Page 66 of The Pass Protection
The apartment is still quiet when I step inside. Leaving my keys on the hook in the entryway, I toss my bag in my room as I go further into the living room. Bret’s door is closed, and I see Liv sitting on the couch. She glances up and offers me a tight-lipped smile. It’s not anywhere near as happy as it has been.
“Hey, Liv.” I sit on the couch opposite her, my legs spread out wide as I sink deeper into the sofa.
“Good game. Although I don’t know much about football, what I did understand is that you made an insane catch.”
“Thank you. Was it fun?”
Her face falls as she clenches her jaw. Yeah, something is definitely wrong. “The football game was so much fun. It was my first game, and I can honestly say I can’t wait to watch one again.”
“But…” Worry has me leaning forward and resting my elbows on my knees as I watch her.
“But there was an incident.” Her voice quiets as she chews her bottom lip. Raising my brows, I encourage her to keep going. “She’s okay, and I’m totally breaking the best friend code, but Bret said she confided her past to you.” I nod, and Liv continues. “During halftime, we went to get food, and while we were in the crowd of people, Bret had a panic attack.”
My eyes widen as my stomach drops. “What happened?”
“She thought she sawhim, but it wasn’t him. The guy resembled her ex, but I saw the guy who startled her, and it wasn’t him. But her brain convinced her it was, and she spiraled. I was able to talk her down from the panic attack, but it took a lot out of her. I tried to get her to leave, but she wanted to stay for the rest of the game.”
I run my hands down my face as my head drops between my shoulders. I hate that some asshole continues to torture her. He’s not even in Texas, but he’s twisted her brain so badly that she can’t mentally escape him.
“Why didn’t she ever report him?”
Liv lets out a long sigh. “She was scared. He’s done a good job of being seen without leaving a trail. Bret’s afraid she doesn’t have enough proof, and then there’s the stigma of it all.”
“The stigma?”
“He’s on the football team. There are always accusations around the team, and she didn’t want to cause unnecessary drama when she didn’t have any proof. Not for her, for her brother, or her dad.”
He’s on the football team. We might play them in a few weeks, depending on how the conference shakes out. How is she going to handle that? And I know her dad and her brother. They would want the fucker to pay even if it did cause drama on their end. Coach Campbell would burn the whole world down for his daughter, and hell, so would I.
Rubbing my temples, I stare out the balcony door and watch branches dance in the breeze. “I want so badly to protect her, but I don’t know how I can do that when she won’t tell anyone we’re together.”
“I see how you look at her and how you two act when no one is watching. Keep being her anchor, Crew. She’s been through so much, and you’re helping. It might not seem like it right now, but Bret is the happiest I’ve ever seen her, and that’s including how things used to be before the douchebag.”
Keep being her anchor.I nod. Of course, I can be her anchor. I’d be anything she wanted me to be. My heart belongs to Bret. It’s been with her for a long time, and each day that I’m with her, she takes a part of my soul, too.
Hours later, I’m still pondering how to make Bret’s life a better place. A place where she doesn’t have to live in fear of the shadows. A place where she feelssafe. Since I’ve been home, we’ve bumped into each other a few times. We all sat and ate takeout from a barbecue joint Quinton got me hooked on.
I’ve tried to get her alone a few times, but she’s avoiding me. I even openly confessed I was thinking of staying in for the night. Iwasn’t going to, but if that’s what Bret needed, I wanted to give her the option.
Everyone looked at me as if I had grown a second head, so clearly that was out of the question.
Now I’m standing in front of the mirror attached to my dresser as I assess my outfit. The snug navy material fits every contour of my body, and if I’m not careful, my lower half will break through the stitching. A gold belt with an eagle’s crest is wrapped around my waist, and gold accents hang off my shoulders, resembling the eagle’s wings. Deep red gloves and wrist guards line my wrist. I even bought the matching deep red boots with a gold eagle crest.
I can’t believe Harris, JP, and I are doing a group costume. No doubt some heads will turn in our direction either because of our badass entry or because they have no idea who the hell we are. Running my fingers through my hair, I finish styling the longer strands on top of my head.
My phone vibrates against the dresser, and I see a new message from the group chat.
Roomies
Rebel: You ladies done yet?
JP: Listen here, this shit is tight.
Me: We didn’t think through how thick our thighs are.
Rebel: Mmm thick thighs ??
Rebel: OMG, that was LIV!
