Chapter 49
EvanAnn
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Lisa sets down two glasses of water on the coffee table. “Do you need anything else?”
“No, thank you,” I say.
Cam shakes his head. “One more day and we can both go back to school.”
Lisa smiles and shakes her head. She reaches out and cups my cheek. “I’m just glad I get both of you.”
Lisa’s been kind and attentive. Mom talked about staying home from work, but she has a big project right now.
Lisa, Cam’s mom, was more than happy to offer to keep both of us during the day.
Cam can’t move around a lot, and I’m not supposed to do anything mentally taxing for two days and limit screen time.
This is day two, and I’m going stir crazy.
“You just yell if you need anything else.” Lisa walks out of the family room.
Cam lifts my hand. “Okay, what can we do that won’t disrupt your brain healing?”
“Mom got me a coloring book.” I hold it up. “I’d rather work on the pacing of the fourth act.”
“Tomorrow.”
“It’s so frustrating. I know Keira has this.
That she can handle two days of practice without me.
I’m sure Jason is doing excellent standing in for Desdemona and that Mark is selling the shit out of it.
But I hate that I can’t do what I’m supposed to be doing.
” I flick the coloring book back onto the coffee table.
I should be there at practice. Both Chase and I are out. So Jason is doing double time when he can as both Desdemona and Iago. Though he’s playing Iago and standing in for me. Even a little beat up, both Chase and I will be back to working. The show must go on.
But right now, all I can do is sit. At least Cam is with me.
Cam holds out his other hand to me. When I give him it, he shifts me in to rest on his chest. He’s got his leg elevated. We walked for a little bit to get some exercise, but neither of us is supposed to overdo it.
I rest my head on his chest and pout.
“I know the answer to this, but I’m going to ask anyway.” Cam lightly trails his fingers down my back.
“What?”
“If you could be any animal in the world, what animal would you be?” Cam asks it slowly, like it’s the most important question he’s ever asked me.
I push off his chest to meet his eyes. He’s serious.
“You know the answer to this?” I arch an eyebrow.
He chuckles. “Of course. Besides, it’s not so much what animal but why, so this could take at least an hour of discussion time.”
I sigh. “A cat.”
“You’re too busy to be a cat, goody.”
“Okay, what am I then?” I’m expecting to be impressed.
“How about I draw it for you?” He grabs my coloring book and the colored pencils.
I turn so my back is against his front and watch him begin to sketch. Shapes form the outline for his drawing. The scratching of the pencil against the paper is soothing.
“Have you thought about going to college for art?” I ask softly.
“Maybe. I haven’t really thought about what I want to do in college. Figured I’d take a couple years to decide.” The drawing emerges out of the paper, stroke by stroke.
“I think you should try some art classes to see how you like it.” I breathe out as he works and shake my head when I realize what he’s doing. “That’s not an animal.”
“Are you saying humans aren’t animals, goody?”
“It kind of defeats the purpose of the question.”
“How so? I’m the one who asked it. Why would you want to be anything other than who you are?” He chuckles. “I like you.”
“Cheater,” I mumble. “But I like you too.”
He turns the page and starts drawing the image slightly shifted.
Flipping back and forth between pages as he works.
I watch as he fills the corners of the pages with images of me.
It’s relaxing watching him draw. When he finishes, he riffles through the pages and the image comes to life, turning and winking.
“What are we going to do about Brandt?” I ask.
Damon and Hawk joined us after hockey practice. I now have a coloring book filled with moving doodles.
“What do you want to do, Evan? He fucked with you.” Damon runs his hand through his hair and sets down his chopsticks in the takeout they brought with them. “Whatever you want done, we’ll do it.”
It’s like having a perfectly honed weapon ready to use.
“He tried to take away my future to buy his own.” I lean back against Hawk, who insisted I sit with him for dinner. “I could just be better than him.”
“You already are, goody. It’s why he went after you in the first place.” Cam shakes his head and points his chopsticks at me. “Where’s the girl who carved her stalker with not yours? That’s the devious little mind we need right now.”
I smirk and take a bite of noodles. “I’m not sure I was really thinking in that moment.”
“Whatever you want us to do, Annie?” Hawk kisses my shoulder. “I vote reign terror down on his ass, but I might be partial to a good revenge plot.”
“Do you really think anything I do to him in high school is going to stop him from still having a career or life in the industry?” I pick at my food.
“This is exactly what Jackson’s point was.
He’ll get punished and his future will be ruined.
If Brandt did something wrong, Daddy will bail him out, and he’ll end up winning some stupid award. If I screw up, there’s no safety net.”
Damon tips my chin his way and levels his eyes on mine. “You have a safety net, Evan. You have three who will do anything to keep you safe and whole. Who want only the best for you and will make sure you have it.”
My breath catches.
“Jackson will get what he deserves because he tried to take you from us.” Damon shakes his head. “He thought he knew better and he didn’t. He was fucking bitter and even though he was amazing on the ice, it never would have been enough for him.”
