IÂ feel the familiar burn in my knuckles as I continue to take my anger out on the punching bag in front of me. The ceiling shakes from the force of my blows and for a slight moment, I wonder if the whole place is going to come collapsing down on me. Oh, the irony.
The potent stench of sweat is thick in the tiny boxing gym I had managed to find after having my heart ripped clean from my chest a few hours earlier. I needed to hit something, and it was either come here or get into a bar fight.
I never said it’s a healthy coping mechanism.
I can already feel the aches building in my muscles, but it does little to slow my pace. I’ve lost track of how long I’ve been here. The only thing I know is that I’ve managed to lose the love of my life in the span of a few hours.
I haven’t been able to stop Ava’s words repeating over and over again in my head. Her voice, void of all emotion as she tells me she doesn’t want to be with me anymore echoes in my eardrums.
My harsh breathing cuts through the silence and blends in with the sound of my fists as they collide with the swinging leather bag. Sweat soaks my t-shirt and I can almost hear my heart pounding. I slow my movements long enough to yank the wet material over my head before crashing my fist against the solid surface once again.
I would have given it all up for her. God knows I could have waited. I would have waited. All she had to do was ask. Why couldn’t she just ask me? Why did she have to run away?
The slam of a door catches my attention. A tall guy walks towards me, and I groan loudly when I recognize him.
“Oakley?” He seems genuinely confused to see me here. I drop him a nod. I can try to be civil. We are “friends” after all.
“Adam.”
We share an awkward glance before he drops his bag a few feet away from mine and pulls out a set of boxing gloves. I watch curiously as he pulls them on and tightens them around his wrists. He looks completely relaxed as he takes a long swig of water and launches his first blow at his punching bag.
“I haven’t seen you here before,” he grunts. “It’s my first time.”
I can hear his gloves slapping against the leather in an oddly calming rhythm and can’t help but look over and watch him. It’s obvious he comes here a lot. I come nowhere close to his impressive skill.
“How often do you come here?” I ask, not missing how his shoulders tense whenever I speak.
“Every day.” He doesn’t stop his dangerous assault on the bag. “Lately, it’s been twice a day.”
I’m not naive; I know what happened between him and Ava. My guess is that’s why he feels the need to come to this shithole twice a day.
“Why are you here?” he grunts.
“Same reason as you,” I mumble and throw a punch so hard it makes me hiss in pain.
He chuckles and takes a step back from the punching bag. He rips his gloves off and sits on the bench behind us. He pulls out his water bottle again and takes a long sip of it.
“I heard. Matt keeps secrets like a teenage girl.” He pulls his shirt up to wipe away the sweat on his forehead and looks at me without his usual cocky grin.
I unwrap my knuckles and sit down beside him. “Don’t I know it.” “If it makes you feel any better, she’s probably regretting it already.”
Although we haven’t exactly been the best of friends, I can’t help but feel an odd appreciation for the guy. It takes a lot to sit and try to comfort someone you can’t stand.
“Thanks. I can’t say I’m so sure about that,” I sigh and lean back against the cold, cement wall behind us.
“I know we’ve never really seen eye to eye, but trust me, she’s crazy about you,” Adam says with a long, drawn-out sigh. “This is just what she does. You scare her.”
I stare at him in confusion. The last thing I expected tonight was for Adam to be giving me relationship advice.
“Scare her?”
He nods his head before glancing around the empty gym. “C’mon.
Everyone knows she’s terrified of what’s gonna happen when you leave.”
“I’ve already told her I’ll fly back and forth whenever I can,” I say weakly.
“You’re an even bigger idiot than I thought you were if you think that’s the only reason she’s so worried,” he laughs, stands, and raises his arms behind his head, stretching.
“What do you mean then?” I huff, feeling myself getting more annoyed. Then again, that’s the usual feeling I get with Adam.
“It’s the girls and fame she’s scared of. Your little stunt only made it worse,” he replies casually and slips his hands back into his gloves.
My stomach drops. I mentally kick myself in the ass for being such an idiot. How did I miss that? It was so obvious.
“Don’t let her run away from you. A girl like Ava only comes around once in a lifetime,” he mutters. A flash of pain passes over his face.
He turns away from me and goes back to punching the bag mercilessly, signalling the end of the conversation. My phone rings, making me groan. I wrench my gaze off of Adam and reach down into my bag.
“Hey,” I breathe after I accept the call.
“Where are you? I’m outside your place and you aren’t home. You okay?” Matt’s booming voice cuts through the phone.
I roll my eyes and toss my hand wraps and water bottle back into my bag.
“I’m fine,” I answer gruffly.
He scoffs and I know he’s rolling his eyes at me too. “Where are you? I’m outside your place with a twelve-pack of brewskis.”
“I’m at a gym I found. I’ll be there soon.”
“Hurry up before I drink them all,” he warns and hangs up.
With a huff, I grab the strap of my bag and toss it over my shoulder. I offer Adam my fist, unspeaking. His eyes move to my hand as he raises his eyebrows. He slowly hits his gloved fist against mine.
“Thanks, Adam. I appreciate the advice.”
“Anytime. Good luck,” he adds and I’m startled as his lips turn up slightly. With that, I give him a small smile before heading for the door.
 |
Matt’s truck is parked out front when I pull up to my apartment. I join him on the pavement and chuckle at the beers in his hand.
“I see you brought the good shit.”
“Nothing but the best for my main man,” he winks and slaps my ass as we head out of the cold.
“Thanks,” I say as I unlock the front door and flip on the lights.
“What gym were you at? You smell like my hockey bag,” Matt says, scrunching his nose and flopping onto the couch.
“Just some boxing gym. I don’t even know the name. I’m going to take a shower,” I reply, heading towards my room. Matt nods and turns on the TV.
Ten minutes later, I join Matt in the living room with a fresh shirt on, and he rolls his eyes.
“You know I don’t appreciate you showing me up all the time. Go put a shirt on before you hurt my ego any more than you already have.”
I feign a blush and give him a playful wink as I head to my room to change.
“Better?” I ask, settling next to him with a beer in hand.
“Much better.”
I focus on the TV as we review game tapes, critiquing misplaced passes and missed goals from our last game. “Lowry needs to step up. If he keeps letting shots slip past him, he’s going to lose his spot.”
“Tell me about it,” Matt scoffs. “If he can’t block them, he should at least get out of the way so someone else can. He keeps standing right in my line of sight.”
“Did you see Tyler’s progress? His dekes are out of this world now!” I exclaim, my chest swelling with pride.
We keep at it, watching game tapes and analyzing plays. When we run out of beer, we move on to the liquor cabinet. The more I drink, the less I feel, and I can’t help but enjoy it.
