Page 43 of The Royal Flame
She waves me off. “You didn’t make me. I offered.”
“Yeah, but that was a lot.”
“I know, but you find out some info about so it’s worth it… I hope anyway.”
I open the photo on my phone. “I think so. The photo is kind of grainy, but I know a guy who might be able to clear it up for me.”
“A Royal guy?” she asks curiously.
I nod, setting my phone onto the table. “Not the one I like, though. It’s actually his stepbrother. He’s nice too.”
She glances at my phone as it buzzes. “It’s been doing that a lot.”
I sigh. “I know. I need to answer some people, but I’m avoiding.”
And deliberating what to do. Do I want to get ahold of River? Grey?
Old Maddy wouldn’t. She would bail because that’s what I usually do with any sort of relationship or friendship. When it gets difficult, I drop it. Having parents who constantly betrayed me made me cautious about trusting people—too cautious honestly.
It’s why I don’t have many friends.
“I need to call some people, but do you wanna maybe hang out soon. My roommate is constantly inviting me to Royal parties. She’s really nice and I’m sure she won’t care if I invite you to one.” See, there, look at me trying to change my loner ways.
Avery smiles and nods. “Hell yeah.”
“Awesome. I’ll text you soon, okay?” I tell her as I stand up.
She stands up too and we part ways. I head back to the bus station, check for the bus number that will take me to the academy. Then while I wait, I sit down and pull out my phone. I turn my watch back on, jolting slightly as it buzzes. Then summoning a deep breath, I dial his number.
He answers after one ring. And I’m not the least bit surprised.
“Hey,” I say. “We need to talk.”
13
CHAPTER
RIVER
The horrible part about having anxiety—well, one of the horrible parts—is trying not to freak out over the what ifs. It’s a pain in the ass, a battle of deep breaths, and attempting to convince your mind that nothing bad will happen. I’ve spent the doing that about Maddy. I realize as the day moves on how much I like her. I think I might possibly be falling in love with her. Which is fast, but it’s how I feel.
To distract myself from losing my mind over worrying about her, I have a meeting with the principal. I learned from the rumors that Eli reported Maddy punching him. More than likely they’ll try to expel her. It’s messed up because if she were a Royal they wouldn’t do that, either out of fear or because her parents bribed the administration. I’ve seen it happen too many times. It’s why Eli wasn’t expelled from high school even though he constantly broke the rules.
Ms. Williams is the principal. She’s around fifty years old with short, dark hair and glasses that are by a prominent enough designer that I know she’s getting paid pretty decently. I also know principals don’t make that much money, so yeah, she’s taking bribes for sure.
“Hey, River, have a seat,” she greets me as I enter.
She knows who I am because my father is one of the wealthiest in the city, and even though I hate my father, I’m about to use his status to my advantage.
I take a seat on the opposite of her desk.
“How’s your family doing?” she asks as she adjust her glasses.
The fact that she isn’t aware of my mother’s missing status lets me know how hard my father worked to seal that box up.
“Everything’s fine for the most part,” I tell her, resisting the urge to tap my foot against the floor—I need to appear as calm as can be.
“Good. That’s good.” She studies me for a beat. “What can I help you with today? My secretary said you wanted to speak with me, but you didn’t say what about.”
