Page 17 of I Don’t Need Your Protection (Harrington Bay Academy #1)

Addie

“What does one wear to a party thrown by rich kids?” Carly asks on Friday evening as she shoves aside clothing after clothing in my closet.

“Were you guys never invited to a party before?” I ask.

Sophie, who’s once again lying on her stomach reading a book, lifts her shoulders. “We never befriended any of the rich kids here, so we never got invited anywhere.”

“And now I’m so excited that we can finally go to one!” Carly says. She pulls out a pretty white shirt and holds it over Raven, who stands next to her with an unsure look on her face. “Ooh, this will look really cute on you.”

“You sure going to a party is a good idea?” she asks, twisting her nose. “They can get pretty wild and out of hand.”

“We’ll have each other,” I assure her. “And Warner will be there. ”

A thrill passes through me at the prospect of hanging out with him tonight. Even though I’ve been to high school parties before with my friends, I’ve never hung out with a guy.

Sophie lifts her head from her book and throws me a huge smile. “I can’t believe he personally invited you to the party. Oh my gosh, can you imagine if you become boyfriend and girlfriend? Your life will be a billionaire romance trope!”

Carly, Raven, and I laugh. Okay, once again we’re totally jumping the gun, but I let my mind wander and imagine what my life would be like if Sophie’s dream came true.

I was so against being rich and having my life change forever, but why doesn’t it sound so bad if Warner would become my boyfriend?

He’s super rich, and I would have to deal with the BS that comes with living the wealthy lifestyle (assuming his parents even accept me), but I don’t hate the idea.

Maybe because right now, I’m still living like my old self?

Having a rich boyfriend is different from actually living like a rich person.

I’m still me. But when it’s time to leave my fantasy and brace my new reality…

“Addie?” Raven asks.

I blink. “What? Oh, sorry. My mind is always wandering.”

“That’s okay. What outfit do you want to wear?”

I join her and Carly in my closet and push aside option after option. Of course I want to look good in front of Warner, but I don’t want to go crazy. He should like me for who I am and not what I wear…right?

After debating with my friends for what feels like forever, I finally settle on a black dress that’s not too fancy, but pretty enough.

Raven chooses a floral top with a black miniskirt while Carly wears dressy pants with a gorgeous shirt.

Sophie decides to go as she is, wearing a shirt with a design of one of her favorite book series and jeans.

After we put on some makeup and do our hair, we leave my room and make our way to the student parking lot, where there are rows and rows of fancy cars.

Most students have more than one car here, and each one is more showy than the next.

Carly leads us to the end of the lot, where less fancy-looking cars are parked.

“So welcome to the poor section of the student lot,” she says with a laugh as she unlocks her car. “Or what we like to describe, the cars that have character.”

“They definitely have character,” I say, smiling at her navy Toyota. “I love it.”

Sophie and Raven point out their cars, too. Then Sophie asks, “Which is yours?”

“Oh, um…I don’t have one.”

I got my license a few months ago, but my parents couldn’t afford to buy me a car. I wonder if my grandfather plans to buy me one when I’m no longer in hiding. No doubt it’ll be some fancy sports car like all the other ones here.

With a smile, Carly wraps her arm around me. “Who cares if you have a car or not? Addie gets shotgun!”

Raven and Sophie get in the backseat. After I thank Carly, I’m about to slide into the passenger seat, but then I remember Caleb.

He told me he’s going to come to the party, too, but when I look around, I don’t see him anywhere.

Obviously he’s not going to ride with us because he’s supposed to be hidden. Maybe he’ll meet us at Nila’s house?

I get in the car and put on my seatbelt, and then Carly punches Nila’s address into the GPS, and then we’re off.

On the way, the four of us discuss various subjects, like our favorite TV shows, movies, games, and music.

I’m glad to learn that we have so many things in common.

I try to look in the mirrors to see if there’s a car following us, but I don’t see anyone else on the road.

I doubt Caleb wouldn’t follow me. He’s probably just doing a good job of remaining concealed.

The drive takes about twenty minutes, and as we grow closer to the house, we all gape out the window. Because it’s not a house, it’s a mansion. Almost as stunning as my grandfather’s.

