Page 91 of Breaking the Habit

“Will you stop and talk to me?” he demanded.

“No. Because there’s nothing to talk about,” she said, pain creasing her face. She wiped at an eye—the only sign of her distress. “You knew what I went through with my ex, and you still thought it was okay to dothis.Now my name’s back in the headlines, and it’s only a matter of time before the new wave of hate mail starts. You don’t deserve anything from me. I’ll finish out my contract and that’s it. Goodbye.”

Riley ripped away from him, and Levi stared after her. Travis had jogged out into the parking lot.

“Levi!”

Levi balled his fists, heading for Travis. Hurt and indignation and regret lashed through him. He did need his face stitched up—badly. He could feel the caked blood crunching on his face when he swiped his hand across his cheek.

But once he was sent home, he was going to fix this. Because he wasn’t losing Riley.

Not tonight. Not ever.

Back in the dressing room, Lex waited for him with crossed arms. The doctor already had his bag open.

“There he is,” Lex said as Levi dropped into the chair. The doctor got to work, swiping at his injuries with cotton balls and gauze. Levi stared at his reflection, not remotely moved by the horrific scene of his face.

“What was that drama about?” Lex asked.

Levi gripped his knees as he heaved a sigh. The doctor swiped at the open wound on his forehead. “Nothing. Bad timing.”

“Don’t fuck around on Riley,” Travis warned. “I’ll bust your ass myself if you hurt her.”

“I’m not fucking around,” Levi barked, his sharp response making the room fall silent. “I would never do that.”

“Then what’s the deal with this girl? She wouldn’t be coming around if you weren’t giving her something,” Lex said.

“Guys, I swear on my dead parents—” Both Travis and Lex sent him a shocked look, but fuck it. These guyswerefamily now. It was time to start putting everything on the table. “I have nothing going on with Titi. What I have with Riley is…” Words failed him for a second as the doctor started the stitches on his forehead. “I used to fuck around a lot. Not gonna lie. Different girl every week.”

Lex snickered. “I used to know that life.”

“But Riley was a game changer. When I’m with her, I don’t want anyone else. I don’t want to get fucked up and fuck around. She’s my rock. You guys both see it, so don’t doubt me now. And I’m handling Titi.”

“You need a restraining order or something?” Lex asked.

A soft knock on the door interrupted them. Travis tugged open the dressing room door, revealing Gage flanked by Amara, Lila, and Gen.

“Heeey, it’s my brother!” Levi straightened in his seat, which warranted a sharp reprimand from the doctor. He plastered a smile on his face even though it was the least true emotion inside him right now. He introduced Gage to Lex and Travis. “Dude, your first LA fight, and I couldn’t even fucking win for you.”

Gage maneuvered inside, his gaze jumping from Travis to Lex to the doctor.

“That was an incredible fight,” Lila said, which garnered similar comments from Gen and Amara.

“No, it wasn’t.” Levi tried not to deflate. “But I appreciate you all coming.”

“We all had a blast,” Amara confirmed, wrapping her arm around Travis’s waist. Levi caught him pressing a kiss to the top of her head. It made Levi’s stomach wrench so violently, he had to look away.

“No problems getting around out there?” Levi asked, reaching out to swat Gage’s knee while the doctor held his face captive.

“It was fine,” Gage said, shrugging it off like it didn’t matter, playing the normal-kid part. Gen grinned down at him, squeezing his shoulder.

“The only problem we had was when we couldn’t hear each other talk because the crowd was too busy chanting your name,” Gen said, tossing her auburn ponytail behind her back.

“Yeah. Oh my god. I don’t think they chanted that loud at your championship fight,” Amara said, looking up at Travis.

“Hey. That’s enough,” Travis said, a grin threatening his lips.

“All done,” the doctor said, standing up suddenly. Levi blinked at his reflection in the mirror. A blood-caked disaster. But the gaping wound on his forehead was at least closed up, which meant he could put clothes on and get the fuck out of here.

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