There's No Price On Love

Sam showed up on my doorstep later on that evening.

I was such a wreck because the whole argument earlier on with Jace Fox and it lead me to fume for the rest of the afternoon. I scribbled angry pictures; I screamed into pillows, I even bitched out Charlie for moving my new car into the garage. It didn’t matter who was around, since Jace wasn’t, I needed someone to scream at.

The doorbell rang just as I was about to scream at Hubert for not picking up organic orange juice this afternoon when he went to the grocery store. Like dammit all! How hard is it to follow instructions!?

I placed the empty container on the counter and gave Hubert a nasty look before storming out of the kitchen, my slippers hitting against the wooden floor noisily. I kicked them off in annoyance and wrenched open the door, about to make some nasty remark due to the fact that my orange juice tirade hadn’t been finished when I noticed Sam with a hand of flowers.

“Hi.” He said with a cute smile and held out the flowers. “Heard you’re not allowed to see me for awhile.”

I accepted the flowers and gave him a half grin, moving over so he could enter the house. He scratched the back of his head and glanced around the house, his eyes darting around suspiciously.

“She’s not here.” I said quickly as I brushed past him, instantly looking for a vase. “If you were looking for her.”

Sam gave a sigh of relief and pulled me into a hug, making me drop the flowers onto the floor. They hit the floor hard, the colourful petals landing around the bouquet. I let go of Sam and picked them up, feeling like the worst girlfriend in the world.

How would I tell Sam about what happened the other night?

“Well I just wanted to make sure. Where were you this morning? I tried calling and everyone said you were out.”

I fumbled with the bouquet and grinned sheepishly, placing them on the end table while trying to come up with a damn good lie in my head.

I can’t exactly say: ‘Well Sam, turns out that this hobo arrested and now I have to figure out a way to bail him out because of m other mistakes.’ I could just imagine the look on Sam’s face.

“Oh you know . . . Shopping.” I fibbed with a flip of my hair over my shoulder. Sam raised an eyebrow and grinned, leaning against the couch.

“Typical girl stuff.” I nodded tensely. There was a long silence and Sam crossed his arms over his chest, chewing on his lip and glancing at me. He went to say something then stopped, scratching the back of his head.

“Got something to say?” I questioned, nervousness hitting me like bus. Sam hesitated and glanced down at his shoes, making me wish he’d get to the point so I wouldn’t hyperventilate.

“Uhhh . . . Y-yeah, actually.” He stumbled over his words and blushed crimson; I wrapped my arms around my waist uncomfortably.

“Well?” I asked with a slight note of impatience. I didn’t have time for this; I had a life to screw up and a boy to yell at yet again. Sam glanced up and smiled awkwardly.

“Lately there’s been . . . Rumours. About . . . you and . . .” He hesitated and sighed heavily. “William.” He finished with a slight wince. I tried my best to hide my guilt, staring deeply into his eyes and shaking my head.

“What sort of rumours?” I demanded and ignored the nagging feeling in my head. Sam shrugged and frowned.

“You know, the usual. That you cheated on me and stuff.” I chewed on my lip and then gave Sam my best ‘get-real’ look.

“I wouldn’t do that to you.” Lies, lies, lies. William was right, I really am no better than anyone around here.

Sam gave me a half-grin then took my hands in his.

“Alright, I believe you. There’s… Something you need to know though.”

Just as Sam was about to continue, Myranda came barging through the front door, slamming it shut. She was soaked to the bone, raindrops dripping down her tanned skin and her hair hanging limply to her cheeks. She stripped her jacket off of her shoulders and checked on the floor while yelling out: “I need someone to put this in the dryer like NOW!” Butlers and maids appeared, each glancing at each other before one picked up the coat and went off with it.

Myranda strolled past the living room without a glance in our direction and grabbed a towel from the bathroom, drying her hair off quickly before re-emerging. She stopped in her tracks and glanced at Sam and me, her big eyes darting back and forth.

“Emma, I had to get over here like now. The clouds are ugly, the cab driver smelt gross and I had the best idea on Earth to solve our dilemma!” She exclaimed, tossing the towel on the couch with enthusiasm. Sam clenched his jaw and rolled his eyes, he never really was a fan of my overactive best friend. Though he never really straight out said it, I always kind of knew.

“I don’t think this is the best time-“ I started only to be cut off by Sam.

“What dilemma?” His eyes were staring at me suspiciously and I squirmed under the gaze. Myranda gave me a sympathetic look and I touched Sam’s arm to reassure him.

“It’s nothing important. Just a few birthday gifts that don’t really suit me. Myranda’s always been good at talking business into exchanges without receipts.” My lying skills were definitely their best today.

