I stuff the phone into my back pocket as I head down the long hallway in an attempt to find where Pearl is set up backstage.

“You lost, Anna?” Brian’s voice cuts through my thoughts as I pass by him, half-dazed.

I grimace. “Wardrobe?”

“Come on.” Brian motions with his hand. “Pearl’s set up right down the hall.” He casually tosses the championship belt over his shoulder as he walks with me. “How are you holding up without X being around? Anyone giving you any problems?”

Rex’s and Deena’s faces both immediately come to mind, but I decide to keep my run-ins with them to myself. “It’s been tough without Xavier, but everything has been fine. I’ve had no issues.”

“That’s good.” Brian raises his eyebrows.

I can tell he doesn’t exactly believe me, but with me giving him nothing else to go on, he has no choice but to roll with what I’ve told him.

As long as I remain strong, Rex’s and Deena’s words are only words, and they can only do damage to me if I allow them to. If I let Brian in on them harassing me, he’ll report it to Xavier and get him all riled up, causing him to do God knows what when I can control the situation by remaining levelheaded. If Xavier gets involved, knowing his temper, all hell will break loose, and I can’t allow that to happen since he’s already on thin ice when it comes to his job at Tension. Mr. Silverman doesn’t seem like a man who gives many third chances.

As soon as Brian and I round the corner in the hallway, Pearl comes into view. She doesn’t get an office to set up, like most of the other behind-the-scenes people do. Instead, she simply has her sewing machine propped up on a folding table with a couple of suitcases of fabric next to her.

“I’ll leave you to it. Good luck out there tonight, Anna. Try not to stress too much. Filming Tension on the weekends is never televised, so they’ll save all the crazy stunts until Tuesday when the show is live to the world,” Brian informs me.

That’s why I don’t have to kiss Rex tonight. Vicky and Rex are saving that for when it’ll be on live TV, and X will be sure to see it along with the rest of the world.

Brian notices the expression on my face, which I’m sure is a look of horror, and then he pats my shoulder. “You’ll be fine. Don’t panic.”

I take a deep breath, resolved to keep my anxiety to myself the best I can. “Thanks, Brian. I appreciate the words of encouragement.”

“Anytime.” He starts to turn away but holds in his tracks. “Liv wanted me to invite you to dinner at the house Monday since it’s our day off. She’s making meatloaf.”

I smile. “Sounds great. Thank you for the offer, but I actually have plans. I’m from Portland, and I’m meeting a friend from home that night.”

He nods. “No worries. I’ll let her know. She didn’t want you spending the day alone, so she’ll be happy to hear that you’ve got family close.” He takes a step back. “Catch you later, Anna. Break a leg tonight.”

“Thanks,” I call down the hall after him. Then, I step up beside Pearl. “You wanted to see me?”

After a few adjustments, the outfit Pearl designed on her sketchpad in the hotel room is the exact outfit that’s on my body right now. It really does fit my personality, and it’s not too far of a stretch from what I would actually wear—jeans and a T-shirt—except this outfit is skintight and made of some sort of spandex material.

“Looks good,” Pearl says while appraising her work. “We’re all finished. Let me know if you have any problems with the outfit tonight, and I’ll make changes if needed.”

“All right. Thanks, Pearl.”

Unsure of what to do with myself now, I weave my way around the hallways again and find the catering room. The same women are still sitting there, only Deena is now mixed up with them. I’m not in the mood to deal with her right now, so I lean against the wall in the hall and check my phone again.

There’s still no message from Xavier. Why is he avoiding me? Was our fight that bad that he’s resolved to give up on our relationship?

The last thought hurts, and a weight settles over my heart while I entertain the possibility that we might not be together anymore. When I threatened he would lose me if he didn’t change, I didn’t think he would opt to be done with me instead of controlling his temper.

You don’t so easily dismiss someone you love, do you?

I glance up from my phone, and my eyes land on Al, the stagehand, as he marches toward me at a brisk pace.

“Anna, you’re up next.” He pokes his head inside the catering room. “Deena, you’re up.”

The sound of her chair scraping against the tile floor echoes into the hallway. “Excuse me, ladies. A star is about to be born.”

Hearing Deena make a smug statement causes me to roll my eyes hard. You’ve got to be kidding me.

Deena struts out of the room in one of her typical too tight body-hugging dresses and smirks when she spots me. Her eyebrow lifts as she takes in my outfit. “You look like a toddler.”

I glance down at my sparkly shirt and shrug. “At least I don’t look like an uptight bitch.” The words leave my mouth before I realize I’ve said them out loud. Normally, I would never speak up like this, but being around Quinn, who constantly pushes me to stand up for myself, coupled with how Deena gets on my last damn nerve have caused me to deviate from my overly sweet good-girl personality.

Deena’s eyes widen, but I don’t give her time to say anything in response.

Trying to find the quickest way out of the situation, I immediately turn to Al. “Lead the way.”

When Al takes us to the black entrance curtain, I spot Rex. He’s not wearing his typical wrestling getup tonight. This time, he’s dressed in a suit with a white dress shirt that’s unbuttoned halfway down, so his chest is exposed.

The only things that ruin the somewhat sophisticated look are the still yellow marks under his eyes from where his nose was broken.

Deena immediately cozies up against his side and then kisses his cheek. I, on the other hand, stand back and fold my arms.

Rex chuckles. “Well, at least one of you has your part down pat. Anna, if you want to make it in Tension, you’d do well to take some notes from Deena. She understands how the game is played.”