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Just that one word has my well-constructed walls crumbling in an instant.
“What’s going on? The two of you should be on cloud nine. Everything you’ve been working for is finally happening.”
“I know,” I say through watery eyes. “I don’t know what changed. But he just disappeared last night and hasn’t responded to me all day. Something is off.”
“Sloaney,” Raven coos as she snuggles in with me on the couch. “He’s probably just busy. I mean his life just changed at the drop of a dime. Give him some time to adjust.”
Shaking my head, I insist, “No. Something’s up. One minute, we’re all celebrating and the next, he vanished into thin air.”
Pulling out my phone, I shove it in her face.
“Look…” I point to the first message. “Look at these texts. I sent the first one within twenty minutes of receiving the news from Tara. He’s always jacked up so high after he performs, there’s no way he was too tired to talk. Usually, he’s wired for hours. I’m just not buying this.”
“It was a huge day for him, Sloane. He might’ve just been exhausted. I can’t imagine what he went through to wait around all day, and then find out his life changed in an instant. I would’ve crashed for days after the adrenaline rush.”
“But that doesn’t excuse the fact he’s been radio silent today. Now, it’s well after midnight…” I draw out, willing myself not to cry. “It’s too late to reach out and since he lives with his parents, I can’t just show up there and demand to know what the hell is going on.”
I. Will. Not. Cry.
Dammit. I will not cry.
“Oh, sweetie,” Raven says as she brushes hair from my face. “You’re tired, emotional, and have had an overwhelming week—and it’s not even over. You need rest. Your nerves are fried because you’re burning the candle at both ends. Get some sleep and see if he responds tomorrow.”
“That’s just it. I have a meeting with Tara at eight, and I’ll be working the event until the winner is announced. I don’t have time to get to the bottom of this. But something is wrong, Raven. I can feel it. He literally just walked away and has been avoiding me ever since.”
“I’ll tell you what. You go upstairs and sleep. If he hasn’t responded by the morning, I’ll track down that rat-bastard and give him a shake down.”
Ohmigod. I can totally picture her doing just that.
“Really? You’d do that for me? Though he may not be worthy of being called a rat-bastard,” I admit, not wanting to release Raven’s wrath upon Jax unnecessarily. I remember the time she beat the crap out of Devin Jordan when we were eight—all because he called me a string bean and kept pulling my pigtails on the playground.
“I just know something is off, and I don’t have time to get to the bottom of it. Tomorrow is a big day for him and no matter what’s going on between us, he has to be at the top of his game. He’s got too much riding on this to not be at his best.”
“Oh, Sloane, you love him.”
It’s not a question or an accusation, just a fact, that only Raven would get so quickly.
Dammit. She’s right.
I wasn’t supposed to fall in love.
Nodding, I finally break, and tears flow down my cheek.
“I do, Raven. I’m not sure how he wormed his way into my heart so quickly…”
Wiping at my eyes, I suck in a deep breath so I can finish my thought clearly. “But his happiness matters to me; I just want to make sure nothing is wrong.
“If I don’t hear from him by the time I go to work tomorrow, could you at least check in and make sure he’s okay? I just can’t get over his sudden disappearance.Somethinghad to trigger it, and I can’t for the life of me fathom what it is.”
“Look,” Raven says, demanding my attention, “you need sleep. Or you’ll be the haggard twin with all the wrinkles when we get older.”
“What. The. Hell?” comes out on a laugh. “Why are you so mean?”
“Got you to laugh, didn’t I?” Raven smirks, and I shove her face away from me.
“But seriously, I’ll shoot you a text when I wake up. Hopefully, Jax just needed to unplug for the day. But if you haven’t heard from him, I’ll track him down and take care of things.”
I pull my sister in for a hug. “I love you forever.” I don’t know what I’d do without Raven in my life. She always knows just what I need.
