After two weeks, I was dragged into a dark closet following school, a large hand covering my mouth and part of my nose, making it hard to breathe. Another hand gripped the back of my neck, squeezing the muscles tight enough to render me motionless.
Then I felt punches to both sides of my ribs from behind. It was over almost before it began, and no threats were made, but the message was clear: I'm a target again.
I was shoved out of the closet quickly and tripped over myself, hitting the ground. The sound of footsteps running away hit my ears as I sat there, struggling to breathe and sit up straight. I didn't even try to look to see who grabbed me; I just knew they were huge, and I was sure to have bruises for a few hours.
The mandatory trainings became a nightmare. With the show Sierra and I put on, many people wanted to train with us to genuinely improve, but several were trying to hurt me to get noticed by our leaders or because I made them look bad. It was hard to tell some days, but I became a punching bag, and I couldn't do anything about it. I had set myself up for that.
Now that I had showed off my skills, the pool expanded from Kaley to anyone trying to climb the ladder and get noticed by our leaders. I was the one to bring them down a peg, and if I showed any weakness, they would all eat it up. So, I showed no weakness and took it all without making a sound.
Most of them only landed good shots when I was tired from previous fights, but I wouldn't let Delta Kyle or any of the other guys step in to help. I couldn't look like the favorite or like they were spoiling me; it would just make everything worse.
I could guarantee Kaley is fueling that fire, but I can't prove it. It's the little comments made when I'm close enough for them to whisper in my ear.
The other problem is none of the guys could do anything either. They finally caught on to the fact that my sparring partners were more than just training rough, but the discussion of them helping me was shut down quickly. However, it had to be done daily.
If they stepped in, it made me look weak, and I couldn't defend myself, making me a bigger target. They did help, though, in their own way. They all managed to be "randomly" paired with some of the guys who were exceptionally aggressive with me later in the week, and they returned the aggressiveness in kind. None of them challenged me in front of the group.
Sierra tried to get me to talk about my sudden introverted tendencies at school, but I clearly wasn't based on what she saw during her first weekend here. I did my best to dodge her questions, but eventually, I had to give her something. She wasn't going to let my lame excuses slide for much longer.
She got creative with her lines of questioning, throwing in oddball comments while we talked about homework or during early morning runs, which the guys flat out refused to join. They all refused when she asked them, so the torture could be shared among the group.
I have never been more thankful than when they said no. I didn't want to have to stop or find another thing to avoid doing with them.
That early morning run and teaching the pups is all I have left that brings me any kind of joy now, and I can't avoid talking to them at the pups' training. We always have a future leaders fan group at extra training, but they don't train; they just sit in the stands and cheer.
Even the one we have with the current leaders, which is starting to make the Alpha irritated, so hopefully, he will ban spectators. I can't be myself with the guys with all these people watching, and I'm sure they notice even though none of them bring it up.
