18. Maddison

Maddison

G oing to class with a hangover was hell, but it does help when I return to my dorm and dive into the burger and fries River gave me. I’ve never been so in love with a burger before.

As I’m sitting on my bed, stuffing my face with this yummy goodness, I grab my phone and text River a message.

Me: Thanks for the burger. You were right. It’s making me feel better.

I also note that River has sent me the photo of the message on the door last night.

You shouldn’t have come here.

It’s creepy as hell that it’s written in red paint that has dripped down the door like blood.

River said there’s a small chance the message could be for Lily. Maybe it makes more sense that it was for her. No one except a few people has associated with me during my short time here. So, why would anyone come after me like this?

Still, an unsettling feeling sits in my stomach that the message was for me. That could just be from the hangover, though.

Maybe if I eat more burgers and fries …

I stuff my mouth with greasy goodness as I sit with my legs crisscrossed on the bed. My laptop is open in front of me, and I’m supposed to be working on some research for an assignment, but my head is complicating the task.

Ping.

The sound of an incoming message scares the ever-loving crap out of me. Once I’ve got my heart rate settled down, I check the message.

Gothic Prince: You’re welcome. Glad you’re feeling better. Do you think you’ll feel better enough to meet me out by the track at five o’clock tomorrow morning?

I cringe at the idea of getting up that early, yet he’s been kind enough to help me out, so I can force my lazy ass to get out of bed to meet him.

Me: Yep, I’ll be there.

Gothic Prince: Good. I’ll see you then.

I set the phone down and decide to take a powernap, knowing I’ll need it to work through my hangover.

Right as my eyelids lower, a door slams, and then I hear Lily growl, “I can’t believe this. Why does he do this to me? Why? Why? Why?”

I consider pretending I’m not in my room—it’s not like I’m an expert at dealing with problems. Hell, I can’t even handle my own on most days. Lily has been nice to me, though, and guilt trickles through me, enough that I drag my butt out into the living room area.

When I walk in, Lily is pacing the length of the room, muttering incoherently under her breath.

“Are you okay?” I ask carefully.

She furiously shakes her head. “No, I’m not. And you want to know why?” Her nostrils flare as she looks at me. “Because of my dumbass brother. He’s such a liar. I know it was him. I know it was.” She begins pacing again, with her arms crossed, and she keeps shaking her head.

“Which brother are you talking about?” I dare ask as I make my way further into the room.

“The one who always does this shit … No, that’s a lie. Finn sometimes does it, but River is always doing this. Always ,” she emphasizes.

I sink onto the armrest of a chair and watch her pace. “Can I ask what he did?”

She slips a scrunchie out of her hair, letting her hair fall down, before gathering it back up into a ponytail again. “Well, I went to my yoga class today, thinking it would be a great day. In fact, I worked hard to convince myself it would be. But then I get there and this bitch, Amy Fellingford, asked me what it felt like to have no one want me here. When I asked what the hell she was talking about, she told me that, last night, she saw that someone painted the words, ‘ You shouldn’t have come here ’ on our door. I couldn’t figure out what the hell she was talking about since there was no paint on the door when I got back last night. Then I had to endure Amy’s smirk as she showed me a photo she took of our door last night and, sure enough, there it was.” She’s bouncing with restlessness as she continues to walk.

“I know River saw it and had it cleaned up before I could see it. This is so typical of him. He always does this and, sure, I like that he’s trying to take care of me, but not telling me stuff doesn’t help.” She slams to a halt. “It worsens things because it allows people like Amy to blindside me.”

“Um …” I start, hoping to God she doesn’t blame me for what I’m about to tell her. “I was actually with River last night when he found out our door had been painted with that message. I was pretty drunk, so I didn’t know he had it cleaned up until this morning. I’m sorry I didn’t mention anything—I honestly didn’t think about it. But I also thought—and still kind of wonder—if the message was for me. Unless this Amy girl put it there … I mean, do you know if she did?”

