my room. Dad is struggling to hold on to the business he built from scratch, and it explains why he’s always at the office or on his laptop at home these days.”
“Felix and Anja said nothing to me about this last week.” Dad had roped the younger of my two brothers and his wife into talking to me about the situation. They said nothing about Dad’s despicable act of betrayal, focusing on how important it was I broke ties with the Kings. “None of this makes sense.”
“Agreed.” Air whooshes out of his mouth.
“There is no coming back from this.”
Slowly, he nods.
“We’re screwed.” In every way but the way I want.
“We’re almost sixteen, and then we only have two years until we’re adults. They can’t stop us from being together then.”
“That’s two years, J.” Tears prick my eyes again. “I can’t handle being separated from you for two minutes let alone two years.”
“We’ll find a way to meet, I promise.” He presses a fierce kiss to my brow. “Let me worry about this. For now, I think we need to start making plans in case Mum doesn’t come through for us. Save as much of your allowance as you can. I’m already doing the same, and I’m going to actively look for more gigs for the band. We need cash if we’re going to break out on our own. At least until I’m a rock star.”
I love his confidence, but staking our future on him making it big is a bit of a hard sell right now. It’s not that I don’t believe in him. I do. Jared is talented, hot, ambitious, and hardworking. But you still need luck to make it in the music industry, and right now, the last thing either of us is feeling is lucky. “You mean it? You’d break away from your family to be with me?” I gulp over the lump wedged in my throat.
