✓ 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘁 ↣ 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐧

PART: 26

The bell went off for lunch. I was happy to eat since I've been starving all morning. As everyone loads into the entrance, I put the equipment up that I was using. Today I was using the stick on the dummy and it got a lot of frustration out of me. Mostly with it being Landon telling me what to do. I should have gone but I can't change the past.

A set of feet come into my view. They stop and wait. Looking at the shoes, it's a pair of sneakers with pink and green stripes lining them. I know for sure Landon doesn't wear those. I tilt my head up to see the last person I want to talk to.

"Can I help you with something?" I ask Kelly.

"What's going on with you and Landon?" She doesn't beat around the bush now does she.

Closing the tote I say, "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," she snaps. I stand up to her level. She is about two feet taller than me but it's not intimidating.

"No, I don't," I plainly say.

"Don't play dumb with me," she says. She flips her long blonde hair over her shoulder and smacks her pink lips. Kelly is pretty I'll admit, but her personality makes her very hideous.

"I don't know what the fuck your talking about!" I say. Her jealousy spark has rose inside of her. I can see it in her eyes when they look in mine.

"You guys are fooling around aren't you?"

I laugh and it catches her off guard. I slap my hands on my thighs finding this hilarious that she's actually jealous of the relationship Landon and I have. Their's nothing to be jealous of. He hates me and he's annoying.

"I thought you two were!" I hysterically say. Her face flushes red. I guess none of us were getting a piece of Landon.

"It's not funny!" she says angrily and embarrassed all in one. I stop laughing, wiping imaginary tears from my eyes to make her even angrier. "Stay away from him," she demands.

"And why is that?"

"I don't want to see you two laughing, smiling, or even looking at each other."

I sarcastically laugh. "Maybe you should tell him that. He is my trainer. How the hell can we not look at each other? Do you want me to keep a fucking blindfold on the whole time?"

"You'll figure it out," she carelessly says. Kelly has a tremendous amount of stupidity.

"I don't know who the fuck you think you are, but you don't tell me what I can and can't do!" I guess I'm looked at as a kid again.

"I'm warning you," she says like a threat. "I'm trying to help you. Landon doesn't like you. He's told me."

"How is that?" I ask curiously. She turns her head over her shoulder to make sure we're the only ones in here.

"Rowen, don't you get it? You're the laughing stock of all of us and out of all people, Landon has to train you. See, we're the best team and you're taking us down. He's told me on many occasions that he wishes he could have changed his mind when he picked you. It would have saved him more time and effort from some annoying amateur."

I don't know how much of that is true but if it is or isn't, it definitely stung. "Yeah right," I blurt.

"If only you would have heard what he was saying about you in the beginning. So, he doesn't like you and stop trying!" she states. "If I see you again with him, you better watch out."

I can't find any words to say. I'm full of insults, but her words struck me badly. "Maybe you should have joined Simon's team," she says, with a perky voice. She laughs then turns around going to the cafeteria.

I would have pulled that hair right out of her scalp and dismembered her face, but I couldn't. It wasn't that I was restricted, but I was too upset to react. And I'm suppose to be the bigger person. I'm already looked at as a kid now, I'll look like a baby if I attacked Kelly.

I sit down on the mat and think to myself, clasping my hands together in thought. It was very clear Landon hated me in the beginning. I always complained and talked back. Then he was always laughing and smiling with Kelly. That part is believable. I can see him making fun of my personality, me being out of shape and terrible at what I do even though I was trying. Kelly isn't my biggest fan, but she might be using the truth to tear me down. I picture him and her laughing together about me and them having the greatest time.

I must have gone deep into thought because people start loading back in the training area. I stayed where I was.

"Why didn't you eat lunch?" Chloe askes. Cifer curiously nods his head with her.

I shrug. "I wasn't hungry."

"Are you feeling okay?" Cifer askes.

"Yeah," I say. "I'm fine."

They walk away when the lesson begins. I stay in my spot not moving. Kelly grins at her success and I frankly don't care if she's happy she got to me or not. I'm tired of all this shit. When will it end?"

When Landon comes my way, I duck my head. I expect him to fuss at me for not doing my work like I'm suppose to. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asks.

Should I tell him that Kelly threatened me? I can't stand looking at him and knowing that he could have teased me about me being, well, me. It hurts way to much. I open my mouth where only a silent breath comes out.

"Nothing at all," I say with annoyance. I will myself to get up from the ground and grab the training stick. I knew he was going to ask further questions until Kelly called him over needing his help. I want to kill her. Landon looks at me one more time, waiting to see if I actually want to talk. When I don't, he goes over to help her with her technique.

I take out my anger by beating the shit out of the dummy. I take a good wack and the stick slices through it, completely decapitating the top half. It falls to the ground with balls of cotton coming out around it. The people near look over at me. I catch my breath holding the stick tight. Landon pauses, staring me down with concern.

"I need another dummy," I call to him. And I wouldn't mind that dummy being Kelly.

********

"You're not leaving for dinner until you tell me what's wrong," Landon says, blocking my way. Cifer and Chloe wait on me until I let them know it's okay to go with the tilt of my head.

I sigh. "I'm only tired," I say.

"Nice try," he says. He pulls me back away from the doors with his hands on my shoulders. I lick my lips. I don't know if I should say anything. I can say it without saying who said it to me.

"Did you.....talk about me when I got here?"

"Yes," he says like it's no big deal.

"In a bad way?" I say before getting too offended.

"What? No, no. Why would you think that?"

"I don't know," I mumble. "Just wondering."

"Is that all that's bothering you?"

"Yeah," I say. There's nothing I want more than to hug him again. I want his arms wrapped around me tightly and for us to stay like that, just like he did in my room. "I'm gonna go eat some food now." I can tell Landon isn't satisfied. He knows something is up. I avoid that by going to my friends and acting like he's not sitting at the other table. He doesn't even sit with the other trainers who have their own table. I can't figure Landon out and I know he thinks the same of me.