The temptation of my brother-in-law-Chapter 146 - One Hundred and Forty-Six

Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Six

Sophie’s pov

I walked into school Monday morning with my headphones in, music loud enough to drown out the usual hallway chaos. Charlotte and Cameron were already at my locker, both looking far too energetic for seven thirty in the morning.

"There she is," Charlotte announced, pulling one of my earbuds out. "We have news."

"Good morning to you too."

"Morning. Now listen. There’s a party this Friday at Jessica’s house and we’re not going."

"Okay?"

"But we are throwing our own party. At our place. Way better than anything Jessica could plan."

Cameron leaned against the locker next to mine. "Consider it the pre-birthday party. Your actual birthday party is in two weeks, but this is practice."

"I didn’t agree to either party."

"You didn’t disagree either. That’s basically agreement." Charlotte grabbed my schedule from my hand, scanned it quickly. "We have English first. Good. We can plan while Anderson drones on about whatever dead author she’s obsessed with this week."

We walked to class together, Cameron and Charlotte arguing about the party playlist while I just listened. This was normal now. Having friends who included me in things, who made plans around me, who acted like my presence mattered.

It still felt weird. Good weird, but weird.

Mrs. Anderson was already at her desk when we arrived, writing discussion questions on the board about The Great Gatsby. We took our usual seats in the back, Charlotte immediately pulling out her phone to text people about the party.

"Put the phone away, Miss Ashford," Mrs. Anderson said without turning around.

Charlotte rolled her eyes but complied. "She has eyes in the back of her head."

"Or she just knows you," I muttered.

Class started and I tried to pay attention, really tried, but my mind kept wandering. To Alicia, who’d been acting strange lately. Happier but also more distracted, like she was keeping a secret. To the mansion and all its tension. To my mother’s grave that we were supposed to visit this weekend.

"Sophie." Cameron nudged me. "You’re zoning out."

"Sorry."

"What’s wrong? You’ve been weird all morning."

"Just tired."

"Liar. But I’ll let it go for now." He slid a note across my desk. Party details. Times, who was invited, what food they were planning.

I read it and felt something warm in my chest. They’d invited people I actually liked, people who wouldn’t judge me for the David Chen incident, people who seemed genuinely nice. They’d planned food around what I’d mentioned liking. They’d even written "No Jessica or her minions allowed" at the bottom, underlined twice.

"You guys are ridiculous," I whispered.

"That’s why you love us," Charlotte whispered back.

Mrs. Anderson cleared her throat pointedly and we all pretended to be fascinated by Gatsby’s symbolism for the rest of class.

Second period was calculus, which I had without the twins. I sat alone, actually focused on the work because numbers made sense in a way people didn’t. The teacher, Mr. Rodriguez, was explaining derivatives when my phone buzzed in my pocket.

I ignored it. Buzzed again. And again.

Finally I checked it under my desk. Three texts from Charlotte.

Emergency meeting at lunch. Important.

Cameron says it’s party related but I think he’s lying.

Also I’m bored in History. Save me.

I smiled and put my phone away. Whatever emergency they had could wait until lunch.

Third period was chemistry, which I also had alone. I partnered with a quiet girl named Maya who seemed relieved to work with someone who actually did the assignments. We finished our lab early and spent the rest of class talking about music. She played violin, was in the school orchestra, said I should come to their next concert.

"I might," I said, meaning it. Having a social life was still strange but not unwelcome.

Lunch came and I headed to our usual spot in the cafeteria. Charlotte and Cameron were already there, plus two other people I recognized from classes. Daniel and his girlfriend Emma, both juniors, both normal and friendly.

"Okay," Charlotte said as soon as I sat down. "Real talk. Emma heard something and we need to address it."

"Heard what?"

Emma looked uncomfortable. "Jessica’s been spreading rumors. About you. Saying that you’re dangerous and unstable and that your family basically paid off the school to keep you here after the David thing."

My stomach dropped. "She’s saying that?"

"She’s bitter because David was her friend and she thinks you got away with assault." Daniel shook his head. "But everyone with a brain knows David deserved it. He was a creep."

"Still," Cameron said, "we should address it. Can’t have people thinking our friend is some kind of violent psycho when she’s actually just a badass who stands up for herself."

"How do we address it?"

"We confront Jessica. Tell her to shut up or deal with consequences."

"Or," Charlotte countered, "we throw the best party this school has ever seen and make it clear that Sophie is part of our crowd now. Social proof. If we’re vouching for her, Jessica’s rumors lose power."

"I vote for confrontation," Cameron said.

"You always vote for confrontation."

"Because it works."

They argued while I picked at my food, not really hungry. I’d known the David thing would follow me, but I’d hoped people would move on eventually. Apparently Jessica wasn’t ready to let it go.

"Sophie?" Emma touched my arm gently. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just annoyed."

