by Callie Rose
Something about it nagged at me.
Had he really even been a founding member of the company? Maybe the one article I’d found that mentioned him by name had gotten it wrong. My grandma had said he was sort of an outsider, “not of their caliber”, a latecomer to the group of friends.
So why had he been part of the company at all? Had he been?
And where had he gone?
Chapter 9
We survived the rest of the week—the strange, tight-knit little group that was the Princes and me. Over the following weekend, I spent a good chunk of time working with Finn on American Literature again, and on Sunday, Leah and I went to see a movie.
I almost came to blows with Mason, who was deeply opposed to me going anywhere without one of them escorting me. I understood his concern, even shared it in a weird way, but the thought of telling Leah I couldn’t go with her because the Princes wouldn’t let me brought back itchy, uncomfortable memories of my second semester at Oak Park, when the Princes had adopted me into their fold.
This wasn’t that.
The four boys were still deeply entrenched in my life, but it truly wasn’t the same as it had been then. And going on a movie date with Leah felt somehow important, like I was proving to myself and the entire world that things were different.
Mason must’ve seen in my eyes that I wasn’t going to bend—that if he pushed too hard on this, something between us would snap—because after we spent several minutes nose-to-nose, he cursed and broke away, stalking across my living room while the other three Princes watched, their gazes bouncing back and forth between us.
“Fine,” he growled, turning back to face me. “But if anything—anything—happens, or seems strange, or makes you feel even vaguely fucking threatened, you call one of us. Got it? No debating. No wondering if it’s a big enough deal. You call.”
“Alright.”
My voice was low, and I nodded seriously, as touched by the fact that he’d actually conceded as I was by his worry. He hated this. I could see it in every line of his body. But he was going to let me do it, because he knew it mattered to me.
They all insisted on escorting me across campus, and when we met Leah by her car, she arched an eyebrow at my honor guard.
“Down, boys,” she drawled. “I’ll get her home before she turns into a pumpkin, I promise.”
Finn rolled his eyes, but Mason’s face stayed impassive, a muscle jumping rhythmically in his jaw. Cole’s hands had clenched into fists at his sides, and Elijah’s deep hazel eyes were worried. I flashed them a quick smile and a wave, as if it wasn’t at all strange to be dropped off for a friend date by my four… whatever the Princes were.
And as much as I’d wanted to go out with Leah, as determined as I’d been to make this point, I had to admit that my stomach clenched with nerves as she started the car. I felt naked and exposed somehow as she drove out of the parking lot, and I found myself glancing at the rearview mirror more often than I should, watching for anything suspicious around us.
“So… now will you tell me what’s up with you and the Princes?” she asked as we headed toward Roseland. “Seriously, it’s something, right? I mean, are you dating one of them?”
“No,” I said absently, craning my neck to watch a gray SUV until it turned right down a side street behind us.
“Well, does one of them want to be dating you? I mean, seriously, the way they act around you, it’s—”
“Creepy?”
She belted a laugh, pressing a button on the wheel to turn the radio to a different station.
“No!” She laughed again, then added, “I mean, when they were like this last year, admittedly, it was a little creepy. But I think Maggie’s right. That was different. Before, it was like they pulled you along wherever they went. Now, it’s like they’d go anywhere you go.” She dipped her chin as she glanced at me, peering at me over the tops of her sunglasses. “Seriously. I think you could probably walk straight into the fucking ocean and they’d be right behind you.”
Her words made me think of the one time I’d been in the ocean with the Princes, and I bit my lip to hide the expression trying to steal over my face.
“Yeah, I don’t know about that.”
“I’m dead serious, girl! I mean, do you like them like that? Would you want to be with one of them?” She stopped and reconsidered. “I dunno though. Somehow that doesn’t feel right. In my head, they’re kind of like a package deal now.” She giggled raucously, waggling her eyebrows at me. “Hope you can handle that.”
