Dallas joins the hug. "If you don't, you better stay in touch."
"I will. I promise." I turn to Riley. "Hey, can I catch a ride to the hotel with you and Ariela?"
Riley looks around, seemingly surprised. "Where's Aiden?"
I put my head down. I don't want to say it. My heart hurts.
"Is he meeting you at the hotel?"
"He walked out and didn't want me to follow him."
Riley shakes his head. "Why would he do that?"
"I don't know, Riley!" I snap.
"We'll give you a ride," Ariela says sweetly, comforting as always.
"Thank you. I'll meet you out front in a couple minutes."
As soon as everyone leaves the room, Cooper says, "I'm coming to the hotel with you. And you need to explain to me what really happened."
"Whitney was going to share something about Peyton. It was bad, Cooper. Something that should not have been shared. I couldn't let her do it."
"So you outed yourself for a friend?"
"Yeah, I guess so. It just all happened so fast. In retrospect, I should have confessed to having an affair with you or something like that. We could have dealt with it a whole lot easier. I mean, big deal if you got fired and I got expelled. I didn't tell you this, but I was going to tell Aiden the entire truth tonight as soon as we left the dance. I guess it was what was on my mind. And you don't need to come to the hotel. I'll be fine there. Just meet me at my loft on Monday morning, as planned."
"Look, I know you want to call the shots. I get it. I like your bravery and your boldness, but you need to listen to me and do what I say."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Let me guard you 24/7. I believe it's in your best interest. At least until we know if this is contained."
"You're probably right."
His eyes get big and he laughs. "Did you really just agree with me?"
"Yeah, I did. I don't think I'll be in danger at the hotel. Even if it gets out, Vincent won't know where I am. Everyone else is staying at another hotel near here. It's where all the parties are. Riley and Aiden wanted us to be somewhere . . . nicer . . ." I sigh, thinking about the amazingly romantic night I was supposed to have.
"What's your room number?" Cooper asks, getting out his phone.
"1214."
He calls the hotel and makes himself a reservation, securing an adjacent room. "Don't leave the hotel room without me."
"Aiden walked out when he heard the truth. If he's gone when I get to the hotel, I'll want to go home. To my loft."
"Sounds reasonable. I need to tie up a few loose ends with the dean and break the news to Garrett."
"Do you have to?"
"He has computer experts who can monitor social media sites. They're skilled hackers, which may come in handy. We need to be sure you aren't compromised."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Don't let him yell at you. It's not your fault."
As I leave, I can't help but glance back at the students dancing to a slow song and wish Aiden and I were still out there.
Riley hands me a flask the minute I get into their limo.
I shake my head. "I'm okay."
"How did you speak so calmly about almost being kidnapped, the stalker, and possibly dying?" Ariela asks.
"It's been four months since it happened. I suppose I'm just used to the facts. I hope I didn't ruin your night."
Riley grins at me. "Some of the events were a bit unexpected but, you gotta admit, it's been an interesting evening."
Ariela nods in agreement. "Was it hard for you to lie?"
"At first, it was easy. All I was really lying about was my parents. But the more I got to know people, became friends with them, the harder it got. That was another reason why I almost didn't come back to Eastbrooke after Thanksgiving break. I felt like I was being eaten from the inside out. I love you guys. It was killing me."
She pulls me into a hug. "I'm glad we know the truth."
My phone starts buzzing. I look down at it, hoping it's Aiden. Instead, I see the name of someone I don't want to deal with.
"Shit, I better take this," I say. "Hey, Garrett."
"What the hell were you thinking?!"
I hold the phone out as Garrett continues to yell at me. About Vincent finding me. About how stupid what I did was. How he's going to come get me himself.
Riley and Ariela start making funny faces at me.
It feels so good to have them on my side. To not have to hide all this.
I start to laugh.
Loudly.
Like I'm high.
I used to wish I were dreaming. That this whole thing was just some epic, weed-induced dream. But I'm glad it's not. Because I would have missed out on making some amazing friends.
"What the hell are you laughing about?!" I hear.
I put the phone back up to my ear. "Nothing. I'm with some friends."
"Did you hear anything I said?"
"Kinda hard not to. Are you done?"
"Excuse me?!"
