Destroying Love

Ten

"All I'm saying," Britt says, watching me hit the punching ball, "is that you should have sliced her throat for real."

I shake my head, glancing at her a second before I focus again.

"I'm not sure Mr. Neil would have appreciated," I mumble, hitting the punching bag again and again.

"I don't like her," she crosses her arms before she stands in front of me, on the other side of the punching bag.

I clench my jaw and don't answer. I thought I would be alone here. Turned out Britt somehow knows about what happened this morning and there she is.

The truth is that I really don't want to think about Nova or anything related to her. Like her boyfriend, huh?

I hit harder this time and Britt steps back in surprise. Her dark eyes narrow, analyzing me and I hate it. I take a deep breath, looking down a few seconds.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore, okay?" I finally say, hoping she'll agree and leave me alone.

I'm getting better at this, I realize. Pushing people away.

Britt nods. "All right."

She doesn't move from where she is.

I talked too soon.

Ignoring her, although it's kinda hard since she's right in front of me, I continue to hit and kick the punching bag. I just needed to hit something, like always after days like these. But the need to do that was worse after what happened today.

There are other agents in the training room but they don't stand too close to me. A few moments pass until Britt speaks again.

"Does she know that you and Brandon used to..." she doesn't finish her sentence but I already understood.

I stop the punching bag before it swings back in my face and give Britt a hard look.

"No," I say slowly, making sure she listens. But Britt always listens. "And she can't know. Never."

I step back, mumbling under my breath. "I don't want to wake up dead in my bed."

"I'm not sure you'll be able to wake up if she kills you, but all right," Britt concludes, ignoring my deadpanned look.

"You know what I mean," I mutter, looking at my knuckles.

"What I know is that someone is coming over here," Britt announces, glancing over my shoulder.

I already regret the moment I glance behind me. Seeing Brandon there, in a grey t-shirt and black jeans, his hands in his pocket, leaning against the wall and staring at me, makes the anger resurfacing in quick waves. I clench my fists and turn towards Britt.

"You don't move from where you are," I say with a pointed look.

She tilts her head and narrows her eyes before she suddenly smirks.

"That's the first time you beg me to stay with you," she gasps and I glare at her.

"I'm not begging you."

"Hmm," she hums under her breath before she claps her hands together. "Anyway, I gotta go. Have some stuff to do."

"Britt!"

"I'll definitely see you later," she says with a smile and I groan, hitting my head against the punching ball.

Not wanting to have a conversation with the guy I decided to avoid at all cost, I continue to train with the punching ball again.