Chapter 10 Maddison #2
I slowly blink as his words register. He called me out on my bullshit.
And he’s one hundred percent right. But that doesn’t make it any easier to agree.
I’ve always been a loner, doing things on my own.
It’s how I survive. Because trusting people has never gotten me anything—ever.
Even my aunt, the one person whom I’ve trusted in this world, took off.
Sure, she needed to go live her life, but she didn’t need to go all MIA on me.
“Okay,” I agree, detecting the slightest drop of tension evaporating from his shoulders. “But we might be sneaking in through a window, depending on if my mother is there.”
He nods. “I know how to sneak in and out of places.”
I eye him over. “What places have you snuck in and out of?”
He leans in, his lips brushing my ear as he whispers, “I’ve spent my entire life sneaking around to avoid the paparazzi.”
And there goes that heart flutter again.
What the actual hell?
“All right, point proven.” I move away from him and push open the door.
He still doesn’t release my hand even when I climb out. He moves with me, and hops out, too.
“We’ll be back shortly,” he informs the driver before shutting the door.
The locks immediately click.
“That guy is creeped out about being here.” I start toward the left side of the building where my bedroom window is located.
“I picked up on that, too.” He tightens his hold on my hand as we near the corner. “But he’s getting paid good money, so he should be fine.”
“We’ll see.” I pause at the corner then peek around, relieved to see no one lurking in the shadows. “I have a feeling our ride might be gone by the time we get out.”
He’s standing so close to me that I can feel his body heat kissing my skin. “I’ll call another driver if that happens.”
“Always the problem solver,” I tease, throwing him a grin over my shoulder.
He smiles back, but it’s faint, and his eyes briefly descend to my lips.
It’s like the third time he’s looked, as if he’s contemplating kissing me.
Part of me wants to tell him we can’t cross that line so I can put an end to the impending torment of heartache that I’m sure will follow what I know will be a hot as hell kiss.
The other part of me wants to say fuck it and deal with the aftermath.
Is pain really worth a soul-connecting moment? I don’t know. I’ve lived my life not following that rule, and I’m starting to question my decision.
“Come on,” I tell him, tugging on his hand. “Let’s go scope the place out.”
His boots scuff against the gravel as he slightly stumbles but quickly recovers. Then we creep like weirdos past a few curtain-closed windows until we reach mine. The curtain is shut, but I can tell the lights are off, either in the entire house or the bedroom door is shut.
“Be super quiet,” I whisper, letting go of his hand so I can carefully slide the window open.
“It isn’t locked?” River whispers back, his wide-eyed gaze almost laughable.
“It doesn’t lock,” I tell him as I inch the window open further.
“Maddy, how in the …?” He shakes his head, stunned. “This isn’t safe.”
“Well, I don’t live here anymore,” I reply quietly as I get the window open all the way. “And no one crept through it while I was living here.” Granted, I sometimes used to push furniture in front of it to ensure I stayed safe, especially when many parties were going on at the place.
I put my hands on the windowsill and hoist myself inside, swinging my legs over and ducking underneath the curtain.
Relief washes over me as I note that my bedroom door is shut, but no light is coming through underneath it.
Between that and the soundlessness of the house, my bet is my mother is out.
That’s not a total surprise—she’s rarely home.
As I straighten, I move out of the way as River climbs inside. Once he’s in, I close the window, wincing as a sliver gets lodged into my thumb.
“Dammit,” I whisper as I close the curtain and darkness encases us.
“What’s wrong?” River sounds close, but it’s too dark for me to tell.
“I got a sliver in my finger. It’s no biggie.
I’ll pull it out when we get out of here.
” I start toward the door, squinting against the darkness so I can make out the outline of the furniture.
“I’m going to make sure my mother isn’t sleeping in her room.
Hold on.” Sucking in a breath, I open the door and tiptoe down the hallway to her room.
The door is open, and the curtains at her window are open enough to let in the streetlights from outside, showing that her bed is empty, unmade, and covered with a collection of alcohol bottles.
I also check the living room to check that she’s not passed out on the sofa. Once I’m convinced the coast is clear, I return to my room, close and lock the door, and flip on the flashlight on my phone.
River squints against the light, but after blinking a few times, he takes in my messy bedroom.
