Page 3 of Battered Moves

“We get it, Chase,” I say. “But now we have to think about another potential problem too. Is she on birth control?”

“We don’t have to worry about pregnancies, just STDs,” River spits out, frowning at Chase.

“Why?” Ryder asks.

“She has an IUD,” he says.

“And how do you know that?” I ask him.

“She told me when we talked about her period,” he says, shrugging.

Ryder barks out a laugh. “You talked about her period with her?”

“Shut up,” River says, pulling himself out of his twin’s grasp. “I was concerned about her well-being, like all of you should be. It’s the twenty-first century. Men can talk about periods. Get a grip.”

My eyes widen. I like this new River, but we need to get Liv back to keep him.

* * *

Ryder

I’m still reeling a bit from the realization that Chase slept with my girl and River punched him in his face for it. Well, that wasn’t on my life bingo card, but we still have the problem of Liv being gone.

“What do we do now? Does someone have a plan?” I ask.

“River, can you check the security footage for the section where Tyler kissed Chase?” Jaxon asks. “Maybe if it’s clear that he didn’t consent to it, it would be good to show Liv.”

River gets to work, and after a few minutes, he lifts his head.

“I’m sorry bro, I wasn’t fair,” hetells Chase.

Chase just nods, and we all gather behind Riv to see the footage. It’s clear that Chase didn’t do anything to encourage Tyler’s advances, and he quickly pushed her away. We can also see Liv standing near the entrance, watching. She turns back to the doors so quickly that she just didn’t see Chase rejecting Tyler.

“Fuck,” Chase mutters. “In her eyes, not even six hours after we slept together, I’m kissing another girl in the same place like she meant nothing to me.” He buries his face in his hands. “Fuck!” he yells, kicking the desk.

Jaxon puts a hand on Chase’s shoulder, trying to calm him down. “Hey, it’s not your fault. Liv just misunderstood the situation. We need to find her and talk to her, explain what really happened.”

River nods. “We need to make things right with her, and, Chase, I’m sorry I punched you earlier.”

“No man, it’s fine. I deserved it,” Chase replies, shaking his head.

“So, any idea where she could have gone?” I ask.

“Let’s check her apartment first,” Jaxon orders.

CHAPTERTWO

Chase

Ryder and I are lounging on the couch while the TV plays in the background, but my mind is elsewhere, consumed by thoughts of her. It’s been three days, and she’s just gone. Her apartment seems empty, her phone is off, she didn’t go to class, and I have no idea where we could find her.This is all because of me.

We searched every possible place and approached some of her classmates, but had no luck. We even knocked on that Gunner guy’s door since the others said he was a good friend of hers, but he didn’t know where she was either, and I could see the panic rise in his eyes when he tried to call her and didn’t get through. Meanwhile, the guys and I got tested to ensure that my recklessness didn’t put her at risk, and thankfully, we’re all good.

I’m still amazed at how Riv has stood up for Liv. It’s comforting to know that we all have her back, even if it means standing up against our family.

Jaxon comes in with some groceries and heads to the kitchen to put them away. He can’t stand doing nothing, so he’s been cooking this whole time.

River bursts into the room, waving his tablet. “Guys, you need to see this!” he says, settling onto the couch beside us.

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