Page 153 of Tattooed Love

“You need to step back up.” Troy was saying that like I wasn’t going to. I would one day. Maybe on the same day I had Amber back because, right now, I wasn’t functioning without her.

How could I lead a group of men, all expecting me to have their back, when the only woman I loved… well I broke her heart and made her move to another country.

“I didn’t want to do this, but I don’t see another option.” Troy got his phone out and I didn’t know what he was doing until my phone buzzed in my pocket.

Pulling it out; it was a message from Troy. My eyes widened when I saw that it was a contact. Amber.

“Call her. Get it out of your system.” Troy said. “I know she can take it now. She’s stronger and I spoke to my Aunt today. Amber’s really settling in there. Rarely is home and is excelling at her studies so I know a phone call from you she can take.”

“She excelling in her studies?” I looked at him like he couldn’t be serious. Amber never did school. She couldn’t care less if she passed or failed.

“Maths apparently.”

“She hated maths.”

“Well now she is an A grade student in it. She’s moved on Jax. Time for you to do the same.” He walked past me. “I know you calling is just so you can move on because I’m telling you now, Amber doesn’t care anymore. Hell, she even asked how you were the other day, like you were just one of the many.”

Was he trying to hurt me? I turned to read his expression. Nope. He was just stating facts. Amber had asked how I was. And she really had acted like I was one of the many. I clenched my phone tighter.

Troy left and I followed him out to the party but I was even less interested in the party now. I took the stairs two at a time. I was going to call. I was going to hear her voice. Not overhear one of those stupid video calls.

Although I wouldn’t mind face-timing her to see her face.

I unlocked my door and closed it. The party was a dull roar now.

I unlocked my phone and dialed her number.

I hoped she answered out-of-country calls.

I waited for it to connect and then, when it started to ring, my heart basically slowed. What if she didn’t want to hear from me? What if the last thing on earth she wanted was to hear my voice? That grabbed my heart; after how I’d treated her, I shouldn’t even be calling. I knew I had made a mistake and went to hang up.

“Hey Tae, look, everything went smoothly but I’m telling you now this is going to backfire on us,” Amber spoke into the phone, like she had been too busy to check the caller ID. Didn’t even realize it was an out-of-country call. “Tae?”

Who was Tae? What was going to backfire on them? My eyes narrowed. She was up to something. All this time I had thought she had moved on from this life, and suddenly I was getting the feeling she had just moved to another country and got herself involved in something else.

Something I couldn’t protect her from.

“Tae, I don’t have time for games! It’s late! You know very well I don’t do mornings. And that advance math class is at eight.”

I frowned. Do I say something? So, she really did have a thing for maths.

I cleared my throat. Yep, I was going to do it. I was going to talk to her. “It’s not Tae.”

Whoever that was.

If I had been with her now, I could bet she was wearing that cute frown on her face.

“Wait a sec…” Amber said into the phone, and I heard muffled noises. “Who is this?”

She didn’t even recognize my voice. That hurt. “Um, it’s Jax.”

Silence. It was deafening.

Was she just going to hang up and block my number? Hell, it wouldn’t surprise me after how I’d treated her. I had piled onto her about trust, how I wanted her to trust me, and then me not trusting her in the end.

“How are you?” Her voice was steady; no emotion. Her normal wave of happiness when she spoke to me wasn’t there.

I didn’t answer because I don’t think she would really want to hear the answer.

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