Page 44

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

I slowly slide the paper and the envelope back across the table. “They killed her. The plane crash wasn’t an accident.”

He puts the paper back in the envelope. “This was a warning for Garret. He tried to fight them. He tried to walk out of the meeting. And then they gave him what I just showed you.”

It’s starting to make sense now. Garret telling me to leave. Telling me it’s over. Pearce sending me home. Arlin telling me to get away from Garret. They all know that this organization, whatever it is, would kill me if I stood in the way of their plans for Garret. And by threatening to kill me, they’ll get Garret to do whatever they tell him to do.

“I never wanted my son to be part of this,” Pearce says. “I wanted him to have what I couldn’t. A normal life. One in which he could make his own decisions. I don’t want him repeating the life I’ve had. After Garret’s mother died, I didn’t have the energy to fight them anymore. So I did what they said. I followed orders. I married the woman they told me to marry. I did things I didn’t want to do. Things that were wrong and—” He clears his throat. “Anyway, it’s too late for me.”

I want to ask him what things this group made him do, but I know he won’t tell me so I ask about Katherine instead. “So they made you marry Katherine?”

He nods. “Her father is a member. They prefer us to marry women whose fathers are members. If that doesn’t work out, they find you a woman who is used to a life of wealth and privilege. Those women tend to marry for money and are less likely to care or notice what their husbands are doing on the side. Typically they never know about the organization or by the time they do, they’re so immersed in the lifestyle they’ll keep the secret to make sure the money doesn’t go away.”

“Did Garret’s mother know?”

“No. Back then I held out hope that I could someday get out of it, so I never told her.”

“But Katherine knows about it?”

“Yes, because her father is a member. Our marriage was arranged, and for years I tried to make it work. And after we had Lilly, Katherine and I grew closer, but it didn’t last. Our marriage has always been a struggle and they refuse to let me divorce her. This will be Garret’s life now. His wife will be chosen for him and he won’t like the choice.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell Garret about this? He knew about the organization so why didn’t you tell him he had to a member?”

“Because I was hoping he wouldn’t have to be.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Our younger members, myself included, don’t like the rule that says you’re born into this group. They’d rather hand select members based on certain criteria. Find people who actually want to be part of this rather than having to force people into it and coerce them into keeping quiet. They’ve been watching Garret since he was a young boy and they’ve seen how difficult he is to control. He’s always been independent and rebellious. They knew he’d be a lot to handle and nobody has time to manage him.”

“So get them to change the rule. Get Garret out of this.”

“I tried. I’ve spent years trying to get him out. And just recently I thought I’d convinced everyone to let him go. In fact, right before I held that fundraiser for Royce, there was an initial vote to let Garret, and some of the other young men, out of this obligation. The vote passed and although the senior members could override it, they didn’t. I assumed that meant Garret was free. That’s why I allowed him to keep seeing you. I know how much he loves you and I wanted him to have that. To have love in his life. Real love, like the kind I had with his mother.”

I can’t believe Pearce is telling me all this. It’s like as soon as he showed me that envelope about Garret’s mom, his guard came down and he’s letting everything spill out. But I know at any minute he could revert back to his old self, so I try to keep him talking.

“This group wouldn’t make this plan for Garret’s life just to punish you, right? It’s too big.”

“The punishment is just a side benefit. This plan would’ve happened anyway. The senior members have been interested in Garret for some time now, but they purposely hid it from me because they knew I’d be against it.”

“Why were they so interested in Garret?”

He sighs like he’s not sure he wants to tell me, but then he starts talking again. “As you know, this reality show Garret’s been unwillingly involved in since his senior year in high school has given him a great deal of press. I ignored it because I thought it was too trivial to get into a legal battle over.” Pearce looks down, shaking his head back and forth. “But I should’ve taken it seriously. I should’ve taken action like Garret wanted me to and stopped it right away.”

“Why? What does the reality show have to do with this?”

