Billionaires, Bad Boys, and Alpha Males (19 page)

“I’m not pregnant,” Caelyn said,
addressing her parents, who both looked ashen and pale.

“You can tell us if you are,” her mother
said slowly.
 
“You know you can
always come to us.”

“I’m not,” she said, laughing a little to
show how silly the idea was.

“How can we believe anything you say?”
Deena asked, her tone parental, as if she were the most disappointed one at the
table.

Caelyn ignored her.
 
“Jayson and I had a fight, that’s all.”

Her mother nodded, her expression
relaxing, as if this explained everything.
 
“These things happen,” she said calmly.
 
“But Jayson’s a great boy from a very
good family.
 
I’m sure the two of
you can work it out.”

Caelyn wanted to scream at her mother for
saying such ignorant words.
 
She had
met Jayson for all of five minutes one night, but then she’d found out about
his prominent family and obviously had fallen in love with the idea of
him.
 
She’d already probably started
bragging to her friends and fantasizing about a wedding with all the bells and
whistles.

Still, Caelyn needed to let her mother
believe the lie for just a while longer.
 

“I’m sure we can work it out,” Caelyn
agreed.
 
“But not if Deena keeps
sticking her nose in my business.”

Her mother sighed.
 
“Deena, you do need to calm down.
 
Your sister’s having a difficult time
and you’re not helping things.”

“She’s totally playing you guys,” Deena
whined.

“You’re here to help Caelyn, not attack
her.
 
You both need to calm down and
get along better.”

“I really need to meet with Jayson
today,” Caelyn said.
 
“Can I use the
car—“

“No, it’s my car,” Deena said.

Caelyn’s father gently put his napkin on
his empty plate.
 
“Deena can drive
you into the city, or Jayson can come out here and meet you.”

“No, he doesn’t have a car,” Caelyn told
him.
 
“Why can’t I just use her car
for a few hours?”

“I think it would be best if your sister
went with you,” her mother said.
 
“We just don’t feel comfortable with you going off on your own so soon
after this whole Florida incident.”

Great, Caelyn thought.
 
Her short-lived excursion to Siesta Key
already had it’s own name—the Florida Incident.

She shook her head, knowing without even
looking up that her younger sister would be wearing a proud smile of victory.

***

After her mother and father left for
work, Caelyn was home alone with Deena, who was preening and walking around the
house like she owned the place.

“God, you really must’ve messed up at
college if you needed to run away to Florida in the middle of the night,” Deena
said, as she strode by Caelyn, who was in the family room pretending to read a
book.
 

In reality, Caelyn was waiting for
another text from Jayson.

“Just because you’re staying home with me
doesn’t mean we need to be talking,” Caelyn replied, not even bothering to
glance up from her book.
 

A moment later, she checked her
phone—just in case.
 
But
although she’d texted Jayson back just asserting that she needed to talk to him
in person, he hadn’t replied yet.

Deena snorted.
 
“This guy must really be getting sick of
how clingy you’re acting.
 
Guys
don’t like to be chased by needy girls.”

“Don’t you have a bunch of frenemies who
you can be bothering right now?” Caelyn said.

“Actually, no.
 
Mom and Dad said I should keep an eye on
you and try and talk to you.
 
I’m
pretty sure they think you’ve gone nuts.”
 
She twirled a finger near her ear in the universal signal of someone
who’s gone crazy.
 
“Like, totally
loco.”

“Whatever, I’m glad you’re entertained by
all of this.
 
Maybe if you had your
own life you wouldn’t be so interested in what I’m doing every second.”

“I have a life,” Deena said, her voice
suddenly defensive.

 
“Sure you do.”
 
Caelyn raised her eyebrows and went back
to reading.
 
“Hey, are you still
friends with Eileen Wentworth?
 
Or
did she dump you just like Gail and Brooke did?”

Deena’s eyes narrowed.
 
“I bet you
are
pregnant.
 
I bet you
went to school and fucked every guy you could, like the little closet slut that
you are.”

Caelyn jumped to her feet, walking
forward.
 
She felt like she could
punch her sister at that moment.
 
“Your mouth is as dirty as your putrid mind,” she said.

“Go ahead and hit me, you nutcase.
 
I’ll tell Mom.”

For a split second, she pictured herself
winding up and slapping her sister hard across the cheek.
 
But she couldn’t bring herself to do
it.
 
She’d never hit anyone in anger
before, and it was her younger sister, however much of a bitch she’d become the
last few years.

Besides, it was exactly what Deena was
hoping she would do.

Instead, she brushed past her and walked
upstairs to her room.

Deena was yelling something after her,
but Caelyn had already slammed her door shut.
 
She was breathing heavily and when she
looked down at her hands, Caelyn saw they were shaking.

***

Jayson had finally responded.
 

I’m around today.

That was all he’d said.
 
She hadn’t written him back again just
yet.
 
His response had been strange,
and she wasn’t sure what to make of it.
 
If she showed up, would he be waiting with lawyers, police, family
members ready to try and attack her?

Or was Jayson just being cautious and
trying to protect himself from her?