Lily slumps into the chair across from mine. “I doubt she did. She’s more of a spread-rumors sort of girl than someone who would take the time to vandalize. I think she just saw it there, knew it was my dorm, and used it against me, because that’s what she does.” Her eyes darken with rage as she curls her hands into fists. “But River shouldn’t have just cleaned it off. He should’ve warned me.”

“Probably,” I don’t entirely agree, but I don’t disagree, either. I have no siblings, so I’m clueless how these types of things work. “But I think he was just trying to protect you. And I think he was also helping me out, too, in a way.”

Her gaze lifts to mine. “I still can’t believe he brought you back to the dorm last night. River isn’t usually like that.”

“Like how?” I wonder. “Nice? I thought you said he was.”

“I did, but I also said he was selective with his niceness.” She assesses me. “Did you ever ask him for tips on the track team?”

“I did. And he offered to help me train.”

Her brows elevate as she absorbs this. “You really must’ve made an impression on him when he hit you with his car if he just offered to train you.” The corners of her lips quirk into a ghost of a smile.

Well, at least she’s calmed down.

“Maybe it was the impression I left in the front of his car,” I joke with a shrug.

She sputters a laugh. “Did that really happen?”

I laugh with her. “Nah, I was just messing with you.” I wish I could tell her the truth about how River and I first met, but River started this lie, and I think he needs to be the one to tell her the truth.

I think I might talk to him about it because I hate lying to Lily.

She dabs the tears of laughter from her eyes with her fingertips. “Thanks. I really needed that.” She stretches out her legs then stands up. “Do you want to go get some ice cream from the cafeteria? It might help with your hangover.”

“Sure, but how did you know I’m still hungover?”

“Because you still look like you are.”

“It’s that obvious, huh?”

“Yeah, but that’s okay. Like half the people here look that way right now. Finn included.”

I rise to my feet. “Rumor on the street says he likes to party pretty hard.”

“He does.” She wanders across the room and picks up a bag from off the floor. “I think it’s his way of coping with the divorce and Noah’s betrayal.” She scoops up a wallet that’s fallen from the bag and drops it inside. “And River became even more guarded and controlled than he already was.”

I start to head back toward my room to grab my wallet. “What about you?”

She slips the strap of her bag over her shoulder. “What about me?”

I stop in the doorway. “How do you cope?”

She flicks a piece of lint off the front of her shirt. “I didn’t have to since Noah was never really my friend.”

I rotate to face her. “But your parents still got divorced.”

She dithers. “I know, but they never had a great marriage, anyway.”

“Mine, neither,” I divulge, surprising the hell out of myself.

When I first decided to attend the academy, I made a promise to myself to not tell anyone much about my northside life.

“That sucks,” she says. “Has it always been that way?”

I nod. “What about yours?”

“Yep. It makes me wonder if I’ve ever seen a healthy relationship in my life.”

“Agreed.” I hold up a finger. “Let me grab my wallet, and then we can pick up this conversation on our way to get some ice cream.”

I step into my room and grab my wallet, fully knowing I should be resting, but I feel like Lily and I could have friend potential, and it would be nice to have a friend here. Well, besides River and Finn, if that’s even what we are. Truthfully, I have no idea what Finn and River want from me.

That thought fills up too much of my thoughts as Lily and I wander toward the cafeteria. It’s midday, sunlight trickles through the many windows lining the hallway, and the air smells sweet, like freshly baked cake. A light chatter filters through the space as people head to and from class.

Fewer people are staring at me at this point, but a few glances are being cast my way.

“So”—an arm lands on my shoulders, and a step later, Finn squeezes between Lily and me, putting an arm on her shoulders, as well—“I heard a rumor about you.” He directs his attention to me.

His eyes are bloodshot, just like mine, and dark circles reside under them. His hair is perfectly done, though, and he’s sporting a nice pair of black pants and a dark blue shirt.

