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Gray staggered to his feet, coughing. A trickle of blood ran down the side of his lip and when he finally spoke, his voice came out in a cold whisper.
I wouldn’t have guessed what he was saying if I hadn’t read his lips, which I became pretty good at since I’d been watching a lot of K-dramas in the middle of the night with the volume down.
“You are using yourotherstrength, Rainer,” was what he said, his tone accusatory.
At this point, I was already so lost in their conversation and my possible theories. For example, they were strong. Really strong. That wasn’t normal.
And I wasn’t dreaming either. Just like I hadn’t been dreaming when Gray was hit by a car and recovered at home, on his own, from an accident that should have killed him.
Rainer ignored Gray, soaking up the wondrous and horrified stares of the bystanders. A police siren sounded in the distance, but no one seemed to care.
“So? There was never an agreement not to go that far, or did I miss something?” Rainer questioned. When Gray simply stared at him, he reached up to comb his hair with his fingers before continuing, “Just what I thought.”
Uh-oh.
In a blink of an eye, Gray crossed the space between him and Rainer. His right fist seemed to be moving in slow motion, but at the same time it all happened in a blur.
Rainer managed to sidestep the punch, but the ground didn’t fare so well. As Gray’s blow landed, the tarred pavement cracked and shattered, forming a deep hole the size of a dinner plate. Rainer lifted his chin, and for the first time, his eyes held something akin to fear.
But not for long.
Bystanders began backing away, obviously aware of the impending danger.
I remained glued to the same spot, my heart racing too fast when I wasn’t even the one on the battlefield.
Gray shook his hands out, lips curling into a grimace. “Last chance to step away,” he offered Rainer, the words so soft I had to strain to hear them.
Rainer snarled, and Gray snapped into action. Before Rainer could respond, Gray had him down on the concrete curb, slamming his fist into his old friend’s already swollen face over and over again.
I was powerless to look away.
Despite the brutal beating, Rainer grinned up at Gray through bloody, crooked teeth, almost as if this had been his goal all along.
Enough was enough. Taking a deep breath, I pulled my scrunchie off my wrist and tied my hair into a high ponytail. This made me feel in control.
With my lips squeezed together, I blew out a whistle in an attempt to separate the two of them.
After three whistles, I caught their attention. They stopped and glared at me, then their eyes tracked toward the oncoming police car. I took this as an opportunity and kicked Rainer’s balls just as the police car screeched to a halt right behind the crowd.
I’d seen this in the movies before. It didn’t end well. Gray could still go to jail.
The plan was to sincerely apologize for the damages and happily blame everything on Rainer—I know, rude—but Gray had other escape plans. Before I could react against it, Gray snatched my hand and pulled us down the busy streets in a blur.
I’ll Be There Either Way
Before the copscould arrest us, I dragged Aera with me to the crowded street market. When the sirens diminished, Aera changed our direction. She pulled me toward the school and into the infirmary. No nurses were around upon our arrival. Aera took over the role; she prepared the first aid kit and pushed me on a bed, aggressively.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she said, her fingers grazing over my cheek as she applied an ointment to every superficial cut I earned. “I thought you were a genius.”
I snorted. “Is answering yes to ‘who didn’t do homework today?’ considered a genius move?”
She pinched my arm and muttered, “You were lucky I was beyond inhumane and kicked Rainer’s balls. If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t even have a neck right now.”
“What do you mean? He was losing. I wasn’t in real danger,” I wailed. “Unless … you had a vision that I ended up losing and got my neck ripped open?”
Aera nodded curtly and pinched my arm one more time.
Let me just pretend the arm where Rainer had left a bruise hurt more than usual. “Ouch,” I faked a grimace, but it sounded disturbing, too … fake.
