Legally, that’s what Leo is to me, but no one is more aware than I am that Leo and I don’t have anything in common other than a little blood between us.

  Bad blood.

  He’s as miserable as I am that I’m here in his town and in his grandfather’s house. Well, tough. Poor little rich boy is gonna have to suck it up and deal with my existence just a little while longer.

  Just until I turn eighteen and leave the Barons in my dust.

  Addie dutifully follows them out for our tour, and I trail all three at a safe distance. I don’t miss the way Mrs. Shelby was eyeing Leo and me in that room. I have no doubt she dragged him into this new-student orientation as a way to make us bond or something.

  She’s not the first to try it. Leo’s mom, aka my half-sister Eloise, has been forcing these awful family dinners ever since I arrived last week in the name of bonding.

  I don’t know which one of us hates those dinners the most, but my bet is on me. Eloise’s husband, parents, and cousins suffer through these dinners in silence, but Leo doesn’t try to hide how much he despises my presence there.

  We file out of the front office and into the now-empty halls of Lindale High. First period is underway and most students are tucked away in their classrooms. The silence stretches between us as Leo makes a point of ignoring my existence.

  He’s gotten good at that this week.

  “So, New Girl,” Shane says, slinging an arm over Addie’s shoulders as they walk ahead of me and Leo. “Where you from?”

  “Oh, um, it’s Addie?” she says. Like it’s a question. Like she’s not sure of her own name. “And I’m from New York.” Before anyone has a chance to respond, she hurries on. “Upstate New York, not too far from Lake Ontario. Not like New York-New York. I’ve never even been to New York City, actually. My friends have, but it’s a long trip and I’ve never had the chance.”

  She pauses to breathe, and shrugs out from under his arm under the guise of checking out one of the classrooms we’re passing. She’s got that big smile firmly in place, and Shane’s back to leering. “Oh yeah? And what do sexy girls like you do for fun in Upstate New York?”

  I don’t see her face, but I know she’s blushing at his awkward flirting. I’m pretty sure I can feel the heat from her face from here.

  “Oh, well, um…”

  “You like to party, don’t you?” His eyes are firmly locked on her boobs.

  I know for a fact that Shane’s in with Leo’s rich-kid crew, but clearly money can’t buy class. Or manners.

  “I-I guess?” Addie says. Again, like it’s a question.

  With her next step she wobbles and Shane is once again there to catch her. “Whoa, girl. I know I’m fine but there’s no need to throw yourself at me.”

  She’s pushing away from him with a beet red face. “I’m sorry. It’s these shoes.”

  “The shoes are hot,” Shane’s quick to add, his gaze finally dropping from her boobs to her feet but then his eyes drift back up to focus on her curvy legs.

  Addie’s tugging down her miniskirt and I’m starting to wonder if busting Shane’s jaw will be my ticket out of this town. I’d have to forgo the degree, but it would be a satisfying end to my brief stint in Richie Richville.

  “Don’t mind Shane, Addie,” Leo says. “He’s an overgrown child who’s never learned how to talk to a girl without making an ass of himself.”

  Addie turns to flash him a hesitant smile as Shane laughs like a hyena. “That’s harsh, man.”

  “But the truth,” Leo says.

  Shane doesn’t argue. He’s one of the many sheep that make up the student population of this school. One of the countless, mindless, mouth-breathing goons who think Leo holds some real power in the world just because he’s loaded and the school’s star quarterback.

  The worst part is, Leo believes his own hype. He’s just as convinced as the rest of them that he’s God’s gift just because he was born rich and has the ability to toss a ball around. The kid has no idea that outside of this school and without his family’s money, he’s nobody.

  Shane turns back to Addie, who’s walking slowly now, like she’s choosing every step with care. “What classes do you have?” he asks.

  Better question, why are you wearing shoes you can’t walk in?

