Defiant Princess (Boys of Oak Park Prep 2)

Part of me hoped I’d remembered the number wrong as I listened to it ring. But when it went to voice mail, my grandma’s voice was the one on the recording.

I hung up quickly. The hospital had already tried contacting her, so they must’ve left a message. She didn’t need one from me.

Time oozed by, and I stared at Philip like he might open his eyes and jump out of bed at any moment.

But he didn’t.

He was still asleep when Jacqueline arrived. She pushed open the door and entered in a hurry, stark fear on her face as she took in Philip’s appearance. Then her gaze landed on me, and she did something like a triple-take.

Huh. Guess Philip really had managed to keep our little meetings secret.

“What are you doing here?” Her voice was strained, and the muscles of her neck tightened.

“My grandfather is in the hospital. I have a right to come see him.” I’d leapt to my feet without realizing it when she entered, and I stood like I was about ready to physically fight her. I would too, if she tried to make me leave. “I know you knew I was back in Roseland, so don’t act so surprised. Maybe you want to check on your husband.”

I jerked my head toward the bed, and Jacqueline started, shaking her head as if to clear it as she crossed closer to him. She came to stand on the opposite side of the bed from me, gripping his hand in hers. An expression of genuine tenderness crossed her face, and I looked down. I didn’t want to see that shit. Knowing she was capable of love only made the shitty things she’d done to me and my mom worse.

“The doctor said surgery went well. He said they’re optimistic,” I told the floor.

“Good.” Her voice was cool, distant.

I clenched my teeth. “Look, we don’t have to talk. In fact, I’d love it if we didn’t. But you can’t make me leave. So get over it.”

When I glanced up at her, she was staring at me with an almost shocked expression on her face. She opened her mouth as if to say something, then snapped it shut abruptly and moved daintily to sit in a chair in the corner. She was obviously too high-class to drag it closer to the bed like I’d done with mine, and I celebrated my mental victory over her for not having a stick up my ass.

We stayed like that for several hours. Long enough that I ducked out to the hall to grab a snack and some surprisingly decent coffee from the vending machine. Jacqueline shifted irritably as I crunched on my bag of chips, and I chalked up another petty win. I hadn’t realized quite how much I’d been under her thumb when I’d been here last year—until I wasn’t anymore. She’d been so used to dictating my life in big and small ways, and I could tell it grated at her that she couldn’t do that anymore.

Well. Good.

By 9:30, my head was bobbing as I tried to stay awake. It wasn’t even that late, but it’d been a long week of studying, and I’d been sitting in a tense, quiet room for over six hours. I hadn’t spoken to Jacqueline since she first arrived, and she hadn’t spoken to me.

“You can go home.” Her voice broke the silence, making me jump. “The hospital will keep you updated.”

I noticed she hadn’t volunteered to do it, and I shook my head angrily. But she was right. I could come back tomorrow, and when the nurse had come by an hour ago to check on Philip, she’d said he was in stable condition.

“Are you staying?” I shot a glance at her out of the corner of my eye.

“I… don’t know.” The look she shot Philip made me think she probably would, and that helped solidify my decision. As much as I wanted to be here when my grandpa woke up, I really didn’t feel like having a fucking slumber party with Jacqueline.

“Okay. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

I stood and hefted my backpack onto one shoulder. I was still wearing my Oak Park uniform, and I brushed my skirt down as I stepped up beside Philip’s bed. I kind of wanted to hug him, but I hadn’t even done that when he was conscious, so it felt weird to do it now. I settled for resting my hand over his. “See you.”

Without looking at Jacqueline, I headed for the door. The elevator dropped me off on the first floor, and I made my way toward the same door I’d come in, watching the strange night crew that populated the hospital—doctors, nurses, and people like me who were killing time waiting for news about a loved one.

As I stepped out into the cool California air, I tugged my phone from my bag and was just about to pull up the Uber app when a voice stopped me.

“Hey.”

My gaze flew up, landing on Finn. The blond football player quirked a small grin at me, his dimples flashing and disappearing.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you. You ready to head out?”

I blinked. “Have you… been here all this time?”

“Well, yeah.” He shrugged. “I was your ride.”

“But you didn’t have to—I could’ve taken an Uber back.”