Chapter 21
Hawk
Dinner with my parents was almost tolerable, but I have plans tonight. I ride over to Annie’s house and slip in the back. While Heather might know about all of us dating, she might not be cool with us all sleeping together.
I don’t really care what she thinks unless she tries to keep Annie from us. There’s a party tonight, but Cam and I don’t want to go. And I know it’s not on Annie’s priority list. The house is quiet as I walk to Damon’s room. Sure, Annie has her own, but that’s not her room. Not really.
When I walk in, Annie sits on the couch sideways with her laptop open, staring at the screen. Her back is against Cam’s side as he flips a page in a textbook. They look up when I enter and close the door.
“Cozy Friday night study session?” I arch an eyebrow. Cam has our girl alone and this is what he chooses to do with her? I’d shake my head, but knowing Annie, it was likely her idea.
Annie shrugs. “I have a few things to catch up on since my hand wasn’t useful most of the week.”
I cross the room and sit near her feet. When I hold out my hand for hers, she gives me her injured hand.
I’m careful with it and check her face as I gently touch the skin to make sure she isn’t hurting.
The cuts are all scabbed over and look to be healing.
I bring her fingers to my lips and press a kiss to them.
Her cheeks flush a pretty shade of pink as she draws her hand back. Her eyes hold mine.
“How are you after last night? Were we too rough?”
Annie squirms, but her blue-gray eyes stay on mine. “No. I’m a little sore, but nothing hurts.”
I nod, and she looks back down at her screen. Cam glances over at me as he turns the page. We’ve got shit we need to discuss, but we also need to know what happened between Damon and Annie.
“We should talk about Damon,” I say.
Her eyes flick up to mine, but she doesn’t say no.
She closes her laptop slowly and sets it on the coffee table before wrapping her arms around her knees and glancing at the two of us.
Cam sets his textbook down on the coffee table too.
He slides his hand down her arm, and she shivers slightly and rests her head back on his shoulder.
“Damon told me what happened this morning, but I want your version, Annie.” I sit back and wait for her. Both of them are angry and hurt. There are two sides of this story.
Her eyes haze over. “We woke up when Adam came into the room. Our parents were talking when we got downstairs, so we stopped and listened. Mom thought maybe she and I should move out. Adam talked her out of it.”
She blows out a breath. “Damon asked why Adam had barged into his locked room. That’s when Mom confessed to receiving a text of an old ad campaign from the eighties. When she looked in my room, my bed was made. Adam had come to wake Damon to help search for me.”
“That’s when Heather told you guys that wasn’t the first text she received?” I ask.
Annie nods. “Then Adam brought us back on topic.”
“So he knew about the texts.” I lean back and let the puzzle pieces slip into place.
“I guess.” Annie cocks her head a little. “Mom tried to rationalize my sleeping with Damon and said I was just hurting from my breakup and kept saying Damon was obviously a rebound and that I could go back to Chase.”
“That’s a touchy subject for Damon,” Cam says and rubs his hand down Annie’s arm. “He didn’t like being your side piece.”
Annie lets out a derisive huff. “He asked what I told my mom about the breakup. When I didn’t say anything, he told her about Chase’s cheating.
Adam asked if what we had was new.” Annie rubs her forehead.
“I had to tell Mom it’s been weeks since the breakup and that Chase used the fact I hadn’t told her for Tom’s party. ”
I glance at Cam. These are all things she could have told her mother, but I get it. Not wanting the attention, not wanting the focus. Maybe keeping us to herself felt safe.
“Then Adam asked if I was the reason Damon punched Chase.” She curls in on herself. “He told them about the woods, about him dumping me out there and coming back to the party to get laid. It was so confusing and embarrassing, and it’s like Damon just kept picking.”
Her eyes fill with tears, and she tries to blink them back.
But angry sparks flare behind them. “And then he blamed it all on my mom. That this only happened because she left me alone. I was so angry and so embarrassed. So fucking exposed that I told Adam about Chase being the hit and run. Everything came out after that. Damon looked at me so coldly like he did when we started. Like I meant nothing to him.”
Tears roll down Annie’s cheeks, and I draw her onto my lap to hold her.
“He hated me.” She grabs on to my shirt and buries her face in my chest. “He hated me in that moment, and everything inside me wanted to disappear.”
“He doesn’t hate you, Annie.” I rub her back and wish Damon was here so I could fuck him up.
Cam moves in closer and presses his head to hers. “He loves you, Evan. It takes a lot for him to love someone. Hate is easy, but he’s fucking loyal to who he loves. It wasn’t hate. He just shut down like he did after his mom died.”
