Fire and Ice

Chapter 15

Kaden

Alyssa probably hated me now. I had her moving non-stop, and she seemed to be more than tired out.

"I wanted to punch people. Not have a personal p.e. lesson, Coach Wolfe." She panted as she laid on the ground after five pushups.

"You don't want to tire out in the middle of a fight. You would automatically lose. And you wouldn't be able to run away." I crossed my arms. "Come on, I only gave you ten pushups, that isn't hard. Five more."

Her nose wrinkled adorably as she gave me a pouty face. "Maybe for you. I have the strength of a noodle."

I didn't actually agree with that. "Maybe for pushups. But you are strong, Alyssa. For a noodle."

She stuck her tongue out. "What time is it? Feels like we've been here forever."

With a sigh, I walked over to my bag and pulled my phone out. The new crack on the screen was courtesy of my father, who had thrown the nearest object at me before I left. I ignored it. "Just about eleven o'clock."

Alyssa groaned from behind me. "Kaden, I'm dead. Can we call it a night?"

"Oh, crap, did your parents need you home? I didn't even think of that, sorry Shorty." I turned to her.

She closed her eyes, but not before I saw a flash of hurt. "No, it's fine. I'm just tired."

I instantly became worried. Not only did she seem very hurt, but I had heard 'I'm just tired' so many times before. I never did anything about it, which was my mistake.

I walked over to her and nudged her foot. "Hey. Are you okay?"

Alyssa was quiet for a moment, eyes still closed. "Yeah. All good here." She opened her spring green eyes and offered me a smile. "Any more torture, Coach Wolfe?"

I rolled my eyes. "Can you finish those pushups? If so, then we're done."

She groaned, but rolled over and continued her pushups.

"Straight back." I said for the sixth time.

It was so strange to be the one barking orders and instructions like this. Normally I was shoved in the hot basement for four hours and told what to do and how to do it since I was fourteen. But I wasn't going to be like my father. I was going to help Alyssa improve, encourage her, and stop when she needed it.

"It's official." Alyssa breathed, dropping to the floor. "I'm dead. Now you must carry my dead body out of here."

I held back a laugh. "What happened to 'no touchy'?"

"It's your fault that I'm dead. It's only right that you take me out of here to a proper place, like a field of flowers."

Her mind was strange.

"Shorty, you're fine. But I can carry you if you really want."

She scrambled away from me. "No, no, no, I'm good, see?" She jumped to her feet. "See? The ghost in the corner told me haunting this gym is really boring."

I raised an eyebrow. Was she blushing?

"I'm gonna go ch-change and then go- go home and... yeah." She slipped as she hurried to the locker room.

I stared after her in confusion. What was that?

The sound of a vibrating phone drew my attention and I glanced over to see Alyssa's phone light with a text.

I wasn't going to pay any attention to that but then I saw Unknown Number.

Now I was concerned as I read the message.

Do you really want to train with that boy?

A chill snaked down my spine and worry crept through me. Was someone watching Alyssa? Who was it? Did she know about it?

"I much prefer my nice warm clothes." Alyssa announced as she came back out of the locker room.

I turned to her. "Alyssa, is there something going on?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, genuinely confused.

I held up her phone. "Has someone been bothering you?"

Her face seemed to go pale as she saw the message. "Again." She whispered.

"Again? What do you mean again?" I wasn't liking this.

"About a week ago I got a call from that unknown number. It was... really weird. And the other day, when I set the chickens loose I got a text like that. Like... someone is watching me."

"Could it be Brandon?"

"No, the voice was too old. And he would have rubbed it in my face that he found my number, or whatever." Alyssa hugged herself and looked up at me from under her eyelashes. "Could this be... bad?"

I could feel myself tensing up. "Do you have any idea who it could be? Have you seen anyone around that looks suspicious?"

She shook her head. She looked... freaked out.

I didn't want her to be scared or worried. "It's probably someone messing with you." I handed over her phone. "If it's been going on for a week and nothing has happened, I'm sure you're fine." I didn't even believe myself. That was extremely worrisome.

From the sound of it, someone was stalking her. Someone who had no good intentions. But she had enough to worry about with Brandon. I didn't want to worry her further.

"Let's get home, Shorty. It's late." I grabbed my duffle bag and threw it over my shoulder.

As we exited the school, I scanned the dark surroundings for shadows or any signs of movement. I didn't see anything.

Alyssa turned to me. "Thanks for helping me out, Kaden. I'm sure you have better things to do. I know I was complaining a lot, but I appreciate it."

"Complain as you want, it's just me. And you're welcome."

She smiled. It was a cute smile. "I'll see you later then." She dropped into her car and slowly drove away.

Alyssa was a strange one to figure out, that was for sure. She was loud, a bit obnoxious, but she was a free spirit, wild.

Like a fire. Beautiful yet dangerous. You think you understand it, but there is still so much mystery, something unpredictable about it.

And I was stupidly drawn to that fire.

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Another little chapter. Hope you enjoyed it 😁. Vote if you like it. Thanks for reading
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