147
Lucy
He looked down at the girl as she curled up on her side.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt her."
Tears welled up in my eyes, a flood of emotions overwhelming me. I stood there, my fists clenched, a mix of conflicting emotions swirling within me. Guilt gnawed at my conscience, and I struggled to process what had just happened. It hadn’t meant to hurt her really, but my anger had just come out of nowhere.
“But she did say something, hm?” He asked. “Goading you? Mocking you?”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
He nodded and looked down at the girl. “Let this be a lesson in antagonizing your opponents.”
He turned to the rest of the class. “The things you learn in this class could save your life or someone dear to you. It is not a method to torture or carry out petty revenge. You have a problem with someone, solve it before you come into this classroom.”
He crouched beside the girl. “Consider it a warning. The next time you decide to attack an innocent girl several years your junior, I’ll have you expelled.”
Her eyes widened and she went pale.
“Get yourself to the med bay and don’t come back to class for two weeks.”
She looked like she wanted to protest, but she said nothing, getting to her feet and casting a furious glare at me. Luke had me sit down and cast a spell over me. The pain in my chest eased and he hummed.
“Deep breath.”
“I really didn’t mean to… I-I don’t know what happened.”
He scoffed. “She triggered you and pissed you off. That’s what happened. Relax. I’m more interested in you trying to do that against someone without the added emotional drive.”
He turned and waved Duke over. “You’re up.”
“Finally,” Duke sighed. “I’m so tired of being thrown around.”
He chuckled. “I hope you’re not too tired. “
“I-I don’t think I can,” I shuddered. My voice trembled as I choked back tears, struggling to find the right words. "I... I didn't mean to hurt her. I just wanted her to stop, and she said that to me. It got out of control, and now..."
He cupped my face. “There’s a saying that goes don’t pick a fight if you don’t want your ass kicked. She started it. You finished it. She’ll think twice about antagonizing you or anyone else.”
I nodded, but I looked down at my hands.
“Get back on the mat with Duke and try to throw him.”
“But what if I hurt him?” I asked.
Luke rolled his eyes. “Are you pissed off with Duke?”
“W-Well, no.”
“Duke, you plan on pissing Lucy off?”
“Hell, no.”
“Then, you’ll be fine.”
“It can’t be that simple.”
Luke grinned. “Why don’t you… give it a try and see. You’ve just learned that you’re stronger than you think. Now you need to learn to use it consciously.”
I swallowed and looked at Duke, who didn’t look nervous at all. He shrugged.
“I’ve broken worse than an arm.”
“Duke!”
He laughed. The class started up again. I stood. Taking a deep breath, I nodded and turned towards Duke. He grinned at me.
“You throw me, I’ll bring you some of Blue’s cookies.”
I laughed. For a while, we just traded strikes. My heart was still racing, but soon, I relaxed into the easy rhythm of it, and we sped up a little bit, keeping out strikes light, more like tagging than trying to harm each other. I watched him try to go in to throw me, and I broke away from him. It felt different, going against Duke. I could focus on learning, on practicing rather than feeling like I was under attack. I started to understand what Luke meant.
I raised my hand, my movements controlled yet infused with a trace of intensity, and swung it towards Duke. It glanced off his shoulder as he dodged me. I stepped forward and he let out a baleful sound as I grabbed his arm and tumbled him over my shoulder.
He landed with a huff and a pout as he looked at me.
“How many do you want?”
As Duke and I left the combat class, the adrenaline from the training still coursed through me. He slipped his arm around mine and led me toward the campus mess hall. The large cooler he’d brought with us on the field trip bounced against his hip.
“I still have a shit ton of food, and if I come back with any of it, I’ll be in trouble. I’m enlisting you to help me eat it.”
I laughed. “Won’t you still get in trouble? Won’t they know that you didn’t eat it all?”
He grinned. “I’m hoping that feeding you will get me off the hook with David, at least. Blue isn’t going to be happy until I gain at least ten pounds.”
I shook my head and leaned into him as we got to the hall, grinning. As we entered the bustling mess hall, the aroma of various dishes filled the air, making my stomach growl with hunger. We found a booth near the windows, and he opened his cooler, bringing out all the containers of food. I looked down into it and shook my head.
“How does it all fit?”
“It’s a magical cooler. I don’t know how much capacity it actually has, but I’m not trying to test it,” he opened one. “The full containers come to the top, and the empty ones disappear. We have to eat until there are only empty containers.”
I shook my head and took a fork from him. There was spaghetti and steak and a bunch of other things. It was all good, but I could tell that the food wasn’t the only reason that Duke brought me over. He gestured, conjuring an invisible wall around us that muted sound.
“Did you… have another dream?”
He shook his head. “I wanted to ask what she said to you. I’ve never seen you like that. Your eyes flashed and everything.”
I swallowed. “She… She used to be with Matt.”
He groaned. “Where haven’t those two stuck their dicks?”
I couldn’t help but laugh and eat some more. “It has to end eventually… What’d you think about the field trip?”
Duke looked thoughtful for a moment before replying, "It wasn’t what I was expecting, but it was nice. I mean, it's not every day we get to explore new places and learn more about our magical heritage, right?"
I fiddled with my fork. “You said that you’d been there before.”
He nodded. “I think… it’s where I used to live or somewhere near it. When we were leaving… there were more ghosts.”
I swallowed and met his gaze.
“I think I caught a glimpse of my parents."
My heart skipped a beat. The idea of Duke seeing his parents, even in spectral form, was both heartwarming and heart-wrenching.
"Really? Are you sure?" I asked, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Were they… Were they okay?”
He nodded, his expression a mix of emotions. "There was no b-blood or anything. I just, I was surprised to see them, obviously. I think they wanted to talk, but we were leaving. I kind of wish I could've spoken to them, you know? "
I looked down. “We could ask Luke to go back. I’m sure he would take us.”
He shook his head. “Not just yet. I think… the next time, I want to be at least a little closer to okay. I want to be better… stronger.”
His lips twitched. “I’d forgotten how tall my dad was, how strong he looked. I looked in the mirror and couldn’t see a single similarity. It was… hard.”
I took his hand. "Muscles or not. Shorter or not, you know, Duke, they would be proud of the person you've become. You’re strong and getting stronger all the time.”
He gave me a small smile and nodded. “Thanks, Lucy. It means a lot to me. I just wish I could have some time with them, even if it's just in spirit form. I don’t want to completely forget their faces, you know?"
I swallowed. “Maybe you could find a picture of them or something? Get someone to sketch one?”
“What about you? Do you remember your parents enough to get them sketched?”
I shook my head. “I don’t remember much of anything, but… maybe one day I’ll be able to hold a seance or something? Maybe they’re in a forest as spirits, too, somewhere.”
Duke's eyes brightened at the prospect, and I could see a glimmer of hope in them. "There’s a class next semester on spirits. You want to take it with me?” He frowned. “Wait, can you? I don’t know if there are any prereqs.”
I shrugged. “I guess we can find out.”
He nodded and pulled out another three containers. My stomach almost cramped at the sight of all the food.
“I know,” he said. “They’re fucking crazy.”
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
