Blue Bloods Read Online Free PDF Page B

Kidman, and suddenly Nicole Kidman stopped seeming like this icy, ruthless, career-minded Amazon and became just another dumped divorcée whom everyone could relate to. She’d even cried on Oprah. Aggie had been Mimi’s best friend. Well, no, not exactly. Mimi had many best friends. It was the backbone of her popularity. Many people felt close to her, even though Mimi felt close to no one. But still, Aggie had been special to her.
    She’d grown up with her. Ice-skating at Wollman Rink, etiquette lessons at the Plaza, summers inSouthampton . The Carondolets were an old New York family; her parents were friends with Mimi’s parents. Their moms went to the same hairdresser at Henri Bendel . She was a true blue blood, like herself.
    Mimi loved the attention, loved the fawning. She said all the right things, voicing her shock and grief with a halting voice. She dabbed her eyes without smudging her eyeliner. She recalled fondly how Aggie had lent her her favorite Rock and Republic jeans once. And never even asked for them back! Now that was a true friend.
    After Chapel, Mimi and Jack were pulled aside by one of the runners, a scholarship kid who served as an errand boy for the Headmistress’s office. “The Head wants to see you guys,” they were told.
    Inside the plush-carpeted office, the Head of Schools told them they could take the whole day off—no need to wait till noon. The Committee understood how close they were to Augusta .
    Mimi was elated. Even more special treatment! But Jack shook his head and explained that if it was all right with everyone, he was going to attend his second-period class.
    Outside the administration corridor, the vast carpeted hallways were empty. Everyone else was in class. They were practically alone. Mimi reached out and smoothed her brother’s collar, tracing her fingers on his sunburned neck. He flinched at her touch.
    “What’s gotten into you lately?” she asked impatiently.
    “Don’t, okay? Not here.”
    She didn’t understand why he was so skittish. At some point, things would change. She would change. He knew that, but it was as if he couldn’t accept it, or he wouldn’t let himself accept it.
    Maybe it was all part of the process. Her father had made the history of the family very clear to them, and their part in it was set in stone. Jack didn’t have a choice, whether he wanted it or not, and Mimi felt somewhat insulted at the way he was acting.
    She looked at her brother—her twin, her other half. He was part of her soul. When they were little, it was like they were the same person. When she stubbed a toe, he cried. When he fell off the horse in Connecticut , her back ached in New York . She always knew what he was thinking, what he was feeling, and she loved him in a way that scared her. It consumed every inch of her being. But he’d been pulling away from her lately. He was distracted, distant. His mind was closed to hers. When she reached out to feel his pres ence, there was nothing. A blank slate. No, more like a muffling. A blanket over a stereo. He was tuning her out. Masking his thoughts.
    Asserting his independence from her. It was troubling, to say the least.
    “It’s like you don’t even like me anymore,” she pouted, lifting up her thick blond hair and letting it fall on her shoul ders. She was wearing a black cotton sweater, rendered see-through underneath the fluorescent light of the hallway. She knew he could see the ivory lace of her Le Mystère bra through the thin weave.
    Jack smiled a wry smile. “That’s not possible. That would be like hating myself . And I’m not a masochist.”
    She shrugged her shoulders in slow motion, turning away and biting her lip.
    He pulled her in for a hug, pressing his body against hers. They were the same height—their eyes at the same level. It was like looking into a mirror. “Be good,” he said.
    “Who are you and what have you done with my brother?” she cracked. But it was nice to be hugged, and she