Page 68 of Muse (Fighting Fate)

The sounds of the crowd were growing less and less, but my body was still humming with fear. I just couldn’t let go yet. Jace’s hand came to the back of my head, holding me against his chest, and I immediately felt safer.

“Hey guys, Mr. Daniels is waiting for you,” I heard a low voice say.

“Well, he can fucking wait!” Aiden growled. “I need to make sure my sister’s okay before I go anywhere.”

No one spoke for a few seconds, then the owner of the voice said, “Okay, I’ll go let him know...”

Then, “Is she okay?”

I knew that voice belonged to Kaeli. I exhaled slowly at the sound of her voice. My shoulders relaxed a little.

“I don’t know,” Aiden said wearily. “Are you staying? Jace and I are going to have to go out there soon, and I don’t want to leave her alone.”

As they talked, Jace slowly brushed his hand over my hair before burying it underneath my curls and cupping the back of my neck. He kissed the top of my head, and I felt my shoulders relax a little more.

“I’ll take her home and stay with her. She’ll be fine,” Kaeli said.

I liked that idea. It meant getting away from the crowd. But, unfortunately, it also meant leaving Jace, and I wanted to stay right there, in his arms. I took a deep breath, knowing I was holding them up. I needed to let them go.

I moved my hands so they were resting on Jace's hips, and adjusted my face so it was just my forehead resting on his chest. I took another deep breath. Baby steps.

I licked my lips. They tasted salty. Shit. I’d been crying? Taking a deeper breath, I tried to move back a little, but only managed to get as far as lifting my face to Jace's.

Jace’s embrace loosened and he carefully reached up to brush a tear away with his thumb. "Are you okay?" he asked, concern thick in his voice.

I nodded.

"Ah...guys? Mr. Daniels is kinda getting mad..." the low voice said again.

Without taking his eyes off me, Jace said, "I'm not going."

Aiden didn't say anything, but I could feel his surprise.

"Man, it’s not like they can do it without you," the voice said.

"I don't care. I'm not leaving Mia."

"Jace..." Aiden said. "We have to do this. Trust me, Mia’s okay. She’s a tough little machine.”

I still hadn't taken my eyes off

Jace's. It was obvious he was about to dig his heels in.

“It’s only one song,” Aiden continued. “Ten minutes tops. Mia could probably wait for us.”

I could hear the pleading tone in Aiden’s voice. For some reason this performance was important. I needed to show him I was okay so he would go.

I licked my lips again and swallowed against the dryness. "I'll be okay," I said, my voice lacking the conviction I needed it to have. I tried to strengthen it. "I’ll go wait in the car with Kaeli."

Jace studied me. I could tell he didn’t believe I was okay for a second.

"Really, Jace. I just want to sit down. Kaeli will be with me. You go."

I forced myself to step away from him, closer to Kaeli, and took her hand. Bewildered, I noticed her holding my books. The ones I obviously dropped when the crowd surged. Before I could say anything else, Kaeli squeezed my hand and gave it a gentle tug to encourage me to move. Giving my brother and my boyfriend a reassuring smile, I turned and walked away.

Just as I was about to walk out the door, I looked down the other end of the hall and saw Melissa watching me with a calculating stare.

Chapter 32

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