Prep School Rivals - Chapter 4 preview

I've had to put the Prep School novels on hiatus for the last year due to scheduling conflicts, but I'm happy to say that Prep School Rivals, the third book in the series, is back on track! Here's an excerpt from chapter 4, where we pick up with Gabrielle after the traumatic events at the end of Prep School Scandal...

CHAPTER 4

Gabrielle had not left her room in days, not since her parents had brought her home from the hospital. In that time, she had barely spoken to anyone. There was nothing to say to her parents, even though they had cut short their European trip after receiving word of the car accident. She had no friends to talk to, even if she had wanted to. No one except her parents had come to the hospital to visit and no one from school had called the house to check up on her. She remembered being popular once, but that felt like a long time ago. She blamed herself. She knew she had driven her friends away over the last year. She was not the same girl she used to be.

She kept her door locked, opening it only to retrieve the trays of food the maid left for her. She did not read or watch television. Mostly, she just lay in bed, wishing she could die. She had come so close to death, first by her overdose, then on that icy road. Somehow she was still alive, but that did not seem like a blessing to her. Still, she could not bring herself to make a second attempt, not when she remembered the doctors pumping her stomach and the nurses fussing over her as she recovered. She had a psych evaluation later, but managed to fake her way through it. She thought they might throw her in some mental ward, but once she pointed the blame towards Larsen, attention shifted away from her overdose and onto his drunk driving. She told her counselor all she wanted was to go home. He recommended some outpatient therapy after her discharge, but she did not think her parents would force her to go. She had been right so far.

She looked out her window. It was snowing again, though not as bad as the night they ran off the road. She wondered what day it was. Christmas had past, she knew that. Her parents had made some half hearted attempt to get her to come downstairs and eat with them. She hated the holidays.

Someone knocked on the door.

“Leave me alone,” she said, not bothering to sit up.

The knocking continued.

“I said go away!”

Whoever this was, he or she was persistent, at least more so than her parents had been. She got out of bed and walked to the door. On the way over, she caught sight of her reflection in her vanity mirror. She hardly recognized herself. Her face was bloated and white as a ghost, almost translucent, framed by brittle, unwashed hair. She had been wearing the same old, tattered nightgown for days. She had never felt so disgusting in her entire life. She pitied whoever was about to see her.

She unlocked the door and opened it.

“Edgar Alexander?” This was the last face she expected to see. He looked fresh and neat in a fitted black suit. She felt doubly ashamed of her appearance. She turned away from him.

“I’m having a party tonight,” he said casually, as if he had invited her out dozens of times before.

“I don’t feel like going to any parties.” She sank back down onto the bed and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. “Ever again.”

“Come on,” Edgar urged her. “I need some fun people.”

“I’m not a fun person. I’m pregnant.” She felt a rush of nausea overtake her. Most of the time, she willed her mind to deny this essential truth, but she could not ignore the increasing physical symptoms.  She knew that this clump of cells inside her body had fought for life even when she tried to kill it along with herself. Its will to live must have been stronger than her own. “I’m a selfish bitch,” she blurted out.

“Let me tell you something.” Edgar knelt down beside the bed and looked up at her. “You are a selfish bitch. One incredible selfish bitch. I never said so before because you were dating Larsen and I thought he wasn’t nearly good enough for you. The Gabrielle Cherrier I know would not lie here in bed feeling sorry for herself, pregnant or no. She would go get dressed up, strap on her high heels and go kick some ass on New Year’s Eve.” 

Gabrielle felt a faint smile come involuntarily to her lips. The next thing she knew, Edgar had convinced her to go take a long hot shower, while he went through her closet and selected some choices for the evening: a black sequined cocktail dress with matching shoes and handbag. He had exquisite taste and somehow knew exactly what she would have chosen for herself before she did.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” she asked as she sat in front of her vanity mirror doing her makeup as Edgar brushed out her long red hair, which had returned at last to its former glossy luster. “I hardly know you.”

“You’re beautiful.” He paused to admire her transformation. “And after all that’s happened, you’ve got to hate Larsen just as much as I do.”

“You’ve got that right, Edgar.” She started her makeup. Edgar advised her to forgo lipstick and instead to focus on her eyes. She needed something bold. At least on the outside, she was back to her old self. She was ready to have some fun.