Chapter 34
MADDISON
About twenty minutes after Finn agrees to help me move out my stuff, the three of us are sitting in a massive SUV with tinted windows, driving in the direction of northside.
While River and I waited for Finn to change his clothes, Lily wandered out of her room and asked me if I was still planning on attending the club, something I had completely forgot about.
I told her I couldn’t make it, so she moved it to tomorrow despite my protest of not having to rearrange her schedule for me.
“It’s totally fine,” she kept saying. “We can just go tomorrow.” After like my tenth protest, she added, “Wren and I really want to spend some time with you so we can get to know you better.”
I wanted to tell her that she didn’t want to open that Pandora’s box but decided against it. She’s been so nice to me that the least I could do was go and hang with her and Wren.
“Okay,” I’d agreed.
She responded by clapping her hands and squealing. It made me feel upbeat, but that feeling is slowly dwindling the closer we get to northside.
“Your sister’s stubborn,” I remark as Finn steers down the road that curves around a river.
Houses are bordering the area, and they get smaller and more worn out the farther away from the city we get. The sun has set, and the lavish stores, shops, and condos glitter in the distance behind us while
“Yeah, she can be,” River agrees. He insisted on sitting in the back seat with me, and we’re so close that I can feel his body heat seeping into me. It feels wonderful—too wonderful. “You should go out with her, though. It could be fun.”
“I’m going to, but I really doubt it’ll be fun for me.” I slump back in the leather seat and peer out at the starry night sky. “I wasn’t ever a club person, and I highly doubt I’ll be a club person in a royal club.”
River shifts his weight so his leg is pressing against mine. “You can have fun at one. They’re not nearly as noisy, and there’s a lot of entertainment.”
I flick a glance in his direction. The lampposts outside reflect in his dark eyes and cast across the genuine expression. I’m unsure why I say what I do next. It merely falls off my tongue without any forethought, and I may regret the moment I say it, but once it’s done, it can’t be retracted.
“You should go with us,” I tell him.
The corners of his lips twitch. “Are you asking me out on a date?”
“No,” I protest, but I’m so full of shit.
“It kind of sounds like she is,” Finn states from the driver’s seat. He casts a glance at us, and a smile plays on his lips. “You two look cozy enough to be on a date right now.”
I straighten in the seat. “What is with you and this cozy obsession?” I snap my fingers at him. “And stop looking at us and focus on the road.”
“Yes, boss.” His tone oozes with mocking sarcasm, but he directs his attention back to the night-kissed road.
River’s exhausted sigh tickles my cheek. “It doesn’t have to be a date,” he says quietly. “I was just teasing you.”
“I know,” I assure him, watching as he traces the back of my hand, his eyes trailing along with the movement as if it’s the most fascinating thing to him.
“I’m not sure if we should call it a date yet …
With everything going on … I don’t know, I just want my first date to not be under so much duress. ”
His gaze darts to mine. “You haven’t been on a date before?”
“I told you I haven’t really dated anyone, so yeah.”
“Right. I just assumed …” He shakes his head. “I haven’t been on one either.”
“I figured as much.”
He bites down on his bottom lip with a contemplative look. “I’d love to go on a date with you, Maddison.”
God, I have such a love/hate relationship with when he calls me Maddison, because I like it too much.
And does that mean we’re going on a date?
This is why I’ve spent most of my life avoiding guys—because it complicates things. Part of me secretly likes the River complication, though.
“Where am I supposed to turn again?” Finn abruptly asks, ruining the moment. “This GPS is being kind of weird.”
I slant forward and rest my arms on the console. “Signals out here can get a bit glitchy. Make a right turn on the next road.” I point at where I’m referring to.
As he turns onto the narrow road lined with old stores and homes, I sink back into the seat. It’s late enough that people have begun to wander outside, but chaos won’t take over until past midnight, so as long as we’re gone by then, we should be great.
But despite the lack of sketchiness roaming around, I can sense the shift in the air between the twins. Finn’s grip on the steering wheel tightens.
“It’s this apartment on the right,” I inform Finn. “The one with the broken sign in front.”
“Oh.” He grows quiet as he makes the turn into the apartment parking lot. The people in the area stop to glance at the SUV, but I expected as much. “This is where you lived before you came to the academy?”