“Yesterday Garret and I learned that the organization has been monitoring the public’s response to him ever since he was featured on that show. They have records of all Internet searches for him and all comments made about him online. They compiled the data and found that people consider Garret to be trustworthy, attractive, intelligent, confident, and decisive—all criteria we look for in a possible presidential candidate. His appeal is not just with young girls, but includes other key demographics. At the meeting, they had charts and graphs showing how well Garret resonates with people. They can use this information and build on it to eventually create a consensus among the voting public that he’s presidential material.”

“I thought you rigged the voting. What difference does it make if people like him or think he’s presidential material?”

“We don’t rig the voting. We prepare candidates. Another organization handles it from there. I know nothing about them and I’m not just saying that. I really don’t.”

Another organization? What the hell? How deep does this thing go?

“I overheard you talking to Kent Gleason that day he was here at the house. You made it sound like he’d be president. Some guy brought in a video and—”

“You shouldn’t eavesdrop, Jade. You’ll find out things you don’t really want to know.”

“Do you rig photos? Videos? How did you cover up what happened to Royce Sinclair?”

His eyes narrow and I know I shouldn’t have asked—or more like accused—him of that, but it’s too late now.

“There is some media manipulation that occurs, but we are certainly not the only organization that feeds lies to the press. Almost every company in the world does that. Even governments do it. Sometimes you need to change public perception and the media can be very effective for that. People tend to believe what they see on TV or read in the newspaper.”

I wasn’t prepared for him to admit to manipulating the media and I’m not sure how to respond. So I turn the topic back to Garret. “Was Garret their only option for this plan? Or were there others?”

“Garret was one of four young men being considered. He was put on a list about a year ago. Again, I didn’t know this. I had some suspicions when they forced me to make him intern in Washington last summer. But he showed no interest in politics the entire time he was there, so I figured they wouldn’t consider him to be groomed for even a Senate position. But apparently he rose to the top of the list after that reality show aired last year.”

“But Garret said he didn’t get much press the first time it aired.”

“Yes, he wasn’t as well known as he is now, but the people who did know about him had very positive things to say. And when the public develops strong feelings about a person, it makes our job much easier. When grooming a candidate you need a good starting base and Garret has that. He’s perfect actually. I never even considered it before, I guess because I didn’t want to. But I see why they selected him. And making him do this fulfills my punishment for what I did to Royce. They know it kills me to see this happen to Garret. His life is over. It’s theirs now, not his.”

“Why is Garret going along with this? Because of me?”

Pearce doesn’t answer.

“Then I’ll go into hiding. I’ll move out of the country.”

“If Garret thinks there’s even a possibility they would harm you, he’ll do what they say. And now that he knows what happened to his mother, he won’t call their bluff.”

Pearce’s cell phone rings. He looks to see who it is, then answers it. “Hello, Arlin. Yes, she’s still here. You shouldn’t have told her this. You know better than that. If they found out—” He stops and listens. “Yes, I suppose.” His eyes dart up at me. “Garret is sleeping now. I’ll have someone take her back when she’s ready to go.”

He hangs up. “Arlin has a car waiting out front for you, but I assumed you’d want some time to say goodbye to Garret.”

“This isn’t goodbye. I’m not letting them win.”

“There’s nothing we can do. If there was, I’d be doing it. Now I have some work to get done, so perhaps you could wait in the living room until Garret wakes up.”

“Can I see Lilly?”

“It’s best if you don’t. She’s grown very attached to you and seeing you one last time will only confuse her. We’ll come up with a story to tell her later.”

I get up to leave.

“Oh, and Jade, I don’t think I need to tell you this, but just so we’re clear, this conversation never happened. You know nothing about any of this, including what Arlin told you. Do you understand?”

He says it in that threatening tone he uses whenever he tells me to keep his secrets. It always freaks me out.

I nod. “Yes, I understand.”

He turns on his computer, ignoring me.

I don’t get Garret’s dad at all. Sometimes he acts caring and then two seconds later he turns cold and emotionless. It’s like turning a switch.

I walk out of his office and go sit in the sunroom. My cell phone has a bunch of messages from Harper, so I check one of her voicemails while I wait.