I didn’t have to look in the mirror to know I was blushing. I could feel the heat creeping up my face, burning a path all the way from my neck to my hairline.
Forcing my voice to sound semi-normal, I chuckled. “I think the bigger question is, could they handle me?”
Leah glanced over at me again, a grin splitting her face. “I like this new Talia. She’s a badass.”
Yeah? She still doesn’t feel like it. But she’s trying.
In a blatant attempt to turn the conversation away from me and the Princes, I reached over and poked her in the ribs. “What about you? Anybody you’ve got your eye on?”
She heaved a dramatic sigh, glancing over her shoulder before switching lanes. “Ugh. No. I’ve decided to wait until college. Every hot guy at Oak Park is either spoken for or an utter douchebag. I’ll hold out for some of that fresh college beef.”
I laughed and made a gagging noise at the same time, and she grinned.
We arrived in Roseland early for the movie, so we killed a little time by window-shopping. It was fun, and nice to catch up with Leah one-on-one, but that anxious feeling I’d had in the car never really went away. I felt vulnerable and exposed, and I kept glancing subtly at the people around us on the street, watching for… I didn’t even know what.
The movie was stupid and silly, with a heartwarming ending and a hot lead actor. Leah complained that we could’ve seen the new slasher film that’d just come out, but I was glad she’d let me veto it. I wasn’t in the mood for anything that dark.
Afterward, we drove back to campus with the windows down, letting the warm glow of the sunset fill the car. Mason had texted me three times to make sure I was okay, and the other Princes one time apiece. But having seen Mason’s face before I’d left, I knew how much restraint it’d taken him to only send three messages.
When Monday rolled around, I felt refreshed and ready to tackle the week, but that feeling quickly died out. Adena kept ramping up her attacks on the Princes, and she’d recruited some of the braver—or weaker—students on campus to join her efforts.
It made me fucking furious, and it also made me question the blond girl’s intelligence. Yeah, she’d gotten her hands on some seriously damaging and embarrassing information about the four boys. But just because she was succeeding in dethroning them, it didn’t make them powerless. There were still plenty of students on their side, and their families still had status in Roseland that went beyond the walls of Oak Park.
Did she think she could just keep pushing them and pushing them? None of them were the types to roll over, and even though they’d shown restraint so far because I’d asked them to, there was only so far she could push before one or more of them snapped.
On Thursday, Cole and I were walking out of our eighth period History class when an underclassman caught up to us.
“Hey, uh, Cole. There’s a phone call for you in the admin office.”
“Fuck.” His face went still, but I saw the tension gathering in his jaw. “It’s my dad.”
I didn’t know why exactly his dad felt the need to call the school office to reach his son when he had Cole’s cell number, except that it was another means to control him, to make sure Cole went where his father said when he said.
The dark-haired boy looked down at me, conflict raging behind his piercing blue eyes.
“Go.” I let go of one of my crutches and brushed my fingers lightly down his forearm. “It’s fine. I’ll head downst
airs and meet up with the other guys. We’ll wait for you.”
He lifted his hand, tangling his fingers with mine briefly, glancing down at the connection between us. Then he nodded and let go. “I’ll meet you.”
He turned and stalked down the corridor with my backpack still slung over one shoulder, and the hall monitor scurried ahead as if Cole were chasing him. The sight almost made me laugh, but worry tugged at my heart, dragging the smile off my face. I didn’t know what his dad wanted with him, but every time I thought of the large, dark-haired man who looked like an older copy of Cole himself, my skin crawled.
I wanted to do something. To stop him. To swoop in and rescue Cole from his shitty home life the way I’d always wished someone would rescue me. To protect him the way he protected me.
But I didn’t know how.
I stood staring after him longer than I meant to, and when a junior girl jostled one of my crutches, I jerked back to reality. Joining the flow of students, I headed toward the elevator on the east side of the building. I could go up stairs okay, but going down them still made me nervous.