Either way, Caelyn knew she couldn’t just
hide out in her room forever.
 
There
were certain things that had to be done, and as unpleasant as it was, she felt
resigned to what lay ahead.

The problem was how to get from point A
to point B.

And how to get past Deena.

Luckily for Caelyn, her little sister
provided the solution to Caelyn’s problem not long after their argument.

“We need to go food shopping,” Deena
informed her, as Caelyn headed from her bedroom to the upstairs bathroom.

“Please don’t speak to me,” Caelyn
replied, continuing down the hall.
 

“This house has no food and Mom wants to
make a nice dinner tonight.
 
Or are
you going to continue being so selfish that you punish the rest of us, just
because your life is falling apart?”

“So go food shopping.
 
I’m not stopping you.”

“Mom said we should both go,” Deena told
her, and then held up her cell phone.
 
“She texted me a list.”

Caelyn was about to tell her where she
could stick her precious cell phone, but then realized that she was letting her
anger get in the way of a perfect opportunity.
 
Still, she knew not to be too obvious
about her change of heart.
 
Deena
was way too crafty and she would notice if Caelyn was too eager to go with her.

“Look, I’m tired and I’m not going to be
any help at the store,” Caelyn said.
 
“Why don’t you just leave me here?”

“Because,” Deena said, the beginnings of
a smug grin spreading across her face, “Mom said she doesn’t trust you to be
left home alone right now.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Maybe getting out of the house will get
your mind off of all your issues,” Deena said.
 

Caelyn sighed, pretending to cave
in.
 
“Maybe.”

“Miracles do happen,” Deena replied.
 
“Meet me downstairs in five, okay?”

“Okay.”
 
Caelyn watched her sister go downstairs,
looking after the younger girl, as her heart pounded just a little more quickly
in her chest.
 

Deena had bought the act.
 

Let her feel proud of
herself
,
Caelyn thought.
 
Let her soak it all
up while she had the chance.
 
Later
on that smirk would be wiped clean off her face.

Caelyn went to the bathroom and quickly
put on a little makeup—some foundation and lipstick, a little bit of
eyeliner.
 
She didn’t want to look
too good—especially considering where she was going and who she would be
seeing if all went according to plan.
 
But she still couldn’t look like she’d just rolled out of bed or something.

A few minutes later, she’d gotten dressed
in a pair of jeans and a decent black sweater, put on a tasteful pair of
earrings and ran a brush quickly through her hair.
 
When she was done, looking in the
full-length mirror that stood against the wall in the corner of her bedroom,
she saw an attractive young woman who probably had been studying too hard for
finals.

But she didn’t look completely exhausted
or gross—just a little bit tired.
 
She could live with that.

 
She had her purse and her wallet and phone
with her, so that was all set.
 
And
with that, Caelyn walked downstairs and met up with Deena, who seemed ready to
play the part of the prison guard.
 

“Good, you’re ready,” Deena said, looking
her up and down, as if assessing her readiness for presentation to normal
society.

“Yes, I’m ready.
 
Can we not make a thing of it?”

“Listen, I’m just glad you washed your
face and put on some makeup.
 
You
look almost halfway normal again.”

“Well, I’m glad you approve.”

“I wouldn’t take it
that
far,” Deena said, as she opened the front door and walked
outside.
 

Caelyn followed behind her.

Deena was dressed in a short skirt, heels
and a shirt with a plunging neckline.
 
She looked more ready to go clubbing than food shopping, but Caelyn
didn’t say a word.
 
As usual, her
younger sister was competing with her, trying to show her up in whatever way
she could.

It had gotten so out of control that she
almost wanted to laugh.
 
Almost.

They got in Deena’s blue Ford Focus, with
Deena driving and Caelyn in the passenger seat.
 
Deena pulled out of the driveway

Caelyn wondered just how far away they
were driving.
 
“Are we going to
Whole Foods or—“

“No, Shaw’s.
 
Sorry if it’s not earthy crunchy enough
for you.”

“I never said that.
 
Shaw’s is fine.”

“Aren’t you all into eco-friendly
sustainable living and all of that?”

“I try to be a little bit green, but I’m
not against Shaw’s or anything.
 
Relax, Deena.”

“I’ll relax when you start acting normal
again.”
 
Deena turned on the car
radio and started blasting some new Demi Lovato song that Caelyn hadn’t heard
before.

As they drove, Caelyn watched the scenery
pass.
 
It was good that they were
only driving to Shaw’s, she thought.
 
That way, Deena wouldn’t have as far to walk to get home.

***

After arriving at the supermarket, Caelyn
dutifully followed Deena through the store.

“Could you grab some of the cherry
tomatoes?
 
One package?” Deena
asked.

“Yup.”
 
Off she scurried, grabbing a package of
tomatoes and bringing it back, only to be sent off again for the next
thing.
 
And the next.

She could tell that Deena was really
enjoying this—ordering her older sister around like some personal
assistant.

Deena had always seemed to believe that
she would one day be famous for something or other—and when she did, she
would have people at her beck and call, running to and fro on her behalf.
 
She enjoyed seeing people scurry.