Page 26 of Vexatious Queen

“Well, are you coming? I have a few more hateful things I’d like to say to you.”

“Yes, dear,” I said, laughing.

For a little while, I didn’t think about all the other crap and worries.

For just a few minutes…we were normal.

JANUARY 16 – FRIDAY 4:47 AM

Nash

Normally, this was the best time of day.

It was so early that no one was around, my phone wasn’t ringing, no one judged me, and it felt acceptable to do anything I wanted under the shroud of darkness.

But this morning I was following footprints through the newly fallen snow from the dorms to the athletic building, without a return set.

Who the fuck is in here?

I was on high alert as I pulled open the door, listening for any sound, my eyes searching the shadows. Nothing moved in the hallways or in any of the other rooms. Every footfall was silent as I walked closer to the locker room, wishing that I had my knife or gun.

The hair on the back of my neck bristled—an instinct developed from years of parental abuse. Someone was here.

I stepped into the echoey room and looked around. The only thing out of place was a bit of cloth caught in one of the locker doors. The lock was open and hanging there, daring me to look. All I found was a senior’s uniform, but no wallet or other identification.

Who the fuck?

Then it hit me. No…it couldn’t be. Annoyed, I closed the locker, leaving it as I found it before changing and exiting to the pool.

My suspicions were confirmed the moment I walked onto the pool deck.

Sabastian flipped at the far end and moved at a steady, relaxed pace. More warm-up than effort. I moved over to the end of the lane, glaring down at him as he reached out and touched the wall.

His head snapped up when he realized he wasn’t alone.

“What the hell are you doing in here?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?” He responded, heavy with sarcasm.

Pushing off the wall in a casual backstroke, he forced me to follow him.

“If you want to train, then get in, Nash. No one is stopping you, and the pool is certainly big enough.”

“That’s not the point. This is my time. No one is supposed to be in here,” I growled.

As the words left my mouth, I realized how childish they sounded, but I didn’t care. No one had bothered me here in three and a half years…until now.

“This is when I trained at my other school,” Sabastian said with a smirk.

Fuck, I hated this guy.

“Besides, I thought you wanted to be friends. Put the past behind us and bury the hatchet.”

I smiled but in reality I wanted to bury the hatchet alright—right between his shoulder blades.

“You’re right,” I said as he reached the end of the pool.

It was Sabastian’s turn to give me an uncertain expression.