"I don't need to be yelled at, Garrett," I say calmly. "I know what I did was not good for me, but it is what it is. I can't change it. Why don't you take some of that passion and use it to motivate your computer wizards. The dean threatened students with expulsion if they didn't comply, but I need keywords relating to my family and all the students' social media monitored. If anyone posts anything, it needs to be deleted somehow. I need major damage control. Vincent cannot find out about Eastbrooke."
"You know you're not going to be able to go back there now."
"I know I can't. Um, I have to go. I'll text you," I tell him because I don't want Riley and Ariela to hear what I need to say.
Me: Just because I can't go back doesn't mean I don't want to protect the school. Please monitor it. Please, do whatever computer magic you can to keep it and my friends safe.
Although it probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, Keatyn spends Christmas in France with her family. And she gets to give them the extravagant gifts she bought them in person.
When Mom opens the gorgeous diamond Chopard cuff I gave her, she says, "Keatyn, this is beautiful. How did you-" She stops and puts her face in her hand. When she looks up, her eyes are full of tears. She motions with her head for me to come to her.
I drop to my knees on the floor in front of the ottoman she's perched on, take the bracelet out of the box, and put it on her wrist. "I knew it would fit you perfectly."
"Your gifts are very extravagant this year."
I nod, tears filling my own eyes. "I bought the girls each a pair of earrings that match your bracelet. Sam, my financial guy, has them. You know, just in case, like, something would happen. They're a bit extravagant, too, but let them wear them, okay?"
Mom nods, pulling me into a hug. "With all of us here-with the wedding-I almost forgot about it, you know?"
"Me too. It's been an amazing few days. I'm so glad I got to be here."
"Your grandfather told me not to worry, but I overheard him telling Garrett that he is worried."
"They weren't talking about me, Mom. I'm going to be fine. I promise," I lie. "The gifts for the girls aren't because of Vincent. I just realized life is short. And, if anything happens to me between now and their sixteenth birthdays, I just wanted things to be in order. Grandpa gave me a big trust and I needed to be certain it would all go to them someday. But I hope that I can give them the gifts myself."
"The mom in me says I should make you take this back."
"And the daughter in me will be crushed if you do."
She hugs me again tightly. "I love you, Keatyn."
"I love you too, Mom. I hope you know that. I know this has been hard on us-that it's driven us apart. But it doesn't matter. Nothing will ever keep me from loving you."
"I'm so sorry I haven't talked to you more. I was just trying to protect you."
"I know, Mom. I was, too. Garrett says we're a lot alike."
She laughs. "We are, but you have your father's stubbornness."
"And his eyes," Grandma Douglas adds, joining our hug. "You both need to take care of yourselves. You understand me?"
While in France, Keatyn hears from Brooklyn.
I'm putting our gifts from Santa in my room when my phone rings. I look down and see that it's B. I had texted him, along with all my other friends, last night, wishing them a Merry Christmas, but he was the only one I hadn't heard back from.
"Hey, B!" I say. "Merry Christmas!"
"Keats, um . . . shit."
"Brooklyn, what's wrong? Are you crying? Are you okay?"
"Not really. My mom just called me."
"Your mom? But it's been . . ."
"Eleven years."
"What did she say?"
"That she was sorry. She's apparently going through rehab and trying to get her life together. I'm one of her steps."
"Do you know why she left?"
"She says she left because my dad was too controlling and she was tired of him telling her what to do."
"That might be a good excuse for why she left him. It doesn't explain why she left you."
"I always thought it was because I got in trouble for not paying attention at school."
"Is that what you've thought all these years?"
"I did when I was younger. Now, I know that's not why you leave someone. She wants to see me."
"Are you going to?"
"My dad will be pissed."
"Brooklyn, you're twenty years old. You're in charge of your life."
He sighs. "I'm not in control of anything, Keats. My dad controls my career. Fucking security controls everything else. I'm sick of everyone telling me what to do and people getting mad at me for what I can't do."
"I'm trying to get our lives back."
"I'm sorry I bailed on you."
"I understand why you did it. I just don't understand why you didn't tell me yourself."
"It's not just my dad. It's her."
"The girl you're seeing?"
"Yeah. What I said about you when I won hurt her. She didn't know about you. About us."
"What did you tell her?"