Broken Prince: A Novel (The Royals Book 2) (7 page)

His blue eyes do a thorough examination of me from head to toe. Then he speaks in a gruff voice. “Are you okay?”

My breathing is so short it’s a wonder I don’t pass out. No oxygen is getting in. My lungs burn and my vision is red and hazy. Did he not listen to a word I just said?

“You look thinner,” he says flatly. “You haven’t been eating.”

I move to close the door.

He just shoves a palm against it and pushes it open, stepping inside while I glare at him.

“Get out,” I snap.

“No.” His gaze continues to sweep over me, as if he’s checking me for injuries.

He should be checking himself, because
he’s
the one who looks like he got beat up. Literally—there’s a purplish bruise peeking from the collar of his T-shirt. He’s been in a fight recently. Or maybe several fights, judging by the slight grimace on his face when he draws a breath, as if his rib cage can’t handle the act of breathing.

Good
, a vindictive part of me crows. He deserves to suffer.

“Are you okay?” he repeats, his gaze never leaving mine. “Did anyone…touch you? Hurt you?”

Hysterical laughter bubbles out. “Yes! Someone hurt me!
You
hurt me!”

Frustration clouds his face. “You left before I could explain.”

“There’s
no
explanation you could give that would make me forgive you,” I spit out. “You screwed your father’s girlfriend!”

“No,” he says firmly. “I didn’t.”

“Bull.”

“It’s true. I didn’t.” He takes another breath. “Not that night. She was trying to convince me to talk to my dad on her behalf. I was trying to get rid of her.”

I stare at him in disbelief. “She didn’t have any clothes on!” I stop abruptly, my mind snagging on one particular thing he’d said.

Not that night?

Anger rises in my throat. “Let’s pretend for a second that I believe you didn’t have sex with Brooke that night,” I glare at him, “which I don’t. But let’s pretend I do. You still slept with her some other time, didn’t you?”

Guilt, deep and unmistakable, flickers in his eyes.

“How many times?” I demand.

Reed runs a hand through his hair. “Two, maybe three.”

My heart seizes. Oh my God. A part of me had expected a denial. But…he’s actually admitting to having sex with his dad’s girlfriend? More than
once
?

“Maybe?” I screech.

“I was drunk.”

“You’re disgusting,” I whisper.

He doesn’t even flinch. “I wasn’t with her when you and I were together. The moment you and I hooked up for the first time, I was yours. Only yours.”

“Oh, lucky me. I got Brooke’s sloppy seconds. Hurray!”

This time he
does
wince. “Ella—”

“Shut. Up.” I hold up my hand, so grossed out I can barely look at him. “I’m not even going to ask you why you did it, because I know exactly why you did. Reed Royal hates his daddy. Reed Royal decides to get back at his daddy. Reed Royal has sex with his daddy’s girlfriend.” I gag. “Do you realize how messed up that is?”

“Yeah. I do.” His voice is hoarse. “But I never claimed to be a saint. I made a lot of mistakes before I met you.”

“Reed.” I meet his gaze head-on. “I will never forgive you for this.”

A flash of determination lights his eyes. “You don’t mean that.”

I step toward the door. “Nothing you say or do will make me forget what I saw in your bedroom that night. Just be happy I’m keeping my mouth shut about it, because if Callum finds out, he’ll lose his shit.”

“I don’t care about my dad.” Reed advances on me. “You
left
me,” he growls.

My jaw drops. “You’re mad at me for leaving? Of course I left! Why would I spend another second in this awful house after what you did?”

He moves even closer, his big frame invading my personal space, his hand coming out to cup my chin. I shrink from his touch, and that makes his eyes blaze hotter.

“I missed you every second you were gone. I thought about you every goddamn second. You want to hate me for what I did? Don’t bother—I was hating myself for it long before you showed up. I slept with Brooke and that’s something I’ve gotta live with.” His fingers tremble against my jaw. “But I didn’t screw her that night, and I’m not letting you throw away what you and I have just because—”

“What we have? We have nothing.” I feel sick again. I’m done with this conversation. “Get out of my room, Reed. I can’t even look at you right now.”

When he doesn’t budge, I plant both hands against his torso and shove him. Hard. And I keep shoving, keep slapping at his muscular chest until I move him, inch by inch, to the doorway. The slight smirk on his face only heightens my anger. Does he find this funny? Is everything a game to this guy?

