(Un)bidden (36 page)

“Hey, Z.  This is your reminder to pack your bag.  You promised to cover tonight.”

I growled.  “Ethan.  You are sick to call me this early.  I said I’ll be there.  Now, leave me alone.”  I ended the call without a goodbye.

The phone rang again before I could drop it back on the nightstand.

“What?” I answered.

“I’ve dusted your gloves, babe.  You’re overdue.”

The call disconnected, and I smiled in the dark.  Only Ethan—that huge pain in the butt I called friend—could annoy me and make me smile at the same time.  He was right.  I needed to go in and really purge.

Hitting the bag at home helped, but I suffered from a slow build up.  Ethan compared it to PMS.  I grew moodier until I started an actual fight.  Except the fights were never fair.  In my anger, I pulled too much of my opponent’s emotions, and they tended to just stand there with a stupid smile as I hit them.  But, I couldn’t avoid the fights.  I needed them.  Hitting an actual person drained me way more than the bag, and it was the only thing that helped when I got like this.  I hated fighting, but didn’t see any other choice.

With a sigh, I slid from the sheets and shuffled to the bathroom.  My long, red hair was a tangled mess, and I scowled at myself in the mirror.

I already felt edgy.  It would be a long day.