Chapter 29
Jaxon
Darkness loomed in my room as I shifted against the pillows, sketchpad balanced on my bent knee. Did I picture myself alone in bed on a Friday night? No, not really. Yet here I was.
My pencil moved almost absentmindedly across the page as I tried to take my mind off the one person I wished was here.
The room was dim, lit only by the soft glow of the lamp on my nightstand and the occasional flicker of lightning outside the window.
Rain tapped steadily against the glass, rhythmic, persistent.
I didn’t think about what I was drawing, I just… drew—lines, shapes, shadows scattered across the blank page until it came to life.
Familiarity breathed in as I outlined the curve of a shoulder. The tilt of a head. The way loose strands of hair fell forward, just barely catching the breeze—
My hand stilled.
A slow breath left me as I leaned back slightly, eyes scanning the page.
“Yeah… of course it is,” I muttered.
Savannah.
She was staring up at me, sitting on that beach at Sunset Creek, completely in her own world, books piled around her as she studied. I scrubbed a hand over my face, letting out a quiet, frustrated laugh.
“You just had to draw her.”
I dropped my head back against the wall with a dull thud, staring up at the ceiling for a second before glancing back at the sketch.
Two days.
It had been two days since that argument—since she cut into me in ways I wasn't expecting. My jaw tightened. Sure, she could be pissed about the fight with Chase, but to link it to our shared past was another thing altogether. And yeah, okay, I was an asshole back then—I didn’t think, didn’t care, said whatever came to mind and let people deal with it after.
And yeah, unfortunately, she’d been one of them.
But I thought we were past that.
I thought she viewed me differently now, but I guessed it was all part of the act.
So why does my heart still call out to hers?
Cursing, I reached over and grabbed my phone, thumb brushing across the screen until it lit up. Her name sat there in my messages, right where I left it.
Empty.
I stared at it for a second longer than I should have, and part of me wanted to ignore Benji's advice and break the tension.
Just send something. Anything.
You good?
We need to talk.
Stop being stubborn.
Hell, I’d even take her yelling at me over this silence. At least then it would mean she still cared enough to fight. My thumb hovered over the screen before I exhaled sharply, dropping the phone back onto the bed.
“Give her space,” I muttered, shaking my head. “Yeah, great plan.”
Well, guess what?
I was tired of fucking space.
I wasn’t used to standing still when something mattered, and dammit—she mattered to me.
Another flash of lightning lit up the room, followed by a low roll of thunder. I dragged a hand through my hair, leaning over to grab the chilled glass and threw back the rest of the bourbon. When a sharp buzz cut through the room, the glass froze at my lips.
I frowned, glancing over at my phone where it vibrated against the mattress, and rolled my eyes when I saw Ariyo's name pop in on the group chat.
ARIYO
YO THE INTERVIEW JUST DROPPED
JESSE
It dropped three days ago.
ARIYO
Okay well nobody in here sent it to me so it just dropped TODAY
I rolled my eyes, a small smirk tugging at my mouth despite everything.
JAXON
It’s not that big of a deal.
The reply came almost instantly.
ARIYO
Yeah… you clearly haven’t seen our socials man
My brows furrowed slightly.
What?
I tapped out of the chat, thumb moving quickly as I pulled up one of our pages.
And then—
“…what the hell?”
Followers.
Comments.
Tags.
The studio’s page was skyrocketing, with numbers climbing faster than I could process. Hundreds of thousands of new people all in the span of three days. I let out a low breath, running a hand through my hair as I leaned back slightly.
“Okay… that’s insane.”
I didn't think the interview would blow up, and since I'd been so busy with my own drama, the studio took a back seat.
My phone buzzed again in my hand.
JAXON
Alright yeah… this is crazy
I didn't check it till now
JESSE
You? Didn't check?
Last time I did some shit like that, you held it over my head for a month
JAXON
Don't be an ass
I've been busy
JESSE
Yeah I bet you have ??
But I just checked the books and bro
The next 8 months are booked solid
I straightened a little at that.
“Eight months?” I repeated under my breath, a grin pulling at my lips before I could stop it.
ARIYO
FUCK YEAH
I huffed out a quiet laugh, shaking my head.
JAXON
We’re gonna need more artists if this keeps up
JESSE
Agreed
ARIYO
Nah fr
Or we just clone me and charge double
I snorted.
JESSE
Please don’t.
One of you is enough.
ARIYO
Speak for yourself
The streets need more of me
I shook my head, the energy in the chat lighter than anything I’d felt all day. For a second, it cut through everything else.