“I’m sure you’ve heard a lot of rumors about me,” I quip, noting how good he smells, and then I immediately mentally kick my ass for noticing that.

“Okay, I might have, but the one I’m talking about came from my lovely, overly grumpy brother, who told me that you were hungover because of the game we played last night.” He removes his arm from Lily but keeps the other around my shoulders. “And for that, I’m sorry. I guess I just assumed since you kicked ass at beer pong, you had a high drinking tolerance. I should’ve asked if you were okay with drinking that much.”

I give a dismissive wave of my hand. “I’m fine. You didn’t force me to do anything, dude. I chose to play. I just thought you guys were actually playing beer pong.”

A crease forms between his brows. “We weren’t?”

“No, you were playing whisky pong,” I point out. “That’s not the same thing. At all.”

“True.” He considers this as we continue to walk. “I guess I should’ve pointed that out before I roped you into play, huh?”

“You’re fine,” I stress. “I don’t know what River told you, but I don’t blame you.”

“You don’t?”

“No.”

A smile breaks across his face. “Aw, you’re the nicest bestie ever.”

I resist an eye roll at his cheesiness.

“Um, hello to you, too,” Lily finally says loudly. “Jeez, Finn, it’s like I’m not even here.”

He turns his head toward Lily while pulling me closer to his side. “Hello, wonderful sister. How are you today?”

“Shitty,” Lily replies, slowing to a stop in front of the doors that lead to the cafeteria. “Thanks to River and his lying. And I’d appreciate it if you’d pass along that message.” With that, she reels around and stomps into the cafeteria.

Finn glances back at me with a frown on his face. “What the hell was that about?”

I so do not want to get into this brother and sister drama. “I think you should ask River or Lily.”

“You don’t want to get in the middle?” he guesses with a hint of shock. “That’s … new.”

I crinkle my nose. “Why?”

He lifts a shoulder. “That’s just not how it works around here. People love sticking their noses where they don’t belong.” He tugs on a strand of my hair. “I think I might have picked the best best friend a guy could ask for.”

I give him a bored sort of look. “Dude, we both know I’m not your best friend.”

“Why would you say that?” He juts out his lip. “That’s so mean.”

I can’t hold my laughter in as I playfully shove him back. “Oh my God, you’re ridiculous.”

“But cute and ridiculous.” He’s all cheery smiles and glittering eyes. “Come on; admit it.”

I put my hand on my hip. “Admit what?”

“That you think I’m cute.”

“Nah, I’m definitely not going there with you.”

He points a finger at me. “That doesn’t sound like you’re denying it.”

“I think you already know you’re good looking”—I step toward the cafeteria—“so stop fishing for compliments. I’m sure you get them all the time.”

He backs up in front of me. “Maybe, but I feel like you don’t give those out a lot, which makes them much more valuable.”

“They’re not.” But he’s correct about the first part.

A smirk spreads across his face. Who knows what words would’ve come out his mouth next—I’m sure ones that were both equally parts amusing and annoying—but a guy wearing a button-down white shirt, slacks, and shiny shoes strolls up to Finn. If he weren’t here at the academy, I’d guess he was an accountant.

“Hey, I’ve been looking for you,” he tells Finn as he drags his fingers through his brown hair. “You need to come with me.”

Finn’s entire demeanor shifts, the muscles in his face hardening, his posture stiffening. “Why?”

“Because I said so,” the guy replies with arrogance ringing in his tone. Then his gaze skates to me, and his lips curl into a smirk. “I can see why you don’t want to go, though.” His gaze drags up and down me as he openly checks me out. “And who is this lovely thing?”

I’m getting creep vibes from this guy so badly it makes me shiver.

“This lovely thing is Maddy,” I introduce myself. “And I’m guessing you’re here to do Finn’s taxes.”

His brows tug together. “What? No.”

“Oh, sorry. My bad.” I gesture at his outfit. “So, you just choose to dress this way, then? Weird.”