  Part of me is genuinely curious. The shoes are stupid. The outfit might’ve been hot if she looked even remotely comfortable strutting her stuff—which she doesn’t. But the shoes? They don’t even fit. And if she tugs on the hem of that skirt one more time, Shane’s eyeballs are going to bulge out of his skull.

  I’m guessing she doesn’t realize that every time she leans over to tug at her skirt, she’s basically flaunting her cleavage.

  Seriously, what is her deal? I mean, aside from her clothes and her shoes, there’s her personality. That’s another mystery. She seems all chatty and outgoing, but she’s quick to blush the second she’s the center of attention.

  Is it all attention or just male attention?

  Or is it just Shane?

  It’s none of my business so I keep my mouth shut. I keep it shut as Shane fills the air with useless crap about the football team’s stats and who throws the best parties.

  Addie’s smiling through it all. And her smile reaches megawatt proportions when Leo does what he’s supposed to do—because of course he does. He gives the actual tour.

  “That’s your chem lab,” he tells her when Shane stops talking, nodding toward the science room. “And we just passed Mr. Herman’s calculus classroom.”

  Her head bobs and she tucks some of that long red hair behind her ear with a shy, “Great, thanks.”

  Great. There’s that word again.

  Must be nice to live in a world where everything is sunshine and roses.

  Until she looks at me, obviously. Then there’s a healthy dose of fear in her eyes.

  I don’t mind that. I respect it. Only an idiot would look at me and see Prince Charming. I’m the villain in this school, and it’s best that she knows it.

  It’s the flicker of fear I catch in her eyes when she looks at Shane that bothers me.

  He’s not skipping any opportunity to touch her, even though she stiffens every time he gets too close.

  I try to ignore it as I follow along behind the three of them, not listening to Leo’s fun facts about the school and tuning out Shane’s endless monologue as best I can.

  I just have to get through today. And tomorrow.

  And then two more months of this hellhole. There’s only a couple months left until my eighteenth birthday, at which point no one can force me to stay here…in this school, in this town, or with the Barons.

  “You have any plans for the weekend?” Shane asks as he snakes an arm around Addie’s waist.

  I glare over at him but he doesn’t notice.

  Honestly, I’m not even sure I’ll last until my birthday. I hadn’t thought it could get much worse than my uncle’s place. Or juvie, for that matter. But I’d been wrong. I might not have been wanted there, but at least I fit in.

  I’ll need money if I want to take off on my own. But luckily for me I’m currently sleeping in a rich dude’s house. And let’s face it, my biological father owes me.

  “Oops!” Addie’s voice is high-pitched as she stumbles against Shane. The dumbass grins, like he thinks she’s actually into him. He’s the only one who doesn’t seem to notice that she’s not trying to fall into his arms, she’s just teetering around in those ridiculous shoes like a circus performer on stilts.

  She pushes away from Shane a bit as she rights herself. “Sorry, what?”

  “This weekend?” he prompts.

  “Oh, um, I don’t know yet.” She glances around like someone might come to her rescue, but Leo’s frowning down at his phone and she can’t quite bring herself to make eye contact with me.

  “April’s having a party,” Shane says. “You should come.”

  “Dude,” Leo says with a shake of his head. “April will kill you.”

  Shane turns back with a grin. “Nah, we broke up. It’s you she wants now, man, and you know it.”

  Leo says nothing. Which says everything.

  Of course she wants me, his silence says.

  Leo is an arrogant turd, but I’ll give him this. He can say more with a smirk and a smile than Shane’s said in the past ten minutes of nonstop talking.

  “What do you think?” Shane turns his attention back to Addie.

  She twisting in his arms, trying to nicely shove him away.

  As if nicely shoving has ever gotten anyone anywhere.

  The girl needs self-defense lessons if she’s gonna survive this school. At the very least, she’s gotta stop smiling all the damn time.

  “I’m not sure,” she’s saying as she tugs her arm out of his grip.

  “Aw, come on,” he says. “You can’t have plans already. You just got here.”

  Her smile falters and I see it.

  Her panic.

  I also see red.

