Defiant Princess (Boys of Oak Park Prep 2)

He opened his mouth like he was about to say something else, then shut it again. One large hand reached up to brush a lock of hair behind my ear, his fingers lingering like he couldn’t quite drag himself away. Then he dipped his head and kissed my cheek.

“Get some sleep, Legs. Text me when you want to go back to the hospital, and I’ll drive you.”

His breath was warm on my skin, and with just the slightest of movements, I could’ve turned and claimed his lips in a kiss.

I wanted to.

Wanted to take some pleasure from him just like I had from Elijah, wanted to banish the confusion and pain.

But my mind was too full of roiling thoughts, and I could feel myself getting pulled back into the Princes’ world, into their orbit.

So I just let the heat of his kiss spread across my cheek and linger there as he pulled away. He handed me my backpack and watched me unlock the door before he turned and headed back toward Clarendon Hall.

Inside my little apartment, I headed straight for the bedroom and flipped on the bedside lamp. Now that I was here, I suddenly found myself unable to look at the photo of my mother, as if I was afraid of what it might reveal.

What kind of person had she been?

I changed into a pair of black stretchy pants and a soft, beat-up old t-shirt and brushed my teeth. Then I flicked the light off and crawled into bed, hoping my exhaustion would turn my brain off eventually and let me sleep.

But it didn’t.

A disquieting feeling of unease churned in my stomach, and I shifted from side to side, unable to get comfortable. The more I tried to relax, the worse the feeling became, and finally, I sat bolt upright, flinging the covers off.

Without letting myself dwell on what I was about to do, I pulled open a drawer in my desk and grabbed the maintenance man’s key card. I pulled on a jacket over my t-shirt and stuffed the key card in the pocket, then slipped out the door.

The campus was even quieter than it’d been when Finn walked me back to the Wastelands earlier. I hadn’t even checked my phone for the time, but it was probably close to one a.m.

It was not the right time to be doing this, and I wasn’t even sure exactly what I was going to do. All I knew was that I couldn’t keep sitting on the information Finn had given me, letting it bounce around in my head like a ricocheting bullet.

The key card still worked in the front door of Clarendon Hall. The main common room was dim, with only a few lights left on overnight, and I took the stairs to the top floor quietly.

My heart pounded harder as I ascended the last flight, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the conversation I’d had with Philip the first time he had agreed to meet with me—the heartbreak in his expression when he’d talked about my mom and the way her personality had flipped.

The Princes had already shown themselves to be completely capable of lying to me. And Jacqueline was obviously still holding a grudge against her daughter. But Philip? He’d loved Charlotte. It was clear in the way he talked about her. He had no reason to lie, to go out of his way to paint a damning picture of her.

And even he admitted that toward the end, her behavior had been cruel and erratic.

Maybe my mom had hurt her friends somehow, had pushed Mason’s mom to the breaking point.

But was it fair for kids to be held responsible for their parents’ demons?

I passed by Elijah’s room, then Cole’s and Finn’s, and came to a stop in front of Mason’s door. My skin prickled with electric energy as I reached up and rapped my knuckles against it.

No answer.

Just go, Talia. Go back to your room and forget all about this.

But even as I had the thought, my fist was striking the door again, harder this time.

The sound of movement on the other side made me stand up straighter, dropping my hand, and then Mason pulled the door open.

I’d woken him up.

He was shirtless and a little disheveled, a pair of gym shorts slung low on his waist, showcasing the V at his hips and the sculpted terrain of his chest. His brilliant green eyes were foggy with sleep, and a small piece of hair was sticking up on the right side of his head.

He lo

oked so… so real in that moment that it knocked me for a loop.