I search Damon’s eyes.
“Brandt isn’t going anywhere.” Hawk leans back. “He may eventually have his dad’s money or connections, but he’s an asshole.”
“His own cast hates working with him.” Cam points his chopsticks at me. “It won’t take long for that to filter through industry circles. He’ll kill his own career.”
“What I care about is you.” Damon narrows his eyes on mine, and I swallow at how much I love this man. “If you feel some way and want him to suffer now, I can make that happen.”
“Besides, I have a damning recording of him that he knows I have,” Hawk says. “So if he even hints at fucking with you again, I will turn his world upside down.”
“Good.” I lean in and kiss Damon briefly before returning to my food. “As long as we can make him aware he can’t mess with me, or any other ants or we’ll wreck him, I’ll be good.”
“Consider it done.”
Chase came back to school the same day I did. I walked into rehearsal and he was there in front of me. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to keep you safe.”
My mouth opens, but I don’t know what to say. I didn’t expect him to say anything to me.
His face is swollen and mottled with bruises, but those will all fade and not leave anything behind. He’ll be himself before long. But maybe this is the wakeup call he needed.
“I was right there and when you fell, I tried to get to you, but that fucker started wailing on me.” He shakes his head and reaches for my arm, but then drops his hand. “Are you okay, EvanAnn?”
I think of all the things he did to me. How he used me and cheated on me and tried to pressure me into sex and started a twisted social media account. But if he hadn’t, who would I be right now? What would I be doing?
“I’m good now.” I hold out my hand to him. “Thank you for trying.”
He hesitates for a moment before shaking my hand. “I’m sorry about the posts.”
I release his hand. “I’m not sorry we deleted the account and all the pictures.”
“I really need to stay away from Abby.” He rubs the back of his neck.
I shrug because I don’t care who he dates or what he does as long as it’s far away from me. “Make better decisions. Stop trying to take the easy way out and actually be a better person instead of pretending to be.”
He nods and for a moment, I think he’ll say more, but then he walks away.
Tech week is where everything comes together. I’m back on stage. Cam comes to all the rehearsals since he can’t skate, and he makes me sit with him from time to time to give my brain a break. Keira has been a lifesaver.
It’s like having another brain, but that one’s fully functional. She’ll notice when I’m starting to get a headache and call for a quick break before leading me over to Cam. Damon makes sure I eat, and when it gets late, he closes my books and forces me to go to bed with him.
Okay, not so much forces me to, but kisses me until I can’t think of anything else.
Brandt has avoided me at school. He doesn’t even sneer at me anymore. Word has gotten out about the way he handles his cast, and Mr. Watson has been overseeing his tech week.
No one at school knows about what he did to set this shit in motion. He doesn’t come within ten feet of me and never sneers or tries to talk to me. He knows what my guys have on him and that I’m the one not pulling the trigger. Yet.
If he didn’t have a whole cast of people depending on him, I would have made everyone aware of what he did behind the scenes. But this is their opportunity too. And while someone could step in and help, it’s not fair to everyone who worked hard to make this production a reality.
When Damon explained what Brandt did to his dad, Adam went to talk to Brandt’s father. Pretty sure that shut down any other schemes Brandt and his sister might have had. Especially after hearing the recording Hawk took that night.
Things are so chaotic that I don’t know which way is up most days.
It’s dress rehearsal night. The audience has a handful of people in to watch. Friends and family who know this is a final rehearsal. My mom and Adam sit out in the audience with Damon and Cam.
There’s this nervous buzz of energy flowing through me. Tonight, I’m an actor. Keira is helping the backstage manager and will make notes of anything that stands out and needs to be addressed before the show tomorrow night.
I glance back at Hawk who’s talking to Chase and give him a quick smile. Hawk winks and a flush of warmth flows through me.
Mark stands next to me. He has his own boyfriend out in the audience watching tonight. “Nervous?”
“Maybe a little,” I admit and smile at him. “You?”
“I think I’m going to vomit.”
“So perfectly normal then?” I thread my arm through his. “I wish Mia were here.”
“Don’t want to perform?” he asks.
“I’m excited about performing, but it still feels like her role.”
Mark chuckles softly. “It was her role until you took it over. It’s your role now, EvanAnn. You’ve made it yours. We’re going to show everyone what a great actor and director you are.”
I take a deep breath and lift my chin to meet his gaze. “Thank you.”
He smiles. “Break a leg.”
I walk out on stage to get us started.
“I just want to thank you all for coming tonight. We have an amazing cast and show to put on for you.” I see my guys in the audience and smile.
“We all appreciate the people in our lives who support us during the crazy schedule of rehearsals and performances. We couldn’t do it without all of you. So thank you.”
I kiss my fingertips and blow them to the audience.
“Please enjoy yourselves as you watch Shakespeare’s Othello.”