35. Ava

35

AVA

M y body was starting to get used to running on less sleep, which obviously was a huge problem for me. If I wanted to go to nationals and win, I needed rest. I needed my mind to be in tip-top shape.

The joy I felt skating was slowly taking a back seat to the mess I found myself in. Being on the ice was my escape, to try and not think of that night, but with each new discovery, it was getting harder.

A part of me wished I could have stayed with one of the guys last night, finding comfort in someone else. Maybe that was why there seemed to be a push and pull with all of us. Our human nature was finding comfort with another human in the same situation as us.

When my eyes landed on my clock, I groaned. I was going to be late for practice. I only had two hours if I wanted to get any practice in before the hockey team began their drills. For the life of me, I couldn't find it in myself to care. By the time I convinced myself that not going was doing a disservice, I was missing a good chunk of the time I had slotted away for myself.

My phone pinged and my body went taut with panic, as it did nowadays whenever I got a new message.

Zeta Gamma Theta:

Meeting tonight at 6, don't be late

I swear I wanted to kill Livy. The hockey team and their annual Halloween bash was something we never interfered with. Livy was trying so hard to kiss Grayson's ass she had volunteered our help.

The hockey boys weren't stupid. Why should they do all the hard work when they had pathetic girls to do it for them?

"Fuck," I groaned when I realized I had yet to find a stupid outfit.

I loved Halloween, I loved getting to dress up as someone different every year, but right now my mind was a bit too preoccupied to think of what character I could sluttify for the evening.

Then my mind took a turn toward dates. I didn't want to go alone to this thing. I knew Grayson and Micah would be there. For obvious reasons, Grayson and I couldn't interact there. On top of a stalker, I had Olivia on my ass, and I could only handle one person on my ass at a time.

All of us had to be at the party. Grayson, Micah, and me more than others. It was a good thing that Miller had invited Cruz. He was not Greek row material. Would it be the end of the world if I invited him as my date? It might get Olivia and the other girls to get off my back. Maybe when she saw me with Blackwell's bad boy, she might stop riding my dick about trying to steal Grayson away from her—even if he wasn't hers to begin with.

Fuck. Had she asked Micah as her date? I knew she had been thinking about it, and why did it matter if I was thinking of bringing Cruz?

At this rate, I would wind up giving myself a headache. Cruz had to be there, because whoever was fucking with us had made a point to let Gray know something would happen that night. There was strength in numbers, and it would make the most sense if he went as my date.

Not letting myself think twice about it, I picked up my phone and called him. I was sure it would send me to voicemail, but he picked up at the last second.

"Princess," he croaked.

"Did I wake you?" I asked as I looked at my clock.

Fair enough, it was still early and unlike me or Gray he didn't have practices to keep him on an earlier schedule.

"Nah, couldn't sleep," he told me.

His voice still sounded a bit off.

"Are you okay?"I found myself asking.

"Peachy," he replied, but I didn't believe him.

"Where do you live?"As soon as I asked the question, I started to get ready, a new motivation rushing through me. If I was lucky, I could get one hour of practice.

"I'm okay. Don't worry about me."

I wasn't fluent in macho man speak, but something told me he was full of shit and trying to save face. Every time he spoke, it sounded like he was doing it through pulled teeth.

"Either you tell me, or I call my father and ask for your address, and that will lead to uncomfortable questions for the both of us."

He cursed, but then said he would text it.

Fifteen minutes later, I was parked in front of the apartments on the other side of town. These ones didn't belong to the school campus. It was housing for the local townies. The grass outside was dead, not green and lush like everything around campus. There was garbage littered here and there. Some of the windows in the building didn't have screens. I took a deep breath before stepping outside of my car, and then made sure I locked up because my skating shoes were worth a pretty penny.

The complex door had a locking system that didn't work anymore. The inside of the building was more eerie than the outside. I never understood why places used yellow light. It made everything seem so dull and boring. The long corridor had brown carpet that once upon a time might have been a lighter shade, and walls that were painted in a dusty yellow.

I quickly found Cruz's apartment and knocked rapidly, waiting for him to let me in.

"Come in," he croaked.

Tentatively, I pushed the door open.

His place was nicer than the building would suggest. His walls were white and the trim of them painted black. Instead of carpet, he had wooden floors. The inside of his apartment didn't have the musty smell the halls did.

"Cruz," I called out as I closed the door behind me.

His windows had the shades open, but he also had a light on, which gave me a clear view of him.

