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Opening my eyes once more, I lifted the note and opened the folded piece of paper to read what it said.
Delicate as a flower. Beautiful as a black rose with sparkles. Let the pain wither. Replace it with the motivation to be better. Don't push yourself, or I'll kick your ass and feed it to the wolves.
- D.M.
"Why does he think this is romantic?" I huffed while shaking my head. "Men."
There was a soft chuckle and I noticed Jayce was in the locker room with me, leaning against the first locker in my row. He was wearing all black with a leather jacket with graffiti characters. His blonde hair was spiked up and his blue eyes were brighter than usual.
"That's Dimitris's way of telling you he worries about you when he's not occupied with world domination," he concluded.
"When did you get in here?"
"When you opened the locker," he replied, casually like it wasn’t a big deal.
Fuck. I'm slipping.
"Don't be harsh on yourself," he muttered and stared at where the bullet hit me. "The bullet was cloaked with an odd serum that slows down one's senses. Your crazy best friend is looking into it."
"She ain't crazy," I muttered as my eyes rolled. "Why does everyone say that after they meet her?"
"Because she's crazy."
I pouted my lips in disapproval, but he shrugged. "You sure about fighting tonight?"
"I'll lose my sanity if I don't," I muttered and put the rose back in its hanging place before taking a hair tie and closing the door. Gathering my hair, I observed him carefully. "You're being talkative tonight."
"This is nothing close to being talkative, but sure." He clearly didn't give a shit, but turned to face me. "Put your hair in a bun."
"If you're going to tell me how ponytails risk being grabbed in the ring, I know."
"For tonight, put it up," he reasoned.
"You're seeing something I ain't, huh?"
"There are intriguing people in the crowd," he muttered. "We're investigating."
"We?"
"Neo."
"I wonder how he sees the world that's booming with energy," I muttered, mostly to myself.
"It's like seeing everything in glow in the dark, adding the flow of auras around those who stand out the most," Jayce explained.
"How do you know?"
"I've temporarily lost my sight during a fight. I used that very method to win. It's hard as fuck, but I'm sure you know how it feels to be at the edge of losing and using anything to prevail."
"Saint said you used to fight," I revealed. "Why'd you stop?"
He didn't answer as he turned around. I expected him to walk away, but he muttered, "I fought against someone who wasn't who they appeared to be. Illusion magic. Long story short, I killed someone I respected. I’d been blinded by the trap they set for me. Everyone saw the same as me so when it all ended, the crowd dropped to an eerie silence."
"Who...who was the person?"
"My mate," he replied and looked over my shoulder. There were those gold orbs that inspected my reaction as he muttered, "She died that day. Left me mateless, and I’ve hated the ring since. It's not like I can't fight. If I have to, I will, but she deserves to see me be the better man, and that's by killing every fucker who dares try to fuck my life over."
"Is that why you're always angry?" I quietly asked.