“Hey, Jade. Sean and I are at the airport. Our plane’s delayed because of Kyle Andermeyer, that actor from those kid movies. Sean what’s the name of those movies? Sean’s in the ticket line. He can’t hear me. Anyway the guy was a total jerk. He got on the plane drunk and was cursing and grabbing the stewardess’ ass and then he brought out some suspicious liquid and we all ended up having to get off the plane. The liquid turned out to be an energy drink, but now we have to wait for a new plane. Someone got the whole thing on video and posted it online. His career’s over. There’s no way parents will take their kids to his movies after they see that video. Anyway, just wanted to give you an update. Hope you and Garret are enjoying your reunion.” She giggles before hanging up.

Harper always leaves really long voicemail messages. That was a short one. I check my text messages. There’s a whole string of them from Harper, mainly about how the video of Kyle has gone viral on the Internet and how people are trashing him online. She sent me a link to the video and told me to watch it but my battery is running low so I turn off the phone.

I look for something to read. There aren’t even any magazines. I glance around at the house with its all-white decor. Carson’s house was so much better. It felt like a real home, not this stark white, hospital-look Katherine has created.

It’s making me feel sick so I decide to go wait in the game room. As I’m walking over there, I stop when I get to the stairs.

Why am I waiting down here? I should be upstairs with Garret. I don’t care if he’s asleep. I don’t even care if he reeks of alcohol. I just want to be with him.

I make my way up the stairs and down to his room. His door isn’t locked so I go inside. He’s sprawled out on his bed, his head face-down in a pillow. I gently smooth his messy hair with my hand. He jerks up at my touch, then flips on his back, still asleep.

Now that I know what’s going on, seeing him again makes my eyes tear up and my heart hurt. I literally feel pain in my chest as I think about us not being together anymore. This isn’t fair. There has to be a way to stop this.

I kiss his cheek and lie next to him.

“Jade?” He whispers it, his eyes still closed. I assume he’s saying my name in his sleep, but then I feel his arm lift up and land on my leg.

“Garret? Are you awake?” I ask softly.

He slowly opens his eyes. When he sees me there he bolts up, his body ramming against the headboard. “Jade, what are you doing here?”

“I came to see you.” I try to hold his hand but he yanks it away.

“No! You can’t be here. They’ll—”

“They’re not going to kill me right this second. They have a good 20 years to get you ready. My being here right now isn’t screwing with their plan.”

“What did you say?”

“I know everything, Garret. I put the pieces together and figured out part of what was going on and your dad filled in the rest.”

“What do you mean when you say you know everything?”

“I know about the plan they have for you. I know about the organization. I know about your dad’s marriage to Katherine.”

“What about their marriage?”

“That it was arranged. He never wanted to marry her and now he can’t get divorced. Didn’t your dad tell you that?”

Garret shakes his head no. He’s not as drunk anymore, but he doesn’t look good. His eyes are red and puffy and he’s rubbing his head like he has a headache.

“Do you know about my mom?” he asks quietly.

“Yes. And I’m so sorry, Garret.” I reach over and hug him. At first he’s tense, but then he relaxes and hugs me back like it’s the last hug we’ll ever have.

“They killed her. They killed my mom. She’d be alive right now if they hadn’t—” He stops and it sounds like he’s softly crying behind my shoulder. I’ve never seen him cry and even if it’s a hungover, still-partially-drunk cry, it breaks my heart and fills me with overwhelming sadness. And because it’s his sadness I feel, it hurts ten times more than if it were my own.

I used to be able to push away sadness and all the other painful emotions and bury them deep inside, but now I feel all of them. And I’m finally okay with that, because feeling them is part of living and I never would’ve realized that if it weren’t for the man who’s now holding on to me so tight I can barely breathe.

I want him to keep holding on but he doesn’t. Instead, he takes hold of my arms and pushes me back so we’re face to face. “I’ll never let them hurt you. I’ll do whatever they say. I’ll do anything . . . anything at all to make sure they leave you alone.”

“We’re not letting them do this, Garret.”