BENJI
Jax don't you have better things to do tonight?
ARIYO
No doubt he's lost in pussy
JAXON
No, just sketching
BENJI
Huh?
JAXON
Yeah, not much to do with the rain so I'm just chilling
Why?
ARIYO
Awe, does Benji miss his best friend?
There were a few minutes of silence before he texted again.
ARIYO
Are you dicks having a separate conversation?
Because that's just rude
JESSE
And this is why no one misses you
ARIYO
Shut up, you know you miss me
JESSE
Hard to miss someone that's in the next room
JAXON
Wait you're at Jesse’s?
ARIYO
Rain trapped me here
JESSE
What he means by that is he didn't want to be alone in the storm
Big baby
ARIYO
Fuck you
Rolling my eyes, I pushed off the bed and was going to grab another glass of bourbon when my phone rang.
Benji.
I grabbed it and answered, “What's up?”
“This is going to be a random question, but is Savannah with you?”
A slow breath left my chest as something shifted—quick, sharp, undeniable.
“What?”
“Answer the question, Cage.”
“Why the hell would she be?”
He was silent for a bit before he cursed under his breath.
“Okay, don't freak out, but I think something happened.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Well, she… she asked for your address earlier. She told me she was on her way there, but—”
My pulse picked up, something dangerously close to anxiety settling in my chest.
“Benji, what the fuck? It's pouring out there!”
“I offered to drive her, and she said it was fine, and my father wanted me in a meeting. I told her to text me when she got to you, but I haven't heard anything and it's been hours.”
Gritting my teeth, I cast a glance to the storm outside before quickly slipping into some pants and a sweater.
“And she didn't go home? Did you ask Nerissa?”
I grabbed my keys from the dresser and headed to the front door, phone pressed to my ear.
“She hasn't seen her since this morning.”
Dozens of scenarios ran through my mind, making my heart race out of control. What if there'd been an accident? What if she was out there right now, bleeding out somewhere? What if there was a frayed wire and got electrocuted? What if she crashed just like Lyra did?
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I muttered, shrugging on my coat and grabbing my helmet.
Then toward the door.
“Look, I'm going out to find her.”
“Not on your bike you're not. Are you insane?”
“Well, I'm not just going to sit on my ass and wait for—”
The sentence died on my tongue the second I opened the door and saw her.
Savannah stood drenched from head to toe, her hand raised as if she was seconds away from knocking. Her wide eyes met mine and I watched as relief settled in them. A slow exhale left me as I felt the worry leave my bones and my fingers clenched around the phone. “I have to go.”
I didn’t wait for a response. Just pulled the phone away and ended the call, my grip tightening around it for a second before I slid it into my pocket.
For a beat, I just looked at her, still processing the fact that she was standing right in front of me.
She was drenched. Her hair was soaked, clinging to her face and neck, and her clothes were dark from the rain, water still dripping onto my floor like she’d carried the storm in with her.
And her eyes shone with relief beneath the tension.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, the edge in my voice sharper than I intended. Clearly, the woman was insane for walking around in the rain for God knew how long.
She flinched and took a small step back before she paused, grounding her feet and lifting her chin.
“I need to talk to you.”
I exhaled sharply, dragging a hand through my hair as I stepped aside and grabbed her wrist—not rough, but firm enough that she didn’t argue as I pulled her inside and kicked the door shut behind her.
“Care to explain just what the hell you were thinking?” I snapped, already reaching for a towel in the closet and wrapping it around her.
“It’s pouring out there, Savannah.”
“Yeah, I noticed that.”
I shot her a glare.
“The driver got the address wrong and my phone died,” she shot back immediately, catching the towel but barely using it. “I had to knock on every single door on this strip to find you.”
“That doesn’t—”
“Just—” she cut me off, raising a hand. Then she pointed to the barstool in the kitchen. “Stop. Sit down and shut up.”
I blinked.
“Excuse me?”
“Sit.”
We held our gazes before I huffed out a quiet, disbelieving laugh. Woman comes into my house and tries to tell me what to do Unbelievable. And I'll have you know, I was only moving because I wanted to—not because it was sexy when she took charge like that or anything.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, but I ignored it. I leaned back against the counter instead, hands gripping the edge behind me—partly to stop myself from doing something stupid like dragging her closer to me and taking off those wet clothes, because she looked—
Jesus.
I clenched my jaw, dragging my gaze back up to her face.
“Talk.”
She shifted on one foot to the next, hugging the towel tighter around her.