Page 22 of Ruthless Game

She giggled. “I’m teaching, and I’m happy to ogle. You’re not a professor or something are you? Because they don’t care what us student teachers do.”

“Us?”

“Yup!” She practically bounced on her toes. “I’m Maya Silver. I’m a freshman.” Her eyes widened. “Not like, one of those Silvers. Well, yes, one of those Silvers, but in a distant cousin way. Not in a scary way.”

I blinked. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

She bit her lip. “Let’s just say, I’m not gonna make you swim ‘with the fishes.’” She made exaggerated quotation marks with her fingers, while I stared at her, bemused.

“With the fishes?”

Her eyes widened. “Did you not get that reference? Where are you from?”

I shrugged, kind of enjoying myself. She was silly, clearly didn’t take herself too seriously, and had the energy of a puppy. “Here, originally, but I was at Oxford for my first three years.”

Her hazel eyes got even wider. “You were at Oxford, and then you came here? Like, nothing against Reina, it’s one of the top schools in the country. I was actually shocked that I got in. Like, not only were my test scores terrible, I didn’t even apply. Yet, there, in my email, was an acceptance letter. I was convinced it was a scam, but it turned out to be real, and hey,” she shrugged, face brightening. “I’m here! And so grateful, even if I’ll always wonder how it happened. I must have a fairy godmother or something.” She waved that off. “Still, I would never leave Oxford to live in upstate New York.” She bit her lip. “No offense, because you’re from here.”

I laughed. “None taken. Gehenom is pretty, but can also be pretty boring.”

“What’s your name?” she asked.

“Emma.”

“Hi Emma who doesn’t get cheesy references about the mafia,” she said. “It’s nice to meet you. How’d they get you to teach swimming? I’m doing it for my work study. It seemed more fun than being in the library all the time.”

“I get antsy when I don’t have something to do,” I admitted. “And I don’t want to rely on my parents for money.”

They’d sacrificed too much for me already.

“Why swim class, though? When a girl like you could make more money working at the Stacks?”

The Stacks was the main bar in town, the one student athletes always went to. I would not be spending time there, much less working there.

But that wasn’t what she was really asking.

“Because someone who really mattered to me almost drowned, once, and I wanted to do what I could to make sure it didn’t happen to anyone else,” I said quietly, lost in memories for a moment. Memories so tangible, I could feel them:

The hard press of Lawson’s arm against my belly.

His warm breath brushing the hairs of the nape of my neck.

His sad voice rumbling against my back.

It happened so quickly. I was skating on the ice, and then I was under the ice. So cold it almost felt like flames scorching me. No air. And then … nothing. There was nothing, Emma. Nothing until they brought me back to life to an empty hospital room. My dad didn’t show, and my mom never showed again.

Taking a deep breath, I pulled myself back to the present, squeezing my eyelids against the tears that threatened. I might hate him now, but I still hurt for the little boy he’d been.

“Emma, you okay?” Maya asked, concern in her sweet voice.

I forced a smile. “Fine. I’m fine. And I brought lesson plans. For today and for the rest of the semester. Want to look over them?”

Maya laughed. “Overachiever, huh?” It was teasing, but not in a mean way.

“Something like that,” I said. Truthfully, not giving it my all made me anxious, especially in a scenario where people could get hurt.

“No, it’s super admirable,” she added, like she wasn’t sure I’d picked up on her tone. “I sort of… I’m a little chaotic in my approach to everything. I’d never actually make lesson plans or plan anything, period. It’s smart and wise and all the things, and god, I’m so awkward and you seem really cool, so can we be friends?”

For the first time since Lawson showed up in that pub, I smiled.