“You know… staring at the mats isn’t going to get them clean any faster.” My dad positioned himself beside me and knocked my shoulder.
“I’m not on mat duty today,” I grumbled.
“You haven’t been on any duty today.” He chuckled. “Well, maybe staring duty.”
“Did you need something?” I glared at him.
“Your mom and I just want to know if you’ll be joining us for dinner tonight. She’s been cooking for you all week, and you haven’t been showing up.” He sighed.
“I meant to thank her for the leftovers. I’m sorry,” I murmured as I checked my phone. I’d been doing that a lot lately, hoping that she’d text me.
“You could make all this go away with an apology, ya know?” He stood.
“She won’t talk to me.” I shook my head. I called the first couple of days and she sent me to voicemail. I decided to give her the space she needed, but I didn’t count on her wanting this much.
“Looks like she changed her mind.” He tipped his head toward the door, and I followed with my eyes. There, in workout clothes, was the one person I’d spent the last five days thinking about. Her hair was up in a ponytail, and she had a water bottle in her right hand. Her eyes met mine, and she quickly looked away, bypassing the front desk where I stood all together. “Maybe not.” Dad shook his head again. “Good luck.” He walked away, leaving me there staring at her back as she moved toward the training ring.
Wes appeared from his office in his own workout clothes, and followed her into the ring. I watched as she popped a mouth guard in and slipped on a pair of gloves. Wes looked like the Michelin man as he stood in front of her. She bounced a few times and beat her gloves together before taking a swing at him. He nodded, encouraging her to do it again. They moved round and round the ring, her swinging and him deflecting. It was quite the scene. I’d never seen her so concentrated and what looked to be angry.
“Come on!” Wes yelled and she lifted her leg to make contact. “Again!” His voice echoed as did her grunts. I was mesmerized as her body moved with such grace and agility around the ring. I knew he’d trained her since we were kids, but she’d never shown an interest in fighting. It was always for fun. Now it seemed that she was on a mission of some sort.
They stopped after a while, and Wes approached her. They’d tossed their gear to the side, and he had his arm around her shoulder. He was saying something to her, and she was nodding. Then she grabbed her things, walked right by me, and out the door.
I glanced over at where Wes was putting away the gear. His eyes met mine before they moved to follow Riley out. I looked from him to her, and it was as if he was silently telling me to go after her. By the time I got outside, she was gone.
OooooooooRiley
I knew Dad was trying to help, but seeing Caleb there watching me just made the hurt that much worse. He hasn’t tried to contact me since those first few phone calls. Coming to the gym today just reminded me how much I still feel. I could feel his eyes on me, and when Dad was barking at me to put in more effort, I knew that he was hoping to get Caleb’s attention.
I hadn’t been here long when I heard the crunch of tires pull up behind me. I silently hoped he’d find me. I guess something was going right. “How’d you know I was here?” I called out as his footsteps grew louder.
“I took a guess.” His voice sounded tired.
“Throwing bricks didn’t help today.” I kicked at the ground as I stood from where I’d been propped on the hood of Mom’s car.
“Sometimes we can get the anger out physically, sometimes it requires talking,” he murmured as he moved closer. I could see him from the corner of my eye. He was directly beside me, but made sure to give me my space.
“Sometimes I don’t feel like talking.” I took the brick I’d been holding and hurled it toward the wall in front of me. It broke and my shoulders sagged.
“I hope that wasn’t supposed to be me.” He chuckled but it died on his lips when I shot a glare in his direction. “We need to talk, Riley.” He sighed. When I didn’t say anything, he rephrased it. “I need to talk. I just need you to listen.”
I didn’t move. I refused to look at him, but I didn’t move away. “I hate liars. Dean lied to me, and I swore I’d never be with someone like that again.” I stared at my feet, kicking rocks and trying to decide if my heart could handle whatever he was going to tell me.
“I’m sorry.” The words came flying out, like he couldn’t hold them in any longer. “I didn’t want to lie to you. I knew we weren’t doing anything wrong, but I also knew how worried your parents would be if you left and they didn’t know where you were. My mom told me about Alex, and I knew you’d need me for support. It was killing me to keep that secret, but I wanted to give you the space you needed.” He sighed. “I still love you. I always have. I think I’ve loved you since we were kids in some weird way. We’re amazing together, and everything I told you about us is true. There are times I feel