“Look I get that this is important but what I have to tell you is a lot bigger than birthday gifts.” Myranda glanced around the room and picked up empty birthday bags, pretending there was something in it and waved them in front of her.

“Hellooo! Birthday gifts, better than words from a cheater!” Suddenly she gasped and covered her hands over her mouth. Both Sam and I jerked our heads at her angrily and scowled.

Sam looked away from my eyes and pulled his arm away from me, looking slightly pissed. Myranda placed the bags back on the ground and pretended not to have said anything.

“Sam, maybe we should talk about this later. My parents are gone until tomorrow and I have some things I have to take care of.” Sam inhaled deeply and nodded, running a hand through his dark hair.

“Yeah,” He agreed. “It’s waited this long, I’m sure . . . I’m sure it can wait a few hours.”

I hugged him and gave him a quick kiss, ignoring the reluctance I felt radiating from him. He gave me a small smile before leaving, giving Myranda a tense wave. I watched him shut the front door and walk down the steps, stopping to curse something at himself before getting into his car.

My brow creased with worry and I turned back to Myranda, my arms folded and lips tugged into a heavy frown. Myranda picked up the towel and wrapped it around her shoulders.

“So . . . I kinda fucked up didn’t I?” She asked, her voice tinted with apology. I shrugged and crossed my arms as I heard the car pull out of the driveway. Sam didn’t seem to suspect that I cheated on him and I hoped that Myranda’s little slip didn’t hint him of anything.

“Why did you say that? He could have found out!” I hissed and grabbed her arm, dragging her toward the stairs. Brett scrambled down past, his baseball cap thrown on backward and face red.

“Going out for a bit!” Brett shouted before busting through the front door and hopping on his bike. Myranda and I paused, looking at each other with raised eyebrows before climbing the rest of the stairs and flopping onto my bed.

“I’m sorry Em,” She whispered and slightly pouted, making her look like a puppy dog.

“It’s fine. I just don’t want him to know just yet.” I placed a hand against my forehead and sighed.

“Good, now about my idea! I’ve got the perfect way we can make enough money to bail Jace out!” Excitement flooded her features and I couldn’t help but smile. It was a good thing that one of us was willing to break out the hobo who had saved my life.

“Well obviously we can both scramble up $3 000 . . . I can maybe pull out a grand from my savings without my mom noticing so that gives us a total of 7 grand.” I concluded and tapped my fingers against my lips. Myranda chuckled and nodded.

“Right and I could for sure get 4 but. . . That means we still have another 2000 dollars to get. I was thinking the other night about what you told me yesterday, you know, the reason why you even bothered talking to Jace in the first place and then this idea appeared in my head.”

“If you’re thinking about robbing a bank then no Myranda, it’s not a good idea for us to use.” I teased and she rolled her eyes dramatically. Suddenly her face grew serious and she leaned forward as if to tell me a secret.

“Of course not! I was thinking that we . . . We can blackmail William into giving us the other 2 grand.”

I nearly fell off my bed and onto the floor. I stared at Myranda in disbelief and grabbed her arms.

“N-no! We can’t . . . Just never mind why we can’t… We just can’t!” I blurted and then laughed. “There’s no way we can pull that off!”

“We have a witness though Emma, we have Jace.” She said, her voice hitting an excited note. I contemplated this for a second and shook my head.

“Jace is in jail right now because he’s been accused of sexual assault. How can we get a suspect to testify against a guy who’s going to be charged with the same thing? It’s ludicrous!” Myranda’s face cracked a wicked smile and then she reached into her purse, pulled out two wine glasses and an open bottle of champagne in two large bags.

“You forget that I’m more diabolical than I seem.” She said with a hint of pride. “I snuck onto the Theoret’s property and searched every limo for these two glasses and open champagne bottle. I took pictures of everything, the limo itself, the property and the licence plates. Also, I had a word with the driver, don’t ask how because that’s a whole different story and he claimed the limo hadn’t been used since the night that William had taken it to your party.”

I examined the bags and frowned again, handing them back to Myranda.

“What good are these anyway? They have no proof that William attempted to sexually assault me.”

Another beaming grin from Myranda.

“Sometimes I think you’re an idiot Emma Taylor.” She stated firmly as she placed the objects back into her purse. “Laboratories can check for traces of drugs! Could you imagine what would happen if they found something?”

Images of William being arrested came into mind. Handcuffs suited him quite well.

My face broke into a smirk and I gave her a huge hug.

“Seriously, I don’t know what I’d do without you!”

