Chapter 84 Father's call
Chapter 084
RAVENNA
I was packing up my training gear and preparing to leave the rink when I noticed Samantha standing near the entrance watching me.
My heart sank. She had come to check on me, which meant she had probably seen my brief collapse on the ice earlier.
I prayed silently that somehow she had missed it, that maybe she had arrived just after I managed to pull myself back up.
As I hoisted my bag over my shoulder and started walking towards the exit, Darius suddenly called out my name.
I stopped and turned back to face him, exhaustion making every movement feel heavy and difficult.
He walked over and simply took my hand in his, the gesture surprisingly gentle. "Make sure you eat something proper before you go to bed tonight. You need fuel if you are going to keep training like this."
I could not help but chuckle at his unexpected concern. "Are you my boyfriend now? Since when do you care what I eat?"
A smirk spread across his face as he shifted closer, eliminating the small distance between us. "Sweetheart," he murmured, his voice dropping lower.
"This is the second time you have mentioned me being your boyfriend. Are you trying to tell me that is what you want? Because I am happy to discuss the possibility if you are genuinely interested."
Heat flooded my face immediately. I hit his chest with my free hand and flipped him my middle finger with the other whilst pulling away. "You are impossible."
Darius laughed, the sound warm and genuine in the empty rink. "Go on then. Do not keep the furious-looking Samantha waiting any longer. She looks like she might come over here and drag you away by force if you take much longer."
I glanced over at Samantha and saw he was right.
She was glaring at both of us with her arms crossed, clearly impatient. "Goodnight, Dick."
"Goodnight, Human."
I made my way over to where Samantha stood, and we began walking back towards the dormitory together in silence.
After a few minutes, she finally spoke.
"Are you and Darius getting along now? You two seem different lately. Less hostile."
I considered how to answer that complicated question. "If by getting along you mean him being nice to me one minute and then completely cold the next, then sure. We are getting along brilliantly."
Samantha laughed at my sarcastic tone. "He does seem to have that problem with consistency."
"He will never change, Sam," I stated with certainty. "Deep down, he still wants me out of the academy and off his team. These occasional moments of kindness do not mean anything has actually shifted between us."
We reached our room and I dropped my heavy bag onto the floor beside my bed with a relieved sigh. "I am absolutely exhausted. Every muscle in my body is screaming."
Samantha's expression shifted to one of concern as she studied my face carefully. "You completely ignore your exhaustion, Ravenna. You push yourself way too hard without giving your body any time to recover. It is not healthy."
Something about her concerned tone made irritation flare up inside me. Why was he talking to me that way? Like I am a stubborn child who wouldn't listen to her parents?
I snapped at her more harshly than I intended. "It is my body, not yours. I can do whatever I want with it."
"I am just trying to help," Samantha tried to explain, hurt flashing across her features. "I am worried about you."
"Well, do not be," I cut her off coldly. "Mind your own business and let me handle mine."
Samantha fell silent, clearly wounded by my sharp words.
I grabbed my towel and headed for the bathroom without saying anything else, guilt already starting to creep in but pride keeping me from immediately apologising.
After a long hot shower that helped ease some of the ache in my muscles, I came out wrapped in my towel to find Samantha still sitting on her bed looking upset.
The guilt intensified. I hate to see her that way.
I sighed heavily and walked over to sit beside her. "I am sorry for how I acted just now. That was not fair to you. You were only showing concern because you care about me, and I should not have snapped at you like that."
Samantha looked at me for a moment before nodding slowly. "I accept your apology. I know you are under a lot of pressure right now."
"This tournament means so much to me," I tried to explain, needing her to understand.
"I need to show Martins and everyone else who doubts me exactly how strong I actually am. I need to prove that I am not weak or a liability just because I am female."
"I understand that," Samantha responded gently.
"But you cannot prove anything if you work yourself into the ground and end up too injured or exhausted to compete at all."
I knew she was right, but I was not ready to admit that out loud yet.
Instead, I noticed a package sitting on my desk that had not been there when I left earlier. "What is that?"
Samantha pointed at it. "That came for you whilst you were training. I signed for it."
I walked over and picked up the package carefully, turning it over in my hands.
It was plain brown paper with no return address. I opened it slowly and found a folded note inside.
The handwriting was immediately familiar. "Daughter, it has been too long since I last saw you. My men will be picking you up at the eastern woods behind the school at four in the afternoon tomorrow. Be there if you do not want me to make a scene of sending the rogue to come collect you."