"Jessica’s all talk. She won’t actually do anything."

"She doesn’t have to do anything. Just keeps talking and eventually people believe her."

"Not if we give them a different story to believe," Charlotte said. "That’s why the party is important. We show everyone that you’re normal, that you have friends, that you’re not some scary person they should avoid."

"I shouldn’t have to prove I’m normal."

"You’re right. You shouldn’t. But this is high school and everything is stupid here, so we work with what we have."

She had a point. High school was stupid. But it was also my reality for another year and a half, so I might as well deal with it.

"Fine. Party on Friday. I’ll be there."

"That’s the spirit." Cameron pulled out his phone. "I’m texting everyone now. This is going to be epic."

The rest of lunch passed with party planning and gossip about other people’s drama. Daniel told a story about his chemistry teacher that had us all laughing, and Emma showed us videos of her cat doing stupid things.

Normal teenager stuff. The kind of stuff I’d never had before.

Fourth period was history, which I had with Charlotte. We spent the entire class passing notes about the party, getting increasingly elaborate with our plans until she suggested hiring a live band and I had to remind her we were seventeen, not twenty-five.

"Details," she whispered. "We can dream."

Fifth period was study hall in the library. I actually studied, caught up on reading for English, finished my calculus homework. The quiet was nice after the social intensity of lunch.

My phone buzzed. Text from Alicia.

How’s school?

Good. Normal.

That’s good. See you at home tonight?

Yeah.

I stared at the message, debating whether to mention the Jessica rumors or the party or any of it. Decided against it. Alicia had enough to worry about without adding my high school drama to the list.

Final period was art, my favorite class. We were working on self-portraits and I’d been struggling to get mine right. The teacher, Ms. Chen, came over while I was staring at my half-finished canvas.

"You’re being too careful," she said. "Art doesn’t have to be perfect. It has to be honest."

"I don’t know how to make it honest."

"Then paint what you feel, not what you think you should look like."

I tried. Picked up the brush and just started adding colors without overthinking it. Dark blues and grays, some silver for my hair, hints of red for the anger I kept buried. It looked messy and chaotic and nothing like the polished self-portraits other students were doing.

But it felt right.

"Better," Ms. Chen said when she came back. "That’s you. Not the version you show everyone. The real you underneath."

When the final bell rang, I felt exhausted. Socially drained from maintaining conversations all day, mentally tired from classes and homework, emotionally worn from dealing with Jessica’s rumors and party planning and everything else.

Charlotte and Cameron found me at my locker. "Ride home?" Cameron offered.

"The driver’s picking me up."

"Ditch the driver. Come hang out at our place for a bit."

I hesitated. I should go home. Should check on Alicia. Should do homework in my room and decompress alone like I usually did.

But I also wanted to go with them. Wanted to keep being part of this friendship that still felt new and fragile.

"Okay. But just for an hour."

"Perfect. Cameron drives like a maniac so we’ll be there in ten minutes."

We piled into their Mercedes and drove to their house, which was more like a mansion. Modern and expensive with too many rooms for just two teenagers.

We ended up in their game room, playing video games and eating junk food and talking about nothing important. It was easy and comfortable and exactly what I needed after the day.

At six I finally texted the driver to pick me up. Charlotte walked me to the door.

"Thanks for coming. I know you usually like being alone."

"I’m trying to be less alone."

"Good. Because we’re not going away. You’re stuck with us now."

I smiled. "I can live with that."

The drive back to the mansion was quiet. I stared out the window and thought about how much my life had changed in just a few months. From having no one to having Charlotte and Cameron. From sitting alone at lunch to having people who actually wanted me around.

It still felt fragile. Like something that could disappear if I said or did the wrong thing.

But maybe that was just what friendship felt like. Uncertain and scary but also worth the risk.

I walked into the mansion and immediately felt the difference between the twins’ house and this place. Their house felt lived in, comfortable. The mansion felt like a museum. Beautiful but cold.

Alicia was in the kitchen making tea. She looked up when I came in.

"How was school?"

"Good. I might go to a party Friday."

Her face lit up. "Really? That’s wonderful. With Charlotte and Cameron?" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"Yeah. At their place."

"I’m so glad you have friends, Sophie. You deserve that."

I nodded, poured myself water. "Are you okay? You seem different lately."

"Different how?"

"I don’t know. Happier maybe? Or distracted. Something."

She hesitated, and I could see her debating what to tell me. "Just work stuff. Nothing to worry about."

"Okay."

But I didn’t quite believe her. Something was definitely different. I just couldn’t figure out what.

"We’re still visiting mom this weekend?" I asked.

"Yes. Saturday morning. I promise."

"Okay. I’m going to do homework."

I left her in the kitchen and went to my room, dropped my bag, and collapsed on my bed. Pulled out my guitar and started playing the song Charlotte had taught me, losing myself in the music until dinner.