For a split second I thought she’d seen the blond girl too—the girl who looked so much like Ariana Osgood, I could hardly catch my breath. But then I realized she was referring to my call.
From this distance it could have been anyone, I told myself. Don’t start looking for ways to freak yourself out now.
“Janice Winthrop. Just confirming her plans,” I replied lightly, tossing my phone back in my bag. For some reason, I didn’t want Noelle to see me sweat, and the Driscoll call could wait a few minutes. I turned around and tried to remember what we had been talking about before the interruption.
“Ah, Janice Winthrop. One of the most notoriously needy Billings Girls of all time,” Noelle commented, crossing her slim arms over her chest. “Don’t let her get too involved, or your phone will never stop ringing.”
I narrowed my eyes at her as the sun emerged again. Right. We’d been talking about how unqualified I was to choose the new residents of Billings.
“Noelle, I’ve told you a million times that you could help me make all the decisions about Billings. I’d make you a full partner like that,” I said, snapping my fingers.
Noelle took a deep breath and blew it out audibly. She tilted her head up and stared at the sky, letting her ponytail tumble down her back, taking in all that blue. For a second I thought that the gorgeousness of the day was working its magic on her and she was finally going to agree, that she was going to give me her blessing and offer to help—an offer I could sorely use now that things were really getting under way. Mr. Lange’s business partner, Chester Worth, had helped me a ton—finding the architect and hiring the contractors and the project’s accountant—but there were decisions to be made every day, and as much as I put on a competent front, sometimes I felt like I was in way over my head.
“I don’t think so,” she said finally, leveling her chin again. She shook her head. “In the end, this place brought us more misery than anything else. You were almost murdered at Billings, Reed, in case you’ve forgotten. It’s where Sabine tortured you, where she killed Cheyenne. . . .” She drew a pair of dark Donna Karan sunglasses out of her bag and slipped them on. Only then did she turn to fully face me, when I couldn’t see her eyes at all. “Honestly? I’m glad Hathaway had it torn down.”
My mouth went completely dry. She couldn’t be serious. Billings was her life for two and a half years. Yes, some awful things had happened there, but Billings had also brought us together, made us friends, and in a way made us sisters. But before my stunned brain could formulate a response, she’d turned on her spiked heels and was striding across campus. Josh put his arms around me from behind and gave me a squeeze.
“I can’t believe she just said that,” I told him. My chest was all hollow, like she’d punched a hole right through it.
“Hey. Noelle wouldn’t be Noelle if she wasn’t a stubborn bitch,” he joked, nuzzling my ear.
I tilted my head away from him and turned around. “You get why I’m doing this, right?” I said, looking up into his eyes. “I mean, I know you hated what Billings was, but it’s not going to be like that anymore. Not with me in charge.”
“I know.” He leaned in to kiss my lips. “Forget what I said before. I’m proud of you. You’re taking something negative and imagining the positive possibilities. Not a lot of people would bother.”
I grinned. “Wow. Thanks.”
“Anytime.”
He kissed me again, this time longer and deeper and so perfectly that I almost forgot where I was until one of the construction workers whistled at us, eliciting a round of applause from his coworkers. Josh blushed and I lifted a hand.
“Yeah, yeah. Get back to work!” I shouted jokingly.
Josh checked his phone. “Actually, I should be getting back to work too. I have a lot of studying to do this week.”
“You do realize you alre
ady got into Cornell,” I said, taking his hand as we started toward the center of campus. “Plus you’re, like, a shoo-in to win half the senior awards at the banquet next week. Give yourself a break already.”
Josh’s face reddened all over again. “Yeah, about the awards ceremony . . . I’m not even sure I’m going to make it.”
I blinked. The end-of-the-year Easton Academy awards ceremony was the biggest school-sanctioned event of the year. All the seniors’ parents came, plus a bunch of alumni, and everyone got dressed to the nines to watch one another receive awards for academic achievement, leadership, philanthropy, and athletics. Aside from graduation, it was the most anticipated event of the final semester, and Josh was one of the senior class’s shining stars. He should’ve been psyched.
“You can’t not go,” I said, placing my hands on his chest. “Who’s going to collect all your hard-earned bling?”
Josh smirked, but looked away. “I have my bio final at eight the next morning and I want to ace it. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be one of those losers who slack off just because they can.”
“Okay,” I said, knitting my brow. I’d never heard of a second-semester senior working as hard as he was. We paused at the intersection of two stone pathways, one leading to the library and administration buildings, the other back toward the dorms. “Well, then . . . I guess I’ll see you at dinner later?”
“Definitely,” he said with what seemed like a relieved smile.
I was just letting go of his hand when my phone rang. I fished it out of the outer pocket of my leather messenger bag and blinked. It was one of the Easton Academy numbers, but not one I recognized. Josh gave me a quizzical look as I answered.
“Hello?”
“Miss Brennan? This is Headmaster Hathaway.”
My heart skipped a startled beat.