Page 22 of The Burdens We Share (Satan’s Angels #3)

Dallas

There’s definitely something wrong with my little devil.

She’s acting very strange around me and I’m not sure if it’s because she feels awkward after our kiss, or if there’s something more that I’m not seeing.

I know she’s under a lot of stress, who wouldn’t be in her situation?

But that wouldn’t be the reason she’s avoiding me.

Something else is going on and I want to know what it is.

She barely made eye contact with me all day.

Granted, we’re on set and she’s filming a scene with Aria, but still.

I know when I’m being avoided, especially by her.

I know her too well. Aside from her avoidance of me, I can tell that she’s different.

She isn’t smiling the way she always is and it’s making my chest ache.

I want to know what’s affecting her this badly.

I would go anywhere and do anything to ensure that she smiles again.

Hell, if you told me to kill a baby bunny to make her smile again, I would do it without hesitation, though Harvey’s little sister may kill me for doing so.

A small price to pay in the grand scheme of things.

I watch as Ivory and Aria film and recreate the scene from their last tour where Brody abandoned them at the bar after they got into an argument.

I know this night well. Harvey never shuts the fuck up about it.

It was the night that Brody was attacked in the hotel and he almost was arrested for murder.

Personally, I wouldn’t blame him if he actually did kill the scumbag that tried to attack his woman. I would do the same.

Watching them recreate their drunkenness shows me what her life was really like at this time.

It seems like this version of Ivory is so out of reach.

It almost feels like a stranger. She doesn’t do drugs anymore and she doesn’t drink in excess like this.

It’s strange to watch, almost like I’m looking back in time.

I hear footsteps behind me and then a low voice, “Dallas?”

I turn around and look down to find Brody standing before me. She looks uncomfortable and slightly worried. I watch as she twists her engagement ring around her finger in anxiousness.

“Yes?” I raise a brow at her. Brody and I have spoken many times, but never about anything extremely personal.

Being best friends with Harvey and also his business partner, I see Brody often and I know her pretty well.

I like Brody. I think she’s a lot smarter than anyone gives her credit for which can also make her slightly dangerous.

She sees more than she cares to admit and I’m almost positive she knows more about my infatuation with her friend than she appears to know.

She glances behind me, at her friends, before she asks, “Can we talk?”

I nod but take no steps to move.

She frowns, “This is sensitive. Can we step away for a minute?”

“No. I can’t let her out of my sight.”

Brody’s brows crease, “Why?”

It’s easy to forget that Aria and Brody still don’t know about Ivory’s stalker. I won’t be sharing that information. I’ll leave that to Selene and Ivory. I shrug, “I’m unable to answer that question.”

Brody pouts, “I’ll be grilling Selene on that after this conversation, don’t you worry.”

I smirk at her, “I’m not worried.”

She rolls her eyes, “Seriously though, we have to talk.”

I look behind me, over my shoulder to find Ivory completely focused on what she’s doing. I focus back on Brody, “I can’t let her out of my sight.”

Brody grins, “Oh, I know you can’t.”

I give her a warning look and she shifts her attitude, all seriousness, “Fine, we can talk here.” She looks around to see if anyone is watching or listening and when she seems satisfied with the results of her scan, she keeps her voice low, “I want to talk to you about Ivory. Have you noticed her acting weird lately? You know, since you guys have been spending a lot of time together.”

So I’m not the only one who’s noticed. “Have you noticed anything?” I answer her question with one of my own.

Brody huffs impatiently, “Of course. Aria and I have noticed that she seems very unlike herself. We’re worried.”

“In what ways?” I ask.

“She’s tired all the time, she looks pale, she’s been super moody, and she just seems really irritable,” Brody lists with sad eyes.

I take a deep breath. I’ve noticed the same things in my little devil and it’s been alarming me. “It’s probably stress.” I know it’s more than that, but I don’t want to scare Brody. Harvey would have my head.

She shakes her head, “No. I’ve seen her stressed. This is not from stress. There’s something else.”

“What do you want me to do?”

She pauses and chews her lip for a moment before she shakes her head, “You know what? It was probably a bad idea for me to even talk to you about this. Just forget about it, okay?”

She makes a move to walk away, but I grab her arm before she can step away and lean in, “I care about her too, you know.”

