Page 37 of This Is Love
I let go of Jaxon, turning to step into Logan’s embrace. I let him fold me into his arms, mine caught between us and resting on his chest. My fingers reflexively clutch at his hoodie.
“You’re trembling.”
I nod. “I know.” But I can’t get my mouth to cooperate more than that. I’m physically feeling sick and anxious, but also grateful and loved and a million other emotions. It’s too much.
A moment later, Jaxon steps close, sandwiching me between them, running his hands up and down my arms. “You looked amazing up there. It’s not that, is it?”
“He’s right, you were beautiful, Tiny Dancer. If they don’t select you, they’re out of their minds.”
My ears ring as I shake my head. “I thought?—”
“This doesn’t really have anything to do with your performance, does it?” Logan murmurs quietly as he edges back so he can see my face. When our eyes meet, his narrow. With the notable exception of my feelings where he’s concerned, I’ve never been able to keep much of anything from him.
Jaxon’s voice is gruff, commanding even, when he grits out, “Come sit over here.” The two of them usher me to a bench under a window, and they take a seat on either side of me. With an arm draped around my back from either direction, they both lean forward, closing ranks around me. The cautious worry on their faces makes me feel cared for. “Here.” Jaxon digs into the bag I hadn’t even noticed he had with him. He comes up with a protein bar, opens it, and hands it to me, then rummages again, pulling out a bottle of water. With a twist of his wrist, he takes off the cap, waiting until I’ve taken a bite of the chocolate peanut butter bar before handing over the water.
“Are you feeling okay, Ry?” Logan’s hand moves up and down my back in a way that always comforts me.
I draw in a breath, my eyes flicking to Jaxon’s. “I should have eaten before the audition, but that’s not it. I—” How do I even say this? “While I was dancing, I had this awful feeling. And then…”
Jaxon’s brow furrows. “Then what?”
I wet my lower lip. “Th-the spotlight shut off. And…” I don’t miss the grimace they exchange. Do they think I’m overreacting? Or is that simply my own insecurities surging to the forefront? My chest constricts on my lungs, making my heart hammer hard, trying to pump. I shake my head. “Maybe I was imagining it. S-seeing things.”
“No. Tell us,” Logan demands, his voice grating up his throat like it’s dragging over gravel.
“There was a guy”—I hesitate, wincing—“at the back of the auditorium. In a black ski mask.”
18
LOGAN
Regulatingmy breathing so Rya doesn’t catch on to how disturbed I am by the masked freak showing up at her audition is proving to be difficult. My gaze slides to meet Jaxon’s over her head as we walk with her between us toward the campus police station. The look simmering in his eyes tells me two very important things. First, he’s as unsettled as I am about the latest development in the who-is-fucking-with-Rya mess. He’s apprehensive as hell. Wary. And second, he’s much like me—willing to do some questionable shit to make sure whoever that psycho is comes nowhere near her.
There’s no doubt we’ll need to have a discussion sooner rather than later about how to handle this. Because I’m unwilling to let her be a sitting duck. I glance down to find her head already tilting upward, eyes scanning my profile.
“Logan, I’m a tiny bit freaked out, but I’m fine,” she whispers adamantly. Her body shivers, but whether it’s a response to the scare she’s had or the chilly air, it’s hard to fucking say. She hadn’t anticipated having to walk all the way across campus to file a police report. And damned if I was going to let her go backto the dorm only to have her decide against doing it after all. We’ve put this off way too fucking long as it is.
I work my jaw to the side. Too bad for Rya, I know her better than to think she’sfine. She’s trying her damnedest to act like she’s less bothered by the reappearance of the masked asshole than she actually is. I’m not an idiot. She’s playing it like this because she knows what my response will be if I think she’s scared. She knows I’ll go into full-scale overprotective-best-friend mode. And for some reason, she doesn’t want that. Not a goddamn clue why. I clear my throat. “Rya. Don’t downplay this. You’re not completely losing it because you’re busy convincing yourself that you were seeing things.”
“Which you weren’t,” Jaxon grinds out. “Highly doubtful. Not to upset you, but whatever that ski-masked dick does next time could end differently.” He voices what’s in my head so perfectly it’s kinda scary.
I frown over at him but nod with a harsh exhale. He takes the opportunity with Rya’s focus on me to shake his head, letting me know he doesn’t fucking like this. Not one bit. As if the pinch of his lips and the hard line down the middle of his forehead weren’t dead giveaways already.
Rya bites down on her lip, a telltale sign it’s trembling and she’s trying to control it. After a moment, she gives a dejected sigh. “Do we really have to do this?”
Jaxon and I both respond at the same time. “Yes.”
She huffs out a troubled laugh, her gaze shifting to Jaxon. “What, did you all decide to join forces at some point?”
“Rya, why wouldn’t you want to report this?” I growl, knowing my irritation will make her head swing right back to me. And it does. She blinks rapidly but has clammed up, so I push harder. It’s important she understands why this is necessary. Not to mention it’s fucking important that whoever this person is gets nowhere fucking near her. “You said ityourself this morning. Someone is targeting you. For what purpose? Who the fuck knows. But there’s way too much going on around here that all points toward the same thing.”
She looks down at the ground in front of us, but I can see the way her jaw has tightened. She seems delicate as a flower one second and tenacious as a weed the next. “I simply don’t see the point. They aren’t going to do anything. Even if they listen to what I have to say, they’ll think I’m fucking crazy. And they’re gonna—” Her mouth snaps shut. Staring stonily at the ground ahead of her, I observe the difficult swallow working down the column of her throat.
Oh, hell. Now I get it.I grit my teeth. “You don’t want them to contact your parents.”
She gives the barest of nods but doesn’t look up.
Jaxon exhales hard, searching out my gaze again. He’s not as aware of what her parents are like, but I know he must at least have a clue, probably based on not wanting to tell her parents about the drugging. Fuck.
