Page 75 of From Us, Forever

Katy- Are you all right, E?

Gabe- I think this time our girl’s overreacting a bit.

Fucking hell, Gabe and his big fucking mouth. I regret the fact that I told him about this.

Lily- Why, what happened? Evy, I can see that you’re reading these texts… wait, Katy, Lan is here. I haven’t seen him in a while. He’s quiet, though.

Hmm, my interest piqued into the conversation now, and I was also pretty sure that they were all in the same room and texting instead with me.

Katy- He’s always like that. lol. He never misses a show. Enough about Lan, E, are you gonna answer us?

Katy never types lol. Something was clearly going on there, but who was I to question another person’s life when mine had an overflowing bucket of problems?

Evy- Jay and I are FINE. And stop talking about me like I’m not here.

Lily- That’s why we’re talkingtoyou.

Katy- Yes, we are. Emmie looks sad, and the show is about to start in an hour. So where are you?

An image popped up in the chat, and my heart sank to my feet.

Jay looked distraught, sitting in the corner, clutching Firebird with somber eyes, with his hair all over the place and his shirt creased. He didn’t look fine at all.

My poor baby.

Moisture gathered in my eyes, and a fat drop fell on the phone.

What the hell was I doing? I fucking loved this man, and Jay would never let me feel like shit knowingly.

That man showed me day in and day out how important I was to him.

Scrambling off the bed, I dressed in record time, slapping on my makeup exactly how Katy taught me and tugging on a pair of shorts and a pink cami before donning Jay’s leather jacket.

I loved wearing his clothes; they were always warm and soft, and they smelled like him.

Jumping downstairs, I ran to the living room where Tyler was already rising to his feet, his laser-sharp gaze narrowed. “Everything fine, Ms. May?”

“Yes, but we have to go to the show now. Before it starts.”

He nodded, taking fast steps out. Tyler had become my official bodyguard because Jay wouldn’t trust anyone else with me while he got himself a new one.

The traffic was unbearable near the venue, but with Tyler’s VIP entry, we were able to cruise to the private entrance.

It seemed like Tyler already knew where to go as I followed him.

I was already familiar with the workings of the crew backstage, but I would never get used to it, and since this was a festival, it felt like backstage on steroids.

I even spotted a few celebrities while we walked through the endless hallways.

“Through there, Ms. May.” Tyler gestured to a separate entrance that led to a few stairs where VVIP was written on a door.

I prayed internally the boys weren’t gone yet.

Just as I climbed up, the door burst open, and Mikey gripped my shoulder before I lost my balance from the sudden movement.

“Whoa, E.” Mikey’s eyes widened.

“Is he still in there?” I asked, looking over his shoulders at the empty room inside and feeling the anxiety curl through my stomach.

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