  “I don’t know what my family has planned.” Her voice is high and breathy like she’s upset. Her eyes have the look of a defenseless, cornered little animal.

  My hands clench.

  “You really want to say no to a party?” Shane tsks like she’s letting him down. “You’re new here, Addie, a party is the best way to make friends. What, you think you’re too good for us or something?”

  Shane’s joking—or trying to, at least. He’s not a funny guy. But Addie’s getting all flustered. Even Leo seems to notice. He sighs wearily. “Just leave her alone, Shane.”

  But Shane is a moron, as we’ve established.

  “Come on,” he says, his tone wheedling and so damn annoying I can’t take it for another second. When he reaches for her again, I lose it.

  I pick up my pace and charge between them before he can put his hands on her.

  “Take a hint, jackass.” Then I shove him into the lockers.

  Hard.

  He slams into the metal with a loud clang that has classroom doors flying open around us and curious onlookers poking their heads out.

  I keep walking.

  As I turn the corner, I glance back to find all three of them staring after me. Shane’s gaping like I’ve just sprouted horns, Addie’s eyes are wide with shock, and Leo…

  His eyes say he’s plotting out all the ways he could take me down.

  Good luck, little nephew.

  Leo wants me gone. No secret there. My being here messes with his precious family and their sterling reputation.

  He doesn’t have to worry though.

  I won’t be here long.

  Four

  Addie

  Breakfast at my dad’s house is an orderly affair.

  “Coffee, Addie?” Gina asks, pot in hand as I take the one empty seat left at the kitchen table. Before I can answer, she frowns. “Are you allowed to have coffee?” She turns to my dad. “Is she allowed to have coffee?”

  My dad’s eyes are comically wide behind his wire-rimmed glasses. He’s a deer in headlights as my twin stepsiblings bicker loudly on either side of him.

  “No thanks, Gina,” I say, cutting in so my dad doesn’t have to admit aloud that he has no idea if I’m allowed to have coffee or not.

  He sorta stopped having a say in that kind of thing when he left us. I was seven then, the same age the twins are now, and whether or not I’d wanted coffee with breakfast wasn’t really an issue when I was seven.

  “Tea?” Gina asks. “Orange juice?”

  “I’ll get it.” I smile as I slip back out of my seat and head to the fridge. I don’t know how to tell Gina that she doesn’t have to wait on me. I also don’t know how to tell either Gina or my dad that they can stop treating me like some revered house guest.

  Also, I don’t know how to stop acting like a house guest.

  This is supposed to be my home now. Until my mom gets back from culinary school in Paris, I need to stay here. But for years after my dad walked out, I’d never stayed with him longer than a long weekend.

  The last couple summers, after he married Gina and adopted her kids, he started pushing for more time with me, and so the summer visits began. But during the summer, things are different. It’s all temporary. A vacation, of sorts.

  You know, if your idea of a vacation was to share awkwardly enforced quality time with a bunch of people you barely know.

  But this trip is weird, because it’s not a trip. I’m not sleeping on a foldout couch, but in the former crafting room which is now my bedroom. Mornings aren’t a chaotic mess of a who’s-taking-which-twin-to-what-playdate, but an orderly routine that’s so very normal for them.

  And so very not normal for me.

  It’s hard not to feel crazy out of place in the midst of their routines.

  I sit back down with my juice and survey all the options for breakfast. There are a lot. I’m still not sure if this is all for me or if Gina just loves to cook. But I’m used to snagging an apple on my way out the door, and the stack of pancakes in the middle of the table just makes my already uneasy stomach turn that much more.

  “So, Addie, we never got a chance to hear how your first day went,” my dad says with an expectant look.

  “Great!” My voice is way too chipper.

  Even the twins stop eating to stare at me in surprise. Jonah and Jordan are cuter than cute with their big blue eyes and Gina’s fair hair, but the look they give me now has my insides tightening with guilt. Their innocent gazes are basically calling me out as a liar.

