Chapter 63
LEX
Wexley University
Ready to watch my baby dance.
Bella catches me staring at her ass in those tight little burgundy Trifecta shorts and rolls her eyes. She blows me a kiss and mouths, behave, before laying herself down flat on the gym floor.
Good luck with that, baby.
I’m planted between Cade and Zeke on the front row, glaring at Josh while he begins stretching out our girl. Luckily, the arrival of Roman and Luciana pulls me out of my murderous trance.
Just barely.
The whole Trifecta family is accounted for. Well… almost. Sadly, Savannah got stuck hosting some charity auction this afternoon or she’d be squeezed in behind us with Clay and my parents.
Brett’s got Cade laughing about something he just said while Briggs and Ty just shake their heads. Marisol is seated on the other side of Zeke, their fingers lazily intertwined. Callum and August are here too, annoying the shit out of each and every person they possibly can.
“Glad you could make it, Rome,” Dad says from the second row next to my mom and Clay. “Saved you two a spot.”
Mom’s spine stiffens as they take their seats beside them, but somehow she miraculously keeps her claws retracted.
For now.
“Lovely to see you, Dan,” Luciana chirps at my dad.
Mom sucks in a deep breath, but Knox’s loud mouth booms over the speakers before she can open her lips. Thank fuck. Everyone’s been playing nice for days now and it’d be a damn shame if my mother ruined it all.
“I think it’s time we get this show on the road!” Knox says into the mic. “Javi. It’s all you, man.”
The gym quiets as the dancers all find their places around center court. Josh helps Bella to her feet and guides her toward the rest of the group. Ellie and Haley fall into place next to her, their stunt dudes Drake and Sam trailing closely behind them.
“Finally,” August mutters. He leans down and places his forearm on Zeke’s shoulder. “Ready for the sexiest show at Wexley, my dude?”
“I’ve been to one of these things before, August.” Zeke straightens and brushes his arm off. “And I’m not your dude.”
My head snaps toward him. “So you’ve seen Bella—”
“Give a lap dance or two?” Zeke laughs, shaking his head. “Trust me, I’ve seen way worse from my sister.”
“Kinky,” August chuckles, earning him a quick little backhand from Marisol.
“Welcome, everyone!” Javi beams from the half-court line. “I want to thank you all for being here today as we kick off the Trifecta’s senior season.”
Cheers erupt from the Legacy dancers as they all swarm Bella, Ellie, and Haley in jumping, loud, and chaotic hugs.
Javi chuckles, raising his clipboard in the air. “That’s enough, ladies. Save some of that energy for the floor. We have a busy year ahead of us, but first thing’s first…” He turns toward the tunnel, his smile widening. “Rez!”
Rez walks out onto the hardwood carrying a massive trophy in his hands. The gold gleams under the gym lights as he marches straight toward Ellie.
“Miss Ellie, darling,” Javi continues, beaming like the proud dancing papa he is. “Your trophy came in from the engraver a few days ago and we wanted to present it to you today.”
Beside Cade, Briggs mutters something too quiet for me to fully catch. But the look on his face while he smiles toward his girl says enough that I don’t need to hear.
Clay’s loud whoop from behind me echoes off the gym wall as he claps like a maniac for his daughter.
“Go El!” Cade yells out, joining in on the noise when Rez plants the heavy trophy into Ellie’s hands.
She beams, her ocean-blue eyes bright and watering as she looks out at us. Before she can even take a breath, Bella and Haley close ranks. They drop their heads into Ellie’s shoulders and hug her tight while the rest of the gym bursts out into cheers.
“?Ya, ya, ya! Back to work, my beauties!” Javi suddenly claps his hands. That sentimental proud-papa routine vanishing in a flash as the full drill-sergeant diva we all know and love resurfaces. He snaps his fingers, shooing Rez and the trophy off the center logo.
“Ellie, mi amor, I hope you are ready to repeat that glorious moment, because I am a man of expensive tastes and silver simply does not go with my complexion.”
“He’s right!” Rico pops his head out from behind one of the Trifecta’s garment racks in the corner overflowing with rhinestones, glitter, and fringe.
He dramatically pulls a silver skirt off of a hanger and lets it drop straight to the gym floor.
“Or any of yours, for that matter. Silver is out, ladies… GOLD is in.”
Javi doesn’t even break a stride as he points a finger in his husband’s direction.
“Yes, dear. Gold!” He refocuses his eyes back to he girls.
“The Trifecta is whole again, which means this grace period is officially terminado. We have a legacy to defend, and I’ll be damned if those bunch of basic, uncoordinated dancers from Brazil will steal our spotlight again. ”
Bella, Ellie, and Haley all nod in unison. Completely focused on Javi’s words.
