The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 137 - One Hundred and Thirty-Seven

Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Seven

Sophie’s POV

I walked into first period and immediately spotted Charlotte waving at me from the back of the classroom. She’d saved me a seat between her and Cameron, which was becoming our usual arrangement. Three weeks ago I’d been sitting alone, and now I had assigned seats with people who actually wanted me around.

It still felt weird.

"You look tired," Charlotte said as I dropped my bag and slid into the chair.

"Didn’t sleep well."

"Nightmares or family drama?"

"Both."

Cameron leaned over from my other side. "Want to talk about it or want us to distract you with meaningless gossip?"

"Gossip."

"Perfect." Charlotte pulled out her phone, keeping it low so Mrs. Anderson wouldn’t see. "So apparently Jessica Chen is dating Tyler Morris now. You know, the guy from the football team who’s basically David Chen’s replacement."

"They deserve each other," I muttered.

"Right? Both equally terrible. Anyway, they got caught making out in the janitor’s closet yesterday and got detention. Which is hilarious because Jessica spent all of last year lecturing people about proper behavior and school reputation."

"Hypocrite," Cameron added. "The best kind of gossip involves hypocrites getting caught."

Mrs. Anderson started class, launching into something about symbolism in The Great Gatsby. I tried to pay attention but my mind kept wandering. The mansion had been tense lately. Layla and Isabella fighting. Pa Wood looking sick. Alicia constantly stressed about something she wouldn’t talk about.

Charlotte passed me a note. You okay?

I wrote back. Fine. Just tired.

Another note. Liar. But I won’t push.

I glanced at her and she gave me a small smile. That was the thing about Charlotte and Cameron. They knew when to push and when to back off. They could read people in a way that most teenagers couldn’t, like they’d learned early how to navigate complicated social situations.

Probably came from having money. Rich kids learned young how to handle adults and politics and all the messy stuff that came with power.

Class dragged. Mrs. Anderson was passionate about Gatsby but I couldn’t make myself care about symbolism when real life was complicated enough without literary analysis.

When the bell rang, Cameron grabbed my bag before I could. "Come on. We’re going off campus for lunch."

"We’re not allowed to leave campus."

"We’re not allowed to get caught leaving campus," Charlotte corrected. "There’s a difference."

"I don’t have a car."

"We do. Obviously." Cameron was already walking toward the parking lot like this was decided.

I followed because arguing seemed like too much effort. We walked past groups of students, past the cafeteria where I used to sit alone, past the spot where I’d broken David’s nose. Some people still stared at me when I walked by, but less than before. Having Charlotte and Cameron as friends had somehow made me less scary and more interesting.

Their Mercedes was parked in the senior lot even though we were all juniors. Charlotte had apparently charmed the parking attendant into giving them a premium spot.

"Where are we going?" I asked as Cameron drove out of the parking lot like he owned the road.

"This place that makes amazing sandwiches. You’ll love it."

The restaurant was small and expensive-looking, the kind of place where a sandwich cost twenty dollars and came on actual plates instead of paper. We got a booth in the back and Charlotte immediately started talking.

"So we need to discuss your birthday. It’s coming up in two weeks and we’re throwing you a party."

"I don’t want a party."

"Too bad. You’re getting one." Cameron stole a fry off my plate even though he had his own. "Nothing huge. Just us and maybe ten other people. Good music, good food, very chill."

"I said I don’t want a party."

"And we said you’re getting one." Charlotte leaned forward. "Look, Sophie. You’ve been alone for months. You deserve to celebrate turning seventeen with actual friends instead of sitting in your room being sad."

"I’m not sad."

"You’re always sad. We’ve established this. But we’re going to fix it with a party and cake and probably some bad decisions that we’ll all regret later."

I wanted to argue but something about the way she said it made me laugh instead. "You’re both insane."

"Obviously. That’s why we’re friends." Cameron finished his sandwich in like three bites. "So it’s settled. Party at our place. You’ll come, you’ll have fun, you’ll thank us later."

"Your place?"

"We have a house here. Well, our parents have a house here. But they’re never around so it’s basically ours."

Of course they had a house. Rich kids always had multiple houses.

"I’ll think about it," I said, which was better than an outright no.

Charlotte seemed satisfied with that. "Good enough. Now tell us what’s actually wrong. And don’t say nothing because we can tell you’re stressed."

I picked at my sandwich. "Family stuff. It’s complicated."

"Family stuff is always complicated," Cameron said. "We get it. Rich families are basically just expensive soap operas."

"Your family drama too?"

"Oh yeah. Our parents hate each other but stay married for appearances. Our older brother is in rehab for the third time. Our aunt is suing our uncle over inheritance. It’s a mess."

Charlotte nodded. "So whatever your family is dealing with, we probably understand. Or at least we won’t judge."

I thought about telling them. About Tyler showing up. About Isabella seeing ghosts. About how Alicia was constantly worried and Malachi was always tense and the whole mansion felt like it was waiting for something to explode.

But I didn’t. Because talking about it would make it real, and I was tired of things being real.

"Maybe later," I said instead. "Right now I just want to eat overpriced sandwiches and pretend I’m a normal teenager with normal problems."

"Deal." Charlotte raised her water glass. "To pretending we’re normal."

"To bad decisions," Cameron added.

"To actually having friends," I finished.

We clinked glasses and I felt something warm in my chest. Something that might have been happiness or at least the beginning of it.

The rest of lunch was easy. We talked about nothing important. Movies we wanted to see. Music we were listening to. Cameron’s ongoing feud with his calculus teacher. Charlotte’s plan to dye her hair purple just to annoy her mother.

Normal teenager stuff.

When we got back to school, we were five minutes late to fourth period but nobody seemed to care. The twins had that effect. They could break rules and smile their way out of consequences.

I sat through chemistry not really paying attention, then history, then finally the last period of the day. Charlotte passed me notes the whole time, mostly stupid jokes and drawings that made me try not to laugh out loud.

When the final bell rang, I actually felt disappointed that the day was over.

"Same time tomorrow?" Charlotte asked as we walked to the parking lot.

"You mean are we kidnapping Sophie for off-campus lunch again?" Cameron clarified.

"Obviously."

"I guess," I said, trying to sound reluctant but probably failing.

"Excellent. We’ll pick you up at your locker."

They drove off in their Mercedes and I waited for the mansion driver. Watched other students pile into their own cars, heading home to their own families and their own drama.

My phone buzzed. Text from Charlotte.

Party planning starts this weekend. You’re helping whether you want to or not.

I smiled despite myself and texted back.

You’re both ridiculous.

Her response came immediately.

That’s why you love us.

And the weird thing was, she might have been right. These two ridiculous, pushy, overly confident rich kids had somehow become the best part of my day.

I got in the car when it arrived and headed back to the mansion. Back to the tension and secrets and family drama that never seemed to end.

But at least now I had something else. Something that was just mine. Friends who didn’t care about the Blackwood name or the fact that I’d put someone in the hospital or any of the other baggage I carried.

They just cared about me.

And that made everything else a little bit easier to handle.