“Yep.” I reach to unfasten my seat belt. “It’s apartment 238. You can just back up to it.”
Finn slows down to turn the SUV around. As he does, this unsettling feeling of being watched presses against my chest. It could be from the fact that we are, but it feels like more than just the rubbernecking of my bored neighbors.
“Something feels off,” I mumble as I glance around.
“Maybe it’s because of what happened the last time we were here?” River offers an explanation while reaching to sweep a strand of hair out of my eyes. “If you want, Finn and I can handle this.”
I shake my head and give him a look. “No way. I already hate that you have to help me.”
“Not have to. I want to,” he promises.
“River,” I groan. “You’ve got to stop saying stuff like that to me. It’ll make me feel too spoiled, and then I’ll turn into a bratty princess that expects things.”
He chuckles, his eyes crinkling around the corners. “I doubt that. And me helping you isn’t spoiling you. It’s what you deserve.”
“Aw, my brother, the Romeo,” Finn cracks a joke as he shifts the SUV into park.
“Oh, shut up,” River retorts, throwing a dirty look at Finn. “I’m just telling her the truth. Not being overly romantic.”
“You might not be trying to, but I bet Maddy’s about to swoon in the back seat.” Finn dazzles me with a cheeky grin as he rotates around and rests his elbow on the back seat.
I offer him a bored look in return. “No swooning here.”
“Liar,” he taunts, causing me to swat his arm playfully.
“I’m with River,” I say. “You should shut up before I put you in a headlock and make you swoon into unconsciousness.”
Finn blinks, taken aback, but then he busts up laughing. “You’re so weird, and I love it.” With that, he hops out of the vehicle and closes the door.
“Your brother’s kind of annoying,” I state as I push open the door.
“You think he’s annoying to have as a friend? Try being his twin,” River replies as he scoots toward me.
I shove the door open and hop out, my boots scuffing against the pavement. River follows suit, and as I stretch my arms above my head, he grazes his fingers along my lower back, as if he can’t resist the urge to touch me.
I can’t stop a smile from gracing my lips, but that soon goes peace out as I face the apartment. The lights are off inside, but that only makes me more wary—I learned early on that darkness doesn’t mean no one is around.
I nervously fidget as I approach the front door with the key in my hand. I loathe that my fingers tremble ever so slightly as I unlock the door and push it open. The air reeks of booze and cigarettes, but that’s typical.
I step in and flip the light on, only for darkness to remain.
Of course. Duh. Like earlier, the power has been turned off.
Grimacing, I face the guys. “There’s no power.”
“I’ll turn the car around, and we can use the headlights,” Finn offers, backing away.
Part of me wonders if he’s procrastinating going inside. Not that I’d blame him.
I flip on the flashlight on my phone before stepping inside. River remains right behind me with his hand on my back.
As we make it to the middle of the living room, his hand travels around my side and his fingers curl around my hip. I feel safe, even in the darkness, and the feeling is weird, making me a bit uneasy.
Yeah, I’m a regular basket case.
River and I spend the next few minutes making sure no one is in the apartment. It’s empty and, surprisingly, the boxes are still there, though I’m unsure if all the papers are.
We begin loading everything up in the SUV. I don’t have a lot of belongings, which works to our benefit since there’s not a lot of room in the back. The guys mainly remain quiet as they carry my stuff out. I assume they’re unsettled about being here.
Then Finn abruptly stops me on my way back into the apartment.
“Hey, Mads,” he says after capturing a hold of my arm.
I squint against the brightness of the headlights to look at him. “Yeah?”
“I …” His lips part then shut. “If you ever need anything, I’m here for you, okay?”
I nod, and he walks off.
I enter the apartment, his words replaying in my mind. How did I go from having no one to having people who will help me with no strings attached?
Speaking of which …
“I think this is the last of it,” River tells me as we meet up in the living room.
He has a box in his arms and a bag slung over his shoulder.
“I’ll double-check that we didn’t miss anything,” I tell him as I start forward. “I’ll be out in a second.”
He nods, wisps of his hair falling into his eyes. Then he heads out while I go into my bedroom.
I look around for anything else I want to take, but the only items left are a few pieces of paper and some garbage. I move on to my mother’s room, which is now empty, as well.