Runaway (Empire High Book 5)

  Runaway

  Empire High Book 5

  By Ivy Smoak

  Copyright 2022 Ivy Smoak

  All Rights Reserved

  Want a behind-the-scenes look at my journey as an author? The ups, the downs, the movie deals…I’ll share it all!

  And as a special thank you for joining, you’ll get an exclusive copy of my short story, Matthew Caldwell - The Untouchable.

  CLICK HERE to join the party!

  To my mom.

  Thank you for instilling in me a love for reading.

  CONTENTS

  Title

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Matthew Caldwell - The Untouchable

  A Note From Ivy

  Chapter 1

  Friday - 16 years ago

  Matt. I squeezed his hand and he squeezed mine back. God I loved him so much. And waking up next to him had quickly become my favorite thing. In a few months, I’d be his wife. Our wedding day couldn’t come soon enough. I couldn’t wait to be Brooklyn Caldwell. Matt squeezed my hand again. It was the most comforting feeling in the world.

  Especially after the crazy nightmare I’d just had. I’d dreamt that I’d played a horrible prank on my evil half-sister Isabella. Matt had been furious with me. And I could see why. Isabella had fallen through the ceiling in my nightmare. The prank had gone way too far. Such a crazy dream.

  But then I felt a sharp pain in my side. I winced. And everything suddenly felt…wrong. Like the room was spinning. I felt like I was going to be sick.

  This didn’t feel like the bed I shared with Matt. The mattress was hard and the sheets were thin and itchy.

  The room didn’t smell like him either. It didn’t smell like anything at all.

  And that was most certainly not Matt’s hand holding mine. It was all wrong.

  I opened my eyes and had to blink because the room was blindingly white. My dad was sitting next to me holding my hand. His eyes were closed and he was in a wheelchair, his arm attached to an IV in the corner. For just a second I was alarmed by how sickly he looked. For just a second…I was worried about him. Which was ironic. Because he certainly wasn’t worried about me. He didn’t give a shit about me.

  It felt like my heart stopped beating. None of it was a dream.

  No.

  Never.

  Nunca.

  Tears started welling in my eyes. The prank had happened. Matt did hate me. He’d left me. He’d called me a liar and just walked away. He didn’t answer any of my calls or texts. He just…ignored my existence. Just like he had when we’d first met. Like I meant nothing to him. My chest ached. Like my heart was ripping in two. Matthew Caldwell hates me.

  And yet…none of that was the worst thing. The monster sitting next to my bed topped everything else. And I needed to get the hell away from him.

  I pulled my hand out of my dad’s grip.

  That startled him awake. “You’re awake, princess,” he said, his voice hoarse and groggy.

  I was not his princess. That was his name for my evil half-sister. And I wanted no part in it. I wanted no part of this family. “Don’t call me that.” My voice sounded even hoarser than his. I looked down at the IV that was attached to my wrist and tried to pull it out.

  “What are you doing?” He reached out to stop me.

  “Don’t touch me!” My stomach rolled as I sat up. I was definitely about to be sick.

  “Princess, calm down. You need to rest.”

  I pulled out the IV and grabbed my wrist as the blood dribbled down my arm. I needed to get out of this room. I needed to get away from the man that called himself my father. That sick fuck.

  “Brooklyn, you need to calm down,” he said more forcefully.

  “You stole…you stole my…” It was like my mind was all jumbled. Everything was blurry as I tried to climb out of bed. And my side hurt so damn much. When I pushed myself off the bed, I fell to my knees. My foot hit the metal pole the IV was attached to, and it fell to the ground with a clang.

  “Brooklyn, stop.” He reached out for me again.

  I cringed when he put his hands on my shoulders. Ow. I grabbed my stomach. I wasn’t going to be sick. I was just in pain because my dad had tried to kill me.

  “Shit,” my dad mumbled.

  Something in the room started beeping like crazy.

  And Dr. Wilson rushed in. “What on earth is going on in here? Did she fall out of bed?”

  “She’s hysterical,” my dad said. “Do something!”

  Hysterical? I’m not hysterical. He was the crazy one, not me. “Help me,” I croaked and grabbed Dr. Wilson’s pant leg.

  Dr. Wilson stared down at me like I’d lost my mind. Like I was a feral animal he wanted to kick away. Why was he looking at me like that? I was asking him for help. Begging him to save me from this hell. Did he not realize what had just happened?

  “I didn’t agree to this,” I said. “I didn’t. Let me go. Please let me go. Let me out of here.” It felt like air wasn’t reaching my lungs fast enough. I choked on my own breath.

  Dr. Wilson glanced at my dad and then back at me.

  “Please get me out of here. I don’t want to be here anymore.” Not in this room. Not near my dad. Not in this house. Not in this fucking state.

  “Did you give her too many painkillers?” my dad asked.

  “I…” Dr. Wilson’s voice trailed off. “I don’t know. Did you see her take more medication?”

