I walked over to the now wrinkled dressshirt in a heap on the floor, pulled my arms through it, wrappingthe ends around my body like a robe, and stalked down to my room.Slamming the door behind me, I headed into the bathroom, used thetoilet, brushed my hair and teeth, and changed into anotherskort and plain t-shirt beforeheading down the stairs to the patio.
When I got to the table, I found a silver covered tray waiting for me witha mug, a thermos of coffee, hot water, bags of tea, and the littlecontainer for my vitamins. I didn’t even bother to sit down andlifted the lid to find a perfectly toasted bagel, cream cheese, anda bowl full of perfect red raspberries.
After making my tea, I slathered the creamcheese on my bagel and took my sweet-ass time eating my breakfast,just staring over the stone railing of the patio and admiring theocean view. The raspberries had the perfect combination of tart andsweet as I relished their flavor. Surprisingly, I finished theentire bowl, but there was still one-half of my bagel left. I was bordering on full, and Idid not want to work out with an overly packed stomach. I tookthree of the biggest bites I could muster and replaced the lidon the tray. Hopefully, Darren would recognize my effort andleave it at that.
Letting myself digest for a few minutes, Irelaxed against the railing, sipped on my tea, and slugged back myvitamins hoping they might actually do some good. The sun was outin full blaze and the ocean wasroaring just a few yards ahead of me. If I hadn't been a captive, Imight have actually wanted to livehere. I honestly loved the water.
Growing up in Michigan, you were never farfrom a lake, and my cousin Mel had a nice little setup on LakeHuron. I missed the nights I would spend out there just drinkingand bullshitting with her while we tore the Jet Ski up until thesun set. When I got out of here, I was going to do a lot more ofthat.
Once I finished my tea, I pulled my hairback into a ponytail and eagerlyheaded toward the gym.
And then I heard shouting coming fromoutside the front door. Cautiously, I walked over to the door andpeered through the glass to see Darren on the phone, waving hisarms and pacing back and forth. Scott was just standing there,watching Darren while he smoked a cigarette. Deciding againstgetting caught watching them, I turned away from the door andquickly headed to the gym. Thankfully, no one was in there thistime.
After doing some quick stretching, I hoppedon the treadmill and started with a warm-up run. After a few shortminutes, I found myself pumping my legs as hard and as fast as Icould as I ran my fucking heart out. Sweat was pouring down myface, and my heart was practically beating out of my chest as I ranas if my life depended on it. Maybe it was something deeper thanthat. I ran because it was the only time I would ever be allowedto. I wanted to run far from this place, and even if I ran to theother side of the world, it still wouldn't be far enough.
Five miles later, I finally stepped downfrom the treadmill and practically collapsed on the floor. I neededto rest, and I needed water. Looking over to the corner of theroom, I saw a mini fridge. Wobbling back and forth, I made my wayto it and pulled out a bottle of water. Nearly downing the wholething, I sat back against the wall and started stretching again. Ineeded to lower my heart rate if I wanted to lift weights. I knew Ioverdid it with the running, but damn, I needed to stretch my legs,and it felt good to finally unleash them properly.
I looked over to my left to see the doorDarren had expressly forbidden me from even standing too close to.Fuck. What I would give to get to train with the weapons he had inthere.
Once I was finally able to calm down, Ilooked around and noticed I hadplenty of room to practice some acrobatics. I smiled as I got up,walked to the end of the room, and started into a running pace, dipping down for a cartwheel andthen folding back into a backhandspring. Damn, that feltgood. I did a few more of those, landing perfectly every time asthough I had never stopped practicing. It was like riding a bike. Iworked on some front flips and front handsprings; even my kip upsand butterfly kicks came back to me easily. It felt so amazing tobring it all back into the light. I hadn’t forgotten my skill afterall.
I then looked over at the line of punchingbags on the opposite wall. Pumping my legs hard, I charged at thebag and jumped high into a flying sidekick. I landed it squareagainst the bag, sending it flying back on its chains. I didn’thave any gloves, but I didn’t care. I wailed into the bag, bouncingback and forth around it, light onmy feet, and kicking it with everything I had. Following throughwith some open palms and elbows, I tried to keep the thin skin ofmy knuckles intact. I didn’t need Darren bitching at me if I fuckedmy knuckles up any more than they already were. I’d ask him for apair of gloves and wraps later.
With every hit I made, my ass pulsed fromthe bruises on my skin. I ignoredit; too busy expressing some love on the bag to bother with thatshit. I had a feeling I would have to learn to live with that kindof soreness often until I learned to shut my mouth. I had betterget used to the pain then.
After a few minutes of unleashing hell, Ifelt a sharp snap on my fingernail and instantly pulled my handback from the bag, pain throbbing in the tip
