Wavering feelings

RYAN

My fist slammed hard into Jack's stomach and he grunted at the impact. Normally,Anyone else would’ve been on the floor, gasping for air, but Jack? He took a breath, shook it off, and straightened up like it was nothing.

"You seem pretty worked up about this whole step sister situation," Jack said, a hint of amusement glinting in his voice as he aimed a punch at my lower ribs. It landed solidly, but I barely flinched

“Sort of” I replied,Sweat dripping down my forehead as I worked out my frustrations in the ring.

I had texted Jack to meet here in the ring after the scandal with Violet blew off. It's already spiraled out of control, everyone in school knows about it now and I needed a outlet

“Well,maybe if you hadn't been a girls' boy,you wouldn't have earned yourself this much stalkers and..
He let out another small grunt when I landed a hit on his lower ribs, but that didn’t stop him from laughing.

Jack was a computer genius, his father was the CEO of Myer's security,a famous security firm in New York. I had tasked him with tracking down and deleting the video which he successfully did. He found out q female student from a lower grade shared the picture,someone who was so obsessed to the point of stalking me and finding out about the wedding. The damage was done already,everyone knew about it now.

“You should have known better than to try and keep something so big a secret,” he said. “The whole school is buzzing about it”

“I kept it a secret because I know how hard it'll be for her if it came out” I blocked another attempted punch.

“Funny,” he laughed. “Because the attention has been successfully drawn to her. I caught a glimpse of Evelyn's friend messing with her earlier”

“Shit” I muttered abruptly, letting my guard down for a moment. Jack took advantage of it and landed a punch that knocked the air from my lungs.

Our conversation faded off and was replaced by the sound of fists hitting flesh, heavy breaths, and the occasional grunt. I wasn’t going easy on him, and he wasn’t going any lower.

Hit,dodge,hit,duck,hit

We went at it until my body felt like it had blown off all steam.

Once we finished, I headed to the locker room, wiping the sweat off my face as I grabbed my clothes.

"Already done? I thought we were going for round two," Jack said, downing water from his bottle

“Got something else to take care of," I mumbled, pressing a hand to my sore jaw.He raised an eyebrow but didn’t ask. Another thing I liked about Jack? He never pried. I finished dressing, waved him off, and headed out, promising we’d meet again tomorrow.

Finding Violet wasn't hard, I knew she'd be somewhere quiet,away from all the stares and whispers. I found her sitting on a bench, clutching her hands nervously. She looked so small, really small like she was trying to disappear into herself

Her head jerked up in surprise,and for a second,I saw a flash of something - relief maybe? But it quickly vanished as she turned her gaze away.

“Violet” I called softly. “What are you doing here?”

"I was with Ashley, but she left. I’m about to head out too" she said quickly, standing as if to leave, but I gently grabbed her wrist before she could take a step

“Let me go” She said,her voice strained. “I don't want anyone spending more rumors about us”

“Sit back” I said,my voice carrying a hint of authority. She glanced at me,hesitated a bit before finally sitting. I took a seat beside her,not too close but close enough to feel her racing heart.

“Why are you here? She asked

“I just wanted to check on you” I said after a moment

“Check on me? Yeah, I’m great. Especially with your girlfriends thinking there’s something going on between us. Couldn’t be better.” She let out a bitter laugh

“I didn't want any of this to happen. Much reason I've always tried to avoid you in school. I don't want you to get dragged into any mess” I said and she glanced at me,as if surprised.

“You don't get it” She hugged her knees to her chest. “Unlike you, I'm not used to the stares,the attention,it drives me crazy. I'm just trying to live my life through this school quietly but I doubt it's possible” The frustration in her voice was so palpable.
“The whole school knows. Everyone’s staring at me, talking about me, whispering behind my back. Clara and Rosa cornered me earlier, and..” She cut herself off, pressing her lips together. “It's not going to stop”

“I'll fix it” I said with a firm voice. “I won't let anyone bully you. No one will”

“I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask for attention. I just..” She trailed off as she blinked rapidly.

I don't know why I felt the sudden urge to protect her. But the memory of that moment in the garden kept replaying in my head—the way she’d looked up at me, her eyes soft and vulnerable, the curve of her lips. Something shifted in me after that. She was too fragile for this world, too small to handle the chaos my life brought, and I hated that she was going through this because of me.

I stood up, shoving my hands into my pockets.
“Everything is fine, it's just a rumor. It'll die out soon,trust me”

Violet searched my face, her expression softening just a bit,then nodded slowly. “Okay”

I turned to leave but paused when I saw Ashley approaching, two ice cream cones in hand.

"Hey!" she waved cheerily.

I nodded at her, already halfway gone, but then stopped and turned back. "Hi," I muttered, and then kept walking, hearing Ashley’s giggle behind me as I disappeared.

I saw Evelyn casually leaning against my car in the parking lot. She looks every bit of a queen bee: perfectly styled brown hair,a tight fitting dress and the aura of confidence.

She noticed me approaching and raised an eyebrow,her anger palpable.

"Ryan"

"Evelyn" I said,not bothering to hide my lack of enthusiasm. "I didn't remember us agreeing to meet"

She pushed herself off my car and took a step closer before letting out a dry scoff. "It's been just a day since the news came out and you're already denying me?"

"I don't have the time, Evelyn. Get to the point"

She stepped even closer,her fingers tracing the front of my shirt. "The thing is, people are talking. Everyone is buzzing about your relationship with your stepsister" she scowled at the last word. "Well,I believe it's a rumor but you know people won't.People are already saying things about us. We have to step up on our game"

I brushed her hands off me. "What about us?"
Her smile wavered for a moment before she quickly recovered,a smirk playing on her face “ I care about how this affects us. I care about how people see me when they see you"

I scoffed. "Us? There's no us Evelyn. I don't know the number of times I need to tell you this but there's nothing real between us. You know that"

Her eyes narrowed and the smirk faded as her true feelings showed. "What do you take me for Ryan? A toy?. Newsflash? I'm not someone you can get rid off.

"Take it however you want. We're just satisfying each other's physical needs. It's your loss if you attach any true meaning to that"

She sighed defeatedly. "I wonder how long she'll last with that much attention "

"Stop being a crazy slut Evelyn " I dragged her wrist as I yanked her into the car
"What are you doing?" she hissed, but I didn’t answer. I shoved her into the backseat. Evelyn’s breath hitched, but there was no resistance in her movements. Her body responded in the way I knew all too well, her fingers clawing at my shirt, pulling me closer. I leaned over her, my mind clouded with the urge to silence her in the only way I knew how in that moment.