The Act

Liar

Sage's POV

What the hell could he have to tell me? The question is floating through my head for the entire rest of the car ride.

As soon as we arrive to the hotel, me and Nicole are hopping out of the car and making our way up. Something I immediately notice is the amount of guards surrounding the area. At first you couldn't really tell, but now? A statement was definitely being made. They didn't waste any time huh?

I have to admit after Nicole's ominous statement a few minutes ago, i'm even more antsy than before. It doesn't help that my arm slightly aches, and my boyfriend isn't telling me something. Also, Benson, who was an absolute sweetheart to me had been betraying us the entire time and to top it all off, my crazy abusive ex, is just as involved in all this too.

To put it simply: My life is a mess. I've been trying not to dwell too much on all these situations, but today with Damon has turned into my last straw. All the emotions, thoughts, and worries are crawling up my throat and they're suffocating me slowly.

I just want to be near Xan. Even though he's keeping a secret from me, I doubt it's big enough to an issue. He just better be ready to spill when I come up those steps.

"You look like you're in a deep thought." Nicole points out as we ride up the elevator. That was rich coming from her because she seemed to be in one herself just a moment ago.

"I'm just causally overthinking everything." I joke even though now really isn't the time. Nicole is awesome like that though because she laughs herself.

"Do you think Dante is going to be okay?" I can't help but ask. Sure, Sir. Nonchalant didn't talk much (and when he did only offered us attitude) but he still clearly cared about our well-beings. I'd hate for something to happen to him.

Nicole nods, for once not looking like killing him at the mention of his name.

"Don't worry. Dante is just about annoying as he is qualified. He has experience with way worse men than Damon." Her words seemed assured. Hm. Okay, if Nicole isn't stressing about it then I won't either. I guess these two know way more about all that shit than I do anyways.

The elevator dings informing us that we've arrived on our floor as we step off. Nicole escorts me to our room, knocking once—one time before the door swings open.

Oh boy.

There Xan stood in all his glory, staring down at us with the intensity of the sun. Jesus this man. His jaw was clenched and his hair was ruffled all over his head, as if he'd ran his hands through it a million times. My baby was stressing to say the least.

Nicole frowns. "You really shouldn't just be swinging open doors without checking who's there first—

"Come here baby." Xan demands pulling me into the room with a gentle amount of force. His arms are immediately around me as he wraps me in a tight hug. He places a small kiss on my forehead which is so sweet, compared to how angry he clearly is. I let him have this moment though, because he clearly needs it.

"See? I told you I was okay." I assure patting his chest. He was about three seconds away from squeezing the life out of me. Xan reluctantly lets me go, taking a thorough examination of my body. I naturally shift on my feet, sensing the exact second he sees the bruise.

I'm not going to lie, I was under-exaggerating the size of this thing in the car. It's a pretty thick bruise that wrapped around the entirety of my wrist like a bracelet. The thing was also starting to turn funky colors and just in about twenty-five minutes. Fucking Damon, with his freakish strength.