Page 18 of I Don't Need Your Protection
“You were in love with him.”
“I so was not!”
“You confessed to us that he was your first love,” Sophie reminds her as she turns a page. “You wrote songs about him.”
“Didnot.”
“Sounds juicy,” I say with a giggle.
Raven sighs like she’s carrying the world. “Why do I exist?”
“Because you’re awesome.” Carly flings her arms around her and hugs her super tight. “Okay, we’ll stop teasing you. Sophie, I’ll need to borrow your chem notes. I’m so lost in that class.”
“Sure.” She rummages in her backpack.
“Ugh, can you believe my dad wants me to take an advanced class?” Carly grumbles. “He said I can choose whichever I want. Guys, I’ll fail at any of them.”
“Why does he want you to take an advanced class?” I ask.
“Because he thinks I’m going to college.”
“Are you?”
“No. I plan to be a backup dancer for a famous singer, or a choreographer.”
“That sounds amazing!” I say.
She beams. “Thanks. Can you imagine me choreographing the dance numbers for the next major movie musical? I’m dying just imagining it.”
I play around with my remaining pancake as she continues to gush. These girls look like they know what they want out of life, and I don’t even know who I am.
Suddenly, I remember Caleb. I got so caught up with my new friends that he totally slipped my mind. When I survey the dining hall, I finally find him a few tables away. My eyes widen when I notice how many girls are flaunting themselves at him. He ignores all of their advances. Wow. How can he ignore them like that? Those girls are so gorgeous. Geez, he really is taking his job seriously. Maybe too seriously.
While fighting them off, he keeps trying to look over their heads to get a glimpse at me. To make sure I didn’t disappear in a puff of smoke.
“Why did you decide to come here, Addie?” Sophie asks, pulling me out of my thoughts. “I know it’s one of the top schools in the country, but why Harrington Bay Academy?”
I go still in my seat as I avert my eyes to my plate. I knew this question would come up, but I guess I thought I would mutter some lame answer and eventually be left alone. I guess I didn’t expect to meet such great people and actually make friends at this school.
I hate the thought of lying to them. They’ve been so welcoming and open to me. But I can’t forget the promise I made to my grandfather—that I won’t tell a single soul who Itruly am. Even though I’m one hundred percent sure I can trust these girls with my secret, the only way I cantrulybe safe here is if my true identity never comes out. At least, until the perpetrators are caught. Hopefully it’ll be soon and I won’t have to lie to them for long. But honestly, living in secrecy like this is actually who I truly am. Because if I had to live as Heiress Addilyn Bradshaw? Yeah, that would so not be me. At least this way, my new friends can get to know the real me.
“Uh…I don’t think that was such a difficult question,” Sophie asks with a nervous chuckle.
I shake my head to rid my wayward thoughts. “Right. Sorry.” I give her a smile. “My brain wandered for a second. So my…um…” I shift in my seat. “My parents…”
My voice wobbles at the mention of Mom and Dad. As if they’re alive. But part of the rulebook my grandfather gave me provided me with a fake background, including very much alive parents. It would be suspicious if a new student suddenly appeared at this school with dead parents. My parents’ killers could sniff me out in a second.
Forcing a smile, I say, “My parents heard how great this school is and convinced me to apply for a scholarship. I can’t believe I actually got in.”
“That’s cool,” Raven says. “My story is similar. I don’t know what I want to do after high school, but lots of doors will open with an education from Harrington Bay Academy. The sky’s the limit and all that.”
I nod absentmindedly as my thoughts wander again. Part of my grandfather’s instructions in the rulebook was to stick withthe classes he picked for me. They’re all mostly business classes because he expects me to run the Bradshaw Empire after he retires (which please, please, please, let it be in another hundred years). Yeah, so I definitely can’t sign up for sculpting classes or woodshop. The truth is that before my parents died, I thought I would go to a regular college and study for a normal job, like nursing or social work or something, but after they died, I thought college was out of the question. Now…my path has basically been chosen for me.
I know, I could always walk away from this life the second I’m out of high school, but there’s a part of me that’s curious about the second half of my makeup. Who exactly is Nathaniel Bradshaw and what legacy is he leaving in the world? Why did my dad run away from that life? Am I supposed to follow in his footsteps? I guess I want to choose for myself what kind of life I want. I don’t want to live with any regrets forty years down the line.
“Yeah, lots of opportunities,” I say, once again hating that I’m lying. “I also have no idea what I want to do after high school, but it’s awesome that we have so many options—” My sentence is lost when I catch sight of the guy who just walked into the dining hall. I recognize the dark blond hair and bright gray eyes, and that very handsome face. Warner.
A group of kids surround him and a girl who’s walking beside him. She’s very tall, almost as tall as Warner, and she has legs that seem to stretch for miles. Her strawberry blond hair cascades down her shoulders. It looks like it was styled by a professional hairdresser. Somehow, she makes the uniformlook prettier than it is.
