Page 267 of Ruin Me Gently

When we first started, the idea of anyone coming at me would’ve had me flinching, scrambling back, looking for the nearest exit. I would’ve panicked, hesitated too long, left myself wide open.

But now? Now my brain didn’t completely short circuit at the first sign of movement. I didn’t freeze. I didn’t immediately think ‘run.’

I knew what to do. I might not have been good at it. But I was better.

“Good. I’m gonna go faster this time. That good with you?” Finn asked.

“Yeah.”

He tested me first—light taps, nothing serious. I deflected, adjusting when he switched angles, shifting my weight like he’d drilled into me over and over again.

Then he came at me properly.

I blocked. Sloppy, but I still did it. My arms ached from the impact, but I didn’t flinch, didn’t stagger. I kept my footing.

“Nice,” Finn said, circling me. “Stay with me.”

Another strike. Another block. A shuffle back. A pivot.

I was doing it. Not perfect, not clean. And I was definitely a little sweaty, and a little wheezy. But I was cracking on.

Finn threw a sequence—fast, sharp, more pressure than before. I adjusted, blocked, pushed through—

“Ow, ow—stop, stop!” I doubled over clutching my side, wincing.

Finn dropped his hands immediately. “Shit, what happened?”

“Stitch,” I panted, pressing my palm to my diaphragm. “Just—give me a sec.”

The weight bench creaked, and Silas was on his feet, crossing the space, eyes locked on me. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

I waved him off, sucking in a breath and vaguely gesturing at my midsection. “Yeah, I’m just, you know,” I dropped my voice to a stage whisper, “fat.”

Finn snorted. “You do have that whole human body thing going on.”

Silas did not snort.

Or laugh.

Or react in any way that indicated he was amused in the slightest.

His brows dipped, jaw tensing, lips pressing into a hard line.

I still had no idea why that offended him so much.

“Silas.”

Nothing.

Finn sighed. “Dude, it’s a joke.”

Silas didn’t even blink. “Don’t care. We’re done.”

I frowned. “What?”

“I said we’re done.”

I gawked at him. “It’s barely been half an hour.”

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