Finn presses me with a warning look, a move that seems out of character for him.

“You’ll have to ignore Mads,” Finn intervenes, tossing me another pressing look. “She’s new.”

Accountant Guy is blasting me with a withering look. With his narrow face and small nose, he looks very snake-like. “Well, she needs to learn her place.”

My lips part to tell this guy to screw off, but Finn beats me to the punch.

“I’ll make sure she learns.” He totally ignores me as I glower at him. “But aren’t I supposed to be going with you somewhere?”

“Yes, you are,” Accountant Guy mutters, his gaze never wavering from me. “Come on.” Tearing his gaze off me, he snaps his fingers at Finn as he strides toward the exit.

I gape at Finn as he begrudgingly follows him. “Are you seriously going to let him boss you around like that?”

“I have to,” he whispers under his breath. “Now go find Lily and forget about this.” He walks away without waiting for me to respond and leaves me standing in the middle of the cafeteria with my jaw hanging to my knees.

I remain that way for about ten seconds with the sounds of clanking plates and conversation flowing around me. I could find Lily—I should. I only came here so I could get ice cream with her. But I also want to find out where Finn is going with Accountant Guy. Sure, it might be none of my business, but the way Finn’s demeanor shifted was just plain odd. Where would they even be going? Why did he let that guy boss him around?

Why do I even care?

“Why did Finn just go with Eli?” Lily materializes by my side with a bowl of strawberry ice cream in her hand.

“I don’t know, but he was acting weird about it.”

“That’s because Eli is a real piece of shit. Like put every cliché douchebag behavior into one person, and you’d have Eli.” She stares at the door as she absentmindedly stirs her ice cream. “I don’t know why he’d go with him. Not after what Eli did to me.”

I glance at her. “What did he do to you?”

She stiffly shrugs. “It’s a long story that I don’t want to talk about in the open, but it has to do with basically ruining my life in high school.” She has a miserable frown on her face that’s crammed with hurt. “Why would Finn go with him?”

I’m wondering the same thing. I may not know Finn well, but he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would betray his sister like that.

“Hmm …” I’m getting an idea. One that I probably should be getting, but … “Screw it. Let’s go.” I motion for Lily to follow me as I jog out of the cafeteria.

“Wait … Where are you going?” she asks as she rushes after me.

When I walk out of the cafeteria, I look left and right, and spot Finn and Eli just as they’re rounding the corner. “Come on. Hurry.” I take off in that direction, disregarding the wide-eyed stares. It’s like people have never seen a girl running down the hallway like a lunatic. They’d be in for a real shock if they went to Northside High, where it’s an anomaly not to see someone acting like a psycho.

“Maddy,” Lily calls out breathlessly. “What the heck are we doing?”

I skid to a stop as I reach the corner I saw Finn and Eli disappear around. “We’re finding out why your brother is doing with the prince of douchebaggery.” I slowly peer around the corner.

“We look like crazy people,” she whispers as she stands behind me.

“In northside, we’d look like normal people,” I whisper back as I scan the hallway.

I spot a halo of blond hair that belongs to Finn right before he veers into a room.

I hurry toward the room with Lily trailing at my heels. She doesn’t even bother asking me questions anymore, which is the first step of acceptance that we are officially spying on her brother.

The doorway Finn walked through is the arched entrance to the Royal Academy library, so says an engraved sign carved into the pillar above the archway. The place is quiet, but that’s not surprising—it’s a library after all.

The librarian, who’s perched behind the counter, is around forty or so with chin-length black hair. She scrutinizes me as I rush by her.

“Can I help you?” she calls after me.

“Don’t worry, Miss Mapltefied,” Lily tells her. “She attends the school.”

Ignoring the exchange, I powerwalk to the center of the room where a cluster of long, wooden tables are located. The ceiling is high-arched and layered with crisscrossing beams, the lights are woven with metal and glittery crystals, and encircling the entire room are towering bookshelves.

