Defiant Princess (Boys of Oak Park Prep 2)

Oliver didn’t take me to another football game, but I went to one more on my own. I wasn’t quite sure why I did, and I left before the end of the game. I was sure Finn saw me in the stands, even though I sat toward the back.

The Princes continued to ignore me, at least outwardly. I could feel them watching me—I was as physically aware of their stares as I’d ever been—but none of them spoke to me.

Elijah had pulled me into a stairwell again a few days after Adena pushed me, but that time, he hadn’t even said anything. He’d just stared at me, so intently and for so long that the air between us had seemed to thicken with all the things he wasn’t saying. By the time he’d finally opened his mouth, I had recovered from my shock and escaped back into the hall.

But on a Monday afternoon in mid-October, the illusion of normalcy shattered.

I was heading back toward the Wastelands after class, rounding the corner of Hammond Hall, when my phone rang in the side pocket of my bag. I didn’t recognize the number, but hardly anyone ever called me, so I swiped to accept, thinking it must have to do with my trust or something.

“Hello?”

There was a moment of silence, and then, “Talia?”

My feet froze in place, my body jerking to a halt so fast I almost stumbled. I had known the owner of that voice for less than a year, but I recognized the deep baritone instantly.

“What do you want, Philip?” My voice was low and choked, cut off by my closing throat.

“I…” He trailed off, and there was another long beat of silence before he spoke again. “I wanted to see if you’d meet with me.”

I stood rooted to the spot, trying to come up with the right words to say, the right emotions to feel. When I’d stepped off the plane at LAX and walked by the spot where Jacqueline had picked me up the first time, I had wondered if she or my grandfather knew I was back in California. Wondered if they knew about the money my mom had saved, and the fact that she’d left it to me.

But ever since then, I’d made a point to not think about either of my two remaining relatives, to pretend they didn’t fucking exist. I rarely left campus, so the chances of running into them anywhere were almost nil. Jacqueline had made it clear she never wanted to see me again, and the feeling was entirely fucking mutual.

So why the hell was Philip calling me?

And why did he sound so… wrecked?

“No.” I swallowed hard, staring out across the green lawn. “I don’t think I can.”

There was another long pause, and when he spoke again, I swore there was a slur in his speech. “I understand. I didn’t think you would.” His voice was thick, his words slow. “I just had to try.”

A lump formed in my throat at the defeat in his tone, at the heartbreak. But I kept my voice steady as I said, “Bye.”

“Wait!” The panicked word filtered through the line, and I paused, my finger hovering over the end call button. I put the phone back to my ear as he spoke again. “Are you… are you all right? Do you need anything?”

My eyes narrowed. “What, like money?”

“Anything.”

“What about what Jacqueline said?”

“She doesn’t have to know,” Philip intoned, his voice gaining strength. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah.” I stepped off the path into the shade of a tree near Hammond, leaning against the side of the large white building. “I… my mom left me money in a trust. A lawyer helped me get access to it early. So I don’t need anything.”

There was such a long pause that I had a momentary worry he’d passed out or something, but then he spoke again. “I’m sorry, Talia. For what your grandmother—for what I did. I should never have allowed you to get on that plane. Jacqueline is still adamant about cutting you off, but… I can’t lose another daughter.”

“I’m not your daughter,” I said stiffly.

“No. But you’re the closest thing I’ll ever have to one now. I didn’t stop your mother from leaving, and I lost her forever. I made the same mistake with you. Old fool.”

The last words were muttered under his breath, not even meant for me, but they were the ones that lodged in my heart.

He was an old fool. He could’ve stood up for me when Jacqueline had gone after me, when she’d vowed to cut me out of her life. Even now, I was certain he was going behind her back to call me.

But he had called.

And I wasn’t his daughter, but he was the only family I had left.