Page 27 of The Prince of Broken Crowns

He watches me as I take another step forward. “Where are you running to?”

“To the moon,” I joke then take off before he can ask any more questions.

“Hey,” one of the runners greets me.

He has short brown hair, the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen, and he’s tall and lean—they all are, really.

I give him a half-ass wave then pop my earbud in and hurry off before they can speak to me further.

It’s not that I’m a total bitch, but I’m not the best at socializing. Plus, back in northside, whenever I found myself on the street alone with a bunch of guys around, that was my signal to get the hell out of there. And I don’t believe I should throw my rules away merely because these guys have money.

I’m not that naïve. Being rich doesn’t mean people are nicer or good. And I have zero trust for most people, anyway.

As I guessed, the pain in my ankle subsides after about a minute of slow running. Then I pick up my pace, hauling down the hill that leads to the bus stop. I was planning on running slower this morning, but after the crash and fall, I’m behind schedule, and the last thing I want is to be late for class.

I manage to make it to the bus stop quickly, but going back means ascending uphill, and while I manage to keep an even, respectable pace, I make a mental note to add some hill climbs into my regimen. If I make the team, anyway.

I’ll admit, I’m a bit nervous, mainly because of the stuff Lily said to me. I may get desperate enough to ask one of her brothers for help. River, maybe? I don’t know. He seems so intense. But Finn is the biggest flirt, and I feel like I’d get into trouble if I created a bridge with him.

By the time I arrive back at campus, a few students are wandering around. I leave my headphones in as I make my way back to my dorm room, with plans of taking a quick shower because I stink.

“Oh, hey,” Lily greets me as I enter the room.

She’s rocking a silk shorts pajama set, her hair is in a bun, and she’s in the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of juice.

“Hey,” I reply, kicking the door shut and yanking out my earbuds. “Holy crap, I stink.”

She laughs at that as she walks into the living room, where I’m leaning over to take off my shoes. “How was your run?”

“Great, actually.” I unlace one of my sneakers. “The road down to the bus station is so isolated. I love it.”

“Yeah, River texted me and said he ran into you on that road—like literally ran into you.” She drops down on the sofa. “Is your ankle okay? He wanted me to check and see.”

I glance up at her as I yank on my laces. “I’m fine. And I told him that already.”

“He’s a worrier.” She swipes her finger across the screen of her phone. “He’s always been like a protective big brother to the point of being annoying. He even does it to Finn.” She pauses, mulling something over. “He is a nice guy, Maddy. I know he didn’t come off that way when you first met, but he seems to like you, and I think if you gave him a chance, he could help you get onto the team and stuff.”

“Maybe.” I kick off my sneakers and stand up straight as I unstrap my phone holder from my upper arm. “I just don’t get why he’s being nice to me, because it seems like whenever I talk to him, I’m annoying the crap out of him. Not that he’s necessarily in the wrong for that. I’m kind of a smartass.”

“You’re not that bad,” she quips with a smirk. “At least, sometimes.”

I flip her the middle finger, and we both laugh.

Then I sigh heavily. “Fine, I’ll go to him and see if he can give me any pointers on how to better my chances of getting onto the team.”

“Good.” She smiles at me as she slants back on the sofa. “Let me know how it goes. Oh, and I was told that if your ankle hurts, ice it.”

I give her a salute and head into my room to grab some clean clothes so I can take a shower. The entire time, I can’t stop thinking about why River is being … nice-ish. Even though it makes me a freak, I’m suspicious of it.

Maybe I’ve lived on northside for too long, but from my experience, people who are nice usually want something from you.

Maddison

Iused to loathe the first day of school. Like I mentioned before, I never had a ton of friends, so walking into the school hallways all by myself was the equivalent of getting shoved into a locker, something that happened to me in middle school. No, I take that back. That day wasn’t that awful because I got to avoid all the school drama. Right now, I wish lockers lined the shiny, overly polished hallway because then I’d shove myself into one.

I have to remind myself multiple times that I chose to attend this school.

Guys keep smirking at me, for what, who the hell knows? And don’t even get me started on the girls throwing me dirty looks. Not all of them, of course, but it’s enough to make me feel like I’m about to crawl out of my skin.

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