| |
OCTOBER 2012
Rochester Hills Country Club
“Luke? It’s so good to see you. You look handsome as always!”
As Mrs. Mefford links her arm with mine, I stifle the urge to say something sarcastic. Isn’t it bad enough I have to tolerate these people during the holidays? I’ve seen more of the Mefford family—including Christy—than I’ve wanted in the last few months. As my father’s biggest campaign doners, the Meffords are ever-present. Since my father announced his candidacy for mayor last spring, the Rochester Hills community has pulled out all stops to help elect him.
Glancing around the room, I spot the man of the hour shaking hands with one of the city council members. Raking my fingers through my hair, I avoid his gaze. Right now, I’m the last person Joe Donovan wants to deal with.
I am under strict orders to be seen and not heard tonight. Fine by me. Nobody has caught wind of the underlying tension in our family, but my recent antics certainly haven’t helped my father’s political prospects.
Last May, my computer friend, Daniel Marks was caught hacking into U.S. Congressman Harold Ellis’ emails after he and I set out to get answers from Hannah Sparks and her buddy Brandon Ellis. We’d already found Sparks.
Ellis was the wild card.
After searching for weeks, we found him hiding in plain sight. It was sheer luck. His father, an extreme conservative, had made recent news, and it just so happens that his son, Brandon “Michael” Ellis, is his assistant chief of staff.
All I wanted to do was scare the shit out of him and force him to tell me the fucking truth about the Homecoming incident. We had everything in place. But Marks took our plans too far.
I had no idea my partner in crime was a black hat hacker and part of a conspiracy group called Anonymous that makes a living out of breaking into corporate and government systems to look for secrets. Congressman Ellis is a member of the appropriations committee with a goldmine of information. When Marks hacked Ellis’ account, he practically salivated at his prize.
Moron.
I mean me.
Much like Christy had back in the day, I trusted the wrong person to carry out my devious plans. Fortunately, I have a conscience. After I gave the Feds what they needed to convict Marks, my involvement was listed as a petty misdemeanor. The arrest also led them to the top hackers they’d been looking for. Extra brownie points never hurts.
My father, with the help of Dr. Mefford, paid a hefty sum to keep Congressman Ellis from pressing charges, along with promises of favors and cooperation once Dad becomes mayor. The sleazeball politician move didn’t surprise me in the least.
Now? My chances of receiving the Rhodes Scholarship are gone. Brandon Ellis has filed a restraining order against me. Worse, I never got the information that I’ve been obsessed about for the last three years. The only thing I have left going for me is I’ll graduate with my master’s degree in the spring.
But the hefty price I have to pay isn’t worth it.
“Lukey!”
As Christy saunters up to me and takes her mother’s place, I glare at her. Exhibit one: Said price.
Her mother whisper-hisses, “Christina Marie, for goodness sake, mind your manners. We’re in public. You aren’t eleven.”
If I weren’t so disgusted with my father’s under-the-table arrangement, I’d agree with Mrs. Mefford a hundred percent. Christy still acts like a spoiled brat in grade school. It isn’t attractive in the least.
“Oh, Mother.” Christy rolls her eyes and turns her attention to me. “Where have you been? You were supposed to take me to a party this weekend.” She grips my arm through my coat. Her fingernails dig deeper, her message clear. Get with the program, or she’ll talk to her daddy.
I try to pull away from her. “I’m a grad student, remember? I have a lot to do.”
She plants a fist upon her hip. “I’m graduating in the spring too, but I still like to have fun, Luke.”
No shit. That’s her problem. Chris parties all the time. She’s barely making it through her classes. Her favorite saying is C’s get degrees. If I hear that one more time, I’ll puke.
I thought once she’d gotten the whole sorority thing out of her system she’d settle down... especially after her father had showered her with gifts for making the dean’s list. But after four years of sorority life, the party queen persona is still her favorite.
Truthfully, Christy doesn’t seem to know who she is. She isn’t stupid. But her vapid demeanor and sickening sweet façade doesn’t vibe with the manipulative bitch that often rears its ugly head. That is her true persona, even if she doesn’t want to believe it.
And now that we have to keep up with this stupid charade, her personality is on a steroid overload
Dislodging her arm from mine, I clear my throat. “I have to use the restroom.”
“I’ll walk with you.” Her hazel eyes spark dangerously. I throw shade right back. I might be trapped in this illusion of wealth and power to appease the money gods that saved my ass from a felony, but I’m not about to bow to the level of giving in to this girl’s fantasies.
Some kitschy teen pop song starts to play. As we dodge the crowds, Christy squeals. “Let’s dance first! I love this song!”
I scoff. The hired DJ looks bored to death as a group of girls pile onto the ballroom floor. Apparently, Mrs. Mefford is trying to appeal to a younger crowd.
