Free The Healer: A Young Adult Romantic Fantasy (The Healer Series Book 1) by C. J. Anaya Page B

break the spell he’d cast. How did they know each other?
    “Hey, Chinatsu. I’m sorry I’m late. I had a few things to clear up concerning my class schedule.”
    His voice gently glided across my body. I needed to focus on something else before I started to hyperventilate. My reaction to him was not only completely unexpected, but entirely unwelcome. I hadn’t had a crush on anyone for years. In fact, I couldn’t remember if I’d ever had a crush on anyone before. I’d always been too busy navigating the murky waters of Angie’s twisted and convoluted love life.
    “Class, I’d like to introduce you to our newest student, and a close friend of my family. This is Tie Hart. He’ll be joining us for the remainder of his senior year.”
    I turned to Angie in a panic. She was drooling just as much as the rest of the females in the room. No help in that corner.
    The guys noticed him simply because Tie’s presence upped the level of competition. By the end of the day every female at the school would be drooling as much as Angie was; as much as I wanted to, now that I thought about it. “Now then, what were you saying, Tie?” Ms. Mori asked.
    “I think the arrows and blossoms are symbols of second chances,” he reiterated. “Women are always falling in love with the wrong guys. Drug addicts, wife beaters, adulterers. I’d like to think there’s a god of love out there who is capable of helping people, women especially, fall in love with the right person. The guy who would actually be worth sleeping with even if he had been turned into a sea monster.”
    All the girls in the classroom giggled vapidly. I thought I was going to hurl.
    “Monster, being the key word here,” I muttered.
    “What was that?” Tie asked innocently.
    “If the guy is a monster on the outside he’s probably a monster on the inside too.”
    “Not necessarily,” he said shifting in his seat. I cringed inside, knowing I was aware of every move he made. I fought the urge to look back as he spoke to me.
    “I think the sea monster is more of a reference to ugliness on the outside but beauty on the inside. You know, like beauty and the beast. It always makes me happy to see an ugly guy with a beautiful girl. Nine times out of ten she’s with him because of how beautiful he is on the inside and how good he is to her.”
    The room seemed to breathe out one huge, collective sigh as Tie weaved his mind-numbing spell over every female present.
    Was this a teenage boy speaking? What guy, drop dead gorgeous mind you, discussed the superiority of an ugly man dating a beautiful woman? Didn’t a gorgeous and conceited teenage boy’s lack of maturity forbid such adult musings?
    “So you think the arrows and cherry blossoms of this world are righting the wrongs of mistakes made by misguided women who aren’t capable of choosing for themselves?” I asked spinning around to face Tie directly. Big mistake. His cold eyes froze me with their intensity, and he actually looked a little angry.
    “I suppose it’d be better for someone to fall in love with a total jerk instead of having a life full of true happiness?” His tone was caustic.
    “That’s not what I’m saying. I just think these little toys those gods are playing with take away a person’s options. With no will of your own you can’t possibly be master of your own feelings.” Tie appraised me coolly.
    “I can think of other things that take away a person’s ability to choose. For example, arranged marriages don’t give anyone the opportunity for a person to love who they were meant to.”
    “Tie,” Ms. Mori warned.
    I glanced at Ms. Mori. She appeared a little angry with that last comment, and the look they shared revealed a long history filled with tension. I knew he was referring to the maiden in the Japanese tale, but for some reason I got the feeling his words were also directed toward me. They filled me with a strange sense of déjà vu. I heard a buzzing in my ears and felt