No Accident (4 page)

Kelly kicked off her low heels and flopped back on her giant bed. She had homework to do but had decided instead to do some work on her latest masterpiece—a masterpiece to be left behind when she moved to California. It was a gift she planned to bestow on the underlings who were stuck in Silver Spring for the rest of their pathetic lives.

Kelly never really paid attention in class. Or at least not to the teachers. Lately she'd been using class time to work on her will, bequeathing her Stafford subjects with the things they so desperately needed.
Not that any one of them will
ever be as great as me
, she thought as she dug through her oversize bag in search of the notebook she'd been using for her will. Still, they could use all the help they could get.

“Where is it?” Kelly grumbled aloud as she pawed through the bag. With an irritated sigh, she dumped its entire contents—makeup bag, phone, wallet, organizer, books, notebooks, iPod, and other assorted items—on the bed. Her green notebook was not among them.

I must have left it in my locker,
Kelly thought, feeling annoyed. She was really in the mood to work on it. On the ride home she had come up with some really good stuff to add. She drummed her fingers on one of her textbooks. She could do homework, of course. Or she could just start over in a new notebook and make the will even better.

Kelly grabbed a small spiral notebook and a pen and scooted back to the giant pile of pillows at the head of the bed.

I, Kelly Reeves, being of clever mind and near-perfect body, bequeath to
…

First on the list was Alison Rose, her loser
cousin. Upon Kelly's departure, Alison would receive the Diamonds—all of them except Christine, who would be busy with Kelly in Hollywood, anyway.

“She may even keep the actual gems she stole from my actual mother,” Kelly wrote, suddenly feeling generous. Alison would be stuck here quivering under Her Highness's wing forever, while Kelly was living the high life in L.A. Kelly smiled as she turned the page in her journal. She would
not
be bequeathing Chad to Alison. She wasn't feeling so generous as to give Alison the one thing of Kelly's she
really
wanted.

Kate Barta was the next to be reviewed. More than anything she needed a decent hairdresser… Those roots just had to go. So Kelly left her Serge's services, cell number, and several bottles of Bumble and Bumble shampoo, conditioner, and surf spray. “Even that might not be enough,” Kelly murmured with a sympathetic sigh. “The girl needs
help
.”

“As does Ruby Sullivan,” Kelly said to her empty room, tapping her pen on her lower lip. But Ruby's issues were actually more serious.
Her hair was passable. What she needed were some serious lessons in subtlety. Her constant kissing-up was as blatant as it was irritating. Not to mention the fact that she laughed like a donkey. She basically couldn't be taken anywhere in public—it was too embarrassing. Maybe Kelly should will her a cage.

“Speaking of embarrassing…” Kelly wrote down one more name in the notebook. Zoey Ramirez. She printed, “fire extinguisher” in block letters, then added two more things Zoey the pyro was in desperate need of: some taste, and a clue about how things worked. Not that it mattered, really. Zoey was a totally lost cause.

Kelly closed the notebook and flopped back on her collection of cream-colored satin and faux-fur pillows. She hoped her recipients would be grateful for her charitable donations. It was the least she could do, really. They were going to be completely lost without her.

Kelly was daydreaming about her life among the swaying palms when there was a knock on her door. A moment later her mother—well, Phoebe—stuck her head in.

“We're going to dinner at your grandmother's
house tonight,” Phoebe announced. “You need to be ready in an hour.”

Kelly stared at her. She hadn't set foot at Her Highness's since the night the pool house blew up. She certainly wasn't about to go there now that Alison had moved in. “I can't,” Kelly objected. “I have too much homework to do.”

“You can do it when we get back,” her mother said, fiddling with the pearl necklace she almost always wore.

“I have a huge project due tomorrow,” Kelly lied. “It's for, like, half my grade and I've barely started.”

“Well, maybe you should have thought of that sooner. Kelly, your grandmother has invited us for dinner and we will go.” Phoebe was playing her version of hardball.

No problem. Kelly could take it and throw it right back. “I don't think so,” Kelly snapped. “You and Dad can go. I'll just eat here.”

Kelly's mom got a look in her eyes that Kelly did not see often. “We will go together—as a family,” she said flatly.

Kelly laughed inwardly. What family? “I told you. I can't.”