“Now if you are not one of the four newbies here, clear my floor!” He waves his hands to shoo the veterans to the sideline. “Freshmen, let’s see if you can actually give us something worth looking at.”
Javi never even bothers introducing the new girls by name. Just snaps his fingers toward Knox to cue up their set.
As the freshmen begin their set, I notice Zeke staring off at the far end of the gym looking at nothing.
“You good?” I mutter, giving him a quick elbow that makes him flinch.
“Yeah,” he says way too quickly. He rubs his eyes and drags his fingers down his face. “I’m fine.”
“Bullshit,” I snap.
A screech from the floor pulls our focus for a second. “Watch your turns, mija!” Javi yells, damn near chucking his clipboard at the taller brunette freshman’s head.
I shake my head through a dark laugh before turning back to Zeke. “What’s going on with you, Z?”
Zeke flexes his fingers, his left knee starting to bounce as he keeps staring off into the distance. “It’s nothing.”
I slam my hand on his vibrating knee, gripping it tight and forcing his focus to me. “Fucking tell me.”
“Monroe.”
“The shrink?”
He nods.
“The hell does that asshole have to do with anything?” I ask, my brows pinched.
Marisol leans over, her black and pink waves brushing Zeke’s leg as she looks me dead in the eye. “He won’t release him to hunt so he’s mad.”
“Mar,” Zeke snaps.
“What?” she says, nonchalantly picking at her neon-pink nail. “It’s the truth. Part of it anyway.”
“What the hell does part of it mean?” I ask Marisol.
Zeke shoots her a glare and the chick clamps her mouth shut. She yanks out her phone and begins typing, angling her body away from everyone.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, but when I glance over at Marisol, her eyes widen and she shakes her head slowly.
Guess I’ll read that later.
“Terrible. Horrendo. I need an aspirin,” Javi groans, waving them off. He turns his gaze to the sidelines, his posture instantly straightening into pure royalty. “Trifecta! Show these children how it is done. Full set. From the top!”
Bella, Ellie, and Haley glide out like the superstars they are in their shimmering burgundy and black Trifecta uniforms. Knox slides a few dials on his soundboard, shifting the overhead gym lights to the Trifecta’s red, teal, and pink.
“RITMO” by the Black Eyed Peas and J Balvin tear through the speakers.
The Trifecta launches into that sexy-as-hell Latin fusion they were planning on performing at Nationals before Bella’s little Disco Inferno switch-up.
The same exact routine that would’ve easily had that fancy pants judge she was so worried about eating out of her perfect little hands.
“So that’s what this is about?” I whisper to Zeke, keeping my voice low beneath the booming bass. “Project Dylan.”
Zeke nods, his eyes locked on his sister but his mind is clearly miles away. “It’s the only thing I can focus on right now that doesn’t send me—” He cuts himself off, shaking his head. “I need this, Lex. I just want to do what I’m supposed to do. Save kids. That’s it.”
I get it. Well, not really. I can’t imagine being trapped in that house for that long while knowing damn well there are plenty of monsters still running loose. That and whatever else Luca put his sorry ass through in there.
“What did Monroe say?”
“That I haven’t faced it,” Zeke spits out. “That I’m not processing.”
“Fucking shrinks and their psychoanalysis bullshit,” I mumble. My eyes automatically track Bella as she spins in those tight shorts.
“Right?” Zeke lets out a dry laugh. “You said you had a better way, remember?”
I cut a slow grin his way, that lethal fight night spark igniting in my chest. If he won’t talk through his trauma, maybe he can fight it out.
“Yeah. Meet me at Northvale tomorrow. We’ll get this shit solved real quick.”
“That’s how it’s fucking done!” Knox’s voice reverberates off the gym walls. His eyes shining as he points toward Bella, Ellie, and Haley, breathing heavily at center court. “The Trifecta is back, baby!”
Javi wipes a tear off his cheek on the sidelines next to Rez. “My babies.”
My phone vibrates in my pocket again. I pull it out, ignoring Marisol’s text for the time being, and open up the newest message.
KNOX: I need you guys to do something for Bella.
ME: What?
KNOX: Go get the rain stage and hook it up.
“Babe.” I elbow Cade and tip the phone toward him.
By the time Cade, Briggs, and I are back in our seats after wrestling that monster of a stage out of storage and finally getting the damn thing hooked up, practice is damn near over.
The girls are wrapping up one of the Trifecta’s competition performances for the upcoming season when Knox’s voice booms back over the sound system like this is his own personal concert.
“From the looks of that, babes…” He dramatically fans himself. “Maddie Rae and those little Revs will be running back to mommy before Regionals even begins.”
A roar of laughter fills the gym.