Page 150 of The Kiss Of Death
After an exhaustive four-hour session, my fingers pulsated with a fiery sting. The sun had barely risen, and the day had already taken its toll on my body, leaving behind an infamous violin hickey on my neck. I hadn’t even found the baroque score I wanted to play for the audition.
Everyone with a chance to win would go for a Bach piece to showcase how technically gifted they were. I tried one myself, but made so many alarming technical errors, I felt worse than crap. I needed to practice more to catch up to them.
Stepping outside, I glanced up at the windows of the sports building. Through the fencing gym glass, I could see that Tara was already inside, assaulting the human-shaped target, honing her parade-riposte technique. She then crumpled to the floor and threw her foil at the target, kicking out each object around her.
I was about to turn around and head back to my dorm—morning classes would be starting soon—but the pang in my heart urged me to meddle. Clearly, something was wrong with Tara, and while she wasn’t my friend, Yasmine was, and right now, she was hurting from the fight with her sister.
I followed my gut, paced in the direction of the fencing gym, and pushed the door open. Beads of sweat dotted Tara’s forehead. When she noticed me, she rose to her feet, narrowed her reddened eyes on me, and wiped away the tears with her glove.
“What’s your problem, newbie?” she growled. “Looking for your psycho boyfriend, or should I say, ex-boyfriend?”
I squinted, facing the first rays of sun warming the cold-stone gym. “No. I saw you and wondered if you were okay.”
She strutted toward me like on a catwalk. “Why do you have to meddle in things that don’t concern you?” she hissed. “Everyone adores you, but you’re insufferable. I don’t know what you’ve told my sister about me, but you won’t get between us!”
“You already messed up things with her on your own,” I said, meeting her gaze, unflinching. “I know you love her even if you’ll never show it to her directly. Instead, you protect her like you did on Hazing Night.”
Her smile faltered. Tara wasn’t much different from Levi; she had her own defenses. But while he was self-controlled, she was short-tempered.
“Whatever happened to you that night, I’m sorry.” My voice softened, and one of her eyes twitched. “I recognize trauma… I—”
“You don’t know anything!” she lashed out. “You got spared at Hazing Night, while I…” She blinked, her face twisting with anger as she stormed toward me, like she was about to strangle me. “Don’t tell me that bastard told you!”
“Who, Levi?” I shrieked, my back hitting the rake of fencing helmets. “No, he never told me anything, what are you talking—”
“Right, that asshole would take any chance to gloat about how he escaped hazing, unlike the rest of us in our first years,” she roared. “Rich kids always get away with everything, while Yas and I, we’re just scholarship students. That’s why I had to make sure it wouldn’t happen to her! I don’t care if you almost faced the same fate as me as long as Yasmine was safe. That doesn’t make me a bad person!”
Her words hit me like a tidal wave, leaving me speechless in their wake. It was as if she had unleashed everything she had been holding inside, not just at me.
“What happened, Tara?” I whispered softly, reaching out to touch her arm. “Please, tell me.”
She turned her back on me and clenched her fists. “What would it change?”
“You can’t keep everything inside,” I said. “I can listen, and I’m too scared of you to repeat this to anyone.”
She hesitated a moment, accentuating the pressure on her clenched fists. “In my first year, three drunk Tacticians cornered me on Hazing Night. They said I had to suck their cocks while they recorded it if I wanted to be freed.” Tara’s voice broke for the first time. “That’s why I set you up that night. I didn’t want anyone to touch Yasmine like they did to me.” She turned around, took a deep breath, her tongue flicking against her teeth. “The more I begged them to stop, the more they seemed to enjoy it. I was naive, and Yas… If someone hurts her, I’ll die.”
“Tara…” I brought my hand to my mouth, my heart shattering for her.
“And that psycho ex-boyfriend of yours was in his first year too,” she continued, her lips stretching into a semblance of a smile. “They invited him to watch while the first was having his way with me.”
“Did he?” I clutched my chest, feeling my legs tremble beneath me. “Did he try to—”
Tara shook her head. “Levi helped me in his own twisted way. He made them stop, with whatever leverage he had.” Tears welled in her eyes, but she held them back, refusing to let them fall. “It was the first time someone had ever rescued me, and the last time I saw him do something that wasn’t entirely selfish.” She chuckled bitterly. “I crushed on him after that and begged for his attention, maybe because I wanted to save him like hesaved me. He encouraged me to never feel weak again, or to feel anything for that matter. I owe that jerk at least that.”
I wrapped my arms around her, feeling the tension in her muscles as she initially resisted my hug. But I held on tighter, refusing to let go. “You’re so strong, Tara.”
Gradually, her body relaxed, and I felt her arms encircle me. As I pulled back slightly, she studied me with vulnerability in her eyes, her eyebrows furrowed in a frown.
“How do you do this?” She grimaced. “I never got to him in two years. He never even kissed me, or anyone else for that matter. Justyou.” She paused, bitterness seeping into her tone, and my eyes widened, my heart quickening its pace in my chest. “And don’t give me that look. Our relationship wasn’t exclusive. It was experimental at best.”
“He never kissed you?” I repeated, the hair on my skin hissing.
He saved his kisses for me.
“No.” She planted her hands on her hips. “Then one day, you showed up with your stupid ribbons and your stupid white hair. Within weeks, he kissedyouand was completely obsessed with you. And now my sister is doing the same thing, preferring you over me! Not that I’m expecting you to understand, your life is fucking perfect.”
I snorted, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear.
