Crossfire - a sizzling slow burn with supernatural powers

Today is going to suck

The day after the dome incident was a blur. Focusing on the here and now was more difficult than I thought possible. I felt like I was being pulled in different directions. Cloud nine was whenever Brandt was near me. I soared when he looked at me or when we touched. Then I thought of Neil Duncan's attack or the fact that the smokers were hurting people and the walls closed in around me. I was out of my depth in every way possible.

Brandt guided me through the motions. He drove me home to a house which felt empty in a new way. He stayed in my bedroom after ushering me to take a shower and knocked on the door when I took too long. I was zoned out, looking at the tiled wall in the shower. He drove me to school and opened the passenger door for me.

"Today is going to suck, sweetheart. I'm sorry. And I'm sorry I can't be with you today. Remember to stay in the here and now."

"Here and now," I repeated as a calming mantra in my head. He pulled me into a hug. I breathed in his presence and scent and was enveloped in Brandt.

"And this is forever." He murmured into my hair.

In my frazzled state I heard him, but didn't react. I held on to the sides of his leather jacket, feeling the safety and warmth of this Brandt cocoon. He sent me on my way towards school and the air felt cool against my body. This was an adrenaline crash like he had explained it on the ride over. The best thing was to stick to the here and now.

"Here, now, and forever," I mumbled to myself.

Brandt was right, being in school was the right choice, even though both Andrea and I were acting strange. Andrea moped and when she saw Dylan, she tried to act as though she didn't suffer heartache. I walked around like a Neanderthal, only answering in one syllable words, but preferring grunt and mmms. Penny did her best, running interference in and out of class, but by the end of the day, she was visibly exhausted. We sat down in uncomfortable lounge benches, meant to be an informal teaching environment, before leaving school.

"I know you can't rush a heartache or whatever you are going through, but I hope the two of you will be back to your normal weirdness soon," Penny sighed. I pulled my arm around in a side to side hug.

"Thank you for having our back. Today sucked, but tomorrow will be better." I said. Staying in the present became easier throughout the day, and with a good night's sleep, I would hopefully be myself by tomorrow. Penny pushed me back a little.

"What in the world is that?" She pointed at my chest, where my raised arm exposed a bit of the Lichtenberg figure.

"Oh, a scar, yeah, I was stroke by lightning," I answered before thinking and panic set in. I wanted to swallow my words, if I could. I had just blurted out the truth. Penny held my shirt aside.

"That's very unlikely. Are you allergic to something?" She looked at me with those perceptive eyes of hers. I exhaled and nodded. Crisis averted and she had just given me a more plausible explanation to the figure on my chest.

"It's kind of beautiful," she added, with her head tilted to one side.

After school, I received a text from Brandt, saying that he had spoken with his dad, who was still furious and now in pain. Brandt was going on another assignment and would be gone a few days. He called me 'sweetheart' and the affection warmed me.

With Brandt away, I knew I had to adhere to a routine of normalcy in order to stay present. I went to school, hung out with Andrea and Penny, and returned to Titus Fitness with my gym bag over my shoulder.

Dingo met me with a scowl and his arms crossed.

"What happened to you?" The bruising was barely visible on my cheek or shoulder, and there was no hiding the scar on my chest.

"I got into a fight," I admitted.

Toot walked up to me with a smile from ear to ear and gave me a fist bump with his boxing gloves on,

"Hell yeah!"

"Toot! Get in the ring!" Dingo ordered and Toot immediately complied, and in a softer voice Dingo continued to me as he ran his eyes up and down my body,

"You're still standing. That's a relief. Get warmed up."

Dingo made me pay in training. He ran me through defensive drills, blocking blows, footwork, and ducking my head.

"Keep your hands up!" "Watch your stance!" "Balance, Harper!"

And when my muscles burned with exhaustion, he gave me a break. Toot came over and sat down with me.

"He's hard on you today."

"With good reason." It wasn't difficult to imagine Dingo as a unit leader, barking out orders in a hostile environment in a war zone. This was Dingo caring.

"It's good that you aren't in my boxing league. You're becoming quite the competitor." Toot said with his wide smile. Dingo came over, and Toot immediately picked up the skipping rope.

"Skipping rope, boss," Toot announced and moved away.

"Let's continue with offensive techniques," Dingo said and I involuntarily groaned as I got up.

Training did me good. All my muscles were sore, but I was so exhausted that I slept well. The added bonus was that when I trained this hard, it took all my concentration and I couldn't miss Brandt or overthink everything at the same time. Three days later, I was at Titan Fitness again.

Dingo taped up my hands to protect them.

"Frank," he called out, "do you have time to hold the mitt pads for Harper?" Frank stopped what he was doing.

"For puppy? Sure thing."

Frank held the pads for me, while Dingo called out sequences for me. I was doing my best, but it wasn't easy with cross armed Dingo behind me, correcting me and Frank pulling my chain.

"Is that all you've got? You are a puppy. My son has a better punch, and he is only nine."

"Watch your feet! Hands up, Harper! Don't twist your wrist!"

They were both getting under my skin and I was boiling with anger, each punch hitting the pads hard. My hair was wet from exertion, but the entire world was zoomed in to me, hitting the pads, Frank being Frank, and Dingo training me hard.

That's why I didn't see them coming.