Violet
“Well, look who’s breathing again!” Trinity spoke as we both left our rooms at the same time. She grinned, eyeing me up and down.
I smiled, shyly, running a hand over my long braid. After a day without Commander Jorn’s punishments, I finally felt like myself again.
My muscles were still sore, but they were working, and for the first time in days, I didn’t feel like I could drop dead any second.
Together, we made our way to the hall. “So, are you stuck with that nightmare of a commander again today?” she asked, scrunching her nose.
I laughed, feeling the relief wash over me. “No, thank god!” I exhaled. “Just regular classes, then training with Rochwall, and…extra training with Kylan.”
The last part came out hesitantly, mainly because Trinity always managed to make out something it wasn’t suppose to be. Her eyes widened as a grin spread across her face.
“Extra training with Kylan?” she gushed. “Look at you, finally making some moves.”
I grunted, shaking my head. “It’s not like that. He’s made it pretty clear we’re not friends-it’s strictly training, nothing more.”
Even as I said it, I felt a strange sensation deep within. Every time I spoke about not wanting him, I was so sure of it-but for some reason, whenever it was about him not wanting me, an uncomfortable feeling twisted in my stomach.
There was always this push and pull between us, this connection we had to deal with-and I knew the only way to get rid of it was for him to finally reject me.
“Lies,” Trinity nudged me. “No sane person would sacrifice their spare time to help someone they don’t even consider a friend.”
I wasn’t in the mood to explain that Kylan was only helping me because we were on the same team, so I decided not to say anything at all. She wouldn’t understand anyway.
“So, has he said anything yet?” she asked further. “About you and Nate?”
I sighed, shaking my head. “I tried to tell him the truth, clear the air,” I said. “But before I could get it out, he just cut me off and said he didn’t want to hear it.”
Trinity rolled her eyes. “That’s because he’s jealous. Why else would he shut you down like that?”
I chuckled softly. “No, it’s because he doesn’t care.”
“Anyway, how are things going with Dylan?” I tried shifting the attention back to her. Whenever I mentioned my brother, she could talk about him for hours and hours.
Her eyes lit up. “He hasn’t gotten on my nerves yet, he’s still nice, and he actually makes time for me. So, yeah-perfect so far.”
“Yes?”
“Yes,” she squinted. “And about Kylan…”
I mentally let out a scream, hating the fact that even the topic of Dylan couldn’t make her change the subject.
“What about him?”
“Don’t let him silence you,” Trinity spoke. “If you feel the need to tell him nothing happened, you should be able to do that.”
I bit my lip, thinking it over. She was right.
Who the hell was he to shut me up?
I didn’t owe him an explanation, yet I found myself wanting to give one. All he had to do was listen, but his need for control was so ridiculous that he even wanted to dictate whether I could speak at all-and that one was going a bit too far.
“I need to go,” Trinity gave me a gentle pat on the shoulder, snapping me out my thoughts. “I’ll provably see you tonight, and if not tomorrow!”
She disappeared into another direction while I made my way to Basic Healing, Esther’s class.
As I entered the room, I immediately felt a bunch of stares settle on me-and the front and center of it all was, of course, Chrystal.
Because of her, many had something against me-and it was the same every time in this class. Ever since those ridiculous rumors about Nate began to spread, it had gotten ten times worse-and I didn’t even want to know what Chrystal told others about me and her brothers.
The second Chrystal’s lips curled into an evil smirk, I lowered my head and made my way to my usual seat at the back. It had become my favorite corner, and even Esther didn’t seem to mind. In fact, unless it involved healing, she hadn’t spoken to me at all since our last conversation.
Well, if she feared me bringing up the missing photo on the wall, she didn’t have to. I already knew not to count on a straight answer, so I didn’t bother.
“Good morning, everyone!” Esther walked in moments later. “I hope you’re all ready to pick up some new techniques…”
I yawned in my chair, trying to focus.
~
After a long day of classes, I was back at Elite training. Wearing my gear, I stepped into the training room, strangely enough prepared for today’s training.
If I had to nominate the happiest person in the room, it would’ve probably been me. Rochwall taking over today was the best thing that had happened to me all week.
My eyes scanned the room, and instantly found Nate and Kylan. Nate raised his hand in a quick wave, while Kylan glanced my way for a moment, then rolled his eyes to look away.
Ignoring his grumpy mood, I walked over to Nate.
“Natey!” I greeted with a smile, joining them.
“Vivi,” he smiled. “You’re in a good mood today.”
I grinned. “Of course I am. It’s because of you.”
“Nice try, but I was here the past few days too,” he smiled. “I think it might have something to do with Rochwall.”
“You think?” I grinned, sarcastically.
Just as Nate was about to answer, Kylan’s voice cut in. “We’re still training after school, right?”
“Oh?” Nate pursed, glancing between the two of us.
“Of course we are,” I focused my attention on Kylan, who eyed me with his usual glare. “I’m ready!”
Where was that picnic organizing, Kylan from yesterday?
Kylan gave a skeptical nod. “We’ll see.”
Nate nudged my arm. “I thought I was supposed to train you, Beautiful.”
My cheeks flushed, realizing Nate had no idea he had been training me. “Sorry, Nate. You asked me-Kylan forced me.”
Kylan let out an annoyed scoff, making us chuckle.
“So the two of you are having secret training sessions without me?” Nate asked.
Kylan shot daggers at him with his eyes. “Looks like we’re all doing things without each other these days, hmm?”
“Nothing happened between me and Nate!” I snapped, knowing exactly what he was implying, and enough was enough. “I don’t know where all of these rumors are coming from, but they’re just rumors. That’s it.”
Now that the truth was finally out, it felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I had been wanting to clear things up for a long time. I looked at Kylan, desperate for any reaction, but he turned his gaze away as if my words didn’t matter to him.
Instead, he looked at Nate, raising a brow, waiting for him to elaborate.