“You can’t stop them. At this meeting they had all these charts and graphs and all these projections. Every part of my life will be planned out. And you’re not in it, Jade. You’re not allowed to be. You have to leave. If they did that to my mom, they’ll do it to you, too.”

I shake my head. “No, I’m not leaving.”

He holds my face in his hands, forcing me to look at him. “You have to.”

I shove his hands away. “I’m not leaving so stop telling me to!” I swallow hard past the lump in my throat and take a deep breath, determined not to cry. “You’re one of the few people in the world I can stand being around. And even when you piss me off, I still want to be with you.” I don’t know why I’m joking at a time like this, but it makes Garret’s eyes soften just a tiny bit so I continue. “It’s true. You know how much I don’t like people. And I liked you from the first day we met.”

He takes my hand, holding it gently in his. “No, you didn’t. You said I annoyed you at first.”

“You annoyed me because you made me feel something. And I hate feeling shit. You know that.” I get serious again. “Garret, I know for a fact I’ll never find someone like you again. And I don’t want to. You’re it. You’re all I want. And I’m not letting you go.”

He holds my hand tighter. “Jade, you know I want that more than anything but—”

“Then we’re fighting this! We’re not just giving up.”

“You can’t fight these people.”

“Yes, we can! We just need to think. Go take a shower and wash all that alcohol off you and then we’ll talk.”

He lifts my hand up and kisses it because he knows I don’t want his alcohol-smelling mouth on my face. “I had this whole welcome home thing planned for you. I was going to fill your room with flowers, but then the meeting happened and well…”

“Go shower, Garret.” The lump in my throat keeps getting bigger as tears well up in my eyes. I need a minute to get myself together but he keeps talking.

“I ordered you more of those Belgian chocolates. They’re in my room at school if you want them.” His gorgeous blue eyes are so full of hurt and sadness I almost can’t look at them.

Dammit, he’s going to make me cry.

“I was going to take you out for a really nice dinner tonight. And I had this box made for you. It’s filled with stuff for California like sunglasses and flip flops and . . . maybe it was stupid, but I wanted to do it because you were so excited about living there, which made me excited and . . . anyway, it’ll be delivered on Monday, but I guess you won’t be here so—”

“Stop it! I’m not leaving on Monday! Just take your damn shower.”

He goes in the bathroom and I slide off the bed and onto the floor, hugging my knees and letting my tears finally fall. When I hear the shower shut off, I stand up, wipe off my face, and plaster on my best fake smile as he walks back in the room.

“Do you feel better?”

“No.” He goes to his dresser and pulls out some clothes.

“I’ve obviously never had a hangover, but I hear it can take a while to feel better.”

“It’s not the hangover. Physically, I don’t feel that bad. Before I met you I drank way more than that.” He faces the window as he puts his clothes on. I wait until he’s dressed, then go over and hug him. But instead of turning to face me, he just stands there with his arms at his sides.

Something happened when he was in the shower. His body is stiff and refuses to soften when I touch him. He must’ve built up a keep-away-from-Jade wall because now he’s cold and distant.

He breaks free from my hug and goes and sits on the chair by his desk.

I sit across from him on the bed. “Don’t you want to sit here with me?”

He won’t even look at me now. “You’re making this harder, Jade. Why did you even come here?”

I get up, placing myself directly in front of him. “What the hell kind of question is that? I love you. I want to be with you. After everything we’ve been through, did you really think I’d listen to your dad and just leave? Not even ask for an explanation? Not even try to talk to you?”

His eyes are fixed on the floor and his arms are crossed. The emotion he expressed just minutes ago is completely gone. He’s shut down. Given up.

“What happened while you were in the shower? Did you just decide you hate me now and you want me gone?”

I stand there, watching him, waiting for him to respond. But he won’t answer me and he still won’t look at me.

“I never should’ve trusted you, Garret. You lied to me when we first met and now I find out you’ve been lying to me this whole time.” I walk to the end of the bed and sit down with my back to him. “I guess it’s true. You can’t change people. You’ll always be a liar.”

He storms over, landing in front of me and pushing on my shoulder to get me to look at him. “What the hell are you talking about? I haven’t been lying to you! I didn’t know about any of this until yesterday!”

