Page 36 of The Prince of Broken Crowns

Do I want to try to be friends with him and his pretty boy looks and charm? Sure, having as many friends as possible would be nice, but Finn’s flirty vibe could become a problem.

I keep my hands at my side. “Only if you promise not to flirt with me.”

His head bobs back as he lets out a groan. “Come on, Maddison. It’s like my natural personality to flirt.”

At least he’s being honest, I guess.

“But I’ll try to tone it down with you,” he adds with his hand still outstretched.

I eye his hand. Do I dare to do it? Because it kind of feels like I’m about to make a deal with the devil. A cute devil, albeit. But still, it could be a problem.

He juts out his lip. “Pretty please?”

“Oh, whatever.” I shake his hand. “Let’s be friends, Finn.”

“It’s a deal, Maddison.” He pauses. “What’s your last name, anyway?”

“It’s Averly. And if you’re going to be my friend, call me Maddy.”

“Maddy?” he muses. “That’s cute.”

I point a finger at him. “And you’re already flirting.”

“I’m just complimenting your name.” He flashes me his pearly whites as he removes his hand from mine. “So, new friend of mine, you’re going to the party tonight, right?”

I nod. “I have to since I promised your sister I’d go with her.”

“Good. I’ll introduce you to some people.” He backs toward the doorway. “That way, you won’t have to spend this year being a loner.”

“Hey, maybe I like being a loner.”

“Do you?”

“Sometimes.” I think. Truthfully, I don’t know any other way regarding life.

Sure, I have friends, but when you have my trust issues and grew up in a sketchy environment like I did, you get used to keeping your guard up.

“You sound just like River,” he remarks as he steps into the hallway. “No wonder he’s been talking to you.”

I lightly touch my chest. “Aw, and I thought it was because of my charming personality.” My tone oozes with sarcasm.

He smiles. “It’s probably a little bit of that, too.” He falls silent for a second, studying me, an indecipherable look crossing his face. But he promptly erases it, his signature smile returning. “See you at the party, Maddy.” He winks at me before spinning around and strolling off down the hallway.

I close the door behind me, wondering what on earth I’ve gotten myself into, making a promise to be friends with the popular, beautiful star quarterback.

One day at this school, and I feel like I’ve already become someone else.

And I’m not sure if I hate it or like it.

Maddison

Ispent the next hour eating and working on a few assignments. Then, once I’m done, I look more into who bailed me out of jail. It’s something that’s been bugging me since I was released, and while no one at the police department has handed over the information, I’m not about to stop trying. I also need to call and find out when my court date is for the charges filed against me, but it’s too late to call about that. On top of all of this, I need to look for a new job. So, I guess staying here instead of going to dinner was a good thing since my to-do list is way longer than I anticipated.

I start with looking for a job online, mainly sticking to waitressing positions on the northside. Once I’ve submitted a few applications for those, I begin a search on anonymous bailers to see if anything pops up.

After reading article after article, I arrive at the conclusion that the person who bailed me out either bribed the police department to refuse to give me their information—which isn’t legal, but this is northside we’re talking about—or the person didn’t give their information when they paid my bail.

But seriously, who the hell would do this? Why go through the trouble of remaining so discreet? It doesn’t make any sense.

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