I try to put on a semi-happy face before making myself at home in the house of the man that I am crazy about but can’t be with. This is going to be a really stressful vacation.
Chapter 6
For the past week, Alexa and I have worked really hard on strengthening my new abilities. We rise when the sun rises and run around Gavin's property until I am struggling for breath. After a water and snack break, we lift weights and train with various weapons until Kassy gets home from school. So far, weapons are definitely not my specialty and I’ve gone through at least five different ones.
When I make it back into the main house, I usually try to study for classes and keep up with the lessons via email with my professors. Luckily, Alexa is decently persuasive and was able to convince my teachers that I am sick and on bed-rest with a bad case of pneumonia, so they have all been very accommodating. I guess I should feel bad, but my life and Kassy’s literally depend upon me getting stronger, so I don't worry too much about it.
Liam has been spending a lot of dinners with us because it is safer for Kassy to stay home and not go out too much. Honestly, I don’t think he minds coming out here, and I like having 37
him around. Everything feels so normal when he bickers with me and Kassy chastises us. I’m hoping that someday he can know the truth, but Kassy isn’t ready for that yet.
Liam thinks we moved in here to room with Alexa because our landlords left for Hawaii for retirement and kicked us out. It’s not a complete lie. Gavin came back from the Henderson’s the day after my horrible vision and told us that he was able to get to them before Thrane. He stuck them both on a plane to Hawaii, claiming that it was for witness protection. Without children of their own, they weren't too upset about the idea of living in Hawaii and went pretty easily, especially because Gavin sold their home for them and paid for their flight.
Gavin still hardly speaks to me unless I say something to him first. He asks from time to time if I need anything, but I’m not about to say I only need him. Every once in a while, our arms will touch as we pass one another in the hall or Gavin will sometimes place a hand on my shoulder when reaching around me for something in the kitchen. I wonder sometimes if he does it on purpose because he feels cold when we aren't touching, like I do.
I hoped time would make me get over him, but I guess living two bedrooms away from a crush that you can’t have isn’t exactly ideal. Each day it gets a little more difficult being this close to him and not actually being with him. Especially when he watches me with those golden eyes like he is now. Liam is off doing something with his roommate today, so Gavin and Alexa are free to keep their eye contacts out.
Currently, I am trying to lift seventy pounds over my head and struggling. Yesterday I did sixty-five, but Alexa is certain that I can do more. I am able to get the bar onto my chest but each time I push up from my squat, it doesn't budge. I growl and throw the bar down with a loud crash, frustrated.
"El, I know you can do it. You have come a long way in the past few days. Just keep trying." Alexa’s words only make me angrier. I feel my temper start to rise so I close my eyes and try to breathe slower, like Gavin taught me. These mood swings are seriously irritating.
I open my eyes but still feel the heat running through my veins, needing an escape, with nowhere to go. My hands are shaking, and Gavin stands up from his spot on the floor where he has been silently watching me train. In one quick motion, he removes his shirt, and my heart begins beating out of control at the six-pack staring back at me.
Gavin comes closer to me, pulling my focus from his body to his scruffy face. "Aella, you can’t keep getting angry and holding it in. I can tell you want to hit something, so why don't you hit me?" he says, making me draw my eyebrows together.
"You want me to hit you?" I ask, figuring I heard him wrong. Sure, I like touching him but hitting is a very different kind of touch.
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He smiles, flashing me the pearly whites and making it nearly impossible to focus on anything else but that adorable dimple. "Well, I'm not going to make it that easy. I'm going to come at you, and I want you to fight back. You're not going to learn everything by only using weights and a treadmill. You need hand to hand combat, so hit me." He pats his chest where I should land the blow.
I shake my head. "I can't hit you, Gavin. What if I hurt you?"
He just chuckles at me, like I made a joke. "Trust me, I'll be fine." He looks me up and down, making me squirm in my spot. "I can feel the heat coming off of you, no matter how hard you try to keep your emotions at bay. Just let it all out, you won't hurt me," he says, a little gentler. “You’ll feel better, I promise.”
I nod and hold my fists up like I learned in the three karate classes I took when I was nine. Gavin makes his way closer to me and I have to focus on his face so that I don't get lost in those powerful muscles. He stalks me for a moment and starts circling, making me anxious.
I keep my eyes on him as his
