Reed.
Reed Hoffman. The director's nephew. Rules don't apply to him and never have. Tall, strong, brown eyes, black hair. Cocky, arrogant, loud. Everything I despise. People say he's attractive. I can see it, I'm not blind, but his personality cancels it out ten times over. He's also a student leader, good at MMA, good enough that Griff gets him to compete. Good grades. Reed’s also Mason’s leader, that kid we found crying in the hallway.Hewas the one belting that poor kid for no reason.
I didn't tell Liam about Reed because I didn't want him to know Reed existed. Reed tried to sabotage me when I became a leader, the only reason being that he doesn’t like other leaders. He wants all the privileges to himself. Told Griff I was using privileges to dodge obligations. Griff didn't buy it. Didn't matter. After that, all I wanted was to kill him.
And now he's sparring with Liam. That easy smirk. Like a predator.
"Easy, sweetie," Jack teases as I land a combination too hard. "Save something for the bag."
"Sorry," I grunt.
I tell myself to breathe. Who Liam pairs with is not my problem. I made sure of that.
But my eyes keep drifting. Liam's form has improved. Still sloppy footwork, still drops his left guard on the right cross. I want to go over and correct him. Reed is grinning at him. Charming him.
I want to break his nose.
"Switch partners!" Griff calls.
Panic. I scan the room. Sammi. I've never willingly paired with Sammi. He's arrogant, lazy, terrible technique. But he's my best option. Blond hair in his eyes, flashing a smile like he's won the lottery.
"Sammi," I call, moving toward him before Liam can intercept. "Let's go."
"The golden boy gracing me with his presence? I'm honored."
I hold up the pads. "You want to do this or not?"
"Hell yes, daddy," he teases.
I want to vomit.
From the corner of my eye, Liam standing in the middle of the mat, looking around as others pair up. Jack waves him over. The guilt hits. I crush it.
Sammi's combinations are sloppy and predictable. I correct him mechanically. "Guard up. Follow through. Pivot on the back foot." The words come out. Part of me is always tracking Liam, where he is, what he's doing, whether he's looking at me.
He is. I don't meet it.
Sammi drops his guard for the fifth time. I smack his head. Not hard. He almost moans. I regret being born.
Another rotation. Another partner. Then another. By the third switch, it's obvious what I'm doing. The confusion on Liam's face has hardened into hurt. His movements are more aggressive, less controlled. He throws a wild hook that Cedric barely blocks. I fight the urge to intervene.
"Want to tell me what's going on with you two?" Jack asksduring the water break.
"Nothing. Boundaries."
Jack's look says he's not buying it. "Right. Because boundaries include pretending he doesn't exist."
I cap my bottle too hard. "I'm his leader, not his friend. It's better this way."
"For who?" Jack says. "You're killing him. Look at him."
Griff calls us back before I have to answer. Jack's right. I know it. My stomach knows it.
The final drill, circular rotation, one person defending against multiple attackers. When it's my turn in the center, I lose myself. Block, counter, pivot, block. Muscle memory. For a few minutes, I don't think about anything. Just movement.
Then Liam steps up as my next attacker. Those blue eyes. The tattoos. The black hair.
Everything in me goes still.
