Sleight of Hand [Show 'em Who's Boss #1]

24: Algophobia

     As I walked into the clearing in the forest I discovered yet another reason to be angry at Jakob, though this one was small, insignificant, but it revived my growing hate for him. On the ground, partly concealed by his boot, was a half-stubbed out cigarette with strands of smoke waving from it. He’d obviously tried to hide it when he heard me approaching. The area smelt of cigarette smoke and his clothes were tainted by the scent so I wasn’t too sure why he thought it would be easy to keep it a secret.

     “You’ve been smoking again,” I accused, my voice surprisingly calm. “I thought that you’d ditched the habit years ago.”

     He looked down at the ground, the guilt clear on his face, and he moved his foot backwards, knowing that he no longer needed to conceal the truth with his shoe. “I’m sorry. I smoke without even thinking about it when I’m stressed.”

     He didn’t need to explain himself at all. I could sense that he was pretending to be stressed about our plan when, in reality, he was probably worried about his own agenda. He certainly was not worried out our plan going wrong. That part had been perfected until all of its flaws were gone. What he was truly worried about was the part where he was going to scam me and he seemed to think that by showing the scared, innocent side of himself he will somehow soften my mood. He was wrong about that but I had to play along to some extent, just in case.

     “Let’s just fight. It’s what we came here to do. I’ll pretend as though you weren’t just doing something you vowed to me you’d never do again.”

     “Sure,” he replied with a nervous nod of the head.

     I walked further into the clearing, so that I was a few metres away from him, and got in a ready fighting stance. This fight wasn’t going to last a very long time for once. I was determined to just hurt Jakob until he gave up and then the fight would be over. Although I was the one who suggested it, I knew I shouldn’t have been doing this. It posed so many threats. If I got bruised or injured then my father might question why. How could I explain that to him without saying that I was with Jakob? And what if I got carried away during this fight and took out all my anger on Jakob. It’s not an understatement to say that I could’ve killed him in that moment. I was hurt, betrayed, and angry. My mind was occupied and my emotions fragile. I could’ve ruined everything if my judgement got clouded.

     Jakob charged at me. My best weapon has always been defence. I ducked under his arm that had been aimed at my face. He quickly turned and aimed a blow at my stomach. I dodged but too slowly. His fist came into contact with my hip which didn’t hurt much as he hadn’t put enough force into the action. In fact, it hurt him a lot more than it hurt me. I could tell by the slight falter in the fierce expression on his face.

     I ran through a list of short facts I constantly remind myself in a fight:

     Keep moving. Don’t aim for the face, except as a last resort, because I’m more likely to hurt my hand. Block and defend where possible. Don’t let him kick me. As soon as that happens I’ve lost. Keep an eye on his every move. Read his facial expressions. Jakob gives a lot away without realising it. Focus on my strengths. Don’t get ahead of myself. Stick to what you know and what you can do. And last of all, fight dirty. Jakob’s too honourable in fights, especially with me. The best way to get the upper hand is to break the rules.

     “So what have you been up to without me these last few days?” Jakob asked as he aimed another punch at me.

     I dodged his attack again. He was trying to distract me with casual conversation. That’s as far away from the rulebook as he’ll allow himself to go and I knew that his attempt was futile. Though to answer his question truthfully would be dangerous anyway.