“It’s not just me you’ll be letting down, but all the Chadwicks who came before you.” His eyes lock on mine. “The Chadwick men don’t stand for second place. We don’t lose. We do everything in our power to win.” He takes hold of my chin, squeezing it as he lifts my face up to his. “Your grandfather and I were valedictorian and at the top of our class at Stanford. We expect you to do the same. You understand that, don’t you?”
“Yes,” I say, gritting my teeth.
“I’ve already told my colleagues and many of my friends that you’ll be valedictorian. Your mother has done the same. It would be an embarrassment to us all if you didn’t follow through.” He lets go of my face and steps back, folding his arms over his chest. “Who is it?”
“I don’t know what you’re asking.”
“The person ahead of you. The person ranked first in your class. Who is it? Ms. Whittaker wouldn’t tell me. She said it’s confidential.”
“I don’t know,” I say, not wanting to tell him it’s Ella. He’d kick the shit out of me if he knew I was being beaten by a girl, especially the girl who lives in the trailer-like house that still stands despite his efforts to tear it down. “It’s a competitive school. Could be anyone.”
“Find out,” he says, glaring at me. “Then do whatever you have to.”
He means find a way to take out the competition, even if it means doing something that’s wrong or illegal. My father will do anything to get ahead — cheat, lie, steal. He’s done that and more, driven by a need to protect the Chadwick name and the financial prosperity that comes with it.
His phone rings, and he takes it from his pocket. “It’s your mother,” he says, answering it. “Yes, Margo, what is it?” He motions for me to go upstairs.
I go up to my room and slam the door, wanting to punch something, or scream, or jump out the fucking window. I hate living here, especially with my mom gone. She moved to Italy a little over a year ago after she and my dad decided they’d rather live apart than get divorced. My mom said she couldn’t take living with him anymore and had to leave. She didn’t seem to care that I was stuck living with him, but she also doesn’t know that he hits me. She thinks his abuse is all verbal, and she doesn’t call it abuse. She calls it strict parenting. She says it’s good for me to spend time with my father, except that we don’t spend time together. He’s always at the office, and when he’s not, he’s here telling me what a disappointment I am and how I need to do better.
What the fuck am I going to do? Even if I get an A on every test, I won’t be able to beat Ella. She gets all A’s and does extra credit shit on top of it.
With rugby and all the hours I spend working out at the gym I don’t have time to do extra credit, which means my only option is to play dirty. I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that. Despite all the shit I’ve put her through over the years — the bullying, the threats, looking the other way when my girlfriend’s being a bitch to her — Ella’s never done anything to me. She somehow rises above it all, which I have to say is impressive. But there can only be one winner here, and it can’t be her.
Sorry, Ella, but this is how it has to be.
* * *
The next day at school, I see Ella at her locker, checking her phone.
Last chance,I text.What’s it going to be?
She looks up, searching the hall for me. She doesn’t see me and looks back at her phone.
A text pops up on mine.Go to hell.
She obviously doesn’t understand the power I have to ruin her life. I don’t want to do it, but she’s leaving me no choice.
“Hey.” Parker stops next to me, his dark hair flopping in his eyes. I wish he’d cut his damn hair. He shaves the sides but leaves it long on top and is always pushing it off his forehead, which, for some reason, annoys the shit out of me. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing.” I turn to him. “You see Finn today?”
“Not yet. Why?”
I’d planned to use both Parker and Finn in my plan against Ella but I’m not sure I want Finn involved in this. The guy can go psycho sometimes, like when he almost killed a guy at a party last summer. The guy was hitting on the girl Finn was trying to get so Finn threw him on the ground and started strangling him. I yanked him away before the guy either passed out or died. Finn was drunk, but still, he has a dark side that gets out of control. I do too, but I’d like to think I’m better able to control it, although that’s debatable.
“I need you to do something,” I say to Parker as I watch Ella go down the hall. What the fuck is she wearing? It looks like she took one of her dad’s t-shirts and made it into a dress by tying a belt around the waist. The girl is so fucking strange, and she wonders why people make fun of her.
“What are you staring at?” Parker asks, looking down the hall.
“Ella Quinn.”
He laughs. “Why? You decide to go after her again?”
He saysagainbecause I tortured Ella during sophomore year. I called her names, got people to turn against her, threatened to do shit to her. She was so scared of me that she’d run the other way when she’d see me in the hall. But by the end of the year, she started not giving a fuck what I did or said, whichtook away all the fun of torturing her. Ever since then I’ve left her alone but things are about to change.
“That’s exactly what I’m doing,” I say to Parker. “And you’re gonna help me.”
“How? What do you want me to do?”
