Broken Empire (Boys of Oak Park Prep 3)

The other three were waiting for us in the entry hall, chatting amiably with my grandfather, and as I hobbled in with Cole hovering close behind me, it occurred to me that at this point a year ago, I had disliked—if not actively hated—every person in the room.

Jesus. A lot can change in a year.

As if called by my thoughts, Jacqueline stepped into the foyer, coming from the doorway opposite the one Cole and I had entered through. My body tensed slightly as she entered, automatically going on the defensive like it did whenever I saw her.

Annnd… maybe some things will never change.

I didn’t spare her a glance as I joined the other Princes and headed for the door, but she stepped outside after us. She and Philip stood at the top of the steps as I worked my way slowly down them and slipped into the front seat of Mason’s car. He shut the door behind me while the others piled into the back. As we pulled away, I glanced out the window to see my grandfather putting an arm around my grandmother’s shoulders.

God. I don’t fucking get it. The way he is with her—the way she is with him. It makes me think she does have a heart.

So why can’t I see it?

Mason had put the top down on the convertible, and even though it wasn’t exactly top-down weather, I liked the feel of the fresh air rushing past my face, tossing my hair around. His hand fell on my knee while his other held the wheel, the gesture seeming almost unconscious. As if it reassured him to touch me, to know I was still here.

I didn’t say anything, didn’t even look over at him, just let the heat of his palm sink into my skin as cool air chilled the rest of my body.

As we pulled through the gates onto the Oak Park campus, a strange wave of emotion washed over me.

This would be my last semester here. And while the main reaction to that thought was an overwhelming sense of relief, there was a twinge of something like sadness too.

Almost from the first moment I had set foot inside this place, the Princes had been a huge part of my life—in both beautiful and ugly ways. Our worlds had become so enmeshed with each other’s that it was honestly hard to picture my life without the Princes in it.

But would they always be?

I knew I would see them nearly every day for the next fifteen weeks, but beyond that, I wasn’t sure. There was a good chance they’d go off to whatever fancy Ivy League colleges had accepted them, and I would move on with my life, wherever it took me. Our worlds would fracture and split apart.

And maybe that would be for the best. The highs and lows I’d experienced since meeting these four boys had left me with a bit of emotional whiplash.

But it still hurt to think about.

“Hey, it’s okay, Legs. We’ve got your back.”

Finn sat behind the driver’s seat, and he must’ve caught the pensive look on my face and misinterpreted it.

Cole reached around from the seat behind me and gripped my good arm. “We’ll deal with Adena.”

“Thanks.” I craned my neck to peer into the back, shooting them all a small smile.

If Adena truly had been the one to fuck with my brakes, I hoped she’d learned her lesson. Cruel pranks were one thing, but she had to realize that if she actually got me killed, there would be consequences no matter how rich her family was. I hoped it would make her more cautious, out of self-preservation if nothing else.

Since the assessor my grandpa had hired hadn’t been able to determine the cause of the brake failure, Philip had decided to blame the manufacturer, and had promised me he was planning to take the matter up with them.

And maybe he was right. Maybe that’s all it’d been—just a freak failure in the design, a piece of horrible bad luck.

But that thought didn’t bring me much comfort, and it didn’t mean I wouldn’t be watching Adena like a hawk.

Mason parked in one of the covered spots in the student lot, and Cole grabbed my bag from the trunk.

“Where’s all your stuff?” I asked as we trekked slowly across the quad, the guys taking half steps to keep pace with my awkward hobble.

“We already dropped it off,” Elijah said. “We all met up here, then went to get you.”

By the time we made it to Prentice Hall, my good leg was tired, and my arms and armpits were sore from the pressure of the crutches. Everyone called these dorms the Wastelands because they were separate from the main student housing, an overflow area the school used when the main dorms were full. They were on the very southwest edge of campus, and the trek felt especially long on crutches.

We took the elevator up to my floor, and the Princes made me sit on the couch as soon as we reached my little apartment. They unpacked and arranged everything under my guidance, although I blushed furiously when Cole went to pull my clothes out of the small bag I’d brought, knowing there were bras and panties in there along with my shorts and tops. He didn’t say anything though—didn’t tease me or get weird about it. He just pulled everything out and organized it in my dresser and wardrobe, only stopping when the bag was completely empty.

Then they all joined me in the living room. Elijah and Mason settled on either side of me, with Finn sitting to Mason’s right and Cole in a large chair nearby.