Page 22 of Twisted Legacy

I see flashes sometimes, but those come with headaches like my brain refuses to let me remember. “It’s still spotty. Just flashes that I can’t be certain of. I’ve had run-ins with several people on campus. I think I’m just projecting faces onto blank canvases to make it all make sense.”

“You know what the doctor said. If you take time to sit with it, it may come to you.”

“Fuck that doctor. I’ve never been one to sit around and mope about the bad shit that’s happened in my life. I’m not about to start now.”

She laughs at me. “It’s not moping. It’s therapy.”

I shrug and pull a pillow into my lap, hugging it to my chest. “I don’t need him for therapy. I’ve got the ring and I’ve got you and Sasha.” She shifts closer and pulls my head onto her shoulder. “I don’t need to cry on your shoulder because some cowards attacked me and left me in a pine box, or because my parents gave me away, and I’ve been lied to all my life or because the Coxsuckers never fail to live up to their name, and Finn dogged me out the one time I actually let myself think about needing someone else, or because Deacon Wolfe’s sexy ass pretends, I didn’t rock his world when we fucked.”

“Wow. That’s a lot to not care about. But anyway, I’m hugging you and being mindful of your bad arm.” After a few moments of silence she says. “And there’s nothing wrong with crying on somebody’s shoulder. If you ever did need to let loose about any of those things, both of mine are always at your disposal.”

This is why I love this girl. She knows I just unpacked a lot of shit that I’m clearly not okay with, but she doesn’t push me to say anything else about it. “Thanks, LJ.”

“For what?”

“Deacon’s not the only person who moved into a townhouse for three weeks. You gave up your Thanksgiving break, too.” I lift my head to look at her. “I haven’t met a lot of people who selflessly do shit for me. In fact, it’s just you and Sasha. I know I’m not all chipper and bubbly, or pouring out my feelings over tubs of ice cream, but if you need to cry on my shoulder some time, I’ll sit still and let you do it. If you still needed to, after I stabbed whoever hurt you, of course.”

“And I’ve never had someone offer to maim and kill on my behalf. So we’re both in unchartered territory, but if you remember who hurt you, I’ll be right alongside you with the fighting drills you’ve already taught me.”

That gives me an idea. “Speaking of. I need to get you back into training. Clearly I can’t do it and demonstrate, but I know who can.”

“Uh.. wait. No, there’s no hurry.”

Nodding, I say, “Yes. Yes, there is. If you don’t train, you’ll get rusty. We need you flexible and ready to go, since these pussies on campus like to attack women.” I pick up my new phone from the table, banging out a text with my good hand.

“Who are you texting?”

“The Big Bad Wolfe to let him know you’ll be taking my spot at his gym.”

Chapter15

Deacon

Iglare at my phone. Who the hell is texting me during the hours everyone knows I work out? My mood shifts when I see it’s from Thea. I gave her my personal number in case of an emergency.

She should be just getting back to campus. I’m on edge as I unlock my phone, preparing myself to read a message about someone fucking with her already.

Do I really think she’d text and complain about that? Hell no. She’d try to handle it with her one good arm, but that doesn’t stop the part of me that feels responsible for her from wanting to know. Responsible might not be the right word. I feel territorial. Possessive. In a,I don’t want anyone else to look at her, kind of way.

This is uncharted territory for me. I thought my interest was residual lust, then I attributed it to me training her and wanting to see her reach her goals, the way I do any other fighter I work with. But after sharing a house with her, I can admit it goes deeper than that. This woman challenges and tests me. She has a way of making me laugh and cuss at the same time. I own my reputation as one of the meanest teachers on campus, and she’s not put off by it. If anything, she goes out of her way to push my buttons.

I’ve been back at work for a few days, and I’m distancing myself from my coworkers more than usual. Three weeks away did nothing to curb my rage. Probably because I spent the entire time watching Thea recover from her injuries, and there’s been no progress made on the investigation into what happened. The school gives the legacy students a lot of leeway because they have no way of keeping track of everyone’s affiliation with The League.

That’s why nobody batted an eye when I told them I found Thea buried in a coffin. I was on safety patrol because of my EMT experience, but I didn’t think I’d need to do anything more than tell someone to slap an ice pack or band aid on a bruise.

I wandered into that plot and found the grave with the new coffin in it. Closed up and on fire. Whoever dosed her didn’t want her to wake up in time. If I hadn’t been there, she would have burned alive. I’m lucky the bastards left a shovel behind. I used it and my shirt to put out the flames. The amount of panic I felt, seeing her limp body in that box… I force air into my lungs. Thea needs to work on her feelings about what happened, but so do I. I may be running around pretending I’m okay, but nothing is okay about what happened.

That’s why I didn’t mind taking her off the grid for almost a month. Thea’s aunt and uncle, or whoever the hell they are this week, dug into my background, but I looked into them too. They haven’t come right out and said it, but I wonder if this was a message to them from The League.

It’s also why The Trium are my top suspects. They’re the top prospects, the highest ranked Wrens in their group. Their parents are mid level league members and around campus, The Trium is the ruling faction on campus, and the faculty generally bows to their whims.

Everyone is being tight-lipped about where The Trium was and what they were doing on Mayhem Night. And for now, Thea doesn’t want to remember, so I don’t have a lot to go on. We might’ve shared a home and a bed, but she’s on edge around me. It’s gonna take some time to get her to let down her guard enough to trust me again, and when she does, she’s going to tell me every single secret she’s been keeping.

I stare at her text. She wants me to give her training hours to Breland, to keep her slot open at my gym.

Me

That’s not how it works. If Breland wants to train, she can submit an application to join my gym like everyone else.