  I’m not high! But Dr. Wilson’s statement made me realize that he was not here to help me. He was part of the reason I was in pain. He’d performed the surgery. It wasn’t just my dad. Dr. Wilson was a monster too. I couldn’t be here. I needed to get away from both of them. I tried to get up but fell back down.

  “Brooklyn, try to take a deep breath for me,” my dad said. “I think you’re just having a panic attack.”

  Fuck him for using that against me. I trusted him. And now he was trying to make me feel insane. “I’m not,” I gasped. Maybe I was. But deep breathing wasn’t going to help. I needed to get out of this haunted apartment.

  “I’ll take you wherever you want to go,” my dad said. “Where do you want to go, princess?”

  Stop calling me that. I wasn’t
his princess. I wanted nothing to do with him. “Please just let me go.” I tried to push myself up off the floor but the pain was blinding. The room started to spin. The door seemed like it was a million miles away. If I could just…

  “We’ll get you back to your bedroom, alright?” my dad said. “Please take a deep breath.”

  “No. I don’t want to be here anymore. Please.” I felt the tears streaming down my cheeks.

  He lowered his eyebrows. “Okay. We’ll get you out of here, if that’s what you want. Just tell me where you want to go.”

  I wanted to go to Matt’s. Desperately. But he no longer wanted me there. He’d made that pretty clear after our fight. And my best friend, Kennedy, was mad at me too. I had nowhere to go. But I needed out of this room. Out of this house. Out of this life. I couldn’t do this anymore. Everything hurt.

  “Just tell me where, princess.”

  I wasn’t his fucking princess. “As far away as possible from you.”

  His face fell. “Brooklyn, what’s going on?”

  “You stole my fucking kidney, you psychopath!” I tried to stand up again but the room was spinning too fast.

  “No. No,” he said more sternly. “Princess, I…”

  “Don’t princess me! I’m not your princess! Don’t pretend for a second that you care about me. You just used me for spare parts.”

  “You signed the contract. You agreed…”

  “I didn’t read the contract! You’re supposed to be my dad. You’re supposed to love me. How could you do this? How could you do this to me?” I couldn’t be sure because I was crying so hard, but I swore I saw tears in his eyes too.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I thought you knew. I never would have…”

  “Stop lying. For once in your life, stop lying to me.”

  He just stared at me. “Brooklyn, I swear…”

  I didn’t believe a word he said.

  “We talked about it several times.”

  What the hell was he talking about? He’d never told me he was about to steal my kidney! “Please just let me leave. Please let me out of here.”

  He nodded. “Okay.” He reached out like he was going to help me up.

  I grimaced. “Please. If you care about me at all.” My whole body shook with my tears. Everything fucking hurt. But I was pretty sure my heart hurt most of all. None of it had been a dream. Which meant Matt hated me. He thought I was the monster. Not my dad or Isabella, but…me. “Please,” I sobbed.

  “Okay. Honestly, I think this is for the best,” he said. “This was what I wanted all along. I’m glad you’re finally seeing reason.” He nodded to Dr. Wilson.

  I felt something pinch my arm and looked up a second too late to see Dr. Wilson injecting me with something.

  The room grew even blurrier.

  “Shh,” my dad whispered, gently patting my shoulder.

  Get away from me.

  He’d tricked me.

  He’d used me.

  He’d never actually loved me. No one loved me.

  All my father had ever wanted me for was my kidney. He’d sought me out just to use me. An illegitimate kid with no other purpose. Someone to use and cast aside just like everyone else in my life had. I had nothing. And no one.

  “Go back to sleep,” my father whispered. “Everything’s fine.”

  Nothing was fine. I tried to move away from him, but my body wasn’t listening to me. It was like it had just…given up.

  “What did you give me?” At first I wasn’t sure he heard me, because my lips felt weird. But he finally responded.

  “It’s just a mild sedative so you can get your rest. I’ll take care of all the arrangements. I’ll get you somewhere safe. A fresh start, princess.”

  I didn’t want whatever his version of safe was. And I didn’t want to sleep. I wanted the pain to stop. I just wanted…everything to stop. It hurt too fucking much.

  Chapter 2

  Friday

  I was in a white room. I wasn’t sure where. Despite the machines everywhere, it didn’t look like a hospital room. Just a normal bedroom. If something so sterile could be considered normal.

  I’d woken up here a few minutes ago. Or maybe it was a few hours.

  At least my body worked now. I curled up in a ball and stared at the white wall. It looked like one of the blank canvases I’d given to Matt yesterday. A Thanksgiving Day present. Or at least, I thought it had been yesterday. I had no idea what day it was anymore.

  All I knew was that the painting set I’d given Matt was stupid.

  I’d been stupid. About all of it.

  I’d thought he had my back.

  I’d thought he loved me.

  The white wall blurred in front of me as the tears clouded my vision.

