Page 25 of Burdens
Green fumes sprouted in my chest at their familiarity. I tore my gaze away from them to try and tame them, turning my attention to another pairing of two guys—a man with his brown hair tied in a half-bun and a blond with his hair buzzed short that looked to be twice his size. They were going at each other like they held a vendetta against one another.
The blond one rushed forward, his fist moving to hit the other trainee square in the jaw, but he put up his hands up to block the shot just in time. He then retaliated by aiming a few leg kicks at his opponent’s legs until he brought it farther up that his foot hit the blond’s ribs.
I watched them spar for a few more minutes until a loud thud resonated in the room. And it came from behind me.
Tendrils of anger started to form when I realizedwhowas behind me.
If that bastard hurt her…
I whipped around, only to findherholding him down in an armlock. I held in my smile as I watched this Asher guy struggle under her grip, his face turning beet red by the second as he kept trying to get himself out of her hold instead of submitting.
She applied more pressure and leaned down to whisper something in his ear, the hint of a smile gracing her lips.
I like her.
Asher finally tapped the mat and she let go. He rolled away from her and peeled himself off the floor, standing straight and dusting his clothes to right them, his breaths harsh and his face still red.
She held out her hand for him to shake and he reluctantly took it, a strained smile on his lips. Then he turned on his heelsand headed for the water dispenser, grabbed a paper cup and filled it with water. His gaze flitted to her again while he brought the water to his lips, but he immediately looked away when he saw me watching him.
A few minutes later, I dismissed them for the rest of the day. While most of everyone stayed behind, she was the first to bolt out of the room.
And against my better judgment, I went after her.
She rounded the corner and headed for the hallway that led to the dorms, but before she could reach her destination, I opened up a nondescript door, wrapped my hand around her elbow, and hauled her into what looked like a storage room.
She barely had time to react before I slammed the wooden door shut.
“What the—” She stopped mid-sentence when I flicked the lights on and her eyes landed on mine. “Jo—Mr. Brown?” Her eyes widened, and she stumbled back, but my grip on her didn’t let her go far.
“What are you doing here?” I questioned, my voice tight.
Her brows pinched together, but she didn’t respond.
The muscle in my jaw ticked as I repeated through gritted teeth. “I asked what are you doing here,Mia?” I demanded. My tone was accusatory, but deep down I was furious. More at myself than I was at her, but in this moment, they both blurred together.
She ripped her arm from my grip. “If it wasn’t obvious already, I’m here to train. And my name is Amalia.”
Realization slowly dawned on me. I pinched the bridge of my nose, closed my eyes, and threw my head back. This was already a worst-case scenario, but now it was even worse than I could have ever imagined.
Not only did I sleep with one of my students, I slept with the one that the Director personally selected for me to watch over.I hadn’t had the chance to look over her file after he called me because I’d wanted to assess her in class before I knew of her accolades.
I shook my head. “You’re Amalia Abara,” I stated.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “The one and only.”
“Of course you are.” I let out a laugh of disbelief.
God, I was fucking stupid. Of course it had to be her and the revelation felt like a slap in the face. Fire erupted in my chest as I looked at her.
“Did you know who I was at the bar last night?” Before she could get a word in, I continued my line of accusation. “Is that why you approached me?” I rubbed a hand through my hair before dragging it down over my face. “Did you think it would help you get favors if you slept with me?”
The moments the words left my mouth, I regretted them.
She reared back at my accusation as if I had backhanded her across the face. “Excuse me?” She narrowed her eyes, the green in her irises turning ablaze. “I won’t stay here and let you talk to me that way, so I’m leaving,” she said, her tone harsh.
She pushed me out of her way, but the second her fingers wrapped around the handle and she opened the door, my hand darted out and slammed it back shut.
My breathing grew heavy and I knew what I was about to do would be a mistake, but I had to apologize. I’d stepped out of line and that wasn’t who I was. My hand still rested on the door, while the fingers of my other one skimmed against the hand she had resting at her side.
