Page 135 of Twisted Ties

Rhi

If I’d hopedthe run up to this big match would mean Spencer and Tristan’s attention is diverted away from me for a short time, well, I’m wrong.

When I step out of my dorm the next morning, one half of the deadly duo is blocking the path, feet planted wide, arms crossed tightly across his giant frame.

I hope for one fleeting moment that he isn’t waiting for me. But with his eyes locked on my face, I know he is.

“Really?” I say, with irritation. “It’s been what? Six hours.”

“Come with me,” he says.

Winnie steps in front of me. “No way. You dragged her out of bed last night. You’re not hassling her again this morning.” She hesitates, then straightens her shoulders. “Get lost, Spencer, or I’ll report you to Principal York for harassment.”

Spencer pays no attention to my irate roommate, peering straight over her head and speaking directly to me.

“We’re going to the gym. I have thirty minutes free.”

“Excuse me?” I say.

“Your self defense skills are woeful. I’m going to help you.”

My jaw slackens and I stare at him in utter disbelief.

“You have to be kidding me,” I finally manage to splutter.

“You’ve been a dickhead about helping Rhi out all term and now all of a sudd–”

“If you have someone like Renzo Barone on your tail, you need to know how to defend yourself,” he hisses lowly.

Winnie glances over her shoulder at me, then back up at Spencer. “Rhi’s faced him twice already and is still here to tell the tale,” she says, sounding proud. “She doesn’t need your help.”

“She does,” Spencer says, clearly losing patience with my roommate and stepping around her to grab my arm. “Come on, we’re losing time here.”

“Well, perhaps this isn’t a very convenient time for me,” I say, “I haven’t eaten breakfast and–”

“I picked us up bagels from the hall. You can eat afterwards. Come on.” He yanks on my arm and I stare at Winnie in disbelief. She shrugs.

This is probably a trap or some kind of sick scheme he’s organized with Tristan or Summer or both. Then again, if it’s not, if he really is prepared to help me, can I afford to turn the offer down? I’m in desperate need of learning.

“Fine,” I mutter.

He pulls me along the path, leaving Winnie gaping at us both, only dropping his hand from my arm when otherpeople appear on the path. Then he makes a deliberate thing of walking three paces ahead of me, although I don’t miss how he keeps glancing over his shoulder to ensure I’m still following him.

At the gymnasium, I turn towards the girls’ locker room.

“We don’t have time for you to change,” he says, smacking back the gymnasium doors.

“I’m not fighting you in this,” I say, glancing down at my stupid skirt and socks.

“You think Renzo Barone is going to wait around while you change into more suitable attire, Pig Girl?”

“No,” I concede, following him through into the empty gymnasium. The mats are already set up. Was that simply luck or did he do that?

He tosses his bag to the ground and toes off his shoes. Then he meets my gaze and my bond shimmers. Does he feel it too? Or am I reading this all wrong?

“You’ve been approaching this all wrong. Making it far too easy for me,” he says.

“If you’d actually tried to–”