  I’d loved him. I’d loved him so much. And he…he’d left me alone with my dad and half-sister. Matt knew I was scared of Isabella. He knew what kind of man my dad was. And he had left me in their clutches. And now I was God knows where and missing a fucking kidney. What kind of fiancé left the supposed love of his life in the hands of the devil himself?

  Not one I believed in.

  I hated Matthew freaking Caldwell.

  But I loved him a lot more than I hated him right now. I loved him so much it hurt.

  I pulled my knees tighter to my chest. I felt foolish. For the first time in a long time, I’d let my guard down. I’d let another person into my life knowing that I’d end up here again. All alone.

  Was he thinking about me now?

  Was Kennedy?

  Did either of them know what my dad had just done?

  Did they even care?

  And where the hell was I?

  I tried to remember what my dad had said to me as I was waking up from surgery. He said he’d take me somewhere safe. But he didn’t understand that he was the one I wanted to get away from. I’d never be safe with him. He’d probably steal my liver next.

  And I certainly didn’t want to be here in this white empty room all by myself. With a beeping monitor in the corner, telling me my heart was still working. I didn’t believe it. It couldn’t possibly still be beating.

  Maybe this really was all a dream. But I never remembered a dream physically hurting this damned much.

  I looked down at the hospital gown I was wearing. I didn’t remember putting it on. Which meant someone else had put it on me. Like I was some doll that could be played with.

  Fuck everyone.

  I pushed the thin fabric to the side and stared down at a bandage on my stomach. I pulled the fabric back into place. All I was good for was donating organs.

  Because I was a liar. A bad friend. A bad fiancé. A bad niece. I felt the tears falling down my cheeks again.

  Maybe everyone was right. Maybe I was just like Isabella.

  Yeah, I wasn’t sure how the machine in the corner was beeping. Because my heart wasn’t working properly anymore.

  I pulled my knees back up to my chest and my left hand caught my eye. No.

  My engagement ring was gone. What? I looked around the bed. I pushed the blankets and sheets aside. I moved the pillow. Where was my ring? My heart started beating faster, the monitor in the corner going frantic. This ring meant the world to Matt. I couldn’t lose it. He already hated me. I could beg him for forgiveness for the prank. But he wouldn’t forgive me for this. I tossed the pillow onto the ground. It had to be here somewhere. I shoved the sheets off the bed until it was just me sitting on the mattress surrounded by nothing.

  Had Matt been here? Had he taken my ring? I stared at the bare spot on my finger. If he’d been here, I didn’t remember any of it. I knew we’d had a fight. I wished I could take back the damage I’d done. And I knew that wasn’t possible. But I could at least try to fix it.

  I just kept staring at the bare spot on my finger. What if Matt didn’t want me to fix it though? What if he didn’t want to be an us anymore? I felt the tears rolling down my cheeks. What if this was the end?

  I only had
myself to blame. I’d hung out with the Hunter brothers when Matt had specifically told me not to. It didn’t matter that I had good intentions of fixing his friendship with them. I’d hoped for the best, but I should have expected the worst. The worst tended to follow me around like a black cloud. Or else I wouldn’t be sitting in this empty room, on this empty bed, recovering from my dad stealing my fucking kidney.

  I was bad luck.

  Cursed.

  I was a Pruitt.

  No.

  I was a freaking Sanders. And Sanders didn’t give up. Not like this. Matt would forgive me. He had to. And he’d help keep me safe from my dad. I just needed to figure out a way out of this room. I grimaced as I pulled the IV out of the back of my hand. I climbed off the bed. Ow. I clutched my stomach as I made my way over to the door. But when I tried to turn the knob…it didn’t budge. He’d locked me in here? What the hell? I had to get out of here. But I didn’t bang on the door. It would just alert everyone.

  There was a window in the room. If I could just climb out… I took another step and had to double over from the pain.

  Damn it. I couldn’t stay here. I was a sitting duck for whenever my father decided he needed another organ. I took another step forward. It felt like someone was ripping my stomach in two.

  “What are you doing out of bed?” A nurse rushed into the room.

  “I need to leave.”

  “You need to lie down.”

  I tried to move away from her but she stepped in front of me.

  She pushed a button by my bed and two big male nurses came into the room. One was holding a syringe.

  No, not again. “Get away from me.” I wanted to scream and throw things, but my knees were weak. I was seconds away from collapsing, but they stabbed me with the syringe anyway.

  Everything was blurry as they got me back in bed.

  “Try to rest,” the first nurse said.

  I looked back down at the empty spot on my finger where the ring Matt had given me had been. I’d thought I had it all figured out. I’d thought I’d be a Caldwell and live happily ever after.

  But I’d always be a Pruitt.

  Chapter 3

  Saturday

  I was in a new room now. One without a window. My dad must have been worried I’d try to escape again. So he was keeping me prisoner in a windowless cage.