Pushing past Christy, I storm toward the other end of the club to escape the ungodly racket. As we come to a quiet corridor, she pulls me into one of the spare storerooms and closes the door before I can protest. Throwing her fists to her hips, she growls, “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Crossing my arms, I roll my eyes. Why is she always so fucking dramatic? “What do you want from me? I’m here, aren’t I?” And that’s all I am in life. Just here. Hardly living. For one more year, at least.
She snorts. “Barely! This wasn’t the deal, Luke. I hardly see you anymore. You aren’t keeping up your end of the bargain.”
The hell I’m not. I’ve buried myself in my schoolwork and kept my nose clean the last four months. What more do these people want from me? “I’m doing the bare minimum with you. Nothing more. That was the deal.”
“Get with the program. Our parents want us together, Luke. They want a proposal. And soon.”
My eyes narrow. “No fucking way. That isn’t part of the arrangement! All we have to do is pretend to be together. And that’s all this is.” Besides, I know for a fact my mother isn’t on board with this. She was disappointed in my bad decisions, no doubt. But she doesn’t like Christy any more than I do.
Christy’s lips pull over her teeth as she snarls. “Then maybe I should share what information I have with Daddy. I visited Hannah in Minneapolis a few weeks ago. Funny how those pictures you stole from my computer ended up in an anonymous email sent to her, blackmailing her to tell the truth about that stupid Homecoming prank or you’d send all of them to her father. That was a ballsy move, Luke. Especially since my father and yours already have a deal in place.”
My temples ache. I really am a dumbass. That mistake proves it. One night, I’d gotten so drunk with Marks and his fucking hacker friends that I’d spilled the truth about why I was going after Sparks. That led to the story about the Homecoming incident.
After riling up the computer geeks about the horrible bullying Penny had endured, they emailed those damn pictures to Hannah from my laptop and threatened to send them to her father if she didn’t come clean about what really happened that night. Using psychological warfare, they claimed to have seen her face in the video. Total bullshit, but Marks isn’t an idiot. He superimposed her image in a few of the shots and threatened to turn her in if she didn’t tell the truth.
Hannah never answered the email. Apparently, she had another breakdown and ended up returning to the rehab facility in Minneapolis.
It was then that I hit rock bottom. I wanted answers, but not like that. I threatened to expose Marks. Consequently, that was the flint he needed to set his plan into motion. He leaked all of the classified documents he’d hacked from Congressman Ellis’ email to the Anonymous website—from my computer.
I was his tool.
Anticipating the worst, I contacted the FBI and ratted Marks out. The day before the shit went down with him, my laptop somehow ended up in the lake along with the flash drive that had the pictures I’d taken from Christy’s computer. The Feds won’t find any evidence linking me to that hacking scheme unless they want to dredge the bottom of Lake Huron. Yeah, you heard me right. I drove all the way to St. Ignace in the middle of the night and found a nice quiet resting place for the thing.
Crossing my arms, I arch an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? Prove it.”
Her shoulders slump as she heaves a defeated sigh. “Why are we doing this? We’re on the same side.”
I shake my head. The only side she’s ever been on is her own. “I’m paying my dues. That’s it. But it doesn’t involve marriage.”
“Why not?” She runs a fingernail across my chest and undoes my tie. “We’re good together. Let me prove it to you.”
Holy fuck, no. As she goes for my pants, I push away from her. There is no way we’re having sex. I can’t stand being in the same room with her, let alone sleep with her. And marriage? I’d be an idiot to agree to that, even more than I already am.
I rip out of her grip. “You know what, Mefford? Do your worst. If choosing between you and federal charges are my options, go for it.”
Confusion and hurt flit across her face, morphing into rage. “Are you serious?”
I stand toe to toe with her and grit out, “Deadly.”
Stepping back, she shakes her head as tears gather at her eyes. “I don’t even know who you are anymore, Luke.”
Neither do I. But one thing is certain. I’m not that pushover she manipulated in high school.
Once I do my time with Christy Mefford, I’m finished. With all of them.
*****
This is the private journal of Penny Elaine Ramsay. Do not read!!
NOVEMBER 4, 2012
OMG, what is wrong with people? That asshole Anthony Preston used me. After three dates, he dumped me. Or rather I dumped him. Remember the whole Greek thing? Yeah, he wasn’t looking to date me seriously. He is a new recruit to Zeta Tau, and as part of his initiation, he had to comply with their biggest challenge. He needed a pawn for the annual Halloween Bring a Geek to a Greek Party.
I was his first choice. Lucky me.
And you know what was worse? One of the girls who was friends with Kennedy Harper back at RHHS is an Alpha Gam. Not only was I, said geek, humiliated in front of most of the Zeta Tau frat and the Alpha Gams with tales of bullying from my freshman year of high school, but the witch pulled up that freaking video from some obscure YouTube channel!
What is it still doing out there? And why is this crap still happening to me?
I thought college would be different. It isn’t. I’m still the chubby girl, and my classmates target me on the daily.
I can’t win.