Page 71 of A Twist of Poison

I turned my attention back to Miles, who smirked. We always avoided the face when training, because we’d agreed that none of us wanted to go round with bruises littering our pretty faces and most likely scaring off anyone we’d pass. Apparently that rule was off the table today.

“I can tell you’ve been drinking. You’re distracted, and your reflexes are pathetic,” he taunted, still with that smirk I was going to knock off. “Soon as your little besties come in, you pant for them.”Motherfucker.

“Oh, you asked for it.” He smiled like he was just waiting for me to try.

We went back and forth for a good while longer. His sheer size moved me subtly backwards as we circled around one another. I’d gotten some hits in on him, but he was better and landed quite a few on my now aching body. He’d managed to corner me, and I lifted my hand, tapping out.

Lifting the ropes, I hopped out and grabbed the water bottle I’d thrown to the side earlier. Draining what was left to quench my thirst, I saw Texas jump in the ring and start sparring back and forth with Miles.

Neither of them were messing about. I dropped to my ass on the mats as Hollis joined me, Ronnie leaning up against the wall. You wouldn’t ever catch that obsessive asshole sitting on something as basic as a floor. He’d probably assume it was contagious and the germs that weren’t even there would jump out and attack him.

Hours later, Miles had also run Texas and Hollis into the ground. I’d taken to the punching bag while they danced round one another in the ring. Ronnie just looked on with a smirk playing on his lips.

Between what he and Miles said earlier, it had thoughts rattling around in my mind but no definitive path for moving forward or anything to explain it all away. It was just a fucked up tangled mess that my mind tried to unravel to no avail.I was too exhausted for this.

I noticed the soreness of my entire body as we exited the main gym floor as one unit, bypassing a bunch of teenagers who looked like they’d been having fun sipping steroids.Damn, they were huge.

I was betting those were the next generation of fighters that Mick and his team were training up. A few of them snickered as we passed, seeing our dragged feet and the aches clearly displayed on our bodies. I didn’t blame them; I knew I probably looked as bad as I felt inside.

“Wind your necks in!” Mick’s voice boomed across the gym foyer. The teenagers shrank back and silenced. “You’ll be leaving in worse shape than these men. Get in there!” He pointed to the fighting ring we’d just left.

I smirked.Fucking savage.

Chapter31

Milla

“Ididn’t try to kill myself,” I stated, silencing the quiet voices around me. I just wanted life as I’d known of it, to stop even for just a slight moment. I chose not to voice that part out loud.

“Milla!” I knew that voice, Julia Rossi. I kept my eyes shut, not wanting to confirm who else I assumed was within the room, my dad. Dean Rossi. I hadn’t got the strength to deal with deflecting from his normal loving dad routine now. He was a monster, but he’d always been the better parent out of the pair.

My heart ached like never before. I wanted him to wrap me up like so many times before. I wanted to lean on him, to be the daughter and let an adult take care of me, even just for a tiny moment.

“Julia,” Dad hissed. “Give her some breathing space. She doesn’t need us crowding her when she’s just waking up.” Mom huffed, and I felt the air change as she backed away from me.

Moments later, they left the room, and I was bathed in silence. Only small noises filtered in, but they were muffled by the door being shut.

Sometime later the door reopened. I opened my eyes as a nurse came in with a kind smile across her face. I flicked my eyes behind her. The door automatically closed, and I sighed in relief. No parents.

“How are you feeling?” the nurse questioned, checking the saline IV hooked up to my arm and looking over my chart.

“Fine,” I murmured, not wanting to talk.

“Do you know how you got here?” I shook my head.

Since I’d woken up, I’d been trying to piece together what happened for me to end up in a bed in a private room at our local hospital. It wasn’t ideal, but clearly, I’d had a good time. Although that was a lie, I didn’t feel good in the slightest. I couldn’t remember if the rest of the time that I’d forgotten about was semi decent or just plain awful.

“They admitted you with an overdose of ecstasy. You came in via emergency ambulance. Someone called it in and got you the help you needed,” she supplied helpfully, no judgement in her tone, for which I was thankful.

Ah yes, those little purple molly pills. It was all fun and games until it wasn’t, it seemed.Dammit. I remembered sky-blue eyes that were focussed on me, dancing, music and then nothing. Blank.

I tried to speak but my throat felt like sandpaper. The nurse handed me some water which I sipped slowly and thanked her with my eyes.

“When can I leave?” I needed to get out of here. I felt like a fish in a bowl, and I knew it would continue with people popping in, casting their judgements and giving their opinions.No thanks.

I wanted my music thrumming in my ears, and the peacefulness I gained when I ran. However, running may have to wait with the way I was feeling. Plus, I had an overdue letter to write.

She gave me a look that could make a weaker person wither. “You can leave tomorrow morning; I’d advise you to stay a few days longer. However, I’m guessing you want to leave as soon as you can. Correct?” I nodded, glad she understood how I was feeling.

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