Wild Tiger Chase | Book #2 (Complete)

27: anima weld (Part I)

— Phillip - around four hours ago —

You're not a part of us. You're nothing, Phillip!

He scoffed. Phillip shouldn't be surprised to hear that. No, really—he shouldn't have expected anything different coming from Roberto, that egotistical, tyrannical little fuck.

Phillip kicked a stone, his hands tucked into his pockets. He looked around, trying to recognize anything in that damned forest, but all the trees, leaves, and rocks looked the same. He was lost.

"Shit." He took in a deep breath and massaged the bridge of his nose.

Right after his fight with Rob, and without really knowing why, Phillip had followed Rafa's steps towards the northern side of the forest. He wasn't good at finding people and was kicked out of the boy scouts before learning how to follow tracks—the lighter and the weed were not his, and the fire was just an accident—so after almost twenty minutes walking, he was ready to lie down and take a nap.

Until a sound caught his attention.

He raised his eyes and sharpened his ears, trying to find a direction. When he did it, he heard the bubbling sound of water and the muffled noise of footfalls on the grass. Phillip followed the sound not caring much about his own steps. He ducked under tree branches and pushed big leaves out of the way until he broke the rim of the forest and found himself once again staring at the thermal lake.

In front of him, covered by a mantle of moonlight, Rafa moved in what seemed to be a dance. Or a martial art. Or both. She swung her body right and left and spun on her right foot for a high kick. The movement connected to another when she bent her right leg to complete the spin. Her left was still stretched, drawing a half-circle around her.

It might've been Phillip's imagination, of course, but he was pretty sure he saw the grass moving around her like ripples in a lake. He walked towards her, stopping at arm's length.

Rafa looked up and drew to her full height. "It's a new branch of capoeira," she said. "Something mixed with tai-chi, I heard. Good to clear the mind." Strong arms glistening, she turned to face him. There was a small red bird painted in the corner of her sports bra, but what caught his attention was...

Damn, her abs were more defined than his. His hands climbed up to his own abs, feeling them over the spandex of his survival gear.

"I can teach you if you want," she said in an amused voice. "It might put some muscles back in you." Rafa gave him a friendly slap in the chest and reached for her t-shirt. She walked towards the lake, soft steps on the grass.

Phillip narrowed his eyes and stared at the place she had hit him. He smiled at first, but the curve became a smirk when he dipped the tip of his tongue in venom. This was an opportunity. "I don't think your brother would approve of you checking me out like that. He's too... controlling."

Rafa's muscles tensed, and her grip tightened around her t-shirt. She was still pissed off with Roberto, that much was clear.

For a moment, Phillip thought he had reached her. For a moment, he thought she would start seething and hating Roberto as much as he did. Phillip was ready for this small victory.

But instead of the anger he expected, she gave him silence. Rafa bent over the lake and took a clean handkerchief from her back pocket.

"Listen, Phillip." She didn't turn around to face him. Rafa dipped the handkerchief into the water and paused, her voice lower and gentler than what he was getting used to. "But listen well, cause I'm not repeating this. No matter how much pain you've been through, you can never judge the pain of others. You'll never form real connections if you do."