He kissed my cheek and then climbed into his town car.
Matt grabbed the back door and opened it when Miller didn’t move. “After you,” he said with a smile.
I didn’t move. I couldn’t move. “Did my dad do that to you?” I asked Miller.
“Your dad?” He seemed confused by what I’d called Mr. Pruitt. And then he looked down at my hand in Matt’s. He shook his head. For a few seconds, he didn’t say anything at all. But his silence was loud and clear.
“Miller…”
“Miss Pruitt, please get in,” Miller said, cutting me off. “And make sure to buckle your seatbelt.”
Miss Pruitt. The words felt like a knife in my chest.
“Come on, Brooklyn,” Matt said. “I’ll help you.” He lifted me into his arms like the reason I wasn’t moving was because I was in pain.
I was. Just not the way he thought. I blinked away the tears in my eyes.
Miller slammed the door behind us.
Miss Pruitt. Did Miller seriously think I was like them? I was still a Sanders. I was. Right?
I looked at the front seat where Donnelley was sitting. He flinched under my gaze. Was he scared of me?
Matt put his arm around my shoulders, oblivious to how Donnelley and Miller were acting. If this was what it felt like to be elite, I didn’t want anything to do with it.
Chapter 7
Sunday
The car came to a stop on the circular driveway. I looked out the window. The first time I’d been to Matt’s mansion, everything had seemed sinister. The gargoyles didn’t look quite as menacing during the day. Besides, he was here with me. I looked at the front seat. And Miller. My stomach twisted in knots.
“Ready to meet my parents?” Matt asked.
Not really. I felt like I was going to be sick. How could I meet his parents when I had been in Miller’s bed just a couple days ago? And I was wearing my mom’s squirrel pajamas. I’d added a jean jacket to it that had been in the room with all my mom’s things. But none of it could be classified as ready to meet the parents attire.
I wanted to ask for a moment alone with Miller. But then Donnelley would be suspicious. And I couldn’t ask for Matt to go for a walk so I could tell him about Miller. I could barely even stand on my stupid feet.
“I’m going to go check out the security system,” Miller said and unbuckled his seatbelt. “Donnelley will stay with you.”
I swallowed hard.
“You have nothing to be nervous about,” Matt said as Miller climbed out of the car. “My parents are going to love you.”
Are they? Matt hated the Pruitts. He said his father used to be in business with my dad but they’d had a falling out. Did his parents think the Pruitts were as toxic as their son did?
Matt opened up the back door and held out his hand for me. I grabbed his hand and immediately felt a little calmer. Before I could step down, he lifted me up in his arms and I laughed as he spun me in a circle.
He carried me up to the front door, past the bushes trimmed to look like gargoyles. The inside of his house was just as spooky as I remembered. It really seemed like whoever had decorated my dad’s apartment had also done the decorating for this one. Dark marble floors. Dark red wallpaper. Black and white pictures on the walls in what were probably pure gold frames.
I trained my eyes on Matt instead of the chandelier above us. And I swore he winced when he walked beneath it. What a cruel daily reminder of losing his aunt. How could his family stay here after that? How could they keep the chandelier?
But my thoughts trailed away as Matt pushed through a door down the dark hallway. The light was suddenly blinding. A complete contrast to the horrifying foyer, ballroom, and bedrooms of this place. We were standing in a light and airy kitchen. Everything was still ornate, but the colors were more white and gray instead of blood red. There were skylights in the ceiling, letting in the final rays of the setting sun. And there was music filtering through a sound system.
Mrs. Caldwell was humming to the music as she watched something on the stove.
“Hey, Mom,” Matt said.
She spun around with a huge smile on her face. “You must be Brooklyn,” Mrs. Caldwell said as Matt set me down on my feet. “I’m Matthew’s mom.”
“It’s so nice to meet you.” I put out my hand.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” She wrapped me up in a hug. A real one. Like the kind Mrs. Alcaraz gave. I closed my eyes for a moment. Like the kind my mom used to give me.
“Matthew mentioned that you love hot chocolate,” she said as she pulled away.