Broken Empire A Reverse Harem High School Bully Romance - Callie Rose Page 0,15

down my body as if he were checking for new injuries I might’ve somehow sustained since the last time he’d seen me. Seeming satisfied that I hadn’t, he stepped inside, allowing the others to enter behind him.

“Hey, Legs.” Finn shot me a lopsided smile, although I noticed he gave me almost the exact same once-over as Mason just had. “How’s the cushy life treating you? All bon-bons and ice cream?”

“Yeah.” I snorted a soft laugh. “It’s been great.”

“How are you feeling?” Elijah’s gaze was serious as he sat on the end of the bed, resting his hand on my good ankle. My body reacted instantly, as if all my nerve endings had suddenly gathered in the patch of skin his hand was covering.

“Good.” I tried not to let my gaze shoot down to the point of contact between us, to make it even more obvious how his touch affected me. “I’m feeling a lot better.”

“You look better,” Finn offered, coming to sit on my other side.

“Thanks.” I paused the movie, which had still been playing softly, then glanced around the room at each of them. “So, what’s up? What’s happening?”

The blond quarterback huffed a laugh. “Nothing’s happening. We just wanted to see you. Is that okay?”

I blinked at him, and he grinned at me, flashing the twin dimples in his cheeks.

“Um, yeah.” I ran my hands through my hair again. “It’s okay. But seriously, what is happening? Are you guys alright? What’s been going on since—”

“We’re fine.” Mason’s face was unreadable as he spoke, but he shook his head emphatically. “It’s nothing you need to worry about.”

I snorted. “Too late.”

“We really are fine, Tal,” Elijah said softly. When I gave him an annoyed look, he elaborated a little. “Our families all found out about the shit Adena put out there. I think all our parents pooled their knowledge as more bits and pieces of info trickled in, and now they pretty much know about everything she released.”

“Fuck.” I sat forward. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. It is what it is.” His voice held a touch of sadness, but his gaze was steady on mine. He meant it. “My parents are transferring most of my inheritance to my little brother.”

“What?” My eyes bugged.

He squeezed my ankle gently. “I’ll live.” Then a bitter expression crossed his face. “Mostly, I just feel shitty for Sebastian. He’ll be the one they dress up and parade around now, and I know he doesn’t want that.” His shoulders slumped, and for a moment, his mask of calm resignation slipped. “It fucking sucks.”

Pressing my lips together, I looked around the room, waiting for the others to tell me what bombs had been dropped on them.

“I almost got expelled.” Finn shrugged. “The school will put up with a lot of shit, but they cover their asses when it comes to stuff like buying good grades or manipulating their admissions process. My dad pulled all his donations to the school, and my grades all got docked. If I don’t get them back up this semester, I won’t graduate.”

“Shit. I can help you study if you want.”

He grinned like I’d just offered him a prize. “Yeah, maybe I’ll take you up on that this time, Legs.”

I still didn’t quite understand why Finn’s grades were so bad in the first place. He wasn’t a stupid guy—that was obvious if you talked to him for even five minutes. It could be partially just lack of effort, but he didn’t really seem like a slacker either.

My gaze tracked to the other two boys. Both had remained standing. Mason leaned against the dresser, hands stuffed in the pockets of his dark jeans, and Cole still stood near the door, arms crossed over his chest. Neither spoke until I raised my eyebrows pointedly.

“I’m fine, Princess,” Mason said. When I opened my mouth to press harder, he shook his head. “I’m not kidding. My dad hasn’t done anything. I know he knows about it, but…” Something flickered behind his emerald eyes. “I don’t know. Maybe he doesn’t care.”

Weirdly, my chest squeezed painfully as he said those words. Maybe it should’ve been a relief to hear there were no major repercussions for him, but it didn’t sound so much like Mason thought his dad didn’t care about the leaked family drama—more like his dad didn’t care about him.

And “nobody cares about you” is a shitty mantra to live your life by.

I wasn’t sure quite what to say, so I just held his gaze for a moment, trying to let