“I probably still would’ve left them alone to live out their poor, miserable lives…But then I found out about the sex trafficking rings,” he says. “After everything they had done to me, I couldn’t sleep at night knowing the harm they were causing to so many other people. I thought about you…and how I would feel if you went missing into something like that. It haunted me. I knew I wanted to come back into your life, to know you. But I had to put a stop to the Elites first.”
I start swinging harder. The creaking chains get louder and almost drown him out, but I still hear every last word and feel my resolve slowly breaking.
“Emmett was the one who asked me to kill his dad,” he says finally, stopping my heart cold. “I never intended to kill anyone. But Emmett told me about Thomas’s escape plan. If it came down to it, he was going to take off with a hidden stash of money and disappear in some other part of the world. I couldn’t let him get away with what he had done, and Emmett pleaded with me to kill him. He didn’t want to wait for Thomas to die of old age before he could take over the company.”
It all makes too much sense. And the more sense it makes, the more my heart cracks and breaks into a million pieces. I thought Emmett would be glad to be free of Jameson Automobiles, but if what Theo is saying is true, it makes sense why he would be so torn up about losing the company. Why he was so willing to work with Theo on starting a competing automobile manufacturer, even if it meant staying here while I moved away.
All this time…Was Emmett ever hurt by his upbringing at all? Or was he just trying to win me over and have Jameson Automobiles all to himself? It never occurred to me that might be the only reason he needed for killing his father.
“Why say all of this now?” I ask. “Why not tell me before? And if Emmett was so determined to kill his dad, why wouldn’t he just do it himself? Especially if you think he killed Malcolm and tried to kill me.”
“It didn’t matter what Emmett’s intentions were,” he answers. “Thomas was a terrible man who deserved to die. And if someone was going to do it, I thought it should be me. I knew if I told Emmett I wouldn’t do it; he’d try it himself and get caught. Then who knows what would have happened to Jameson Automobiles. Of course, I had no idea then that the Hendersons were waiting for their chance to strike.”
“I can’t believe it,” I mutter. I don’t know if I actually believe it. It’s more of a plea with myself, begging my heart not to take it all in. It seems it’s impossible to have both of these men be good and loving. If I accept that one of them is, I have to accept that the other one isn’t. Or maybe they’re both bad. But right now, Emmett is the one sitting in jail with DNA evidence stacked against him.
“It’s a lot to take in, I know,” Theo shifts in his swing to take something out of his pocket. “But here…I got you something. I’ve been meaning to give it to you for a while now, but I didn’t want to do it while you were so angry with me.”
He hands over a small satin covered box. I open it up to reveal a necklace. It’s the perfect combination of the two given to me by Emmett. It’s a running shoe charm but covered in little sparkling diamonds.
“I’ve been holding on to that, but with everything that’s happened…I thought you might want something to replace those two necklaces you’ve been wearing.”
Theo gets up and slowly starts back toward the house. He stops a few times as if he still has a million things he could say, but each time he pushes himself forward. I am left in the darkness, sitting on my swing that has slowed to a stop, staring blankly down at the piece of jewelry. Part of me wants to toss it into a lake. The other part of me wants to wear it and cherish it forever. And no part of me knows what to do with the charms Emmett has given me.
25
Chapter Twenty-Five
I stare down the dark blue fluffy gown hanging from my closet, feeling bad that my mom even wasted the money on it. Where else could I ever wear a thing like that? The more I look at it, the more I start to think I don’t even like it at all. What was I thinking when I bought it? It’s hideous and prom is stupid and, with or without Emmett, I never wanted to go at all.
“That’s that,” I slap my hands together and lay back on my bed.
I try not to think about all of the other girls who are giddy with excitement, slipping into their dresses, doing their hair and make-up. How many of them are like Marissa and will be losing their virginity tonight? Does anyone even wait that long anymore?
And how many of them are like me…thinking they’re going to prom with the guy of their dreams but will soon discover that he’s a murderer. Or some other kind of monster that threatens to destroy them.
And how many girls out there right now are with the guy of their dreams…only it’s true love. They’ll survive their college years together and live happily ever after, more in love than ever.
I fight back tears that threaten to start up again. They come and go, but each time I start crying again it’s harder than it was before to stop.
My bedroom door flies open suddenly, making me scream. Bridgett freezes there with big, apologetic eyes. And then we do the only thing we can do. We burst into laughter.
“Jeez,” she giggles. “I was trying to surprise you, but I didn’t mean to scare the shit out of you.”
“Well you can’t be too cautious these days,” I tell her, only half-joking. “You never know when someone’s going to try and kill you in this town.”
She howls out with laughter again and I can’t help but join her. “It shouldn’t be funny because it’s true! But why…why is that so fucking funny!?”
I want to say that if we weren’t laughing, we’d be crying. But I’m buckled over on my bed, rolling around and unable to speak.
“What the hell are you doing here anyway?” I ask, wiping tears from my eyes as I finally manage to stop cackling hysterically.
“To pick you up,” she says confidently. “You’re my date to prom.”
“No!” I argue. “No way. I’m not going. We can’t go anyway, remember? We can’t be seen
together. The Elites would have your head on a platter for showing up to prom with someone who’s blacklisted. Especially now. Emmett was already their number one enemy, and now he’s killed their master not once, but twice. I’m not so sure I won’t be killed stepping foot back inside WJ Prep for any reason at all, much less as your date to prom.”
“Nope, we’re going,” she insists. “I’ve done some reconnaissance on the new order of things. Who knows how the Elites will evolve once everything settles, but for now…with Malcolm gone, they couldn’t care less if we’re friends.”