“Kelly, you can do your homework lat—”

“It's not the homework,” Kelly admitted, deciding to change her angle. “Alison was really mean to me at school today, and I just can't see her.”

“I'm sure you girls can work it out,” Phoebe said gently. “You're such good friends. Seeing her at dinner will be the perfect opportunity to patch things up.”

“I'm not going.”

“Kelly, this is not your decision and I won't discuss it any further. I suggest you decide what you want to wear and get ready.”

Kelly stared at her mother, her blood boiling. She was not some little kid who could be silenced and sent to the corner. She was fifteen years old!

“Mom,” she objected.

“Kelly Reeves, you will do as I say.”

Kelly could feel her face getting warm. “I said
no… Aunt Phoebe
,” she said, her voice steely. There, she'd said it. She'd planned to keep this little secret to herself a bit longer, but never mind. What was out was out.

Phoebe suddenly looked as pale as her
expensive pearls. She stood in the doorway, stunned. “What did you…? Who…? Kelly, I —”

“Don't bother explaining,” Kelly said flippantly. “I know how it went. Aunt Christine needed someone to raise me and had plenty of money to pay for your services.”

“It wasn't like that,” Phoebe insisted, her eyes welling up with tears.

“Are you saying you weren't paid to take care of me?” Kelly asked pointedly. She could feel her heart thudding in her chest, and her palms were surprisingly damp.

“Well, no,” Phoebe admitted, wiping her cheek with a monogrammed handkerchief. “But Christine wanted the best for you, and we didn't have the resources…”

“So you let her pay you off,” Kelly said, raising her head and daring her mother to object.

Phoebe's chin quivered uncontrollably as she gazed at her daughter.
She can blubber all she wants,
Kelly thought.
At least we're not talking about dinner at Grandmother's anymore.

“I think we're finished with this conversation,” Kelly said evenly. “I'd like to be alone.”

Her mother sniffled and started to turn. “You know I love you,” she whimpered. She held out her arms like she was hoping for a hug. Yeah, right. Kelly looked away until she heard the door click shut. The sound of her mother's sobs faded as she made her way down the hall.

Finally,
Kelly thought.
Some peace and quiet.

Rolling over, Kelly grabbed her phone and hit speed dial #1— Christine. And lo and behold, she picked up.

“Hi, Mom,” Kelly said cheerfully. She felt so much better just hearing Christine's voice. She needed to talk to someone who understood her, someone who understood what she was going through.

“Don't call me that,” Aunt Christine snapped.

Kelly rolled her eyes. Touchy, touchy. “All right,” Kelly said, backing off. “But I wanted to—”

“Listen, Kelly,” Aunt Christine said curtly. “I'm right in the middle of something important and I can't talk. I'll call you when I get a minute.”

“But—” Too late. Christine had already hung up.

Kelly snapped her phone closed, then reopened it to check her text messages. There were eleven, all from someone called “truthteller.”

Kinda weird
, Kelly thought as she checked the first message. She had no idea who truthteller was. Didn't really care, for that matter.

Kelly looked at the messages, one after the other. Each of them contained only one word.
I. HAVE. THE. LIST
. By the time she got to the fourth word, Kelly was annoyed.
WANT. IT. BACK? IT. WILL. COST. YOU
.

Kelly began to chuckle. This was so pathetic; it had to be some lame prank by Alison and Zoey. How stupid did they think she was?

Kelly quickly dialed Alison's cell. “Nice try, loser. Get a life,” she said into the phone before hanging up. Not that she really could—Kelly wouldn't allow it. But this was a nice opportunity to point out to Alison what an utter reject she had become. Suddenly, dinner with the family didn't seem like such a bad idea. She
could just picture Alison's pathetic face after she heard the message, but it might be more satisfying to see her cousin suffering in person. Besides, Kelly needed to make sure she didn't lose any more Diamond ground…

Alison spooned up a bite of poached pear and tried not to look at Kelly across the table. She couldn't believe her cousin was moving to California —and she
really
couldn't believe she wished she wasn't. What was wrong with her? How could she be feeling anything but “good riddance” after all that Kelly had done to her? But she missed her ex-best friend already.