“I don’t want to lose you.” She reaches out and grabs his shirt, holding him to her too while she sobs softly into my mine.
“You won’t.” This is the last time Damon hurts her. The last time she’ll cry over one of us. I’ll make sure of it.
We lie in bed later. Annie has on one of Damon’s shirts and rests on my chest. Her breathing is slow and steady. She had a long night followed by a long day. Cam is on her other side, his hand idly rubbing her back while he looks at his phone.
Our phones buzz at the same time. I look over at Cam.
“Text from Damon.” Cam reads it and sighs. “Jackson is part of the program. He’s one of the guys trying out for Crowne Mawr.”
“At least we don’t need to worry about him this week then.” I lean down and kiss Annie’s hair. She snuggles against me.
“Crowne Mawr apparently has their hockey freshmen live in a house together.” Cam chuckles. “That’s not going to fly with Damon unless Evan can live there too.”
“Fuck him. He gets her our senior year. He can live with the hockey guys and visit Annie like we have to.” I smirk at Cam. “Tell him we’ll let him visit Annie from time to time.”
Cam types with a smug grin. After another buzz, he chuckles. “Apparently that’s not happening.”
I chuckle.
“He asks how she is?” Cam says softly.
“Tired. Passed the fuck out. What does he expect after last night and then this morning?” I tighten my arm around her. Damon’s right though. She’ll run herself ragged if we don’t make her stop. She protested going to bed even though her eyes were struggling to stay open and focused on her laptop.
“I told him I watched her eat and now I’m watching her sleep.” Cam glances toward the corner we know the camera is in. We’ve both watched feed from it. Cam holds his middle finger to it with a smile.
“He’d be much worse if he couldn’t watch her,” I say.
“You’re not wrong.” Cam chuckles. “Damon says, fuck off.”
“Good to know he can listen to us too.” I roll my eyes. “You could just call, asshole.”
Cam’s phone buzzes, and he puts it on speakerphone. “How’s college life?”
“I have a roommate. That’s why I haven’t called, but he stepped out to use the bathroom.” Damon’s voice fills the room.
Annie curls into me a little tighter. For a second, I just wish he was here with us, but it wouldn’t make a difference. They’re not really talking right now.
“What’s the plan to find out about the texts Heather’s been getting?” Damon asks, all business.
“I know a guy.” Cam lies back and rests his phone on his chest. “I’m going to get someone to look into your nerd too. But we really shouldn’t say much if your video is compromised.”
Damon huffs out a breath. “Training starts tomorrow. I’ll see what I can find out about Jackson. But this is a fucking interview, so he’ll be on his best behavior. I doubt I’ll learn much besides if he actually wants to go here or not.”
“Whatever you can find out without getting into trouble.” I brush Annie’s hair out of her face. “I owe you a gut punch, man.”
Damon sighs. “She cried.”
“She thinks you hated her,” Cam says.
He doesn’t say anything, but that’s gotta hurt to hear. “I don’t.”
“We know and she knows, but it’s how she felt.” I’ve never been more protective of anyone in my life, but how can I not with Annie?
“My roommate is back. Talk tomorrow.” He hangs up.
It’s not really fair that he can watch her, but Annie can’t watch him. Maybe him watching her will bring its own comfort to her. That he still cares enough to stalk her.
EvanAnn
I wake up too hot and needing to use the bathroom. I climb out of the bed that smells like Damon, from between Cam and Hawk. They don’t stir as I pad across the wood floor to the bathroom.
After I finish, I wash my hands and get my phone from where I left it to charge. It lights up with a text message. I sit on the couch and pull on Cam’s hoodie he left on the arm.
Sex God:
Why are you up?
I glance around. I knew he had a fucking camera in here. For a while, I wondered, but now that I know, I want to see the feed. My heart pulses. It’s just me and him. I’m too sleepy to argue or shut him out.
Me:
You don’t have a camera in the toilet?
Amateur
Sex God:
I do consider some things private
Me:
Thankfully
I smile and glance over at the bed where Cam and Hawk are asleep. They made me climb into bed earlier. Now, I’m wide awake. Should I even be talking with Damon? Aren’t we fighting? Should I bring up what happened so we can talk about that instead?
But I don’t want to. I just want to go back to sleeping in his arms.
Me:
Why are you up?
Sex God:
Stalking you
Me:
*eyeroll emoji* Go to sleep
You have things tomorrow
You barely got sleep last night too
Sex God:
I’ll be fine
Lifting my gaze, I try to glare at possible spots the camera might be.
Sex God:
Why are you squinting at the corners?
Me: