Playing Pretend

In the morning, Liana’s parents went to work, Liana went to one of her classes, and I stayed alone. I moved from Liana’s room to the living room and sank on the couch, hugging a pillow and taking short naps between reruns of Once Upon a Time.

At lunchtime, Liana burst through the front door.

“Charlotte, you won’t believe what just happened.”

I sat straighter, afraid the press had found me, and now they were harassing Liana and her family. “What?”

With her cell phone in her hand, she sat down beside me.

“Don’t panic, okay. Just listen first.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. Oh, Lord. “Tell me.”

“Mason contacted me through Facebook. He said you weren’t answering him anywhere and he had something urgent to show you. I ignored his messages, but then he sent this one.”

She turned her phone to me so I could read it.

Mason: Liana, please. I didn’t send those photos to the press, but I know who did and I can prove it. Please, call me.

A pang stabbed my heart. What now? “Did you answer?”

“Wasn’t going to, but something told me I should. I called him and we met right after my class, just off campus. He had a recording with him and I listened to it.”

“And?”

“He sent it to me through email, and I want you to hear it.” She went to the files in her phone and selected a voice recording. “Are you ready?”

Not really, but I nodded.

She pressed play and I held my breath. Soon, I heard Do

Something like anxiety and rage and disappointed and frustration and a whole bunch of other feelings assaulted me.

“Holy crap,” I said shakily.

“I know!” Liana took my hand and steadied it. “It wasn’t Mason! He told me that Do

I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to think.

For one, Mason hadn’t accepted the deal with Do

Not Mason.

Oh, crap, Mason. Relief coursed through me, sending all the hate and pain away. My feelings for him, the ones I had kept locked away since this bomb exploded yesterday morning and thought I would never allow myself to feel again, resurfaced and I welcomed them.

With a tiny smile, I reached for my phone, but then I remembered it was stashed in Liana’s bedroom, turned off since yesterday.

“What are you going to do now?” Liana asked.

I frowned, thinking about it for a moment. “I need to find a way to fix this.”

Charlotte

Without wasting time, I called my mother’s assistant and asked her if my mother was having di

“No, but tomorrow she has a di

“Oh, do you think I could stop by? I need to talk to her.”

“I think so.” She paused. “I know she’s upset but I know she really loves you, in her way. She’ll like it if you two can patch things up.”

That wasn’t exactly my plan.

“All right. I’ll be there,” I said. “Don’t tell her anything. I want it to be a surprise.”

“Okay. I won’t say anything,” Sarah responded.

Good. Next, I called Do

“For you, I can,” he said, sounding way too happy.

“Great. See you tomorrow.” I turned off the call before he could say anything else and try to keep the conversation going.

The next day, I arrived at the mansion a little past six. Sarah met me at the front door and guided me to the empty dining room, where the table was set for two people.

“Your mother will be here in fifteen minutes,” she said.

I took my usual chair at the table. “Thanks.”

With nothing to do, I looked around the formal dining room. Dark wood floors were polished to a perfect shine, the walls were dull white, big windows were covered with lush curtains, a crystal chandelier hung above the mahogany table, and several chairs with beige velvet cushions were set around the table. A china hutch stood against a wall, showing off all the crystal flutes and glasses, and a few crystal picture frames. My mother behind her desk on the first day as the governor of Virginia, my mother and I at my Sweet Sixteen birthday party—which was exactly how she wanted it, not how I wanted it—my father and her on their wedding day, and one of my father in his military uniform in front of a platoon somewhere in the world. Every picture on display had been carefully selected to show off our happy family and our accomplishments.

The doorbell rang, catching my attention.

Soon, I heard voices. Do

“Charlotte,” my mother said my name as in a prayer, and I felt bad for deciding to confront Do

I stood. “Hi, Mother. Hello, Senator Williams. Do

Do

Not very well. I gestured to the table. “Let’s sit and talk.”

My mother took her usual place at the head of the table. Senator Williams sat across from me, and Do

As if on cue, one of the maids appeared with two sets of plates, cutlery, and glasses. Then two other maids brought the food to the table.

When they disappeared into the kitchen, my mother turned to me. “This is a wonderful surprise.”

I wouldn’t let her shift me off track. “We need to talk.”

“Of course,” she said.

“Mom, I want to tell you about me. I like to draw and roller-skate. Tracy isn’t my best friend—Liana is. And MaryA

My mother cringed. “Charlotte, why are you telling us this?”

“Mason is a simple guy from California, who has little money, and he’s not ashamed of it. I wasn’t ashamed of it.” My mother gasped, but I kept on going, “You also don’t know that Do

“That’s not true,” Do

I pulled out my phone from inside my purse and put it on the table, in a place everyone would hear it. I pressed play on the voice recording of Do

My mother gasped, Senator Williams pressed his mouth into a thin line, and Do

“There,” I said, taking my phone back. “It’s all out in the open. You can’t blackmail me or Mason anymore.” I turned to my mother. “And you can stop blaming Mason and me for what happened.”

Surprising me, my mother was the first one to speak. “When we agreed to have Do

He shrugged. “I had to do what I had to do.”

A new bomb had been armed. “What?”

My mother looked at me with shielded eyes. “Some time ago, Senator Williams and I agreed that you and Do