Page 47 of Ignition

Mia.

Gunning it out of the hall, boots squeaking on marble.

Outside was a still straight out of a horror movie: dark skies, storm clouds rolling in, the deluge worsening by the second. To make matters worse, her umbrella lay propped against the locker she’d brutalised shut.

Hands flexing at my sides, I hesitated for a heartbeat.

None of your business.

My molars ground together as I fought myself, pulse rising to a howl in my ears.

With a bitten-off curse, I grabbed the umbrella and followed.

The smell of damp earth hit me first, then rain spilled down my back in cool rivulets, lodging behind my collar and turning my skin icy. Goosebumps flared on the sides of my neck as I picked up my pace to a run, blinking fast and struggling to track the blurry figure in front.

“Mia, for fuck’s sake.”

“Leave me alone.”

Even through the rumble in the distance, I heard the crack in her voice.

What the hell?

I sped up.

My footsteps echoed, ringing loud over the cobblestone as I rounded the campus fountain. Lightning cleaved the sky in two, illuminating the line of her silhouette, before she disappeared around a corner.

The air pressed down on me, sticky, suffocating, muffling the sound of anything except the drumbeat in my ears. My lungs burned with a desperate need to stop, but I only pumped my legs harder.

I ducked under the eaves where she’d taken shelter from the outright biblical downpour. Chest heaving, back resting against the brick wall, I chanced a glance her way as I fought to catch my breath.

Her shoulders were shaking violently, and little puffs of air clouded in front of her face. Her hair lay plastered to her neck, the strands inky black against pale skin.

My hands curled at my sides.

Why did I want to reach out and—

“You forgot your umbrella,” I panted.

You forgot your umbrella?!

Pathetic.

My hands held it out to her regardless.

When my knuckles brushed her arm, barely a graze, she flinched like I’d hit her.

What the—

Then, she turned to face me, and I mirrored her.

“I said, leave me alone.”

Her bellow could have sent birds scattering in panic.

My body lurched back and my brows knotted together as my eyes searched her face.

Dark streaks painted her cheeks. Rain… or tears?