Playing with her gold napkin ring, Alison felt a pang. She remembered what dinners at Grandmother Diamond's were like when she and Kelly were little. The sneaking and secrets and shared smiles. They had been two peas in a gilded pod, cousins and best friends
forever. Where had that Kelly —and that Alison—gone?

Alison swallowed a sip of ice water. It was the same temperature as her insides. Highly chilled. She wished she could talk to Kelly about everything that was going on. Though she had practically grown up here, actually living at Grandmother Diamond's house was so weird—more like being a prisoner than a guest. Tamara had been nothing but generous to Alison since she'd moved in, but Alison knew Her Highness was keeping close tabs on her. She had no idea what her grandmother wanted from her. She only knew there was a reason for her being here—with Tamara Diamond, there was always an ulterior motive. But at least Tamara was keeping her schemes to herself, instead of asking Alison to do her dirty work for her —unlike Helen. While Alison knew exactly what her mother wanted, she wasn't at all sure she wanted to be a part of it. She still hadn't decided whose side she was on.

Alison blinked, reminding herself to keep a straight face. She was good at hiding her emotions, but she wasn't as skilled at navigating
the family land mines. If Kelly were in her shoes, she would know exactly what to do. And she wouldn't be losing any sleep over the situation, either.

She probably hasn't given a second thought to that nasty phone message
, Alison thought, watching Kelly wipe her chin with her linen napkin. She felt her cheeks flush when she remembered how excited she'd been to see Kelly's name come up on her phone. She'd actually thought she might be calling her to apologize. To talk. To get back to the way things were.
Get a life,
Kelly had said. If only it were that easy.
Give me mine back
, Alison thought.

“Alison.” The sound of her cousin's voice made her jump. “How's Uncle Jack?” Kelly poked at her pear with her sterling silver dessertspoon. “Does he miss you terribly?” she added with a stab. “Or hasn't he noticed you're gone?”

“Kelly!” Uncle Bill scolded.

“What?” Kelly asked innocently. “She's been living here, hasn't she? He must miss her…at least a little, right? That is, if he's sobered up enough to realize.”

At the end of the table, Grandmother
Diamond smiled wryly. “I'm sure he misses her,” she agreed. “But this is clearly the best place for Alison under the circumstances.”

Circumstances that you created
, Alison thought. But was that what she really believed, or simply what her mother wanted her to?

Finally the dishes were cleared and dinner was over. Alison couldn't get out of there soon enough. Excusing herself, she hurried up to her room to watch the Reeves' car pull out of the drive. The more distance between her and Kelly, the better.

Going into the bathroom, Alison twisted the gold-plated taps and began to fill the marble tub with hot water. She poured in a bunch of her favorite bubble bath and turned on the thirteen jets. As the scent of lilacs filled the air she began to feel a little better. Maybe everything would work out okay. It would be a lot harder for Kelly to torture her all the way from California. Maybe Kelly would even miss her a little and want to repair their friendship. Maybe Chad would want Alison back—if she'd take him. And maybe she wouldn't have to live at Grandmother Diamond's forever—just a
couple of months at most. She could handle that, couldn't she?

Leaving the tub to fill, Alison went into her room to call her dad. She should check on him, at least. Even if he was a grown-up. Picking up the phone, Alison immediately heard familiar voices. Her grandmother's and Aunt Christine's. Alison was about to hang up, but didn't.
What would Kelly do?
she wondered. And listened.

“Don't play dumb, Mother. You know exactly what I'm talking about,” Christine hissed. “The letter of agreement.”

“I strongly suggest you remember not to speak to me that way, Christine.” Grandmother Diamond's voice was icy. “Now calm down. This isn't one of your dramatic little pictures. I've already told you, the letter was destroyed in the fire. Did you think I burned down the pool house for entertainment?”

Alison's heart thudded. She'd been right about her grandmother setting the fire. And now she knew why…or at least part of it.

“But the safe was fireproof,” Christine said, obviously not satisfied. “Look, my career depen—”

“It's only fireproof when it's not open. Really, Christine, do you think I'm an idiot?” Alison could hear the smugness in her grandmother's voice. She was obviously quite pleased with her little stunt.

Alison hung up the phone carefully and went back into the bathroom. The tub was so full, the bubbles rose high over the edge, creating a foamy white mountain.

Dropping her clothes over the heated towel bar, Alison sank slowly into the steaming water. She had a lot to think about.