“Get
out
,” I order. “I’m done with you.”

He stares at my hands, which are still pressed up against him, then at my face, which I’m pretty sure is redder than a tomato.

“Sure, I’ll go, if that’s what you want.” He cocks one eyebrow. “But we’re not done, Ella. Not by a longshot.”

I barely wait until he’s stepped past the threshold before I slam the door in his face.

T
he first thing
I see when I wake up is the fan over my bed. The smooth, heavy cotton sheets remind me I’m no longer in that shitty, forty-dollar-a-night hotel room anymore, but back in the Royal Palace.

Everything is the same here. I even smell Reed on the pillowcases, like he slept in here every night while I was gone. I throw the pillow on the floor and make a mental note to buy some new sheets.

Did I make the right decision coming back? Did I have a choice? Callum proved he could run me down anywhere. I made what demands I could. The hand-scan security lock on my bedroom door. A credit card in my name. A promise that once I was done with high school, the scrutiny would be lifted.

The question I should be asking myself is whether I’m going to let one guy ruin my life. Am I so weak that I can’t handle Reed Royal? I’ve been in charge for years, first taking care of my mom and then myself. The hole in my heart left by Mom’s death eventually healed over. The hole that Reed put there will heal too.

Right?

Rolling over, I spot the phone that Callum gave me lying on the nightstand. I left it behind along with the car, the clothes, and everything else I’d been gifted. But separating myself from the Royals, specifically Reed, didn’t mean I stopped thinking about him. I couldn’t leave that behind, and those memories haunted me every mile I traveled.

I grab the phone with purpose and force myself to face the mess I left behind. Seeing all the messages is bittersweet. Every other time I’ve picked up and left, no one has missed me. Mom and I never stayed in any one place for longer than a couple of years.

This time, I have more than thirty messages from Valerie, along with several from Reed. I delete those without reading them. There are a few from Easton, but I suspect those are also from Reed, so I delete them, too. The other messages are from my boss, Lucy, the owner of The French Twist, a bakery close to Astor Park Prep. Those start out with concern and end with impatience.

But it’s Val’s messages that bring an uncomfortable knot to my stomach. I should’ve said something to her. I thought about it a lot while I was gone, but I was afraid. Not just that the Royals might weasel information out of her, but also because she was a link to something I wanted to forget. I feel bad about how I treated her, though. If she up and disappeared, I’d be pissed.

I’m sorry. I’m the shittiest friend ever. Do you still want to talk to me?

I set the phone down and stare at the ceiling. To my surprise, the phone rings immediately. Val’s picture pops up.

I take a deep breath and answer it.

“Hey, Val.”

“Where have you been?” she shrieks. “I’ve called and called!”

I open my mouth to feed her the illness excuse, but her next words stop me.

“And don’t tell me that you were sick because no one is sick for two weeks and can’t even make a phone call! Well, unless she’s patient zero at the beginning of a zombie apocalypse.”

As I listen to her concerned words, I realize that this is a test of our friendship. Even after I seemingly ducked her calls for two weeks, she’s still accepting me back into her life. Yeah, she’s asking questions, but ones she deserves an answer to. She’s important. Important enough for an honest answer, no matter how embarrassing it is.

“I ran away,” I confess.

“Oh, Ella, no.” She sighs sadly. “What did those Royals do to you?”

I don’t want to lie to her. “I’m…not ready to talk about it. But I might have overreacted.”

“Why didn’t you come to me?” she asks, the hurt clear in every word.

“I didn’t think of it. I…something happened here and I got in my car, bought a bus ticket and left. The only thing in my mind was getting as far away from here as possible. It didn’t occur to me to come to you. I’m not used to relying on people. I’m sorry.”

She’s silent for a moment. “I’m still pissed at you.”

“You should be.”

“Are you coming to school today?”

“No. I got back late last night, so Callum’s giving me a day to get settled.”

“Fine. Then I’m skipping school and you’re coming over and telling me everything.”

“I’ll tell you what I can.” I don’t even want to think about the Brooke and Reed stuff anymore. I want to forget it happened. I want to forget that I opened my heart to Reed.

“I got shit to tell you, too,” she admits. “When can you come over?”

I check the clock. “An hour? I need to shower, eat, get dressed.”

“Sounds like a plan. Come to the back door otherwise my aunt will wonder why we aren’t at school.”

