Trophy Daughter

Chapter 20- Runneth Up, Bitch

Hi. It's been a while. my normal insta is ashtraytraylee if u want to dm me about updating. A kick up the ass is all i usually need lmao

Caroline has gone. I do not know where she is.

This ominous text came early in the morning from Carlisle, right before I had a lecture. I stared at the screen, brows furrowing as something anxious stirred in my belly. Carlisle never texted, he hated texting in all its forms- and yet, here I sat, with a very clear, very well punctuated text from none other than my ex-father.

He didn't know where she was?

Caroline Lux alway let someone know where she was going to be- because everyone should want to know, naturally. And if she had left Carlisle? Fuck. Something was going to go down.

Or maybe it wasn't. Maybe I was just overthinking.

Or maybe everything I overthought was right and the world was going to end in a holocaust because of racists? I knew it. We were all going to die. 

I sighed, texting him back quickly. What do you mean?

He texted back quickly. Exactly what I said. She has vanished. The cook and the butler have not seen her either. I am trying to find her now. 

Walking down the stairs to the common, I waved to Maria and grabbed the bowl of cereal she offered, absentmindedly chomping down cheerios as possible scenarios ran through my head. Someone swore, and I startled, throwing my bowl up and onto the head of a very angry, very pretty girl in front of me. My eyes were wide, and my mind blanked completely.

"I'm sorry-"

She made a zip it motion, visibly trying to calm herself as milk poured down her forehead and cheerios got caught in her perfect ringlets. 

"I absolutely cannot believe the level of audacity you have, coming into our dorm and trying to mess up all of our lives. Just because you're a little smarter than the other idiots your age, and just because your daddy is rich and requested for you to get a place in-"

I cut in. "Wait, what did you just say?" 

She practically hissed at me, venom falling from her words. "Your rich daddy. The one who's close friends with Carla's dad, the Head Master? He visits like every other week. My parents told me he specifically requested a place for his daughter to come and stay here, putting a huge load of money into the school. Come on, you had to know."

I shut my mouth, bent down and picked up the bowl. "No. I didn't." I grabbed the towel Maria threw me and gave it to Selena, my teeth clamped together. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." 

Maria caught up to me, passing me my bag as she stared at me, no doubts wondering what was going through my mind. Literally nothing. It was blank, void, empty of anything apart from tumbleweeds and crickets, floating past my consciousness as we walked to my lecture hall.

A lot of everything clicked into place. Why he had urged me to come to this school, why Malin had sent my papers to this school, why I had been looked favourably upon by all my lecturers. Possibly even why Carla took me under her wing, Nikhil let me bait him and why I was in Oakhill dorm in the first place.

Not because I was talented or intelligent. But because he was funneling enough money into this school to make it the Trump Towers of Colleges. But I was talented, and I was intelligent, and Carlisle knew this. So why was he putting money into a college I should have no trouble getting into?

I stopped. This was connected to Caroline, I knew it. A call vibrated my phone in my pocket, and I answered it. "Yo, this is Circe."

"How's it, idiot?"

A swing of relief went through me, something that I brushed over and tried not to notice. Barnabas Dumas laughed on the other end like he had just made the world's funniest joke, one that I failed to see the humour in. Maybe it was because I could only see my brain, since my eyes were rolled so far back into my head.

"Dumbass. Why're you calling?"

He sighed on the other end. "Do you not remember? I'm at your college today, ya dick. You said we would hang out?"

Something lit up in my brain, and I smiled, alerting Maria who was still standing next to me. 

"Well. I'll skip my lectures today. How do you feel about unearthing some dirt on my ex-parents."

His answering reply of absolute glee was enough.

____

Barnabas Dumas was still as hot as ever. It took me by surprise too- something I never thought would have happened being constantly surrounded by hot guys for two days a week, and getting 'casual' glances at Nikhil after he showered. 

They weren't casual. And my photo gallery could prove that.

But Barnabas- he was just born to be beautiful you know? Not the hard smolder that Nikhil had, or the blind radiance that Carla had, no, Barnabas was just beautiful. 

"Done staring yet?" He murmured, stopping in front of me. Deja Vu rang through my head and I stepped back, placing some fingers on my chin as I considered him as a whole.

Ebony hair swept back from head? Check. Glittering green eyes that made me want to drop my panties? Check. Perfect lips and a body carved by God himself? Check, check and check. Today, he was clothed in a red plaid shirt, black jeans and some vans, which did nothing to hide the beauty it was draped on.

I mentally swooned. And maybe just a bit physically too. "Okay, now I'm done. Did ya miss me?" 

He laughed, running a hand through his hair. "Some weird part of me did. I guess my ass got used to you being a pain." 

I rolled my eyes and turned around, jerking my head. "Come. We'll go grab some food, then we're gonna really start finding out; 'what the fuck is wrong with the Luxes?'"

He hurried to my side, dwarfing me and shaking his head. "I don't even know if we want to know that."

True.