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Artie was trying to distract me from my worries about Ciara even though I could feel his own down the bond.
With a sigh I tugged him into a tight hug, pressing a kiss to the crown of his head.
“She’ll talk to us tomorrow,” I promised.
At least, I hoped she did.
As we went through the motions of the rest of the night, I couldn’t get rid of the nagging doubt that things were about to go horribly wrong.
“She’s late,” Artie said from his seat where I was helping him style his hair for their performance.
He was dressed in a lilac-colored figure skating outfit—one that was a twin to Ciara’s own that was hanging on a hook on the wall..
We’d called her this morning and when she hadn’t picked up I’d finally given in and called her sister.
Aurelia had been… less than forthcoming about what was going on.
And there clearly was something going on because Ciara had yet to show up to the Complex.
“She’ll be here,” Leith reassured him, his hair still wet from the curling showcase that had been first on the invitational schedule.
The door to the private changing room opened and we all wheeled around hopefully to only find that it was Wiz coming inside.
He was half-dressed in his hockey pads because his scrimmage was supposed to start in the next ten minutes.
“Is she here yet?” he asked, breathless.
I shook my head. “No, but what are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be on the ice next?”
Wiz’s lips formed into a thin line. “I was but Alexei wanted me to come and see if she was here before that. Judging by the way he and Maxim are acting, some shit went down yesterday. I guess she didn’t stay there at all last night.”
“So where the hell did she stay?” Artie asked, but none of us had the answer to that.
I whipped my phone out to call her for what felt like the hundredth time this morning, but never got the chance to hit call because the door opened again and Ciara breezed inside.
“Sorry I’m late! I went to the apartment to get my outfit but it wasn’t there…” her eyes went to the garment bag hanging up on a hook. “And it looks like it’s here, you should have told me!”
We all looked at her like she was a ghost. She looked exhausted, like she hadn’t slept a wink since we’d spoken last night. Dark smudges sat underneath her bloodshot brown eyes and her hair had been hastily pulled back into a low bun at the back of her neck.
She was also still wearing the same thing as she’d been wearing yesterday when I last saw her.
“What?” she asked, as we continued to stare at her.
“Mo ròs, where have you been?” Leith crossed the room and dragged her into a tight hug. “We’ve been calling you.”
“I’m sorry, my phone died,” she said, thankfully returning his hug. “And I didn’t have a cord to charge it.”
I wanted to strangle her for making us worry, but at the same time I also wanted to comfort her because she was clearly struggling with something. “Why didn’t you have a cord? And don’t say it’s because your dads’ house didn’t have any, we know that something is going on.”
Ciara’s expression wobbled as she peered at me from over Leith’s shoulder and I thought for a moment that she would tell us… but then the expression shuttered and became neutral again.
“I’ll tell you after we skate, I promise, but right now I need to get ready,” she said, glancing over at Wiz. “And you are going to be late if you don’t go now.”
“Ciara…” Wiz began, looking as if he’d rather do anything else than leave her right now.
Ciara held up a hand to stop him. “Don’t let my shit keep you from doing what you love. This is your first official appearance with the Stallions—so go—enjoy it.”
Wiz finally sighed and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll be back as soon as it’s over.”
