Page 32 of Jump on Three

Ivan was holding me, saving me, just like he’d promised.

“I don’t like that,” I wheezed.

His laugh was strained as he climbed out of the pool with me. “You never have to do it again. Never.”

“Okay.” I let my head fall heavy against him.

Just for now, since he’d saved me like any friend would.

Later, once I stopped shaking, I’d reinstate the distance.

I was one big bruise. My body was stiff and sore.

Layla had claimed I’d slipped and acted incredibly concerned for my well-being. I doubted our teammates believed her, but they also didn’t care about me enough to call her on it.

I hadn’t told Delilah. The last thing I wanted was for my sister to think what had gone down in Spain was happening here too.

It wasn’t. For the most part, my classmates left me alone. Layla and her friends were the only real thorns in my side. They could draw blood, sure, but overall, my existence at SA was bearable—my near-death experience today being the exception.

Delilah wouldn’t see it that way. That was why I had to deal with everything on my own.

This way, she could be out with Rhys, not worrying about me, and I could curl up in my chair by my window, absently looking out at the parking lot below while listening to music and knitting a blanket.

A black car pulled up to the curb, idling there until a tall figure exited the dorm. Popping out, the driver circled around to the back to open the door. As the passenger reached the car, a pool of light from a streetlight illuminated the side of his face and neck.

There was no mistaking the sharp point of the swallow’s wing nor his shaggy brown hair and defined jaw.

“Where are you going, Ivan?” I murmured.

He started to climb in then paused, turning toward the building.

“Are you looking for someone?”

His eyes lifted and lifted, scanning windows. I was frozen in place, my face practically pressed against the glass. It wasn’t dignified, but I couldn’t seem to make myself move.

I was several stories up, but when his gaze landed on my window, it seemed like he saw me. I could have convinced myself the hitch in his mouth was just a tic, but there was no mistaking his raised hand.

I aligned mine with his on the window.

“High five, Ivan.”

One last glance and he ducked into the back of the car, disappearing into the night.

“He’s gone. Probably going to practice his hobby of getting tattooed and making girls trip over their own feet. Why else would he be going out so late?”

I picked up my knitting needles and spent the rest of my waking hours listening to music and daydreaming about what Ivan Sokolov might have been up to.

Chapter Eleven

Ivan

????: I will be coming for parents’ weekend. I expect you to make time for me.

There was no avoiding my father. He liked to show me how fruitless it was to even try. I knew very well he had no interest in my school or extracurricular activities. Up until this year, I had lived in his home and he hadn’t attended one swim meet or parent-teacher conference. As long as my grades stayed up, he didn’t need to know further details.

I had hoped this would be true while living at Savage Academy. Unfortunately, it had not been the case. I'd survived a lifetime of the unrelenting pressure of his iron fist, though. I could last a weekend.

Scrolling through my texts, my thumb hovered over the newest chain. Needing a little lightness, I clicked on it, reading the conversations from the last week or so.