talking this thing through. “OK,” I started,
“Remember last week, during the fight against Maelstrom...When he
was down for a second, you looked up into the stands and gave me a
little smile.”
“I thought you’d like that,” Anderson said,
placing his hands on the counter to either side of me.
“I did,” I assured him, “But...right after
that, Maelstrom took you down.”
“Yeah,” Anderson said, a note of
defensiveness creeping into his voice.
“Well...It kind of seemed like...Maybe you
got taken down because I was distracting you.”
“I don’t get distracted,” Anderson snapped,
looking at me darkly.
“Right,” I said, trying to keep the
conversation from spinning out of control, “It’s just...Robert
seemed really pissed off by the whole thing. Like maybe it was a
mistake for me to be there.”
“He said that?” Anderson said, shocked.
“No, not out loud,” I said, “He just looked
so angry. He was really nice to me when I got there, but after that
hit...”
“I’m sure it’s all in your head,” Anderson
said. But I could tell that the idea had stuck with him. It was
just as I’d feared.
“Forget I mentioned it,” I urged him, “I’m
probably just being a little sensitive. I was kind of
self-conscious, being the new girl and all.”
“Yeah,” Anderson said, straightening up,
“That makes sense.”
“I’ll be there tonight,” I told him, laying
my hands on his chest. “I’ll be there to support you, no matter
what.”
“It’s going to be a tough match tonight,” he
said, “Brayden Fusco is not an easy fighter to take down. The guy’s
record is almost spotless in the affiliate leagues.”
“Not after tonight, it won’t be,” I said,
trying to boost his confidence.
“Why don’t you finish getting ready,”
Anderson said, walking out of the bathroom, “I’m going to fix
something to eat before the match.”
He walked away from me, a foreign tension
rippling through his shoulders and back. I bit my lip anxiously,
turning back toward the mirror. Had I been wrong to tell him what
I’d been thinking? There was no taking my words back, of course,
but a creeping dread had started to take root within me. I’d been
so excited about the fight that morning, but now I was having
doubts. I could only pray that the night would go well, and go in
our favor. Otherwise, Anderson might adopt Robert’s view and come
to think of me as a burden.
I scowled at myself in the mirror and I
curled my hair between my fingers. Surely I was just being overly
sensitive. Robert probably hadn’t even been mad at me that first
night. Probably, he’d just been worried for Anderson, miffed about
how the fight was going. That didn’t mean that he was angry with me
personally. I knew that I’d see him at the fight later that
evening, and decided to straighten things out. After all, Robert
was one of the most important people in Anderson’s life—I wanted to
be on good terms with him.
Chapter
Seven
Finally, the night was upon us. Anderson and
I set out from the apartment together and headed downtown once
more. A limo was waiting on the curb for us as we walked out of the
building. Anderson held the door open for me, ever the gentleman,
and I climbed inside the vehicle.
“Hello Kaela,” said a voice from the
backseat.
I let out a shrill scream and flattened
myself against the seat, peering into the darkness. Anderson lunged
into the car after me, ready for a fight. I watched his expression
morph from outraged to amused as he looked to see who was waiting
for us.
“Robert,” he said, relieved. My vision
stopped swimming with panic, and the three figures sitting across
from me in the limo came into focus. Robert Hunt was there, flanked
by his two body guards once again. A steely smile was plastered
onto his face, and I could tell that he had hoped not to see me
again.
“I hope you don’t mind us coming along for
the ride,” Robert said to Anderson.
“It’s
“Remember last week, during the fight against Maelstrom...When he
was down for a second, you looked up into the stands and gave me a
little smile.”
“I thought you’d like that,” Anderson said,
placing his hands on the counter to either side of me.
“I did,” I assured him, “But...right after
that, Maelstrom took you down.”
“Yeah,” Anderson said, a note of
defensiveness creeping into his voice.
“Well...It kind of seemed like...Maybe you
got taken down because I was distracting you.”
“I don’t get distracted,” Anderson snapped,
looking at me darkly.
“Right,” I said, trying to keep the
conversation from spinning out of control, “It’s just...Robert
seemed really pissed off by the whole thing. Like maybe it was a
mistake for me to be there.”
“He said that?” Anderson said, shocked.
“No, not out loud,” I said, “He just looked
so angry. He was really nice to me when I got there, but after that
hit...”
“I’m sure it’s all in your head,” Anderson
said. But I could tell that the idea had stuck with him. It was
just as I’d feared.
“Forget I mentioned it,” I urged him, “I’m
probably just being a little sensitive. I was kind of
self-conscious, being the new girl and all.”
“Yeah,” Anderson said, straightening up,
“That makes sense.”
“I’ll be there tonight,” I told him, laying
my hands on his chest. “I’ll be there to support you, no matter
what.”
“It’s going to be a tough match tonight,” he
said, “Brayden Fusco is not an easy fighter to take down. The guy’s
record is almost spotless in the affiliate leagues.”
“Not after tonight, it won’t be,” I said,
trying to boost his confidence.
“Why don’t you finish getting ready,”
Anderson said, walking out of the bathroom, “I’m going to fix
something to eat before the match.”
He walked away from me, a foreign tension
rippling through his shoulders and back. I bit my lip anxiously,
turning back toward the mirror. Had I been wrong to tell him what
I’d been thinking? There was no taking my words back, of course,
but a creeping dread had started to take root within me. I’d been
so excited about the fight that morning, but now I was having
doubts. I could only pray that the night would go well, and go in
our favor. Otherwise, Anderson might adopt Robert’s view and come
to think of me as a burden.
I scowled at myself in the mirror and I
curled my hair between my fingers. Surely I was just being overly
sensitive. Robert probably hadn’t even been mad at me that first
night. Probably, he’d just been worried for Anderson, miffed about
how the fight was going. That didn’t mean that he was angry with me
personally. I knew that I’d see him at the fight later that
evening, and decided to straighten things out. After all, Robert
was one of the most important people in Anderson’s life—I wanted to
be on good terms with him.
Chapter
Seven
Finally, the night was upon us. Anderson and
I set out from the apartment together and headed downtown once
more. A limo was waiting on the curb for us as we walked out of the
building. Anderson held the door open for me, ever the gentleman,
and I climbed inside the vehicle.
“Hello Kaela,” said a voice from the
backseat.
I let out a shrill scream and flattened
myself against the seat, peering into the darkness. Anderson lunged
into the car after me, ready for a fight. I watched his expression
morph from outraged to amused as he looked to see who was waiting
for us.
“Robert,” he said, relieved. My vision
stopped swimming with panic, and the three figures sitting across
from me in the limo came into focus. Robert Hunt was there, flanked
by his two body guards once again. A steely smile was plastered
onto his face, and I could tell that he had hoped not to see me
again.
“I hope you don’t mind us coming along for
the ride,” Robert said to Anderson.
“It’s
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