Page 24 of Mad As Hell

“Seriously,” I said, pulling his gaze back to me. “What are you doing here?”

“Eating.” He barely blinked at me as he replied. “Was this seat taken?”

“No,” I managed, still confused, “but in case you hadn’t heard? I’m the town pariah now.”

He snorted and shook his head as he started cutting up his massive stack of pancakes. “I’d heard a rumor about such. Saw the video, too.”

All the food I’d swallowed congealed into a sticky, cold slime in the pit of my stomach.

“Personally I say good for you.” He gave me an approving smile. “You put that wanker in his place. I’m not sure that Dean O’Shea is a much better bedfellow, but I suppose anyone is better than Cain.”

My jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”

Charles waved a fork. “I was truly concerned by the way he treated you. Like you were a piece of property. Good on you for being smart enough to out-play him.”

“I didn’t… That wasn't…” I shot Bex a surprised look, but she was clearly as dumbfounded as I was.

“Is that really what you think?” Bex found her voice first.

Charles nodded, looking back and forth between us. “I’m not the only one. Not everyone here is as awed by the Cain prince as you might think.” A grimace flashed across his face. “Although, that being said, most of the people have been rallying to his defense.”

“So, you’re here because you think I set Ryan up?” I asked stiffly, setting my fork down since my appetite was gone.

“I’m sitting here because I like you,” Charles replied.

“You don’t know me.”

He shrugged. “Then how about because your prat of a fiancé—pardon, your ex-fiancé—deserves to be knocked down a bit. I like your moxie, Madelaine.”

“My moxie?” I echoed.

He grinned. “You’re also one of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever seen.”

“Well, you’ve also seen me naked,” I muttered, blushing at the memory of Madelaine completely nude in that video.

“I swear I only looked at your eyes. They’re positively hypnotic. Have you had your ancestry tested in one of those things to see if you’re part celestial being?”

An unexpected laugh burst out of me. “Does that line usually work?”

His grin turned sheepish. “Better than you’d expect from Americans,” he admitted.

“Well, thank you,” I mumbled, ducking my head as my cheeks heated. “But honestly—”

I broke off in a ragged gasp as something thick and cold splashed over my head and slid down my back. Bex’s face reflected my shock, and Charles shoved his chair out of the way to avoid being splattered.

Wetness slipped under the collar of my shirt and down my spine. Glancing down, I saw chunks of what looked like a smoothie clinging to my chest and splattered over what was left of my breakfast. But whatever was in this smoothie wasn’t the usual Pac Cross fare; this stunk like rotten fish and old cheese. It was a grayish white with chunks, and I was already gagging at the stench.

“Oops,” a soft voice said from behind me with a giggle. “Didn’t see you there.”

“Maddie.” Bex started to stand up, but I shook my head and—oh, gross—a glop of something splatted on the floor.

Charles tried to hand me a napkin, but I ignored him as I slowly pushed away from the table and stood up to see a girl behind me with an empty cup in her hand.

“What the fuck?” I seethed through clenched teeth.

She smirked at me with big blue eyes and a wrinkled nose. She was a good five inches shorter than me, and I didn’t recognize her, but that didn’t stop her from pointing a pastel blue nail at me. “You might want to clean that up, honey.”

My hands balled into fists at my sides as everyone in the dining hall watched the exchange, their eyes bright as they scented blood in the water. At the center table, I could see Brylee and the cheer team watching with avid interest.

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