Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 155405 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 777(@200wpm)___ 622(@250wpm)___ 518(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155405 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 777(@200wpm)___ 622(@250wpm)___ 518(@300wpm)
Hannah waves me off as she stands. “I’m sure I could sneak in there and get ready, but it’s not worth it. They’d be so angry if they caught me. The whole point of putting me up here was to punish me, it wasn’t because there wasn’t space for me downstairs.”
My eyes bug out. “You didn’t do anything!”
Hannah shrugs, stepping into her shoes. “I displeased the king, and he likes to see me punished for it. Anyway, what do you need help with?”
“Right now, I need help with containing my temper because I want to go raise absolute hell with your stupid housemates.”
Hannah lightly grabs my wrist and drags me over to the window so she can actually see. Then her eyes widen when she catches sight of the hickeys. “Are those…?”
I nod grimly.
“Landon?” she guesses.
I nod again, exaggerating my pout.
“Well, you’ve come to the right place. Have a seat over here by the window so I can see what I’m doing.”
I glare out the window before sitting down with a huff. “If you don’t move on your own soon, I swear to god, I may be tempted to kidnap you.”
“It’s not all bad,” she says as she grabs her brushes and various makeup containers. “The view out this window is lovely. I can see the ocean. I didn’t have that in my old bedroom.”
All I want to do is rage and forcibly remove my best friend from her childhood home, so I force myself to keep quiet as she moves my hair and begins her task of covering all of Landon’s handiwork.
It takes a while, but when she shows me a mirror after she’s all done, I truly can’t even tell there was ever a mark on my neck to begin with.
“Wow, thanks, Hannah. You did even better than I expected.”
“No problem,” she says, turning around to return her makeups to their correct spots on her makeshift vanity.
I’m definitely buying her a vanity for the pool house.
I stand and look out the window at this view she claims is so great. My house is literally right on the ocean now, so the view from here doesn’t impress me, but it is nice.
On impulse, I pull my phone out of my purse and aim it out Hannah’s window, then I snap a picture and send it to Javi.
Since I’m still standing at the window and there’s not much space over here, Hannah is right on top of me when she turns around. Her gaze hits my phone almost without thinking about it, then she looks at me.
“He texted me earlier and I haven’t answered,” I explain. Then, because I don’t want her to ask questions and I just noticed it in the picture, I look back out the window with a frown. “Isn’t that Arden’s house?”
Hannah follows my gaze to the palatial white mansion in the distance, towering over its nearest neighbors. “Yep.” She points down the beach at another lavish mansion perched on a hilltop overlooking the ocean. “And that’s where Dare lived before he went off to college.”
“I guess your prison tower has a perfect view of all the royals,” I say sourly.
Smiling mischievously, she says, “Lucky me, right? Come on, let’s go downstairs. Did you have breakfast?”
“Yeah, I’m good,” I say, walking down the stairs first so she can turn off the lights and grab her things.
We’re in the hall about to head downstairs when Anae stops us. “You two. Come with me.”
Hannah frowns slightly and looks over at me.
I roll my eyes and shrug, but then we follow her because… well, it’s just easier that way.
Anae walks through the open double doors into her massive bedroom, and indignation fills me all over again. This bedroom is about the size of Hannah’s old bedroom, and it’s so unjust that Anae is living in a bigger room in Hannah’s house while Hannah is stashed in the attic like a traumatized child in a V.C. Andrews novel.
“This is such bullshit.”
Hannah shoots me a warning look at my muttering, but Anae hasn’t even noticed. She opens the doors to her private terrace and walks out, expecting us to follow.
Her balcony overlooks the property and has a nice view of the pool. There’s patio furniture and an umbrella for when she and her friends want to come enjoy the view, but the umbrella is closed and secured right now.
A couch, a loveseat, and two separate chairs await us. Anae stops in front of the chairs, then points at them, indicating she wants one of us in each of them.
“What’s this about, Anae? We need to get to school,” Hannah says.
“Sit,” she demands.
I sigh, dropping onto the cushioned seat and crossing my arms over my chest.
Hannah sighs, too, then takes a seat on the other chair.
Anae’s eyes are cool as she looks us over one at a time. Then, apparently having seen too many movies, she begins to pace back and forth on the balcony. “You know, I think I’ve been really nice to you girls so far this year. Carter came in with her ‘let’s start fresh!’ bullshit, and I think I did my part in accommodating that.”