Page 17 of A Protector For Phoebe (Love will OUT 2)

Chapter 8

Do not let anyone push you around, even if they make butterflies explode in your stomach. ~ Phoebe’s rules for becoming a better person

“I’m not sure why you insisted on coming with me.” I frown down at Suzie. Does she think I’m too scared to go to a self-defense class alone?

“I’m your friend. I’m supporting you. It’s what friends do.” My heart warms at her words. I’ve never had real friends before. Oh, I’ve had tons of friends who smile to your face and then stab you in the back the minute you’re looking the other direction. Those I can do without.

But then Suzie has to go and ruin the moment by opening her big fat mouth again. “Besides, check out the man candy.” She wiggles her eyebrows.

I am not here to look at men. Men and their stupid games is what got me here in the first place. Stupid Stan Brown thinking it’s okay to fake his death and then, when I prove him wrong, coming after me with a knife. I shudder as a tremor works its way through my body. The knife may not have touched me, but it featured prominently in my dreams last night.

“Please join us on the mats,” a woman I assume is the instructor shouts.

I walk to the mat while Suzie skips along beside me. She’s not looking where she’s going. Of course, she isn’t. Why would she start now after thirty-some years of life? She trips on the corner of the matt and goes flying. She lands on her back and jumps to her feet.

“I’m okay.”

I don’t bother to respond. The woman falls all the dang time. If I checked to make sure she didn’t hurt herself every single time, I wouldn’t have time to do anything else.

The instructor approaches Suzie. “You know how to fall. Do you mind helping me with a demonstration?”

Suzie squeals. “I’m the teacher’s pet.”

The instructor ignores the squeal and pulls Suzie to the middle of the mat. She claps her hands to get everyone’s attention. Once everyone stops chattering away, she introduces herself, “Good evening. I’m Tabitha. I’ll be your instructor for the evening.”

“I’m Suzie.”

“Ah, yes.” Tabitha points to Suzie. “I normally don’t talk about falling techniques, but since Suzie here has perfected how to fall properly,” Suzie takes a bow, “I thought we’d do a quick demo.”

“You want me to fall?” Suzie asks and then promptly falls forward. She doesn’t stay on the ground long. She bounces to her feet and shouts “Tada!”

Tabitha takes a deep breath. I bet she’s counting to ten before she slaps Suzie. I get it. I used to think I was a patient person. Then, I met Suzie. I watch as an evil gleam shines from Tabitha’s eyes right before she reaches over and pushes Suzie over.

As Suzie falls, she explains, “See how she keeps her palms flat, making sure her elbows don’t slam into the ground.” When Suzie tries to stand, Tabitha casually places a foot on her back to keep her down. I think I like Tabitha. “She keeps her hands in front of her face to keep her head from hitting the ground.”

Tabitha removes her foot and Suzie gets to her feet. She bounces on her toes. “Want me to fall again?”

Tabitha shakes her head. Suzie frowns but quickly recovers and skips over to stand next to me.

“Tonight’s class is a crash course in self-defense. If anyone’s interested at the end of tonight’s course, I also teach in-depth courses.” Tabitha paces back and forth in front of the women lined up to take the class as she lectures.

“The aim of tonight’s seminar is to prepare you for how to handle an attack. We don’t have time in one evening to master fighting techniques. Instead, we’ll be concentrating on recognizing and avoiding dangerous situations as well as psychological preparation for an attack.”

She looks around the group. “Does anyone have any questions?”

Suzie raises her arm and jumps up and down. “Me. Me. Me.”

Tabitha ignores her and points to a woman on the other side of the room.

“Does self-defense work?” The woman asks.

Tabitha places her hands on her hips. “Good question. Self-defense does work. Those who take the training are less likely to experience assault and are more confident in their ability to resist assault.”

Someone grabs my hand and I jump. I open my mouth to scream but a deep voice whispers in my ear, “It’s me.”

Me? Who’s me? I look over my shoulder and notice Ryker. “What are you doing here?”

He doesn’t answer. Instead, he pulls me away from the group. He leads me to the far corner of the room where he pushes me against the wall and places his hands on the wall next to my head, boxing me in. I should feel intimidated. After all, the man could snap me in two with his bare hands. I’m not, though. No, my body warms at having him near and I feel tingles in places I’ve never felt tingles before. Seriously, never. I didn’t know you could feel tingles there, but I like it.

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