The elevator dinged as it reached the first floor, and as I stepped out, my brows drew together, an unconscious look of distaste twisting my features. Adena, Sable, and Preston were holding court over a few other students, and just the sound of her voice was enough to set my teeth on edge.
I pressed my lips together and began to work my way past them when Adena’s voice cut through the crowd. “Hey, trash! Where do you think you’re going?”
Not breaking my slow gait, I rolled my eyes. “Where the fuck do you think?”
She stepped toward me, her posse falling into place behind her like the good little bitches they were. “You wanna know what I think? I think you lied about even being in a accident. I think you’re so desperate for a little attention and sympathy that you went out and bought yourself a two dollar cast and a set of crutches and decided to limp around the school hoping someone would feel sorry for you.”
Hot anger flooded my body, and I stopped moving.
This fucking bitch.
I could’ve shown her. I could’ve shown her the swelling of my ankle, the ugly red scars that crisscrossed the puffy skin, the scars on my arms, still pink and bright. I could’ve shown her the mark from the seat belt, the permanent reminder of how violently my life had been saved.
But she didn’t deserve to see it. She didn’t deserve proof, when she knew what she was saying was a lie.
She knew I’d been in an accident.
Maybe she’d even caused it.
“Fuck you, Adena!” I spat, turning to face her.
She grinned, pleased to have gotten a rise out of me. I knew I shouldn’t let her, but goddammit, she was such a fucking bitch.
“Wow, original comeback, Idaho.”
Her shark-like smile widened, and her triumphant gaze flicked behind me, cruel glee sparking in her eyes. I could feel the Princes approach before I even looked, and when I glanced over my shoulder, I saw all four of them bearing down on us. They all looked pissed as shit, but Cole doubly so—probably blaming himself for leaving me to go take his dad’s phone call.
“Oh, look. Here come your little lover boys.” She rested a hand on her hip, raising her voice to address them as they approached. “You know why nobody at this school respects you anymore? Because you all went soft when you became obsessed with this piece of trash.” She gave an exaggerated pout. “It’s really not a good look.”
The boys finally reached me, fanning out around me in an almost military formation.
Adena’s gaze landed on Mason, and she cocked her head. “Then again, maybe some of you were already soft. Already weak. What did it, Mason? Finding your poor mommy’s dead body?”
My heart lurched to a stop in my chest.
Mason’s face was a mask, but for just a split second, the pain that seemed to live inside him, barely contained by his skin, flashed across his features.
But he wasn’t the one who snapped.
I was.
My body was moving before my brain consciously gave the command, the crutches falling away from me with a loud clatter as I limped forward in two long strides. Pain flared in my ankle, but I hardly registered it as I swung my fist toward Adena’s face.
It was a wide hook, sloppy and wild, but it had all the force of my momentum and rage behind it. I caught her on the cheek, and her head whipped to the side, her entire body following. The large crowd gathered in the hallway gasped, and Preston caught her before she went down to the floor, grabbing her shoulders to steady her as his shocked gaze flew to me.
I shook my fist out, trying to banish the stinging ache that had reverberated up my forearm.
“You…” Adena choked on a breath as she blinked at me, one hand pressed to the side of her face. “You… bitch!”
“Wow. Original.” I felt my mouth moving, but my voice seemed to come from far away. So much anger and adrenaline was coursing through my body that I was beginning to shake. “Tattle on me if you want. Then maybe I’ll tell everyone you fucked with my car. Tell them what your idea of a fucking prank is.”
She jerked back as if I’d hit her again. Her eyes widened, then narrowed. Her nostrils flared as she glanced around the hall, taking in the large crowd that’d gathered around us, watching our entire exchange. She made an angry, almost animalistic noise in her throat before turning on her heel and stalking off down the corridor.