A gasp left my lips as soon as I saw him.

"I'm fine," he lied to me.

"How is it possible you look worse than you did two days ago?"

I dropped my purse on his coffee table and rushed toward him. He was sprawled on the couch, his legs spread open. Instead of the fading shiner and cut lip he should have been sporting, now he had new bruises and cuts on his face and arms.

"Worried about me, princess?"

I stepped closer to him, aware I was now between his legs. Cruz let out a ragged breath, followed by a hiss of pain. He slumped there in black sweatpants, a light gray T-shirt, and black socks. His black hair was a bit mussed, and despite the bruising, he looked hot.

I chastised myself for even thinking that, but the way his brown eyes seemed to track my every movement since I walked in, I couldn't exactly control my thoughts. I kept moving until I leaned over him. His eyes flashed as he noticed my hand reaching out to cup his cheek.

There was a cut on the upper left side of his forehead. A black eye on the right side, some bruising down his arms, and if I had to guess, his ribs would probably be worse than they were before.

I slowly moved my hand around the back of his head so I could scratch his nape, but as soon as I touched him there, he grunted and flinched.

"Omigod, did I hurt you?"

Cruz sat up straighter, but it looked like it took some effort for him to do so.

"Not you, princess," he whispered. "I think I might have a concussion."

"Cruz," I spat his name. "You need to go to the clinic."

"No." He rushed the word out, and I could hear the conviction in his tone. I would not be making him budge on it.

"Why didn't you call me?" I chastised him. "Any of us?"

"I got back a bit ago. Besides, I wasn't in a position to be making calls."

I shook my head and then headed toward his kitchen, where I grabbed a bowl and filled it with warm water and then some napkins. Once I had all of it ready, I brought it back with me and proceeded to kneel between his spread legs.

I ignored the way Cruz's eyes flashed at my actions, and instead busied myself with cleaning the remains of blood from his face and body. Once that was done, he gritted his teeth but leaned down and offered me his nape.

His hair was crusty at the bottom with the remains of dried blood.

"Cruz," I whispered as I gently cleaned the area.

When I was done, I cupped his cheeks and guided his face so it could meet mine.

"Tell me what happened?"

He closed his eyes, and I took notice of his long, dark lashes. Any other time, they would have me feeling envious. He didn't say anything at first, he just licked his lips. I was aware of how close our faces had gotten. He winced as he lifted his hand, and I almost told him not to move and stay still. He pushed some of my hair behind my ear.

Neither of us said a thing. I didn't pull away as his face got closer to mine. He closed his eyes, probably from the pain, and I closed mine with the anticipation of what would come. His lips were cracked and bruised, and his kiss was light and teasing, but I let myself find comfort in it.

I moved my head so I could give him better access, which he took. His mouth descended on mine, more demanding than before. I lost myself in the kiss, that I didn't notice when he moved his other hand toward the back of my head so he could keep me in place. I got so lost in the moment that we broke apart on a pained hiss when I accidentally used one of my hands to find leverage on his chest.

"I'm so sorry," I immediately apologized.

Cruz managed to give me a smirk despite wincing in pain.

"We need to talk to the others. I think Big Dog might know something about what's going on."

Out of all the things I expected to hear from him, that wasn't one of them. The tender moment we had shared was now lost, and fear came back with a vengeance.

"Come with me. I need to stop by the rink, and I don't think it's wise to leave you here alone."

My voice was apologetic, because the last thing he needed was to be moving around. I had already missed my practice, but seeing the way he looked, it wasn't safe for him to be alone—especially not if he had a concussion.

Thirty minutes later, Cruz and I were at the rink. I didn't let myself get bothered by the curious stares as I parked my car. I really needed to tint my windows like his car because I felt like I was driving in a fishbowl. Cruz had on a hoodie and his head cast low so his injuries wouldn't be as visible. I sighed before I got out of the car. At least this way it got people talking about us, so it wouldn't be so shocking when he showed up at the Halloween party.

I had texted Micah and Gray that we all needed to talk, but I hadn't managed to get an answer from them.

"I'll be right back," I told Cruz before getting out of the car.

I had missed my practice, which sucked because I never missed practice when I had a competition coming up. Since the weekend was here, I might as well drop off my skates.Figure skaters didn't get access to the hockey team's locker room, but there were lockers for the skaters that were against the walls.

As soon as I opened my locker, I screamed.

At the bottom was a pile of rocks that had not been there the day before.