Gilded Cage

Chapter 26

I stared at him expectantly. "Why are you being forced to jump ship?"

"You know how I missed our presentation that one day?"

I snorted. "How could I forget?"

Zac had the decency to wince. "Well, I wasn't lying when I texted you that morning. My mom really was in town. She came here to kick my ass and drag me back to New York."

I blinked. "What?"

"I'm supposed to be in Spain right now. On a year-long study abroad program."

Not sure if I was hearing him correctly, I blinked again. "What?"

Zac rambled on as though everything was making perfect sense, "My mom would never let me come back to Ashton Wellesley if I didn't lie about it. Not after the way everyone here treated us after we lost our money. Plus, she fucking hates my dad. She doesn't believe that he might be innocent."

"Dude, I'd wanna kick your ass, too, if I was your mom! Why the heck would you hide something this huge from her?"

"Making my mom believe that I was studying in Spain was the only way I could sneak back here. I want to know the truth about my dad, Cate. But my mom found out that I was in Wellesley because of a stupid oversight on my part, and, now, everything I've been working towards is going up in flames."

The shoddy studio apartment he had been living in suddenly made a lot more sense. His residence was only meant to be temporary. Zac knew that his time here would be limited.

I couldn't keep the tremor from my voice when I asked, "D-does this mean you'll be going back to New York?"

"No, not yet," he responded, urgently, as though he was trying to reassure me, "it was really fucking difficult, but I managed to convince my mom to let me finish the semester at Ashton Wellesley. Although, I... probably won't be here next spring."

I slumped down into the bench with a dazed expression. My brain turned to mush. My heart began to hurt. Despite all the bullshit this boy put me through, despite all the heartache I endured for this son of bitch, now that the truth was finally coming into the light, I wasn't ready at all for him to disappear from my life. Goodbyes were the absolute worst. I didn't want Zac to go. I wanted him to stay.

So, I taunted, "Wow, Mazur. Way to follow through. One little hiccup and, just like that, you're gonna run home to mommy and let daddy rot in prison? What if your dad really is innocent?"

I was just as surprised as Zac to hear those words fly out of my mouth.

He gave me a wry look. "You calling me a wuss, babygirl?"

"Maybe I am," I challenged with my hazel eyes flashing. "Don't start something if you don't have the balls to finish it."

"Trust me, I've had to overcome more than my fucking share of 'little hiccups,' as you call them, simply to get this far. I forged my mom's signatures on everything in order to reapply for Ashton Wellesley. I paid six months' rent upfront to convince my landlord to look the other way about my age. I've been using cash for everything else, too, so my mom and stepdad won't be able to track my credit card history. I created a fake website that mirrored the real study abroad program's website for my mom. I've sent her dozens of Photoshopped photos of me standing in front of places like Parc Güell and Casa Mila, and I had to teach myself how to speak some passable Spanish. This is just a fraction of the crap I dealt with on a daily basis!"

I winced. "Damn, I guess you really did overcome quite a few 'hiccups' already."

"Weren't you the one who was totally against me getting involved with illegal, stupid, dangerous shit? Why the change of heart, Cate?"