  They’d peppered me with questions after school yesterday while I’d babysat for them. My dad and Gina had a work event at the hospital. I hadn’t told the twins all the details, obviously, but they knew enough to know that my day had not been great. Not even a little bit.

  “Well, that’s good news,” my dad says, already returning his attention to the paper on the table.

  “I knew you’d fit right in,” Gina adds. Her gaze flicks over me. “I thought you were going to wear the new dress I got for you today.”

  I shift uncomfortably. “Oh, I would, but—”

  “I thought you got in a fight,” Jonah blurts out, cutting me off.

  All eyes are on me and my smile falters.

  “I wasn’t in a fight,” I say.

  Too late. My dad and Gina are staring with concern now.

  Jonah’s brows are furrowed together in confusion as he takes another big spoonful of his cereal. “But you said—”

  “I said I saw a fight,” I say.

  Jordan tips her head to the side, her long blonde ponytails swinging with the movement. “But you said they were mean to you.”

  “Not everyone,” I say a little too quickly.

  Just most of them.

  Okay, everyone I’d interacted with.

  Either they were overly friendly—Hello, handsy Shane. They were outright rude—I’m looking at you, April. Or they ignored me completely—which accurately describes Vincent and just about every other student at Lindale.

  “Who was fighting?” my dad asks. His brows are down, the paper too. He and Gina look so concerned about this that my stomach churns with guilt. Making people worry is right up there with causing conflict in my book, and my body physically responds with a surge of nausea.

  I set down the juice without taking a sip.

  “Um, the other new kid,” I say.

  My dad and Gina share a knowing look. “I’ll bet it’s the Barons boy,” my dad mutters.

  Gina tsks. “It’s so good of the Barons to take him in.”

  “I heard he’s their responsibility.” My father arches his brows meaningfully.

  From there, he and Gina seem to conduct an entire conversation with meaningful looks and charades. I know they’re doing it to keep Jonah and Jordan from hearing, but it’s annoying.

  They’re talking about Vincent, and I wish I could decipher what they were saying. It’s none of my business, obviously, but I’m curious. I mean, I am going to have to take classes with the guy for the foreseeable future and for the life of me, I can’t figure him out.

  On one hand, he did nothing but glare at me whenever he caught me glancing in his direction.

  On the other hand, he got Shane to leave me alone.

  “So, what’s his story?” I finally ask.

  “Hmm?” My dad acts like he didn’t hear the question.

  Gina takes it a step further and changes the conversation outright. “So, Addie, you have a big birthday coming up.”

  I smile and nod, but my belly is a roiling mess again.

  I’d almost forgotten about my birthday. Actually, I’ve been trying to forget it. I don’t need another reason for my dad and Gina to fuss over me.

  “What would you like for your birthday?” my dad asks.

  To go home.

  I swallow down the words. I’m not a child. I made my decision, and I’m sticking with it. My mom had looked so excited when she’d gotten the offer and the scholarship. Not to mention, it’s her turn to do something for herself, right? She’s spent her entire adult life sacrificing for me, this is the least I can do.

  My silence goes on too long so I finally say, “Oh, I don’t need anything. Thanks, though.”

  This does not go over well.

  “Of course you need a present, it’s your birthday,” says the guy who forgot my birthday three years in a row before he became Dad of the Year.

  My smile is hurting my cheeks. “No, really—”

  “What about a party?” Gina asks. Her eyes are so wide with excitement that my heart clenches with fear.

  There is going to be a party. I can see it in her eyes. It’s as good as done.

  “Thanks, but that’s really not necessary,” I say anyway, on the off chance that I can dissuade her.

  “Nonsense, of course it is,” Gina says. Her eyes are outright crazed now. I’m pretty sure we’ve lost her to daydreams of birthday cakes and decorations.

  “Maybe if it’s small,” I offer, trying to be a team player. “Just the family?”

  She scoffs and waves off that idea. “Are you kidding? This will be the perfect opportunity for us to get to know your new friends.”

  I stare at her with an open mouth. What new friends?

 

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