Chapter 5
MADDISON
I stare out the side window of the car, shaking my head over and over again. The cab is quiet except for our breathing and the loud-as-hell roar of the engine. Noah is fidgeting with a leather band on his wrist, and Lily is softly crying.
"Maddy." River finally breaks the silence, his voice cautiously gentle.
"I'm fine," I mumble, then shake my head. "You know what? No, I'm not." I yank my gaze off the window. "I think I need to go back."
River shakes his head, rotating in the seat to glance at me.
"No, you don't," he insists pleadingly. "It's too dangerous."
"I don't care," I snap, restless energy humming through me. "You heard what Will said. He might know something about Ellie—my mom's disappearance."
"He may have just known she's missing and was trying to get you to stay," he stresses.
"I know that, but there's a small chance he does know what happened to her." I press the heel of my hand to my forehead as the world around me begins to twirl.
I've had a few massive panic attacks in my life. It's difficult not to when I'm constantly living on edge. But attending the Royal Academy was supposed to change that, not bring more anxiety into my life.
It's too much.
The society.
Getting drugged.
Finding out that I'm an Everford.
That my aunt lied to me.
That Grey is my father.
Getting chased by Will.
The lies.
So many damn lies.
"Just focus on breathing." Noah's voice slips through the haze overtaking my brain.
My lungs are struggling to obtain oxygen as my heart pumps to the beat of my racing thoughts. It's too fast—too much. I can't think through it.
"Look at me, okay." Noah laces our fingers together and places my hand against his solid chest. "Match my breathing. You're having a panic attack."
I manage a nod and do as he instructs, matching the rhythm of the rise and fall of his chest.
"Good. You're doing good," he encourages.
My breathing begins to return to even breaths. But the reality that I had a panic attack in front of everyone washes over me.
Noah must read this in my expression because he says, "Everything will be okay. No one here will judge you. We've all been there."
Everything will be okay, he said.
I wish it were that easy, but nothing ever is, something I'm painfully reminded of as another car slams into the side of us. The force sends us spinning to the side and into a telephone post. I smack my head against something hard—maybe a window. The car flips, I’m not even sure how many times.
Glass shatters, cutting at my face. A scream echoes through the air.
And then everything is quiet as the car stops flipping and comes to a stop upside down.
I’m coughing as blood rushes to my head, and I can’t see anything through the smoke.
But I hear the crunching of glass, then Will’s voice claws at my conscience.
“Get Maddy and get the blond one too. He said to bring them both, or we won’t get paid,” he says.
“What about the rest of them? Another guy asks. “They look like they’re dying.”
“I don’t give a shit,” Will says. “IF they die, they die. We’ll get our money and be long gone before he can pin it on us.” I feel hands touch my wrists, and then he says, “Who knew northside trash Maddy would be a Royal.”
Fear tries to swim through my veins, but darkness is tunneling my vision.
How does he know? Is the last thought I have before everything goes back.
I wake up sometime later with a splitting headache and feeling like I spent the night doing shots. My mind is groggy as I blink and sit up, clutching my head.
"Are you okay?" Finn whispers.
I glance to my right and find him sitting on the floor beside me. His head is bleeding, his lip is split open, and he's cradling his hand like he broke it.
I scramble to sit up, but I'm chained to the wall, and the metal cuff that's around my wrist digs into my flesh.
I wince as I fall back down on the floor on my ass. "Where are we?" I ask as I peer around the small, windowless room.
"I'm not sure," Finn says with his knees bent in front of him.
"I blacked out when the car crashed, and when I woke up, two huge ass guys were dragging me in here.
I tried to fight them off, but they were too fucking strong.
Plus, I'm pretty sure I have a concussion.
" He frowns at that, then touches his forehead. "Man, my head fucking hurts."
"Are you okay?" I ask with concern. “You have some cuts on your face.”
"I'm fine," he replies, his gaze searing into mine. "But you never said if you are."
I take stock of my body. Every single limb aches, and my hands are scraped up pretty badly. When I can't feel any wounds on my head, I must have hit it since I blacked out.
"Maddy, look at me for a moment," Finn says in a cautious tone.
"Okay." I force my gaze to him, the room suddenly spinning.
Finn curses under his breath. "Your pupils are really dilated. I think they may have drugged you or something."
I blink, and it feels like my eyes are rolling into the back of my head. "Yeah, I think so too." I blink several times, but the room continues to spin like a cracked-out merry-go-round. Because of this, I'm way less cautious with my words than I usually am. "Finn, I'm scared."
He shifts, and I hear the sound of a chain jingling—apparently, they chained him up too. Arms suddenly wrap around me, and while a trace of shock trickles through my system, I'm too drugged up to feel it.
So I rest my head on Finn's shoulder, and his warmth spills through me.
"You're warm," I whisper as I curl into him more.
"No, you're freezing." He pulls me closer. "What the hell did they give you?”
That's the last thing I hear before darkness drags me under again.