Page 36 of The Chosen Two

“I just can’t tonight, okay?” I push his hands off me and continue cooking. My arms are screaming for more ibuprofen.

He pouts his bottom lip out. “No. I want my wife.” He starts by massaging my shoulders and kissing my neck, which actually feels pretty good right now. But when he lowers his hands and grabs my ass, I whimper in pain.

“Jake, please stop.” I feel my hand tighten on the wooden spoon to keep from lashing out at him more.

But he doesn’t stop. He goes back to my shoulders and neck, trying to get me to change my mind with a seductive, “Oh, come on, Baby. I don’t need to take long.”

But he can’t change my mind. I don’t think I have ever felt this level of pain and exhaustion in my life. I turn around and rip his hands off me. “Back off!” I shove him back, harder than I intended.

Jake stumbles backward. His eyes open wide for a split second, then narrow and darken as he glares at me. “Fine, whatever.” He grabs his keys and storms out. This is a side of him I have never seen before.

My eyes start leaking of their own volition. I need to calm down before the kids return to the kitchen to eat. I take a couple deep breaths, grab my cell phone, and text Eliza.

Hey. Something is up with Jake. Any chance you can take the kids for an overnight Friday night, so he and I can have a chance to talk about whatever it is we need to discuss?

The three dots pulse and then,

Of course! You know Tabitha adores them all! Can’t wait!

Thank god for best friends. I try to get through the rest of the week, focusing on my training and not my marriage. But Jake isn’t the only one who’s being cold right now. George has become all business.

Thursday is mostly self-defense. He dedicates all morning to showing me how to evade and defend against a slew of different attacks. He also shows me a bunch of blocks and parries, as he calls them. At the end of the day, I learn a few different kicks and punches. I particularly enjoy the front thrust kick and the jab, cross punch combo. I feel like I know what I’m doing quickly and that I have a lot of power behind them. Well, for most of the techniques…

“I don’t understand why this jumping side kick is so hard for me!” I slam my fist on the tatami after landing on my ass for the millionth time today.

George is patient with me, more patient than I probably deserve. Finally, I detect a hint of warmth in his voice when he speaks to me. “Miranda, you’ve been doing karate for three days. Maybe give yourself a grace period before you expect yourself to do it all perfectly? Even with your gifts, it’s amazing how fast you’re picking this all up.”

I shake my head. “Nope. That’s unacceptable. There are creepy ass jinn thingies and little red bat people and I’m the one who is supposed to stand in the way of them. I need to get this shit down now. I can hear softer sounds than I could before, see things clearer than I could before, and kill giant monsters. Why can’t I do this kick?” I walk in a big circle, shaking my limbs out, trying to get out of my head, and just do it.

“I’m glad you can’t.” George stands perfectly still until I stop pacing and glare at him. He lowers the body shield he’s holding and picks at the stitching so he doesn’t have to look at me while he talks. “You’re special, but so are the martial arts. They are to be respected. If you could do everything perfectly right away, you’d be missing out on all the fun.”

I’m floored. “The fun, you say? Really? You know, you’re right. Getting my ass kicked by a blackbelt, not to mention the fucking minotaur, so much fun, George!”

“Okay, I get it. Try again.” He regains full control of the shield by wrapping both forearms through the straps on the back. Then, he raises the shield so the top edge is in front of his cheek, and he braces himself in guard stance. “Hajime.”

I jump into guard stance myself, take a deep breath, and start running. I run as fast as I can, which admittedly is not very fast, before pushing off hard with my right foot, left leg extended to my side, foot flexed. I know I’m going to make it this time. I can feel it. He got me all charged up, and I’m going to. I know this truth, right up until the moment I crash to the mats and swear loudly, two feet shy of my target.

***

Thursday night, Jake gets home after I’m asleep and barely speaks to me in the morning before taking the kids to school. Being home so late isn’t out of the ordinary for him, but giving me the silent treatment is unheard of. He hates going to bed when we’re still fighting. I don’t think we have in years. And if we do, he wakes up extra early and forces us to hash it out before the kids wake up. He’s not okay when we’re not okay.

But not this time. This time, he’s more distant than ever, and all because I said no to sex, which makes no sense to me. He’s never acted this way before.

Friday, when I drive up to George’s castle, he’s already outside, waiting for me. He’s straight out of a winter catalog in his dark wash jeans and medium gray cable knit turtleneck. With his hands shoved casually in his pockets and the way he leans sideways against his car, he should get a contract with Burberry.

I am sure George’s mom must be insanely proud of him. I look forward to the day I get to beam with pride over a confident Sammy, all grown up. If I get to see him that way… But then the passenger door opens, surprising me out of my meditative state. My eyes pop open at the sound.

“Umm, hi.”

“Good morning. We’re going on a field trip.” He buckles himself in and looks at me. A moment of silence fills the space when I’m still too shocked at his sudden appearance in my car to start driving. He widens his eyes in response. “Turn right at the bottom of the driveway.”

I salute in response. “Aye, Aye, Captain.”

His narrowed eyes and clenched jaw make me face forward and restart my car. When we’ve merged onto a highway and he’s indicated we’ll be on here awhile I decide to inquire further.

“So, George, where are we headed today?”

“We’re going to go meet with Joanna.”

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