Chapter 43

CHAPTER43

April

“Faster, Campbell!” Coach Jackson yelled as Mikey somehow managed to force her legs to keep moving and-

“That’s going to leave a mark,” she found herself mumbling against the well-manicured grass when her legs gave out on her.

“Good effort, Campbell,” Coach Jackson said, and since she was currently struggling to catch her breath, Mikey settled for nodding. “I need someone to drag Campbell off the field,” he said, sounding really freaking amused for some reason.

That was followed by a heavy sigh, a muttered, “At least you didn’t pass out this time,” and Braxton grabbing hold of her ankles and dragging her back towards the bench.

“Here,” Braxton said, dropping her legs before he took off, leaving her groaning against the grass until the teenage boy who adored her took pity on her and rolled her over onto her back.

“At least you didn’t pass out this time,” Sebastian said, earning a glare as she struggled to find the will to move.

“I didn’t pass out,” Mikey managed to get out while she intensified that glare, only to end up swallowing hard and licking her dry lips as she watched Sebastian grab her water bottle and fill it up from the large cooler that the staff kept filled for them.

“What would you call it?” Sebastian asked as he took a knee by her side and carefully placed the bottle at her lips.

“Conserving my energy,” Mikey said, struggling to bite back a moan when ice-cold water hit her throat.

“And the mumbled demands for them to leave your body?” Sebastian asked as she reached up and took over holding the bottle.

“Was to establish dominance,” Mikey assured him with a firm nod.

“And it’s clearly working,” Sebastian said as several of her teammates ran past her chuckling.

“It’s all part of my plan,” Mikey said, gesturing absently towards him as she watched him drop back down on the bench, leaving her with no other choice but to lay there as she-

“I’m really starting to think they’re obsessed with you,” Sebastian said as he pulled his iPad out, drawing her attention back to the group of teenage girls currently watching her with smug smirks on their faces.

“Can you blame them?” Mikey asked with a pitying look as she focused back on Sebastian as she considered her options. Trick him into telling her or beat the hell out of him with that iPad until he caved and told her what she wanted to know.

Since she couldn’t exactly move at the moment, Mikey decided that she was going to have to do what she did best. Taking a deep breath, Mikey opened her mouth and-

“Never going to happen,” Sebastian said, not bothering to look up from whatever book that currently held his attention.

Narrowing her eyes on the boy who was toying with her emotions, Mikey said, “You promised to spoil me.”

“Did I?” he asked dryly, not bothering to look at her as he confirmed her suspicions.

He was evil.

“Yes, you did,” Mikey said with a firm nod, raising the arm that weighed a ton at the moment and gestured for him to get on with it.

“But I never said when,” Sebastian drawled as Mikey moved on to the intimidation phase and-

“Someone grab Campbell!”

-tried not to panic when two sets of hands grabbed hold of her ankles and started dragging her away.

“Wait! I wasn’t done intimidating him!” Mikey yelled, struggling to grab hold of the grass to stop them as she glanced back and-

Did…Did he just wink at her?

“This isn’t over!”

* * *

“Why doesMikey look like she wants to kill you?” Cole asked as they watched Mikey hold up her glove, waiting for the return of the ball as she glared at him.

“I bring out the best in her,” Sebastian said with a heartfelt sigh as he tossed a handful of popcorn in his mouth.

“Is that why she’s mumbling, ‘evil bastard’?” Jessica asked as she helped herself to some of his popcorn.

“Probably,” Sebastian said, unable to help but smile, especially when she narrowed her eyes on him and looked like she was seconds away from leaving the mound so that she could climb into the stands and beat the hell out of him.

So freaking adorable, Sebastian thought with a satisfied sigh as he watched her visibly struggle to look away and get her head back in the game. He watched as she slowly exhaled, shifted her leg back, raised her arm and-

“Strike two!”

“I think she’s channeling all of that murderous rage into the game,” Elizabeth said, sounding thoughtful as she shoved her little brother out of his seat.

“You could have just asked me to move!” Joshua bit out, only to follow that up with a grumble when Cole reached over and stole his Coke.

“Why exactly is she pissed at you?” Elizabeth asked as she handed him the rest of her hot dog so that she could steal his popcorn.

“Because I’m destroying her will to live,” Sebastian said, watching as Mikey held up her glove for the ball as her cold gaze once again found him.

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” Jessica asked as they watched Mikey focus back on the batter, shift her weight back as she pulled back her arm and-

“Strike three! That’s game!”

-took out the last batter seconds before her murderous glare once again found him as she tore her glove off her hand and started making her way towards the stands, that murderous glare never leaving him.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Sebastian said, releasing a satisfied sigh as he stood up, watching as she narrowed her eyes on the move and decided that it was time to put all of those extra laps to good use and made a run for it.

“Wait! I have tiny legs!”

