6. Maddison

Maddison

I feel like a stupid idiot as I powerwalk down the hallway. I never should’ve trusted him. He was so sweet and nice—so pretty. Maybe the last one is the issue. Pretty faces can be misleading.

“Ugh,” I mumble as I shuffle down the hallway.

I want to bang my head on the wall, but that doesn’t seem like a good idea, considering my concussion?—

Smack.

I run so hard into someone that I grunt. I’m one step away from falling onto my ass, but hands land on my arms, steadying me.

Noah.

He’s wearing his typical outfit—dark clothes and a hoodie that covers his short, brown hair.

“Watch where you’re …” Noah trails off as I look at him. “Oh, it’s you.”

The corners of my lips twitch up but then tip downward at the sight of his puffy, swollen cheek and the bruises blooming on his jawline.

“They hit you? Noah, I’m so sorry.” The urge to touch his face rises through me, but I resist it.

He promptly shakes his head. “Don’t apologize. You were just trying to help me.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t do a very good job.” I press my hand to my forehead as another spout of dizziness swirls through me.

Worry fills his eyes. “Are you okay?”

I nod, lowering my head. “I just have a concussion.”

His brows quirks upward. “Just a concussion?” He shakes head. “You’re so weird.”

“Um, thanks?” I say it more as a question.

“I didn’t mean that in a bad way.” He shoves his hands into his pockets. “I just … I don’t know. You’re just different from what I’m used to.”

“I’m not surprised by that.” I pause, eyeing him over. “Are you okay?”

He gives a dismissive nod. “I’m fine. I got hit in the face, but it’s not the first time that’s happened. Plus, it could’ve been worse. You’ve talked to River, right?”

I nod, my stomach clenching at the reminder of the pretty guy I think I may have been starting to fall for. “He’s lucky he’s okay.” Not wanting to talk about that, I divert the subject. “Did you at least get the thing you were after?”

With his lips smashed together, he shakes his head. “No, but you don’t need to worry about that.” As a guy walks by us, staring at Noah with a smirk, Noah visibly stiffens. “I have to go.” He bolts off before I can utter another word.

I turn and look at the guy who’s watching Noah walk away. Then he turns around and heads down the hallway, retrieving his phone from his pocket. That can’t be good at all. But if Noah won’t talk about it, I can’t help him. Then again, maybe I should stay out of it since my attempt at helping last time turned out awful.

Sighing, I start forward, unsure where I’m heading since I can’t get into my dorm. After wandering around for a while, I end up outside on a bench, lying down underneath the shade of a tree. The warm air feels amazing against my skin, and I damn near fall asleep when, suddenly, I feel someone sit down by my feet.

I have my arm draped over my eyes and lift it up to see who it is. Finn is sitting there with a smile on his face. Wisps of his blond hair dance in the wind, and he has the sleeves of his shirt rolled up.

“What’s up, pretty boy?” I ask. “And what’s with the cheeky smile?”

He chuckles under his breath. “Glad to see you’re feeling a bit better.”

“I napped for a bit.” I sit up and lower my feet to the ground. “Have you talked to River at all?”

He shakes his head, a divot forming between his brows. “Why?”

“No reason.” I decide not to bring up what occurred between River and me. I figure River can do that. “So, why are you smiling?”

“Because I got something for you.” He has a backpack on and swings it around so it’s sitting on his lap. He unzips it and takes out my phone.

“You got it back.” I take it from him and tap the screen, but it won’t turn on.

“The batteries are dead,” he explains as he zips his bag up.

I swipe my finger along the side. “Where did you get it?”

“Eli had it.” He slips his bag back on, the zipper jingling. “He actually gave it to me without me saying anything.”

I stare at my phone. “That seems weird.”

“Agreed. I’m wondering if maybe he installed a hacking app on it, or a tracking one.”

“Shit, maybe I shouldn’t use it then.”

“Nah, we can get Noah to look at it.”

My gaze flicks to him. “Is Noah like some sort of hacker?” I’m mostly joking, but the look on Finn’s face changes my attitude. “Wait, is he?”

“Not a hacker, per se, but he is really good with computers and shit like that.” He rises to his feet. “I can text him right now, and we can have him do it. That way, you can have a phone again, and my annoyingly stressed brother can chill the hell out.”

At the mention of River, my lips pull downward.

Finn totally notices. “Something happened between you two.”

I push to my feet. “Can we please not talk about this?”

He studies me with his eyes glittering against the sunlight before grabbing his phone from his pocket. “Let me call Noah and see if he’ll look at your phone.”

As he makes the call, I let a slow breath ease from my lips. I’m grateful he let it drop and that he’s helping me, but what will he do when he finds out what happened? Or does he know what River really thinks about me?

I assess Finn from the corner of my eye as he talks on the phone. He’s River’s twin, so he has to be aware, right? I’m unsure, but regardless, I need to be careful around all of these royals, especially with so many royal secrets surrounding me.