Academy for an Assassin {A Novel]

AFAA: Chapter 14

I am so sorry it took forever to write this. I would probably go back and reread the last chapter or so, just to remember what's going. But here it is, chapter 14.

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Chapter 14

I think there is something wrong with me. Instead of being cautious around the person who might try to kill me, I was staring up at them, heart racing, and wishing he'd kiss me.

After Jack told me about how he thought Ash had been the one trying to kill me, two assassins who lived at headquarters came out onto the porch and invited us up to the gym to a sparring match. Jack told them I couldn't because I already had a training partner, but he would be up there in a second.

I didn't know what he meant by a training partner, but I didn't care about that at the moment. The only thing I could hear was that someone was trying to murder me. Excuse me for caring about my life and nothing else at the moment.

Once the two were gone and we were alone again, I grabbed Jack and pulled him further down the stairs so anyone passing by in the house wouldn't over hear us.

"What do you mean he wants to kill me?" I practically yelled.

He sighed. "Look, I probably shouldn't have said anything to you right now, especially since you're going to go train with him right now by the lake, but-"

"I'm what?"

"You're training with Ash," Jack responded confused. "I thought X told you that's what you were going to do while you were here."

I mentally sighed. He did tell me, but I didn't think I would actually have to or that I was doing it today and right now. Especially after this little announcement from Jack.

"Anna, I have to go," he told me. "Ash is waiting down by the lake, that trail over there will lead you to it. I'll see you later."

"Jack!" I called after him but he was already gone. The son of a bitch tells me that someone wants to kill me and then leaves me alone with that person. Fucking assassins.

I look for the trail that Jack pointed out and took it reluctantly. I knew I was late and picked up my pace a little. The trail was easy to follow and a few short minutes later I was able to see the lake Jack just mentioned. And beside it was Ash.

I stopped right before the trail stopped and hid enough so that he wouldn't see me right away. I watched as he stretched and prepared himself for the training session. He stretched his arms over his head, making the muscles in his arms bulge and I was able to steal a peak at his abs as his shirt rode up. 

My breath caught in my throat and I couldn't help but think once again how incredibly handsome-no, breathtaking-he looked. 

He stopped and turned around and looked at me. Heart racing, I straightened my shoulders and continued to walk towards him, trying not to feel embarrassed that I had just been caught spying on him. Of course, he hadn't been doing anything bad, so I didn't know why it would matter. 

It didn't matter. 

Right?

Shaking the thought from my head, I stopped a few feet in front of him and said, "Alright. Where do we start."

That had been a bad question. Apparently, Ash wanted to know all of my skill sets so we spent an hour doing every kind of form of combat and martial arts. Most of it I knew, but there were a couple of things that I didn't, which resulted in Ash kicking my ass or saying we'd get to it later. 

By the time an hour (or two, it sure felt like more though) passed, I was a bit sweaty because of the 7 miles Ash made me run in under 10 minutes (let's just say, I never got past 5) and I was pretty sure I'd have more bruises tomorrow then I ever did in my whole life. And I've had many bruises. A lot. 

Now for the past 20 minutes Ash has been trying to get me to attack him. Well, he wanted to see if  I could attack and bring him down. The answer was...no, I could not. 

"You're not trying," he said. 

"Oh," I reached up and took the hand he offered, taking in a deep breath, "the problem isn't that I'm not trying. It's just that you're..."

"Better than you?" he raised an eyebrow. 

"More experienced is the way I'd put it," I defended myself, pride and ego just a bit bruised. "You have more experience in the outside world." I paused. "What's it like?"

"The outside world?" I nodded. "Not much better than what you're used to. Yes, you see more of the world but we-we'll always be in the game. Although we see the world it'll always be tainted by the blood we spill or have seen. If you stay here, work for X, then the only experience you get is fighting, killing, and disappearing. You won't be able to start a real family or settle down without being having to look over you shoulder every time you go out. It would seem like it's better if you just stayed in the Academy and worked for them."

"But it's not," I said. "Do you wish you had stayed?"

"No," he said. "Staying with the Academy puts a lot more regret and deaths on your mind. And the thought that you're willingly working for an organization like that...This life is better. Whatever life this actually is."

 A sort of silence passed between us as we each just contemplated his words. I glanced up at him and saw that this was a glimpse into his thoughts. His face seemed deep in thought and I couldn't help but think how handsome. Just then he looked at me and our eyes connected. I suddenly felt  this weird feeling in my stomach. It was a weird, fluttery sensation and I could feel my palms sweating, and not because of the hard work out. 

I suddenly became self concious about how sweaty and close we stood to each other. We were about a foot apart from each other, and I could see just a slight sheet of sweat forming on his forhead and right above his lips. His lips were nice and pink and I couldn't help but just think how they would feel against mine...

"Guys!"

The sudden voice broke through the trance and I jumped back. We broke apart and I looked towards the trail leading down here by the lake we were training next to. A little ways up the trail, I could see Carrie. She was in workout clothes as well, so I imagined that people were still training back inside the house. 

"You have to come to the house, quickly!" she called down to us. 

Curious, we both jogged up to her and then headed back to the house. On the way there, Carrie shot me a sly look and I could feel my cheeks turning beet red. I looked away from her and followed Ash into the house. 

We were there in about a minute, and Carrie led us in the living room where almost everyone was gathered. The adults stood in the back, while the younger kids sat on the floor or the sofas. But all of their attention was turned to the tv on one side of the room. Upon entering, I saw Jack and went to stand by him. 

"What's going on?" I asked. 

He looked at us with a grave expression. "Watch."

I turned my attention to the TV and noticed that it was on a news channel. There was a special announcement going and it didn't take long to understand what they were saying. 

"Holy fuck."

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So sorry it took forever to update this. Please comment and vote!