“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’snot 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.