* * *

May

She wasn’t goingto hurt him, Mikey promised herself even as she watched his every move, ensuring that he knew exactly how close he was to ending up another statistic. She watched as he made his way around the Fire & Brimstone, filling glasses and seemingly oblivious to the dangers that waited for him at the table in the back corner.

She didn’t want it to come to this, but he’d pushed her too far, tormenting her with his vague promises of spoiling her, refusing to answer her questions, and leaving her with no choice but to bring her intimidation skills to the next level. She-

“Why are you glaring at Sebastian?” her mother asked as she scooped more macaroni and cheese onto the boys’ plates.

“He knows why,” Mikey said, watching Sebastian as he came closer and closer to their table, smiling as he refilled water glasses, each step bringing him closer to her, so that she could finally put an end to this and-

“Did…Did he just steal my burger?” Mikey found herself asking as Sebastian quickly moved past their table.

“You knew better,” Reese said with a sad shake of his head as he reached over and stole another fry.

Grumbling, Mikey moved to grab a fry, knowing that she would need it for what she was about to do only to frown as she glanced down at her plate to find it empty. Looking up, she watched as Reese shrugged it off as he said, “You knew better.”

Reminding herself that she had more important matters to deal with than stolen fries, Mikey searched for her prey and-

“So much fun,” Jonathan mouthed from across the restaurant, making her wonder if anyone else was starting to find this creepy.

Ignoring him, Mikey gave herself a mental shake as she glanced around the busy restaurant until she found him, bringing a fresh round of drinks to one of the tables across the room from her, but that was fine.

More than fine because it would give her a chance to ferret out his weaknesses and she knew that he had them, she just had to find them, Mikey decided as she reached for her shake only to find it missing. Glancing back, she wasn’t surprised to find Nathan and Zach holding the glass between them as they finished it off.

“You knew better,” Nathan said with a firm nod as he took one last pull from his straw.

“You weely did,” Zach said with a firm nod as they held out her empty glass to her with a muttered, “More!”

Biting back a sigh, Mikey grabbed her empty glass and pushed her chair back, praying that Uncle Lucifer took pity on her and made her another burger as she made her way to the bar, making sure that she tracked Sebastian’s every move as she went. When she reached the bar, she held up her empty glass and asked, “Can I have another chocolate milkshake and another cheeseburger platter, please?”

The bartender took her glass even as he sent Lucifer a questioning look. With a slight nod, Uncle Lucifer approved her order without bothering to look up from the stack of files that he was going through, leaving her free to figure out her next move.

She could hobble Sebastian in the parking lot or wait for him under his bed and hobble him there. Both were tempting, Mikey had to admit as she said, “Thank you,” when the bartender handed her a freshly made chocolate shake before moving on to the next customer.

That made her wonder if it was really considered hobbling if he was able to walk after she beat the hell out of him with a pillow. Maybe she should look that up, Mikey thought as she pulled her phone out to do just that and-

“You knew better.”

-glared at the teenage boy finishing off her delicious milkshake as he made his way to the kitchen, leaving her with no choice but to do the unthinkable.

* * *

Blaine Industries

God,she was adorable, Sebastian thought, releasing a heartfelt sigh as he took in the image of Mikey glaring that she sent as part of her plan to intimidate him.

“Why was Mikey waiting for you in the front office when we came to pick you up?” Mrs. Blaine asked as Sebastian put his phone away and leaned back so that the waiter could place the plate of filet mignon down in front of him.

“So that she could glare at me,” Sebastian said, watching as Mrs. Blaine’s lips twitched as she reached for his glass of soda only to shift a glare on her oldest son when he reached over and snatched it off the table before she could get her hands on it.

“Is there a reason why she felt the need to do that?” Mrs. Blaine asked, watching as her son handed the glass of soda off to a passing waiter.

“Because I’m tormenting her,” Sebastian said, reaching for the glass pitcher only to have a waiter beat him to it. When he moved to top off Sebastian’s glass of water, he shook his head and gestured to Mrs. Blaine’s empty glass instead.

“I see,” Mrs. Blaine said, her lips twitching as she took a sip of her water while Sebastian sat there, glancing around the large boardroom, watching as the board members ordered glasses of wine while they waited for the meeting to start. “And my grandson?”

“Hogs the bathroom in the morning,” Sebastian said, making her chuckle.

“Your Aunt Haley was the same way,” Mrs. Blaine said with a fond smile.

“I think Braxton’s finally happy,” Sebastian assured her.

“And that’s all thanks to your family,” Mrs. Blaine said with a warm smile. “Thank you for taking him in, Sebastian. I know it’s not ideal, but it’s exactly what Braxton needs.”

“You’re very welcome,” Sebastian said, deciding that he should probably keep the fact that Mikey had violently taken Braxton under her wing since it would only bring up questions that were probably better left unanswered. “Have you heard from his parents?” he asked, watching as that warm smile slowly disappeared when her son answered for her.

“They came home two months ago.”