Val lives with her aunt so she can attend Astor Park. I’ve only met Val’s evil cousin, Jordan, and I guess the day that I play hooky isn’t the best time to introduce myself to the rest of her family.

“Roger. See you soon.”

I take a deep breath and call Lucy next. “Hey, Lucy. It’s Ella. I’m so sorry I disappeared on you like that. Can I come in this afternoon?”

“I’m sorry, too, but I can’t talk right now. It’s busy.” Lucy is curt, and I suddenly regret not going in the moment I woke up this morning. “If you can stop by before two today, I can chat.”

“I’ll be there,” I promise. I have a feeling I’m not going to like what she has to say.

I drag myself out of bed, shower and then throw on a pair of old jeans and my flannel shirt. Ironically, this is essentially the same outfit I wore the first time I arrived at the Royal mansion. My closet here is stuffed full of expensive clothes, but I’m not wearing a single stitch that was picked out by Brooke Davidson. That might be petty and stupid, but I don’t care.

I open my door and stop. Reed is leaning against the wall opposite my bedroom.

“Morning.”

I slam the door shut.

His strong voice easily carries beyond the door. “How long are you going to ignore me?”

Two years. No. For as long as humanly possible.

“I’m not leaving,” he adds. “And eventually you’re going to forgive me, so you might as well hear me out.”

I walk over to the window beside my bed and look down. The drop from the second story to the ground is pretty steep and I’m not sure the whole knotted-sheet thing works in real life. With my luck, the sheets would come untied and I’d crash to the ground, breaking several bones, and be stuck in my bed for weeks.

I cross the room, throw open the door, and march past him without a word.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the Brooke thing.”

You can take your sorries and choke on them.

Halfway down the stairs, he catches me by my upper arm and tugs me around to face him. “I know you still care or you wouldn’t be giving me the silent treatment.” He even has the nerve to flash me a smile.

Oh my God. He is
not
allowed to smile. First, because he’s insanely hot when he does that. And second, because…argh…because I’m
mad
at him.

I give him a cold look and jerk out of his grasp. “I’ve decided that I’m not going to waste my time or energy on people who don’t deserve it.”

Reed waits until I’m down the steps before calling after me. “So you don’t care about Easton, then?”

His mention of Easton has me turning back, because other than Val, Easton became one of my closest friends here. “Is there something going on with him?”

Reed descends the rest of the stairs to stand next to me. “Yeah. You ran off and he’s had his whole life full of women he loves abandoning him.”

The guilt makes me flush hot. “I didn’t abandon
him.
”

I left your cheating ass behind.

Reed shrugs. “Then you’ll need to convince him of that, not me. But I’m confident you’ll win him over.”

What an arrogant ass. I school my features into as sweet of an expression as I can manage. “Will you do me a favor?”

“Of course.”

“Take your condescension, your unwanted advice, your creepy lurking outside of my door and shove it up your ass.”

I whirl around. There’s no grand exit for me, though, because Reed merely follows me into the kitchen where I find the rest of the Royal household, sans Gideon.

“Doesn’t anyone have practice this morning?” I ask warily.

Easton and Reed play football. Those two should be at school by now. Callum’s usually gone to his office before dawn breaks. I have no idea when the twins roll out of bed. This morning, everyone is sitting at the large glass-topped table that’s situated in a nook that overlooks the pool and then the Atlantic Ocean beyond.

“Special day,” Callum says over the top of his coffee mug. “Everyone is participating in this family get-together. Sandra prepared breakfast for you—it’s in the refrigerator. Why don’t you grab it and sit down? Reed, stop hovering and take a seat.”

It’s not a suggestion for either of us, and despite Callum not being my dad and despite Reed’s tendency to not listen to him, we both do as Callum says.

“It’s good to have you back,” Sawyer says as I take my seat. At least I think it’s Sawyer. The burn mark around his wrist that I once used to identify the twins has healed over, so I’m not positive.

“Yeah. It’s getting cold and Reed promised you’d take us all shopping for winter clothes,” Seb chimes in.

“Oh, he did, did he?”

“Yeah, we’re pretty helpless without you.” Reed’s low voice strikes me hard in the gut.

“Don’t talk to me,” I snap.

“I agree,” Easton says. “Don’t talk to her.”

