Page 39 of Fight or Flight
The call goes dead, and I squeeze my phone so hard my knuckles go white. I have to fight the urge to throw my phone at the nearest object as hard as I can just to see it shatter.
Instead of doing that, I shove my phone back into my pocket and stalk down the path toward the house.
I hope to fuck I don’t run into anyone before I can spend the next hour in the gym beating the hell out of one of the boxing bags. Otherwise I might completely lose my shit and do something I’ll regret.
7
JACE
Veeringoff one of the many paths that snake around campus, I head into the woods and toward a rock wall Jax and I discovered during our freshman year.
I’ve been on edge since I woke up this morning, and the meeting earlier didn’t help.
I don’t like being left out of the loop, and with the announcements today, a lot of people kept me out of the loop.
My dad and uncles are part of the core group of alumni that Jordan said would be choosing the leaders from now on, and while I understand that they were just following the rules, it still pisses me off that they chose not to tell us that there was something going on, considering all the shit we’ve had to deal with this year.
I’m also salty that no one bothered to tell us about the new security measures, or that things were so bad that they had to put these measures in place, especially since Jax, Killian, and I were just named as three of the four members of next year’s leadership. If we’re supposed to be the ones in charge of security and safety next year, then why the fuck are they keeping usin the dark now when we’ve always been privy to this sort of information in the past?
I don’t really give two fucks about the key logs or the new rules about guests, which is what everyone else seems to be focusing on. The thing that’s making my brain itchy is not knowingwhythe changes are being put in place.
In order to change how the leadership is selected, they would have had to change the society’s charter. The last time they did that was last year, when they added an amendment that allowed us to have three leaders instead of four, but eliminating elections means they had to completely rewrite the section on leadership, and they wouldn’t have done that on a whim.
Knowing what I do about how things work, nothing within the Rebels is done “just because,” and changes don’t happen overnight.Somethinghad to have triggered all this, and whatever it is has probably been an issue for years, if not longer.
I’m not surprised that Jax, Killian, and I were named as leaders next year, considering how involved we’ve been with the inner workings of the frat for the past few years—even if they don’t want to include us now. And the three of us were going to put our names forward for the elections anyway, but Shane’s appointment is surprising.
He’s a founding legacy like we are, and his father is also part of the core group of alumni that ours are, but that’s where our similarities end.
Shane’s the type of guy who does just enough to fulfill his responsibilities with the frat, but that’s it. He doesn’t participate in activities if they aren’t mandatory, doesn’t volunteer for extra committees or duties, and he sticks to the background when he does get involved in things.
I have no hate for him on that front because the only reason I’m so involved in things is that it’s expected of me. And because I don’t trust anyone outside of my family to keep me and minesafe. But there has to be a reason he was appointed, and why they decided to go back to a four-person team next year.
Nothing about the situation makes sense, and not knowing what the fuck is going on is driving me crazy.
I need to get out of my head for a while. The only way to do that right now is to climb. Being around people isn’t an option, and I know from experience that nothing good will come of tonight if I don’t burn off the restless energy that will ultimately lead to me losing my shit and having to deal with the aftermath.
The school has a climbing gym, but even the most difficult section doesn’t pose any sort of challenge for my brother or me, especially since the gym staff won’t let anyone near the walls without full safety gear and someone acting as a belayer. That’s not the kind of climbing we enjoy, so we found our own spot.
Plus, the wall is closed at night, and that’s one of the best times to climb, at least it is for me. Most people wouldn’t even consider free climbing when it’s dark out, and every climbing instructor or wall employee will tell you that climbing alone in the dark is the worst thing you can do, especially with no equipment, but I’ve never been one to follow the rules.
The moon is just over a quarter full tonight, and the sky is clear of clouds, so it’s bright enough that I can see without straining, but not so bright that it’ll be easy.
Once I’m at the wall, I strip off my sweater and empty my pockets so I don’t lose anything, then walk along the base to scout my route.
I’ve climbed every single inch of the wall over the years, but I try not to use the same route too many times if I can help it. There’s no challenge in repeating something you’ve already done, and what’s the point if there’s no challenge?
Once I have my route set, I flex my fingers a few times, more out of habit than as an actual warm-up, then grab a small bumpin the rock and use it to haul myself up the side of the wall until I can wedge my foot against another tiny bump.
The world around me fades as soon as both my feet are off the ground, and the only things that exist in that moment are me and the wall. Every grip and pull brings me that much closer to the top, and knowing that the only thing stopping me from falling to the rocky ground is my ability to hang on to a piece of rock a quarter of an inch wide is a rush unlike anything else.
I reach the top with ease, then start climbing down using a different route I took to get up, just for a little extra challenge.
As soon as my feet are on the ground, I move to the other end of the wall and immediately jump up to grab a shard of rock that’s jutting out from the wall and haul myself up.
This part of the wall is an overhang, and instead of going straight up or ascending at an incline, the top of it is further out than the base, and the nearly forty-five-degree angle makes it almost impossible to use your legs or feet. You have to rely on your grip strength and arms to climb it.
Jax and I have raced each other up this part of the wall more times than I can count, so I let muscle memory take over and I scale the wall like a spider monkey, then do it two more times for good measure.