As she moved away, my good leg wobbled, and I suddenly realized I no longer had my crutches. I knew I shouldn’t have put weight on my broken ankle when I stepped forward, and I tried to keep all my weight off it as I put my arms out to regain my balance.
Hands closed around mine as Cole and Finn each stepped up to my sides, steadying me as Elijah retrieved my crutches. A murmur of voices filled the hall again as people went back to what they’d been doing before the altercation, whispering about it in hushed voices, and Mason stepped up to face me, breathing sharply through his nose.
The pain I’d seen on his face was gone, but the emotions that were left were no less intense. His body invaded the bubble of space around me, his energy pressing against me.
“You shouldn’t have done that, Princess. What the hell were you thinking? You could’ve hurt yourself. Your leg—”
“It’s fine.” I shook my head. “I get my cast off soon anyway. It’s been getting stronger.”
“Does it hurt?”
Yes. It throbbed dully, not a sharp pain but a pulsing ache, a reminder that it hadn’t born my weight in weeks. I didn’t answer, but he read the expression on my face and cursed.
“You need to let yourself heal up,” he rasped, his voice strained. “And you don’t need to give Adena any more reasons to go after you.”
“She can’t talk shit like that about your mom,” I insisted stubbornly. My hand hurt almost as much as my ankle, but I didn’t tell him that. “It’s not fucking right.”
Mason blinked. For a moment, the tense, angry energy radiating from him softened. Then he reached down and swooped me into his arms, gathering me up in a fireman’s carry. I let out a little yelp of surprise as he shot a glance at Elijah, who still held my crutches.
“Bring those.” He glanced back down at me. “You’re staying off your feet for the rest of the day.”
As if that settled the matter, he moved toward the door with long, steady strides, as if my clunky cast and I weighed nothing. None of the other Princes objected, falling into step beside us and pushing the door open when we reached it.
Mason carried me all the way across campus to the Wastelands, up the stairs, and into my dorm before depositing me on my couch. Elijah rested my crutches against the wall near the couch as Finn grabbed a bunch of pillows to stack up under my leg.
“You’ve got a pretty good right hook there, Legs,” he murmured, shooting me a lopsided grin as he straightened.
Cole rifled through my freezer and came back with a plastic bag full of ice cubes. He ha
nded it to Mason, and then the four of them sank into seats around the living room. The tall, chestnut-haired boy sat on the couch next to me, moving the ice over my knuckles and down my forearm.
The other three fell into conversation around us, but Mason didn’t speak for a long time, and neither did I.
It’d been stupid to drop my crutches just to punch Adena.
Worth it, but stupid.
Fortunately, I had an appointment scheduled with Doctor Garrett on Saturday afternoon. I was almost at the six-week mark of wearing my cast, so I was due to get it taken off soon. Mason had kept his word and made me stay off my feet for the rest of the day on Thursday, and the pain level in my leg had gone back down quickly.
Still, I was nervous about seeing the doctor, afraid he’d tell me I had somehow set my healing back, or that it hadn’t been going all that well in the first place. That I needed more surgery, or that the bones weren’t setting right.
Elijah drove me to my appointment. The others had wanted to come, but I was too nervous to have a whole group with me. And Cole wasn’t around anyway. The phone call from his dad had been to tell him he was required to go home every weekend until the end of the semester—that he couldn’t stay on campus when classes weren’t in session.
I hated not having him around. It wasn’t like I spent every weekend with the Princes, but I hated knowing he wasn’t at Oak Park, wasn’t close by. And I hated knowing where he was even more.
Elijah pulled up outside Roseland Medical and glanced over at me. “Do you want me to come in with you? I can wait out here if you’d rather.”
“No.” I pried my fingers away from the door handle, which I’d been squeezing so hard my knuckles had gone white. “I want you there, if you don’t mind.”
“Never.” He tugged the key from the ignition and turned to face me. Then he reached over and cupped my cheek, leaning across the center console to press a kiss to my lips. “It’s gonna be okay, Tal.”