“It never ceases to amaze me that people actually live in places like this,” Sophie says.

“But oh gosh, this is the perfect setting for a romance novel. Imagine it, guys. It’s pouring buckets and you’re driving on the road.

Maybe you got lost because of all this forestry.

You finally find this mansion in the middle of nowhere and get out of your car to seek shelter.

And who lives here? A brooding billionaire who wears the most epic scowl on the planet.

Of course he doesn’t want to let you in at first because he’s anti-social, but he’s not totally heartless.

So he lets you in and you spend a night here.

Maybe two. And then you two fall madly in love with each other and live happily ever after. ”

Raven lifts a brow at her. “I thought you’re taking a break from romance novels.”

“I know, but just look at this house. It’s perfect for that kind of story, isn’t it? And let’s just say I’ve been feeling the romance ever since Warner showed interest in Addie. Addie, can you imagine being stuck here with Warner? All alone.”

“Uh…I think that would be terrifying.”

“But wouldn’t it be romantic, too?”

“I don’t know him that well!”

“Yet,” she corrects.

With a laugh, Carly shakes her head. “Addie will have a great time with Warner without the need for a major rainstorm. Now, where the heck do I park? There are a million cars here.”

It’s true. Every spot on the property is taken by a fancy car.

Carly has no choice but to park a short distance away.

After we get out, I notice a black car sliding into a parking spot nearby.

Even though I can’t see him because of the tinted windows, I know it’s Caleb.

Why does this feeling of protection pass over me?

Do I honestly think my parents’ killers would try to attack me in a house full of high schoolers?

True we’re not in the safety of the school with all the security guards, but I’m sure a packed mansion with security cameras all over the property would be the worst place to plan a murder. Yet…I’m glad Caleb is here.

As my friends and I make our way to the mansion, we meet many kids from school headed there, too.

Some of them send us curious looks, like what are a bunch of scholarship students doing at a place like this?

But for the most part, no one seems to care.

They’re here to party, after all. I twist my neck to try to get a glimpse of Caleb, and I think I see a shadow behind the trees.

He’s definitely making use of his surroundings .

“What’s wrong?” Sophie asks as she spins her head toward the same direction.

“Nothing,” I quickly say. “I think I saw a…um, coyote.”

“There are no coyotes here,” Raven assures me.

The music coming from the mansion is so loud, we can hear it even from this distance.

I get more nervous the closer we reach the building.

I guess I’m anxious about hanging out with Warner.

I’ve never talked more than a few sentences with a guy and I don’t want to make a complete idiot of myself.

The fact that we’re not in a school setting adds to the apprehension, too.

We finally reach the mansion, and all four of us can’t help but gawk at it like before.

Up close, it’s even more extravagant than I thought.

Of course it has nothing on my grandfather’s mansion, but it’s super impressive.

I can’t imagine some people are so rich that they don’t care, or maybe don’t even know, that their kid is throwing a high school party there.

Movement to my left catches my attention. Caleb is out in public now, scanning the area with laser-focused eyes. Some girls notice him and advance toward him, but he manages to slip into the crowd, disappearing from sight.

Totally a ninja.

My friends and I follow the crowd into the house.

No surprise that the interior is even more extravagant than the exterior.

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of furniture in here, maybe because the family doesn’t live here or maybe because Nila had everything removed to make room for all the students.

Not that we need room. I bet we can fit a small country into this mansion.

“This is nuts,” Carly says as she gapes at the wealth practically oozing off the walls. “I’ve only seen this kind of living on TV.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her she would fall on her butt if she saw my grandfather’s mansion, but I press my lips together.

“Weird, we’ve been going to school with these kids for over two years and we’ve never actually seen how they live,” Sophie muses as she watches the kids stroll around the mansion, totally unfazed by how stunning it is. “It’s like we’ve been living in a different world.”

“I’m glad I was able to provide you with this experience,” I tell her with a wry smile. “Now you can tell your grandchildren you lived like a queen for one evening.”

“I’m already getting a headache,” Raven complains as she rubs her forehead. “Why does the music have to be so freakin’ loud?”