Page 103 of Nightmare

By the time Monday rolls around, I’m a sweaty, nervous mess. I can’t stop picking at my nail beds and running my fingers through my hair.

Just anxious girl things.

“You’ve got to chill.” Summer says next to me on the sofa, “You’re going to explode at any moment.”

My face scrunches up. I spring up on my feet to start pacing Travis’s living room, all four of my friends watching me silently.

Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

“Liv.” Jax says, so I stop in my tracks to look at him, “I need you to take a breath because you’re starting to freak me out.”

I roll my eyes at him then go back to pacing.

Summer snorts, “Alright, Travis, your turn.”

I roll my eyes, even though they can’t see my face with the current direction I’m walking. As soon as I turn around to pace back the other direction, I come face to face with my shithead boyfriend who set up this audition in the first place.

“Pretty girl.” He says, which calms me for half a millisecond, his hands landing on my shoulders to still me, “Talk to me.”

I squint my eyes at him, “I don’t want to talk. I need to think.”

He presses his lips together, flicking an eyebrow up to study my face, “Okay, but you’re going to wear the gloss off of my floors.”

“I don’t give a shit about your floors, Travis.” I say, shaking his arms off of my shoulders so I can start pacing again.

I am freaking out.

My blood is rushing so fast I can barely breathe, I definitely can’t stay still, I want to start peeling the skin off of my body just so I have something to do with my hands.

I walk back and forth a few more times before Travis clears his throat to get my attention, when I turn my head to look at him, he’s looking at his watch. “Time to go, pretty girl.”

My stomach spins, and I feel all the blood in my body rush to my feet. I take a breath, then another, then another, and then one more for good measure before I run my fingers through my hair. I start to hum the song I’m going to perform under my breath as I rub my sweaty palms down the front of my dress.

“Okay.” I say, turning to face where all four of them are watching me from the sofa, “I’m ready.”

Travis grins, then stands up to move towards me. He wraps his arms around my waist when he reaches me, pulling me into his body. His mouth lands on top of my head, his hands moving slowly up and down my sides. “You got this.”

I close my eyes with a nod, letting myself feel protected in his arms, taking a breath through my nose. “Yeah.”

He pulls back so I open my eyes to look at him. “Ready?” He asks with pride swimming in his gaze.

I nod again, “Ready.”

Summer is there a second later, pulling me from Travis to squeeze me in between her arms, “Kill it, bae.”

I grin. My chest warms with the support, I give her a kiss on the cheek before she pulls away and wiggles her eyebrows at me. “We’ll be here when you’re done.”

“I love you.” I say to her, and she winks in response, turning around to fall back onto the sofa with Mac and Jax.

Travis’s hand finds me, and he laces his fingers through mine before pulling me to the front door – leading the way to the first day of the rest of my life.

As long as he’s there, I really don’t give a shit what happens. No matter what happens with this audition, I will always have him.

We move in silence, and I feel my surroundings blurring around me, Travis never letting go of my hand as he leads me outside then through the city.

I feel like the trip is moving in fast forward and slow motion all at once. It feels like one minute we’re in the elevator, the next I’m outside the theater on West 42ndand Broadway, staring up at the board that’s displaying a showing ofThe Dining Roomtonight.

I squeeze my man’s hand, his face turning up in a smile as he puts a finger under my chin and pulls my face towards his. His lips find mine, so I press into him with all the strength I have in my body, trying to get as close to him as possible.

---