I jump up and get in his face. “I’m not talking about the plan. Or the organization. You lied to me about us ! You said I could have this forever. You said if we ever broke up it would be because I did it, not you. You said that nobody could ever break us apart unless we let them. And like an idiot, I believed you! I believed everything you said! But it was all just lies!”

“Those weren’t lies!” He yells it, then lowers his voice. “I meant all of that. But everything is different now. When I said those things I didn’t know this would happen. So it’s not fair for you to say that I lied. Because I didn’t.”

“You lied, Garret! None of what’s happened should matter if you really meant those things. You should still want to be with me. But instead you’re breaking up with me!”

He raises his voice again. “Are you fucking kidding me? You think I want you to leave? I’m fucking dying inside right now! I can’t even look at you! It’s killing me to have you here in my room, this close to me, knowing I’ll never see you again!”

His eyes are wide awake now and he’s breathing fast. He’s finally coming out of the comatose fog he was in. I knew he felt that way about me, and about us, but I needed him to say it. I needed to get some type of emotional response out of him so he’d stop acting like this was over. Like he’d shut down and given up.

“You WILL see me again!” I yell back at him, tears rolling down my cheeks. “I’m right here! And I’m not going anywhere, so stop trying to send me away! Stop telling me to leave!”

“I don’t have a choice! Don’t you get that? They fucking own me, Jade!”

“No! They can’t have you! I won’t let them!”

The room gets quiet, but I hear his breathing, fast and heavy. I wipe the tears off my face and try to get control of myself. I can’t break down. I need to think. There has to be a way out of this. They can’t take him away from me. I need him. And he needs me. And what we have is so real and so rare that I refuse to let it be taken from me without a fight.

I look up and see Garret studying me, like he’s not sure what I want from him.

“Garret, if you really—”

He doesn’t let me finish. He draws me into him and puts his lips just inches from mine, hesitating because he knows if we start this, it’ll be that much harder for him to force me to leave. I gently kiss him and feel him giving in. He pulls me closer and kisses me back. It soon becomes a deep, intense kiss that for a moment takes my mind off all the events of this horrible day. I focus on the familiar feel of his soft lips and his warm breath and his strong arms around my waist.

I can’t imagine ever having anyone else kiss me. Or hold me. Or be with me. I only want this. Him. Forever.

The thought wakes me into action, and as much as I want the kiss to continue, I pull away. “Garret, we have to talk. We don’t have much time and we need to come up with a plan. Our own plan, not their plan.”

“There’s no plan we can come up with that will fix this. If we try to keep this going in secret, they’ll find out. If I don’t follow orders, you know what will happen.”

“Yes, so you need to think differently. You can’t just tell them no. You need a different approach.”

“Like what?”

I take a moment to think, forcing my tired brain to work. “Like what if you weren’t so popular with people anymore? Would this group still want you to be president?”

“They’re going to make sure I’m popular. That’s part of the plan. They build on the popularity I already have. So if people online say I seem trustworthy because of the way I smile, then they’ll make sure I’m smiling in every photo, at every event. Yesterday they said people think I’m loyal because the fake me hasn’t cheated on Ava. Older people said I seem responsible because I’m not seen at clubs and because I have short hair and don’t have tattoos. This group plans to use stuff like that to make me even more appealing to voters.”

I pace the floor hoping it will help me think better, but it doesn’t. My cell phone dings and I pull it out of my pocket. “I swear I turned this thing off.” As I go to shut it down, I notice more texts from Harper.

Text 1: Kyle Andermeyer just got booted from the airport.

Text 2: Still waiting for our flight. We’re sooo bored.

Text 3: My dad called. Said Kyle just lost a movie role worth $4M!

Text 4: Finally getting on the plane!

“What are you reading?” Garret asks.

“Just some texts from Harper. Some actor delayed their flight because he was being an ass. She said he just lost a—”

“Lost a what?”

An idea hits me and I feel a rush of energy as I think of the possibilities.

“That’s it,” I say.

“What’s it?”

“I think I have an idea.”