Myranda pulled away and pretended to look serious.

“One thing you wouldn’t be doing is having some creep’s ass arrested, that’s for sure.”

*

Myranda and I stood in Jace’s alley, umbrella placed prominently above our heads to keep the rain from completely soaking us. Myranda’s clothes had already reached a damp point from being wet before; she said she didn’t want to risk it again. I didn’t care if I got soaked; I just didn’t want William to stare at the way the wet items clung to my body. Knowing him, he’d pay more attention to my body than the words I was throwing at him.

Thunder had boomed loudly in the distance but lightning never showed, which made me grateful because I didn’t want to be blown to pieces before I had the chance to find out what Sam wanted to tell me. His nervousness made me feel uneasy and Myranda’s comment toward us didn’t make that feeling any better. Something was up; I just hoped it wasn’t anything big.

The alley felt deserted, much like the yesterday when I had my first real confrontation with Jace. Now that I thought about it, Jace seemed to always appear when I least expected it. The only thing was that this time, Jace was in a cell hoping that nobody would beat the living crap out of him.

And yet the idiot wanted to go to jail.

The fact that Jace wanted to go to jail proved that life on the streets was just as bad as it looked. There had to be someone looking out for him though, there was no way he would be in the shape that he was without a little bone tossed here or there. Or maybe he wasn’t lying about the whole prostitution thing, he’d definitely have no problem getting clients with his wicked green eyes, perfect body and tousled mane of hair.

Myranda shivered beside me and checked her cell phone, swearing when little droplets splattered on the digital screen despite the umbrella’s protection. We had told William to meet us here at precisely 8, too early for him to pull anything considering there were plenty of people still on the busy streets. I glanced down at the screen and let out a small growl of annoyance. It was already quarter to 9 and there was no sign of him whatsoever.

“He’s probably not going to show.” Myranda muttered and pocketed the phone. I clenched on tighter to the umbrella, wrapping my coat tighter around my body with my free hand.

“He’ll be here.” I replied with confidence. “You know boys like him; they have to make some sort of grand entrance. Pisses me off.”

Myranda laughed and reached into her purse for a cigarette, lighting it quickly and taking a shaky inhale. I scanned the streets and pursed my lips tightly, hoping that I was right.

If William didn’t show up then we had to find another way to make that extra money. I mean, I can’t exactly tell Charlie that I took out $5 000 to bail out some homeless guy because he kept me from being raped by his friend’s stupid son. Sometimes, I wonder why being rich is even worth it.

“If he doesn’t show up, I’m going to go to his house and drag his ass out here anyway.” Myranda took another hefty drag of her cigarette and lowered her eyes, proving that she was serious about what she’d said.

“What good will that do? All that’ll happen is he‘ll call his dad and get us kicked off then we’ll be sued for harassment AND trespassing.” I said just as a black limo pulled up near the alley. Myranda and I both froze, staring out at the car and then back at each other, diabolical smiles forming onto our faces.

The driver stepped out, holding an umbrella above the door as William stepped out, dressed in a fashionable suit. He took the umbrella and sauntered over to us, a small smirk forming on his lips.

God, you’d swear he was a girl or something.

“Evening ladies.” He purred and stopped just a few feet away from us, his eyes locked onto my face. I shifted on my feet uncomfortably, glancing at Myranda who was giving William a death glare.

“William.” Myranda replied in acknowledgment but without any liking. I didn’t say anything, the realization of what we were about to do was hitting in my brain now and I wasn’t sure it was such a good idea anymore.

William raised an eyebrow at me in question and I finally sighed heavily while mumbling a quick hello.

“So, what’s the big reason why I have to show up in an alleyway with you two of all people?” Myranda grinned wickedly and I held my head up high, finally deciding that if I couldn’t find real confidence that I’d fake it otherwise this whole intimidation/black mail thing wasn’t going to go anywhere.

Myranda put out her cigarette and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Look bud, we all know what you tried to pull the other night and to be frank, it’s disgusting and immature. If you want to get laid, there are people you can find to do it willingly, not people who are too drunk to know what’s going on.”

William’s face faltered slightly but he didn’t give anything away.

“You invited me here to bitch me out about something she wanted in the first place?” He questioned with incredulity, I gave him a repulsed look.

“I never wanted that from you!” I snapped and balled my fists by my side.

“Sure didn’t seem that way.” He replied and smiled smugly. I didn’t respond.

“It doesn’t matter, all that we know for sure is that you drugged Emma and attempted to rape her. Not only that, but we have proof that you drugged her.” Myranda pulled the two bags out of her purse and wagged them in William’s face. “So either you give us the money we ask for or you get charged for sexual assault. Your choice . . .Bitch.”