“Wow,” I breathe out as I take the area in. “This is seriously like straight out of Beauty and the Beast or something. This place is crazy.”

“You run way too fast for me,” Lily sputters as she shuffles up to me. She’s out of breath, and her face is red.

“Sorry,” I apologize as I scan the tables for Finn.

“Don’t be sorry. I’m the one who’s out of shape.” She’s still holding her bowl of ice cream, and it’s starting to melt.

“Do you see him anywhere?” I ask. “Finn, I mean?”

Lily’s gaze sweeps across the room. “No. Are you sure he came in here? Hanging out in the library isn’t really Finn’s thing.”

“No, he for sure came in here.” I start toward the row of books and begin peering down each aisle, looking for Finn and Eli.

Lily trudges after me, grimacing at her melted ice cream. When I reach the final aisle and still don’t spot Finn, confusion webs through me.

“I know he came in here,” I mumble while scratching my head.

“It’s okay if we don’t find him. The next time I see him, I can just ask him why he’s hanging out with Eli. Not that he’ll for sure tell me the truth, but I can attempt to get it out of him.” Lily stuffs a spoonful of melted ice cream into her mouth then pulls face. “And I’m done with that.”

I’m half-listening to her. This makes no sense unless another exit exists somewhere.

“Hold on,” I murmur as I wander off toward the back of the room. I look around, searching for another door, but nope. Nothing.

“You’re really stuck on this, aren’t you?” Lily remarks as she steps up beside me.

“Not stuck. I just … I don’t get where they went.”

“Maybe you miscalculated the room they went into. Or maybe you didn’t see them, but someone else.”

“Maybe.” I don’t believe it, though. I know what I saw.

The only other alternative I can think of is that the library has a secret room.

My overactive imagination starts conjuring up all sorts of ideas, the biggest one being that if I pulled on the right book, one of the shelves would move and reveal a hidden room. But that’s crazy, right?

I don’t know because this world, this life, this building is all foreign to me.

After Lily and I leave the library, Lily has to head to a class, leaving me alone in the dorm. I should take a nap—that was my main goal today—but I can’t get over how Finn seemingly vanished into thin air.

As my curiosity gets the best of me, I dig my laptop out of my bag, get situated on my bed, and start searching around online about the history of Royal Academy, particularly the building itself. But I can’t access the website the info is on due to the fact that it’s password encrypted.

I’m in no way, shape, or form a computer expert, so hacking into it isn’t happening.

As I’m attempting to figure out a solution to this, an article in the search engine snags my attention.

Hazing Rituals? Secret Societies? Cover-Ups? Learn the Dark Side of The Royal Academy, a School Known for Its High Academics Also has the Highest Injury and Disappearance Rate Among Its Students.

“What the actual hell?” I click on the article and read through it.

It basically talks about how the academy is dusting stuff under the rug due to the fact that the students who attend the academy are from wealthy families. What really snags my attention is that the reporter who wrote the article interviewed someone who wanted to remain anonymous. And they were quoted talking about how a secret society hazed them, and it started with someone writing a message on their door. They don’t quote what the message said, but reading this sends a chill through me.

Perhaps if I can get a hold of the reporter, I can persuade them to tell me what the message was—if they know, anyway. But the reporter who wrote the article is labeled as anonymous, too. However, the online journal that published it is listed there— The Golden Crown Royalty News.

“I wonder if Wren knows anyone who works there.” Do I feel comfortable enough to ask her?

I’m not sure.

And I’m not even positive the message on my door was for me. It could’ve been for Lily. Either way, I want to know the truth. Because if I’ve learned anything from northside, it’s that the more facts you know, the safer you are.

I lie down on my bed and hug my pillow against my chest. When I decided to accept my scholarship to the academy, I thought I’d be safe here. But I don’t know now. And that makes me question if I’ll ever feel safe.