“Oh, we know,” a new voice appears beside us and we both turn to find Selene with a cocky grin and her hands on her hips.

I release Brody and step back. Just how much of that did Selene hear? “Selene,” I greet her.

Selene raises her chin at me, “Dallas. I take it you two were talking about our little pink-loving friend who’s been acting very strange and unlike herself?” Selene Stone, everyone. The mind reader.

Brody frets, “So you’ve noticed. What’s going on with her, Selene? Do you know?”

Selene’s smile falls and she meets my eyes for a second to communicate what we both know. Her stalker. Brody doesn’t miss a beat, “What was that look? Is there something you aren’t telling us?” She presses her manager.

Selene meets Brody head on, “There is something going on, yes. I’m sure you’ve been dying to know the real reason Dallas is around Ivory so much. We’ll talk about it as a group, but not right now. Besides, I don’t believe that issue is the only thing that has Ivory acting so unlike herself.”

Brody looks impatient as if she wants to know the big secret right now, but she focuses on what’s more important. “Should we ask her?”

I assert, “I wouldn’t recommend doing that.”

“Why?” Brody asks.

“Because her moods are very volatile right now. She snaps one minute and blows up and the next she’s laughing about something,” I explain.

Selene frowns, the worry line between her brows deepening, “Keep a closer eye on her, Dallas. See if you can figure out what the problem is.”

I nod, “Of course.”

Selene gives me a grateful look before Brody’s anxious voice cuts through, “We’re all really worried.”

I reassure her, “You have nothing to worry about. Ivory is under my protection and I’m gonna do everything in my power to ensure she’s okay, mentally and physically.” I mean every word I say with so much conviction that Selene and Brody seem to relax.

“Thank you,” Brody says quietly.

I dip my chin at her and turn around to resume watching my little devil act out her worst moments.

IVORY

I SWALLOW THE LAST bland piece of lettuce in my bowl and my stomach growls. There’s nothing worse than not feeling full after you just ate. But then again, I’m barely eating anything sufficient. I guess the phrase “trust the process” is relevant here.

I feel eyes on me and turn to find Dallas seated on the other side of the trailer.

He has a brow raised at me in question and usually, under his intense stare, my cheeks would turn pink, but I don’t even have the energy to will that to life.

He hasn’t said a word to me about the kiss and I haven’t said anything either.

I wanted to talk to him, but I just wasn’t sure what to say.

Not after he broke the kiss off. I feel awkward around him and the only way I know how to stop that awkward feeling is to avoid talking to him completely.

Hence why I haven’t spoken to him at all today.

Dallas breaks the all-day silence with, “Is that all you’re eating?”

I nod, “Yeah.”

He frowns, “That’s hardly a meal.”

I shrug, “Well I’m not hungry.” Lie. Total lie.

I just feel very defensive over my diet right now.

I’m listening to Nara because I want to look like Cami and I don’t want to talk to anyone about it because they wouldn’t understand and they would share their unwanted opinions and offer me advice I never asked for. I’m not interested.

Dallas rises from his seat and stalks over to me, stopping before me at the table. “I think we should have a little chat.”

My eye twitches, “Isn’t that what we’re doing right now?”

He seats himself beside me at the table and leans in, his elbows on the ledge of the table. “Is this because of the stress you’re under?”

“Is what because of the stress?” I ask impatiently.

Dallas gives me a sympathetic look that almost looks strange on his stoic face, “Your attitude and your mood swings.”

I scoff and recoil, completely thrown off guard by him calling me out like that, “Mood swings? Are you serious?”

He remains silent and just looks at me, waiting for me to come to my senses.

I know I’ve been moody. I know that. But when you’re hungry all the time and you can’t eat anything, you snap.

You just snap and you fucking lose it and everything pisses you off and everyone pisses you off.

It’s torture. And I’m putting myself through it because I want to look perfect and grow my modeling career.

It’s none of his or anyone else’s business what it takes for me to get to where I want to be.

I’m about to open my mouth to snap at him when my phone rings.

I remove my eyes from his and flip my phone over from where it was face down before me.

I see my mom’s name flash on the screen and I sigh.

I am not in the mood for her right now. I press the green answer button because if I decline, I’m stuck getting analyzed by Dallas, “Hey, Mom.”

My mom sighs, “Ivory, I have a huge problem.”

“What’s up?” I ask.