William’s eyes drifted over the items in the bags and then flickered back to me, his face paling visibly.

“Those . . . Those aren’t from my limousine. You’re using fakes.” He stuttered and actually looked slightly frightened.

I shook my head and pointed to the objects.

“Myranda talked to your limo driver specifically and he said that you hadn’t used it since last night. Proof that you were too stupid to know how to throw away your own evidence.”

William’s face changed and he raised an eyebrow.

“There’s no way you can blame it. I can say that you brought that glass with you and that you were already under the influence. There were more than enough people to see that you were tripping over your own two feet.” I rolled my eyes and Myranda pocketed the bags back in her purse. William grinned victoriously, placing his hands on his narrow hips.

The corner of my mouth lifted into a smile and I brushed my hair back casually.

“You’re forgetting one very important thing though William.” I said coolly as Myranda stifled a giggle. William darted a venomous look in her direction and lowered his eyebrows in confusion.

“What would that be?” He snapped, his jaw now clenching tightly.

“You forgot that there was a witness who heard me telling you to stop.” I stated firmly. “The guy who pulled you off of me, remember him?”

William laughed loudly and clapped his hands sarcastically.

“Sure thing! Just get the homeless Jace Fox to fight against me considering he’s already held in the station for the same thing! That’s a perfect move!”

I furrowed my eyebrows and glanced at Myranda. Her face wasn’t so confident anymore.

“You . . . Know Jace?” I asked slowly, my mind now spinning downward. William stopped laughing and tilted his umbrella on his shoulder.

“Who doesn’t?” He asked, his voice implying that I was stupid for not knowing him. “Everyone knows that he’s John Fox’s kid, the one who was kicked out two years ago.”

John . . . Fox? The name slammed into my skull and I remembered, the morning after the formal party.

“I hope you don’t mind Emma but John Fox is bringing his family tonight.”

“John Fox?” I asked after swallowing a mouthful of food. “Who’s that?”

Another name, another person I really didn’t give a fuck about.

“Charlie’s co-worker.”

“You know, the one who kicked his son to the curb 2 years ago?” Myranda butted in, getting a look from my mother. She smiled, her mouth still filled with pancake.

Nothing rang a bell in my mind.

“Nope, don’t know him.”

Jace was his son!?

“It’s not like he didn’t deserve it, after all he did.” William continued, a full smile on his lips now. Myranda cursed and adjusted the purse on her shoulder, pinching the bridge of her nose. I stared at William, my mind now brimming with curiosity.

“What’d he do?”

William shrugged.

“Nothing that is my business to tell you. You’re better off asking your hero himself.”

William began to turn around, heading toward the limo with a smooth gait. I bit my lip and turned to Myranda, my eyes wide and desperate.

“I have another idea.” I whispered as I shoved the umbrella toward her, bolting out into the pouring rain after William.

“William! William wait!” I shouted, nearly slipping and falling into the mud of the alley. William stopped, turning around to face me with an unsurprised look.

“Listen, there’s no way you’re going to-“ He began but I placed my hand over his mouth, silencing him.

“Shut up.” I said, trying to control my breathing. This was the only chance I had, the only option left besides Jace waiting only forever to get out of there. “I have an offer for you.”

William raised an eyebrow. Myranda’s face was staring at me like I had lost my mind and to be honest, I might have.

“What is it?” He asked, his voice dropping an octave. Suddenly I was aware of how close we were standing and I took a step back, shivering slightly as the wind ripped through my jacket.

“I’ll tell Sam.” I murmured and squeezed my eyes shut. “If you give me two thousand dollars, I’ll tell Sam about us and everything. Deal?”

William let out a chuckle and smiled, a smile that didn’t reach his cold eyes.

“How do I know that you won’t double cross me?”

I glanced at Myranda and licked my lips which were now dry.

“If I don’t do it . . . You can have anything you want. I don’t get any say of it.” I replied bravely and watched thoughts run through his head.

He held out a hand and waited for me to shake it. I did, a feeling of dread pounding in my stomach.

“It’s a deal but if you double cross me on this,” He placed his lips against my ear and sent shivers of fear down my spine. “You’ll be more than sorry.”

I pulled back and nodded, wondering what I had gotten myself into.

“That’s the agreement isn’t it?” I snapped and began walking back to Myranda. I stopped and glanced over my shoulder. “Two thousand dollars, in my mailbox tomorrow by noon latest or else you’re dead.”

William nodded before getting into his limo, taking every shard of our plan and throwing it out the window like it never was anything at all.