I jolt up in surprise to see all three Royal boys shoot glares in Reed’s direction. His mouth tightens. I tell my stupid heart that it’s not allowed an ounce of sympathy for Reed. Whatever he’s reaping here at the breakfast table, I know he’s sown a thousand times over.

“Morning, Easton,” I chirp. “Have I missed anything interesting in bio?” I want to bring up the strange hug from last night, but this isn’t the place.

Still, I need to know that he’s okay. Easton has a few addiction problems. I think he misses his mom and is trying to fill that gap with everything and finding that nothing works. I’ve been there.

“Yeah, we’re dissecting pigs.”

“Seriously?” I make a gagging noise. “Glad I skipped.”

“Nah.” He nudges me with his shoulder. “I’m kidding. You haven’t missed shit. Assessments are next week, though.”

“Oh crap.”

“Don’t worry. Callum will take care of everything, won’t you, Dad?” Easton sticks his chin out.

Callum ignores Easton’s challenge and nods placidly. “Yes, if you need more time, Ella, I’m sure that can be arranged.”

Because in his world, money buys anything, including extra time to take standardized tests. Maybe I won’t even need to take a college entrance exam. I don’t know whether that makes me happy or upset. Both, I guess. Confused emotions are the standard in my head right now.

Like when Reed takes a seat next to me, my body rejoices, remembering all the pleasure he pulled out of it. And my heart flips in memory of how he filled the cracks in my heart with affection and warmth that I hadn’t even realized I needed in my life. But my head reminds me that this boy was terrible to me. The one concession I can make is that he tried to warn me off, but I kept after him like a lovesick idiot, telling him that he wanted me and that he just needed to admit it. So I guess we’re both to blame.

He told me to stay away.

He told me I didn’t belong.

If only I’d listened to him.

“Your bagel offend you in some way?” Easton asks.

I look down to see my breakfast lying in shreds on the plate. I push it aside and pull the bowl of fresh fruit, granola, and yogurt toward me. The single greatest thing about living in the Royal house might be the amount of food in the kitchen at all times. There’s no eating one meal a day or hoping that your body doesn’t revolt if all you can get your hands on is a single fast-food taco.

And everything is fresh, bright, green, and healthy.

If Callum had just reminded me of the contents of the refrigerator, maybe I wouldn’t have put up as big of a fight.

“Not feeling the carbs this morning,” I tell Easton.

“So, baby sis, what’re we gonna do today?” He rubs his hands together. “I hear we’re not going to school. Well, the twins are, but that’s ’cause they’re too dumb. They miss one class, they’ll flunk out.”

Both twins give him the finger.

“I’m going over to Valerie’s.”

“Great,” Easton says. “I like Val. Sounds like we’re gonna have a good time.”

“You missed the pronoun
I.
”

Everyone at the table is watching our exchange.

“I didn’t miss it.” Easton grins sunnily, but his eyes are darting all over. “I’m conveniently ignoring it. What time are we leaving?”

I rap my fingers on the table. “Easton, pay attention.” I wait until his frenetic gaze lands back on me. “You are staying here. Or you can leave, but either way you’re not coming with me.”

“You’re saying words but they’re not really making any sense. When do you want to meet at your car?”

I look around the table for help, but everyone averts their faces. Across from me, the twins are nearly shaking with suppressed laughter.

Callum peers over the top of his newspaper. “You should give in now. If you don’t let him ride with you, he’ll show up at the Carringtons’ anyway.”

Easton tries to look gracious and contrite, but triumph gleams in his eyes.

“Fine, but we’re painting our nails and talking about which maxi pads are the most absorbent. There might even be scientific experiments.”

His smile doesn’t waver, but the twins groan. “Gross,” they say in unison and push away from the table. Sawyer—I’m going with that—taps Sebastian on the shoulder. “Ready to go?”

Seb tosses a napkin on the table and rises. “I guess. I’d rather learn about geometry than maxi pads.”

“Let’s leave in about fifteen?” Easton says to me before bounding out of the kitchen.

I rub my forehead as a pain starts to develop over my right eye.

“Ella…” Reed is so quiet I barely hear him.

I ignore him and stare out the window at the clear, still water in the pool, wishing life were as smooth and calm.

“I’ll leave you two to finish breakfast.” Callum folds his paper noisily. The chair legs scrape against the tiled floor when he stands. “I’m glad you’re back, Ella. We missed you.” He places a hand on my shoulder and then leaves the room.