wearing black sweatpants, running shoes, and a black t-shirt. I hadn’t seen him
since he’d first left with Darren before I had escaped. I’d completely forgotten all
about him, and I had no idea why he was suddenly in the gym and walking toward
me with an angry look on his face. He strolled right past me for the shelves of
fighting equipment and grabbed two focus mitts.
“Come on,” he said, passing me. “You’re working with me.”
“Wait, what?” I asked. Holly looked just as confused as I did.
“Darren wants me to train you to make sure you’re ready. Got a problem with
that?”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “He didn’t say anything to me about this.”
“That’s because he just decided it five minutes ago.”
Motherfucker was watching me again—was probably watching right now.
“Okay,” I said, eyeing him. “Whatcha got?”
He held up the mitts. “Left, right, hook, uppercut, hook, duck, uppercut.”
Holly stood there confused, as if Scott was speaking a second language, but I
knew exactly what he’d just said. “All right.”
I landed the first five strikes but wasn’t fast enough for the duck before I threw
the last uppercut. My lips formed into a tight line as I stared Scott down. He
smirked back.
Okay, motherfucker. Game on.
Over and over, I repeated the same set but could not manage to duck his strike
before the uppercut. It was frustrating as hell. I knew I was fast, but fuck, he was
faster. Just as fast as Darren. Eventually, we changed up the set, switching the
strikes for elbows or kicks, and I found myself fighting just to remain standing; I
was that exhausted. When we were finally done, it took everything I had not to
collapse on the floor in front of him.
“We’ll pick this up again tomorrow,” he said and walked out of the gym.
“Can’t wait!” I shouted after him and proceeded to chug the rest of my water
bottle.
“Holy shit, Jaden! You did so well! I’m super impressed!” Holly beamed.
“Thanks. I think I’d like to go to sleep for the rest of my life now.”
She giggled. “You can’t do that. Not with Thanksgiving right around the
corner!”
I stopped mid swig of my water and eyed her like she was a ghost or something.
“I’m sorry. Did you say Thanksgiving?”
“Yeah, it’s tomorrow, silly. Did you forget?”
I felt my heart fall into my stomach. “I, uh, I guess I did.” My brothers’
birthdays had already passed, and I hadn’t even noticed it. They were only two
years apart from each other. With October now gone and past, Aaron was officially
seventeen and Brennan was fifteen. I suddenly felt my heart breaking all over again
because, in Darren’s eye, I would never see them again. I would never again see my
own fucking family.
“Hey, are you okay, Jaden?”
I sniffed back the sorrow that threatened to take me over. I couldn’t believe it
was already the end of November.
“What are you still doing here then? Shouldn’t you be going home to see your
family?”
She shrugged, a sad smile curving across her face. “I don’t really have anyone to
visit. My parents died in a car accident, too. A long time ago.”
“Oh,” I said, looking down at the floor, suddenly embarrassed. “I’m sorry to
hear that.”
“It’s okay. It happened when I was five. I barely remember them.”
I nodded. Maybe that made it better somehow. She didn’t really know who she
was missing.
“Still, you must have someone you should be visiting on holidays,” I said. “You
shouldn’t have to stay here with me.”
Holly shrugged. “My parents didn’t have brothers or sisters, and I’m an only
child. Grandparents are gone, too.”
“Jesus, Holly,” I said shocked. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. It’s why I stay busy. I’m only twenty-two, and I’m already a certified
personal trainer and physical therapist, who’s well on her way to becoming a doctor
debt free,” she said with a wink.
I shook my head, unable to hide the smirk forming on my lips. “I love your
optimism, Holly.”
“Thanks,” she said with a smile. “You should try it sometime.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah.”
Holly considered me for a moment, something lingering on her mind, and I
could tell she was afraid to speak it.
“What?” I asked.
“You know, Jaden. I know we’re not supposed to discuss it, but sometimes
talking about traumatic experiences can—”
“Don’t,” I said sharply and turned away from her to remove my gloves and
wraps. This was not a topic to dwell on, especially when that topic was a lie.
“Jaden,” she started softly, “I know this is tough for you, but—”
I got up real close to her face, enough so that my mouth was right at her ear. “If
there is one thing you should be aware of around here, it’s that there are
consequences for broken rules. Please don’t break them.”
Holly