“It isn’t always this messy,” I feel the need to explain as I make my way over to the dresser where the necklace is stashed.
“The night I was in jail, my mom ransacked my room and took all my money I had hidden. And this is what she left me.” I gesture at the floor while avoiding eye contact with him.
For the first time in a long time, I feel ashamed of who I am. To distract myself from that, I focus on getting the dresser drawer open. Like a dumbass, I use my thumb that has the sliver in it.
I hiss then pull back. “Damn sliver,” I mumble.
I set the flashlight down on the dress so I can use my good hand to rummage around. The air is quiet between River and me. I want to peek over and see what he’s doing, but I have no desire to look at the appalled expression that has to be on his face.
“It should be in here behind the drawer,” I mumble as I attempt to wiggle the drawer out with one hand. “Hold on.”
He moves beside me and brushes strands of my hair off my shoulder. When my gaze darts to him, he surprisingly doesn’t look appalled.
“Let me,” he offers.
I step back and gesture at him to go ahead. He easily gets the drawer out, and there it is, lying in behind a stack of papers. How my mother didn’t find it during her ransack is beyond me. Or perhaps she didn’t believe it had any value and left it behind.
River picks it up. He has the flashlight on his phone on, shining the light on the crown-shaped pendant with a black stone centerpiece.
“It’s pretty scratched up,” I state the obvious as I inch closer to him to get a better look. “That probably means it’s fake, right?”
He wavers. “Or old.”
“You’re pretty set on it being real,” I joke in an attempt to lighten the mood. “You hoping I’m a royal, pretty boy? That way, you don’t have to spend time with a girl from northside.”
He continues to inspect the pendant. “I like hanging out with you, Maddy, whether you’re from northside or a royal. It doesn’t matter to me. I just like you.”
I’m unsure if he knows how much his words affect me.
They do, to the point where my legs feel shaky.
I could say something snarky back, crack a joke, tease the hell out of him.
It’d help me regain my bearings. But I can’t seem to find words—like any.
So, I end up standing there silently until he’s done looking over the necklace.
“We’ll have to take it to a jewelry specialist to find out if it’s authentic.” He hands me back the necklace. “My mom can probably set us up with someone.”
I slip the necklace into my jacket pocket. “What’re you going to tell her it’s for?”
“The truth. She won’t judge or anything like that. That’s my father’s thing. Not hers.”
“Lily is having her help me get a job with this event planner she knows.”
“Stephanie?” he asks.
“They didn’t tell me her name.” I grab my phone and scan the light around my room, wondering if I want to take anything with me.
“It’s probably Stephanie. She’s nice.”
“That’s good. I’ve had a couple of nice bosses and a couple of power trippers, so I can have the shitty ones, but I’d rather not have to.” I glance at him. “Have you ever worked before?”
“My father makes Finn and I intern at his office during the summers.” He slips his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “We don’t get paid, but we have enough money that it doesn’t matter. Although, working for him sucks because it’s just a reminder of where my future is heading.”
“You’re taking over his business?”
“Yep. Right after I get married,” he bites out the words as he stares at the wall where a collage of photos are taped up. “Is that your mom?” He changes the subject as he shines the light on a photo of me and my aunt.
We’re standing in front of a waterfall after she took me for a hike. It was the one and only time I’ve gone hiking, and it was a nice day, full of no worries. But then we returned home, and she and my mother got into a fight about my mother leaving drugs all over the house.
“That’s my aunt Ellie actually.” I step up beside him. “She’s the one who gave me the necklace.”
“She looks a lot like you,” he says, glancing at me.
“People say that a lot, and I can see it.”
“She’s pretty.”
“Is that your way of saying I’m pretty?” I smirk.
“Well, I called you beautiful like three times tonight, so I think it’s pretty clear I find you attractive.” He looks away, his eyes wide, as if he didn’t mean to say that. “What about this photo? Is that an old boyfriend?”
When I note the photo he’s looking at, I snort a laugh. A few people are in it, lined up and smiling. One of them is me, and the other is Drew.
“No, that’s Drew. Back before his pre-dickhead days, we were kind of friends. This photo was taken during a decent summer, but right after it, Drew decided he needed to join the drug world.” I roll my eyes. “And he turned into an asshole. Obviously.”
He processes this then moves to another photo. “What about this guy?”