Releasing my hold around my legs, I straighten my back and push off my knees to stand. Taking in as much air through my nose as possible I softly close my eyes to hold. My limbs get floaty as I focus on my steady heartbeat and warmth floods my body. Sixty-three seconds before I release all the air in my lungs and then I suck in another deep breath to hold it again.
This time I wait till seventy-seven seconds before releasing. It would be better if I was barefoot and toeing some grass, but the grounding breathing helps, nonetheless. Maybe tonight I’ll slip out to lay next to the forest by the dorm building. Maybe it’ll help reset the flow of my body.
Speaking of. . . a sharp pain slices through my lower abdomen. Fucking hell, this next week is about to be a bitch.
Twelve
Mavyn – August 17
Honestly, he’s giving Landon vibes. . . is the first thing I hear when Jullia approaches me. I’m leaning against the doorway to the training arena. The massive room looks like three warehouses connected with a loft styled upstairs holding every piece of gym machinery you could need.
Downstairs are padded sections for one on one combat and so many other things I can’t fully concentrate on because Asher is facing off against Thorne and both look pissed.
Jullia blocks my view and in the back of my mind I remember her approaching me and saying something. She said a name. . . Landon?
“Who’s Landon?” I ask. Tilting my head to peer over her shoulder to watch as Asher lunges first. Neither of them haveweapons and the fight is supposed to be purely self-defense, but Thorne delivers a solid left hook and I’m surprised Jullia is being so calm about this.
She slaps my shoulder and it was hard enough to sting. Giving her my full attention, I glare. She glares right back.
“Your boyfriend is getting pummeled and you don’t seem bothered,” I say dryly.
She tenses a bit before taking a deep breath and dismissing my comment. “They’re not allowed to use any abilities so he’ll be fine. Now, how did the interview go?”
Right. The whole reason I’m here.
“Fine. They said I can start tonight after this session is finished.” Done paying attention to the fight I fully survey the arena.
There was a position for the cleaning crew for the school and while there are no students on it with only staff, the advisor seemed like she was tired of seeing my face every other day and said I could work on probation for this first week to see how it goes. The head of the cleaning crew didn’t seem to care that I was a vampire, but he did say since I was new I was on gym duty.
“That’s awesome,” Jullia gushes. She turns around and steps back so she’s beside me now as her smile tightens watching the fight. “And Thorne is Landon. Landon King.”
“Huh?”
She smirks and then sobers. “I’ll lend you my book,God of Ruin. Landon is the main male character and Thorne gives his vibes. Though Thorne isn’t so much a narcissist and psycho. I could also see Kai Mori vibes too.” She hums. “I have to remember to reread that series when October hits.”
My eye twitches as I side-eye her. “I would prefer not to read a sex book where Thorne is more or less the main character, thank you.”
Someone chokes and we both turn to both Asher and Thorne staring at us. Well that’s just fucking great.
The former gives a cocky smirk to his girlfriend who’s face is bright red. The latter burns dark red eyes at me while taking his hand and wiping the corners of his mouth. His abs and biceps flex with the movement and I flex my own abs hidden under my shirt to keep from moving.
Slowly turning away from me he starts making his way to the edge of the mat where bottles of water are. The muscles in his back ripple as he bends down to pick a bottle up to chug.
“Well,” Jullia whispers, “I wouldn’t judge – “
Before she can finish whatever it is she was going to say I push off the wall and circle her to exit through the hall. There’s a staff common room at the end of the hall with lockers for those that work in this area of the university. There should be a coverall jumpsuit for me in one of them and the training class should be about done by now.
Jullia’s light chuckle echoes after me but she doesn’t follow. Entering the code to the room that the head of the cleaning crew gave me, I enter to find it empty. Good. I need to change out of my uniform and there isn’t a bathroom in here.
I don’t have anything to wear under the coverall unless I want to wear my uniform, but I’m just going to have to deal with it until I can get paid. Going to my locker – number four – I twist the notch on the lock to the numbers the head of the cleaning crew also gave me and open it on the first try. Inside the lockeris a dingy brown long sleeve jumpsuit that looks similar to what mechanics wear.
On the floor of the locker is a pair of black boots that should be my size and a cap sitting on top of them. With a backwards glance at the door, I begin undressing. Hanging my blazer on the only other hook in the locker, I toe off my flats and then slip the thigh high socks off.
My skin pebbles being exposed to the cool air and I’m sure if there was hair on my legs every strand would be raised. Cordellia had said on multiple occasions I was lucky I didn’t have to shave or use creams to get rid of the hair on my body – since I don’t have any. Most of the time I’d just dismiss her comment but every once in a while I would remind her that I may not have hair on my body, but that’s due to the poison in my blood and I still have scars covering every other inch.
I didn’t tend to remind her because she usually forgot about them as a whole. She – and most of the girls at the brothel – didn’t pay any mind to them. Even when they were exposed, when I would wear my little dresses or a t-shirt and shorts, it was as if I didn’t have them. I never had to cover up around them.
Yet another reason I miss home. Clothing rubbing over the scars always feels like they’re getting irritated. Even though they’ve long been healed. It’s fine in the winter because they don’t ache as much in the cold, but especially when it’s warm or I get sweaty they sting.
