Chapter 4

Summer's Pov

Crew was still staring at me when a maid came and said Richard ordered her to show me to my room.

“Here we are, Miss Winters,” she says, pushing open a door at the end of the hallway.

Miss Winters. Like I'm someone important.

I step inside and my breath catches.

This can't be my room. This can't be…

It's enormous. Bigger than our entire apartment back home. There's a king-sized bed with a white comforter that looks like clouds, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking gardens I didn't know existed, a desk with an actual laptop sitting on it, and…

I walk to the closet in a daze and pull open the doors.

Clothes. Racks and racks of clothes, all in my size, tags still attached. Dresses and jeans and sweaters and shoes lined up like a boutique. I run my fingers over soft fabrics I've only ever seen in store windows, price tags I've never been able to afford.

"What the hell?" I whisper.

Does this all belong to me?

"Mr. Ashford had everything prepared for you," the maid says from the doorway, smiling. "If you need anything else, just let me know."

She leaves me standing there, staring at a closet full of clothes that cost more than my mom makes in six months.

I close the doors and sink onto the bed. The mattress is so soft I practically disappear into it. 

For the first time since the party, since Crew destroyed my things in the hallway, since I walked into my apartment to find Richard Ashford at my dinner table, I let myself breathe.

The bathroom is bigger than my old bedroom. 

I've never had my own shampoo before. Just whatever was on sale at the dollar store, shared with Mom. But everything is here.

I strip off my clothes. The water pressure is perfect, the temperature exactly right, and I stand under the spray until my skin turns pink and some of the tension leaves my shoulders.

When I finally emerge, wrapped in a towel that's softer than anything I've ever owned, I feel almost human again.

Almost.

I change into pajamas from the closet and spend the rest of the evening hiding in my room. I don't want to see Crew. Don't want to run into Richard or make small talk or pretend this is normal.

Eventually, I venture out to find Mom.

Her room is down a different hallway, of course it is, this house has approximately seventeen hallways…and the door is open. She's unpacking, humming to herself, and when she sees me she lights up.

"Baby! Are you enjoying it here?"

I lean against the doorframe. "Mom, this house is insane. It's so big."

"I know." She grins. "I told you Richard would take care of us."

"Yeah," I say quietly. "It's great."

We had a small talk before I headed back to my room.

On the bed I remember my phone. The shattered screen, the useless brick Crew turned it into. I need it for school, for staying in touch with Ty and Ruby, for everything.

I find Mom in the kitchen and ask about getting it fixed.

"Oh, honey, just ask Richard," she says, waving a hand. "He said he'd take care of anything you need."

Ask Richard. The man whose son destroyed it in the first place.

Perfect.

I go to bed in sheets that feel like water, in a room that's silent except for the sound of my own breathing, and somehow I sleep better than I have in months.

****

When I wake up, there's a Blackwood Prep uniform laid out on the chair by my desk.

I sit up, disoriented. I didn't hear anyone come in. Didn't hear the door open or close. But there it is the burgundy blazer, the pleated skirt, the white button-down, all in my size.

And next to it, a brand new phone in an unopened box.

I stare at it for a long moment before getting up and getting ready.

The uniform fits perfectly. I look at myself in the mirror and barely recognize the girl staring back. I look like I belong at Blackwood Prep. Like I'm one of them.

I'm halfway down the stairs when I hear voices. Raised voices, coming from what I think is Richard's office.

"—have to do it, Crew. This isn't a discussion."

"I don't need her help—"

"Your grades say otherwise." Richard's voice is cold, final. "You're failing two classes. If you get kicked off the hockey team, you lose everything. Your future, your trust fund, your place in this family. Is that what you want?"

Silence.

"She's going to tutor you," Richard continues. "And you're going to be civil about it. Do I make myself clear?"

I should leave. Should go back upstairs and pretend I didn't hear this. But my feet won't move.

"Summer?"

I freeze. Richard's voice, calling me.

Shit.

"Can you come in here, please?"

I walk into the office on shaking legs. It's all dark wood and leather, expensive and intimidating. Richard sits behind a massive desk. Crew stands near the window, arms crossed, radiating fury.

When he sees me, his expression twists into something close to disgust.

"How are you settling in?" Richard asks, gesturing for me to sit. "I hope the room is comfortable."

"Of course she's comfortable," Crew mutters. "Why wouldn't she be?"

"I wasn't talking to you, young man." Richard's voice sharpens. "Mind what you say."

Crew's jaw clenches.

Richard turns back to me, and his expression softens. "Summer, I heard about what happened at school. The way my son treated you. I want to apologize on his behalf."

My stomach drops.

"I'm hoping this can be a fresh start for all of us," he continues. "A new family, a new beginning."

He looks at Crew pointedly. "Remember what we talked about."

Crew says nothing.

"Crew is going to take you to school this morning," Richard says. "You'll ride together from now on."

"No." The word comes out too fast. "No, that's not necessary. I can get there on my own—"

"He'll take you," Richard says, and there's no room for argument. "Both of you will leave in ten minutes."

Then he stands, grabs his briefcase, and leaves us alone in the office.

The silence is suffocating.

"Don't waste my time," Crew says finally. "Get in the car."

****

I follow him to the garage—because of course there's a garage, and of course it has five cars in it—and climb into his black Range Rover without a word.

The drive to school is silent.

Unusually silent.

I keep waiting for him to start. To call me a gold digger, to threaten me, to say something cruel. But he just drives, jaw tight, hands gripping the steering wheel like he wants to break it.

When we pull into the Blackwood parking lot, I reach for the door handle immediately. I need to get out, get away from him, find Ty and Ruby….

"Wait."

I freeze, my hand on the handle.

"Summer. Wait."

I turn slowly. Crew is staring straight ahead, not looking at me.

"I need a favor from you," he says, and his voice is different. Strained. "You don't have a choice, so don't bother arguing."

Here it comes.

"My grades are down. Maybe you heard that back there." He laughs, but there's no humor in it. "My father threatened to cut me off from everything. Hockey included. I have one semester to fix this or I lose it all."

"He said I have to come to you for help. So you're going to tutor me. However you want to do it, whatever schedule works, I don't care. But you're going to help me pass these classes. Understand?"

I stare at him. "What makes you think I'd want to help you?"

His expression hardens. "Because if you don't, I'm going to tell my father exactly what you are. A gold digger. That your mom trapped him into this marriage for his money. I'll make sure he sees it. And when he does, he'll kick both of you out so fast you won't know what hit you."

My hands curl into fists.

"You don't belong in that house with me," he continues, voice dropping to something cold and cruel. "You don't deserve to be there. So. Do we have a deal, Summer?"

I should say yes. Should take the deal, protect my mom, keep the roof over our heads.

But instead…I said…

"No, we do not have a deal, Crew."