Royals

Chapter 18

I stared at the girl in the mirror. She looked distant, exhausted. Her blue eyes were unusually lifeless and seemed to be focused elsewhere. No matter how much she tried, the bags under her eyes always seemed prominent—they appeared to be indestructible nowadays.

Perhaps they would disappear when the extra baggage from her heart vanished. But if that was the case, they would be there for a while.

I was interrupted from my daze when Lillia cleared her throat. "Have you two talked yet?"

"No." I gulped.

She grabbed my shoulders, embracing me in a brief hug. "I already told him that he can't guilt you into dating him, so you don't have anything to worry about," she assured.

I forced an unconvincing smile and reluctantly walked down the stairs. Instead of waiting by the foyer like usual, Jake and Joey were already seated in the car.

I allowed Lillia to lead the way to the limo as I noiselessly trailed behind her. Joey locked his eyes on me, wordlessly promising that everything would be alright. This proved to be the extra push I needed as I sat down beside him on a leather seat. Although I usually sat next to Jake, no one dared to mention it.

The air felt oddly thick, as if the unspoken tension between us could be felt. Joey obviously sensed the general uneasiness, so he broke the ice.

"I heard that we're being introduced to some new 'friends' today," Joey informed us.

"Really?" Lillia pondered. "Who?"

"Twins our age named Brandon and Marietta. Stacy's going to be working with their mom."

My eyes shot up at the mention of my mother. "Where'd you hear that?"

"My mom spilled the beans. It's supposed to be a surprise, so make sure you pretend I didn't just spoil it for you," he teased.

Lillia fidgeting with her fingers and Jake stared out the window. He obviously didn't like the sight of Joey and me talking. I could feel the seeds of anger begin to bubble up in my core, and I contemplating kissing Joey right then, just to make him even angrier.

But that would be incredibly stupid.

If Jake or Lillia found out about Joey and me, they would turn around and tell our parents. And I didn't know about Joey, but I wasn't exactly in any mood to be lectured about making "a huge mistake".

I hadn't realized that my fists were clenched until Joey pried my fingers apart, playing it off like he was grabbing his phone. I sighed deeply and folded my hands in my lap, my eyes burning straight into Jake.

After a few seconds, his gaze fell on mine and I caught a hybrid of hurt and regret swirling around his eyes.

Did he really regret asking me to be his girlfriend? As much as I hated the awkward drift between us, a part of me wished he was content with his bravery.

"Jake," I verbalized, trying to gain his attention. In response, he rolled his eyes and returned his gaze to the foliage around us.

Fully aware of Joey's eavesdropping eyes, I whipped out my phone and sent Jake a text.

Emily: Can we talk?

Jake: Go ahead.

Emily: I'm sorry I said no. I just need time to think about everything that's going on right now. I'm sorry that my mind is a jumbled mess—please don't be upset with me.