《Right Hook (Gaslight series)》8| Wrong kind of distraction

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he whole drive home, Kino ignores me. I don't press the issue, I figure he needs some time to cool down, so I turn up the radio and tap on the steering wheel to Tupac.

Finally, Kino breaks his vow of silence to say, "Why are we listening to this ancient crap?"

I tear my eyes from the road to shoot him a look. "Watch it. Nobody disrespects Tupac."

He rolls his eyes, but when he turns his head, I think I see the tiniest smile on his face. "Whatever."

The house is quiet when I pull into the drive. Kino throws open the door a little too hard and hurries in without me, so I lock up the truck and follow him inside. He's up the stairs and into his bedroom before I've even got the door closed.

For a second, I stand in the narrow hallway and look around. Sometimes I forget what a shithole this place really is. The walls are peeling, and the floorboards are scratched and faded in parts. We keep the place as clean as we can, but there's no extra money to go on maintenance, so the end result is this. I'd find my own place if I could, but I can't leave Mom and Kino to fend for themselves. Right now, they need me.

At some point, Mom gets back from work with some groceries. Kino comes down, and we both help to pack away the food. With Mom working two jobs just to make ends meet, we step up whenever we can. I try to do most of it, I'd rather Kino live like a normal kid than have to deal with this crap.

Mom finishes putting away the last of the food before kissing my cheek. "What would I do without you boys?"

I grin and say, "Worry a lot less."

She smiles and looks at Kino, her smile fading. Her mouth twists into a motherly frown; she knows something's up. "What's wrong, baby?"

Kino looks at his feet and mumbles, "Nothing," before heading back upstairs. When Mom rubs at her temples, I tell her I'll fix it.

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Upstairs, Kino is on his bed with the door half-jar, tapping away on his laptop. It's an old one Dad accidentally left behind in his haste; the second we take it off charge, it dies.

I lean on the doorframe, arms folded, and say, "You going to tell me what happened?"

He shrugs, not looking up from the screen. "Same old story. Rich kids hate the poor kids."

I clench my jaw. If it were me, the last thing I'd care about is whether the stuck up kids at school like me, but Kino isn't me. He's kind and patient and sensitive; they'll eat him alive.

"That girl you were with," I say slowly. "What did you mean about her sticking up for you?"

He smiles now, the first real one I've seen in days. "She stuck up for me in class when this kid started talking shit. I mean, it's probably the worst thing she could have done, but I didn't expect it."

I'll admit, I'm just as surprised. "She did?"

"Yeah," he says, looking up. "The only one."

"Oh. Well, I'm heading out," I say. "Call me if you need anything."

He nods but doesn't look up from his screen, so I head into my bedroom and change into my gym clothes before heading back downstairs. After kissing Mom's cheek, I climb into my car and reverse out of the drive.

The whole way to the gym, I think about what Kino said. I'm trying to imagine what it looked like when she jumped to his defence, but I can't. The picture blurs with the other versions I've seen of her: the one from the club, dancing like she knows she's being watched, the one at the gym, dressed head to toe in designer gear with her three hundred dollar sneakers. I thought I had this girl all figured out, but maybe I don't.

The second I step into the gym, Maddie is pissed. She makes a beeline for me as soon as I put my stuff down. "You scared her away," she says, and I have no idea what she's talking about. "Alyssa," she clarifies. "She hasn't called or come back since you showed her around. What did you do?"

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I raise both hands in alarm. "Hey, I didn't do anything. Maybe she just didn't want to join."

Her eyes narrow. "I told you to be friendly."

"I was friendly." I pause. "Well, I tried to be. At first."

Now she looks horrified. "At first?"

I grin at the same time Hayden comes up behind her and smirks. He's used to being the one on the receiving end of this look of disappointment; he's happy that this time, it's me.

"Look," I say. "Why do you care so much about this girl? You don't even know her."

She hesitates. "I don't know. She just...she reminded me of how I was last year, I guess. She seems lost, somehow. Sad."

"Sad?" I think about all that money she has, all those friends she's surrounded by. She doesn't seem so sad to me.

Maddie gives me a knowing look. "I know what you're thinking, but you're wrong. You can have everything in the world and still be sad. You should have seen the look she gave me when I told her about this place."

I start to feel bad. "Listen, if our two-minute encounter was enough to scare her away, she couldn't have been serious about this place. Just let it go."

I'm about to head over to the weights area when the door swings open. My heart skips a beat when Alyssa strolls in, and I'm surprised by what I see: bare face, golden hair pulled back into a bun, talons gone. I hadn't expected her to be back after last time; I'm impressed.

Maddie grins and hurries over. They talk for a few minutes, but I'm too far away to hear what they're saying. Every so often, Alyssa glances behind Maddie at me, and the strangest feeling stirs inside me.

I run a hand down my jaw before moving to the weights. The whole time I'm pushing weights, I'm thinking about her. I don't know why. Usually, I can clear my head during a session. Usually, I don't feel or think a thing. Tonight, my mind is on her.

After a few more minutes, Hayden steps into the ring to train with one of the kids, and Maddie moves to a punching bag. Alyssa hovers for a moment, looking uncomfortable as some of the other guys watch her.

I turn to the closest one, who's stopped mid-routine just to watch her. "Hey," I say sharply. "Did you come here for girls or did you come here to train?"

He glances at me sheepishly before resuming his set, and I get back to working on my own. Alyssa comes over as I'm finishing off a rep and tries to pick up a set that's too heavy. She kneels, using her back to support the extra weight instead of her legs. When she finally picks them up, she squats down again like a frog about to break her back.

I can't help but grin. If I were smart, the last thing I'd do is try to help, but I'm not smart, so I get to my feet. "You're going to hurt yourself in a minute."

She looks up, surprised, and that distraction is all it takes. The weights slip from her fingers, and she jumps back just as they crash to the mat, missing her sneakers by an inch.

I pick up the weights, putting them back on the rails. Then I pick up a lighter set and hand them over. "Start small," I say. "You work your way up to the heavier ones, otherwise you'll end up pulling something."

She continues to look at me like she's surprised I'd help. "Oh. Thanks." Her fingers curl around the bars, brushing my own as she pulls them from my hands.

I nod. "You're welcome."

We look at each other for a second too long. It's like I'm lost in her eyes, and the second I realize, I turn away and focus on my next set, losing myself to each rep.

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