The one thing we can be relieved about is that Bernadette wasn’t working with my dad, but I don’t know that the Hendersons are any better. Definitely not for Emmett. Just a little less traumatic for me.
I remember what I learned about the Elites. The town was built around them and everything in it is theirs, and has been for centuries. When one person is struck down, it seems the remaining family members merge with another so that they can rise to take back their rightful place. Nothing is going to change that.
I remember Malcolm telling me he and his father were merely tolerated by the Elites. Being tolerated is better than being blacklisted, but I guess it was still enough to build up this much resentment. He once told me their money couldn’t touch the money of the Elites. I don’t know if that was a lie, or if it’s changed now that everyone is being investigated and their assets are being seized. One thing is for certain, the Hendersons aren’t going down with everyone else, no matter how guilty they are.
When Emmett took over Jameson Automobiles, I worried Liam and Malcolm might do something drastic in a panic. The change in leadership and the fact that Malcolm and Emmett did not like each other put the ties between Jameson Automobiles and their software company at risk—a profitable alliance their company surely could not afford to lose. But I also thought Malcolm was supposed to be better than the rest of the Elites. I was so very wrong, and I never saw this coming.
24
Chapter Twenty-Four
“I can’t believe they would do this to me,” Emmett laments from his new room at the motel. “Just cast me out like this.”
“I’m so sorry, Emmett,” I try to console him. “I feel like it’s all my dad’s fault. If he hadn’t roped you into that deal with him, your dad would have gone to jail with everyone else and your family wouldn’t have turned against you.”
“It doesn’t matter.” He shakes his head with a bitter smirk. “I could have never stood by and let Liam and Malcolm take things over. It would have happened this way regardless.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I whisper. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“I went from having everything and the chance to run things right…to having nothing at all,” he moans.
“You’re not left with nothing.” I perk up, running over to wrap him in my arms “You have me.”
“Ophelia.” He takes my face in his hands. “I can’t believe you’ve stayed by my side through all of this. I’ve tried so hard to change. And I do wish it was easier for you. I would give anything to make that happen. I’d burn this whole town down if I thought that would fix things for you. I can’t take anything back. I can’t go back and make myself be better in the past, because the truth is, Ophelia…I never had a reason to be better until I met you. It wasn’t just about my father or Vivian or any of them. It was about you. I found you and that’s when I realized I could be better. I had to be better…to have you. And I know I’m not perfect. I know I’m not there yet. But I will spend the rest of my life trying to become the man you deserve. I’ll do whatever it takes!”
“I can’t believe you gave everything up to save my life.” I sigh.
“I guess they were right. I can’t make the hard choices my father always went on about,” he muses. “I could never lose you just to keep Jameson. I hope you don’t think for one second that I would have. I wasn’t hesitating to think it over, I was just trying to make sense of it all.”
“I know,” I assure him. “It’s going to be okay, Emmett. We’re going to figure everything out.”
“You promised me you didn’t want easy,” he reminds me. “Do you still mean that? Because things just got a lot harder.”
“I don’t know.” I smile lightly. “Did they? You’re free now. You don’t have to play their games anymore, or walk around with the weight of your father’s legacy on your shoulders. You can live your life however you want to now.”
He grins. “I can finally take you to that concert, that band I was telling you about. There’s nothing to worry about anymore but normal stuff like school and college. And us.”
“The concert…sure.” I laugh. “But also Ritzville. The Ferris wheel at Ritzville.”
“What?” He smirks and wrinkles his brow.
“It’s a thing for me.” I shrug. “Just promise me we’ll go.”
“I’ll take you anywhere you want to go,” he says before pulling my lips to his.
“I don’t know about where I want to go…but I know I need to go home.” I look at the time on my phone. “My parents are going to be worried sick…again.”
He nods and looks at me intently. “I think it’s time to tell them everything, Ophelia.”
I have always known that anyone outside of Jameson would never be able to understand the full extent of the Elites and this fucked up little society, and that is what has always kept me quiet. That’s why I’ve never talked to my mom or Brendan about it. But my biggest hesitation was over Emmett. I didn’t want anyone to know that I still fell for him after everything he did to me. Maybe now that he has redeemed himself, I can find a way to tell them a very edited version of the story. It sure would make things easier the next time things go crazy, as they always inevitably do. I can’t help but feel like my parents will be the types to say fuck it, and move us right out of this town.
“I don’t know if they can handle all of that, Emmett,” I reply with dread, trying to imagine their reactions. “But you’re right. I might have to. It might be the only way to convince them you have to come sleep on our couch for a while.”
He pulls me into his arms. “I love you, Ophelia Lopez,” he says softly against my lips.
“I love you, Emmett Jameson.” I smile. “You know I’m not going anywhere, right?” I tease him. “You wanted me and now you’re stuck with me.”
“I wouldn’t put it that way.” He grins and reaches over to twirl his finger in my hair.
Emmett’s wrongness is almost what makes me want him more. The fact that I can’t tell anyone about everything that has happened between us makes me feel like we live in our own little secret world that only we can understand. I embrace his darkness in a way that I think only I can. I hate it and am afraid of it, but he’s still here, so obviously some part of me has accepted it.
“I can’t pull myself away from you no matter how hard I try,” I tell him.
“So, you’ve tried to get away from me?” he asks, sounding both hurt and intrigued.
“I’ve wanted to try,” I confess hopelessly.
As I look into his eyes, I know everything is so much more complicated than I’m willing to say out loud right now. Emmett had talked about flying out to see me if I went to college somewhere else, but now he won’t have that kind of money at his disposal. He’ll have to figure out work, and I doubt his mom has any plans to provide for his college education—the real kind that he actually has to work for. The kind that can’t be bought. Those days are over for him, and while I can’t quite bring myself to feel sorry for him about those things… I know how scary it must be for him.
I shake it all away for now. If we can overcome Emmett’s fucked up childhood, kidnappings, murders, hostage deals, and the surrender of a giant company coupled with millions of dollars… I’d like to think we can figure out things like college and a long-distance relationship.
Epilogue
I walk through the halls of WJ Prep feeling better than ever. Nothing around here has ever felt this consistently normal, and for the first time I almost feel like my old self again, the way I did before I came to Jameson. Only better. Because now I have Emmett.
I’ve spent the past month catching up on my college applications. The essay questions were ridiculous, wanting to know all about what has shaped me in life, what struggles I’ve faced. Obstacles I’ve overcome. I didn’t know what to say. The hell WJ Prep has put me through is indescribable, and not something I can talk about in an essay. But it has made me who I am. Enough that I know I deserve a track scholarship, because I have proven to myself that I can push through any kind of pain. The fact that I’m still here and with Emmett proves that I don’t give up, and that I can work my ass off and persevere. Instead, I wrote about my mom and Brendan, and how they taught me what it means to work hard, and about how I wouldn’t be where I am without their love and support, which is true. But it’s only half the story.
It’s the last day of school before winter break, and there’s a tingling of excitement in the air. All of the students are high on an adrenaline rush of expectation, with two weeks of sleeping in and partying to look forward to. The teachers are being especially lax, and classes are flying by like a breeze.
“Hey, gorgeous.” Emmett’s voice rings out to me from behind my locker. I slam it shut and fly into his arms for a long kiss, relishing in the softness of his lips against mine.