You Made Me Fall, But That's Okay

Chapter Twenty-Five - Silent Riddle

‘Well done, Laura! Finally!’ Sam cheered, clapping his hands because at long last I managed to learn how to make a fist the right way. I smiled, examining my hand. According to Sam, my fingers were placed perfectly … although it took him about ten minutes to show me how. I looked around at the rest of the lads, who were also cheering and clapping at my achievement. Now the next step was to learn how to punch. I wondered how long this would take …

I was finally having my first fighting lesson, and so far I found it tedious. Fighting seemed simple, but when it came to the lads teaching me, it was exceedingly complicated. It was all about your technique – the way you tuck your thumb underneath your fingers, and the way you try to scrunch your knuckles together, rather than spreading them apart. It was bizarre how much thought went into making a fist, but Drake described all of the consequences if you don’t make your fist correctly … I didn’t fancy breaking any knuckles or wrists. After that, I had to keep making fists until the positions of my fingers felt almost natural. Sam was making sure that I didn’t fail to remember.

For the first time in what seemed like absolutely ages, Ryan wasn’t even with me. He was only texting me now and then, too occupied with whatever he was doing with the leaders of his gang. Kyle kept trying to assure me that he’d be returning soon, but whether he was or not, I was still missing him terribly. Without Ryan, I felt really strange. It was just like a part of me was lost, no matter how cheesy that sounded. I had never gone so long without holding his hand, having his strong arms around me, or staring into those beautiful green eyes … Maybe I was getting a bit too attached, but, to be honest, I didn’t actually care …

In a dreary daze, I watched as a hand clicked its fingers directly in front of my face. Then I woke up, realising that it was now Ethan’s shot to show me how to punch. ‘Quit thinking about your boyfriend and pay attention,’ he scolded, grinning. ‘Now, I want you to punch me as hard as you can. Don’t be afraid to hurt me – I’m used to it. Pretend I’m your worst enemy. You absolutely hate me. You want to hurt me so much.’

‘But I don’t really have an enemy …’ I mumbled, trying to think of someone.

Mike raised a sceptical eyebrow. ‘Have you forgotten about Travis?’

I shrugged, biting my lip. ‘I don’t really hate him. I’m just really angry at him.’

Ethan rolled his eyes. ‘Come on, Laura. You must know someone you’d love to punch. Right, pretend I’m this really hot girl and I’m going after Ryan. Pretend I kissed him behind your back. Pretend I flirt with him everyday, non stop, all the time. You can’t go anywhere without seeing me flirt with him –’ He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence, because my fist suddenly brought itself viciously up to his jaw.

Shocked at myself, I stared wide-eyed at my hand. My knuckles were kind of sore, but not as sore as Ethan’s jaw. He grimaced, massaged it and frowned at me. ‘You could have at least warned me, Laura! You’ve really got a good punch. You’re definitely not as weak as I thought you’d be …’ Ethan commented. ‘You sure don’t like the thoughts of another girl going after Ryan, do you?’

I smiled sheepishly. ‘Sorry. I didn’t really expect that, either. It just happened.’ Suddenly my phone rang, and I pulled it out of my pocket to see that Ryan was calling me. Still smiling, I answered, hoping he was ringing me to tell me that he was coming to collect me now. ‘Hi, Ryan, what’s up?’

‘Hey baby, um … I won’t be able to be back as soon as I thought I would. I’ve just got to head over to the next town to have a look for Travis. Some dude reckons he spotted him in some alleyway, or something. I promise, I’ll be home before …’ he hesitated for a moment. ‘Well, I’ll make sure that I’m home before it’s dark. I just want to make sure that every where is searched before I leave. I need to make sure he’s gone, and if we find him I’ll make sure he never goes near you again. Get Kyle to bring you home. He has a key to my apartment so he’ll stay with you until I come back. I’m sorry, Laura. I’ll be home as soon as I can.’