Fighting Forever

I wake up at 6 am like clockwork. My body has been on this schedule for as long as I can remember. When I was younger I would get up in the mornings with my dad and start my training. Training for what? I don’t know. He never told me. “You need to be ready Rae.” He said to me one day when we were in our in home work out gym. “ you keep saying that but never tell me what I need to be ready for.” 14 year old me complained. It always felt like he knew we were in danger. “Listen to me.” He said crouching down and looking me straight in the eyes. “You may never need to use these skills. I sleep better at night knowing that if anything ever happened to me, you would be able to defend and take care of yourself.” His eyes soften. “You’re my whole world baby girl. I won’t be around forever. You’re going to grow up to be a strong and brave young woman.” I snap myself out of the memory. Thinking about my dad hurt too much. Even though it’s been 2 years since he passed, it hasn’t gotten easier. These days all I have is my brother Alex. He’s older than me by 3 years. With the same mom and different dads, he wasn’t raised like I was. He didn’t grow up training daily or taught to always be aware of his surroundings. He had a normal happy childhood. Oh how different we were. Regardless of how complete opposite we were raised, Alex and I have always been pretty close. More so since my dad passed away. Now it’s him who joins me in the gym most mornings. I know he hates it, but he doesn’t complain. I roll out of bed and throw on some athletic leggings and a tank and make my way down the stairs to my dads, now my, at home gym. To say this house is too big for just me and Alex is an understatement. My dad was a lawyer. A damn good one at that. He owned his own firm with his friend I guess you could say we were well off. I started in on my stretching when Alex came to join. “I’m convinced you’re crazy. No sane person does this every day.” He said bumping my shoulder when he took a seat next to me. “Contrary brother, this keeps me sane.” I said with a wicked smile. He throws his hands up. “God help the man who crosses you.” We get through our stretches and warm ups then start on the bags. It always felt good to hit something this early in the morning. “Senior year. You ready?” He asked me while he held the bag. No. I’m not ready. “Yeah I guess.” I said with a shrug. For my last year of high school I’ve decided to go to a public school. I’ve went to private schools all my life and I’m so fed up with the prissy ‘I’m too good for you’ bullshit. That’s not my scene. But my dad always insisted. “You’re sure you want to go to Ravenwood public? Is hasn’t gotten much better since I went there and you only have one year left.” I knew he didn’t want me to switch schools. He doesn’t understand that I just couldn’t do it anymore. School uniforms and designer bags wasn’t me. “Alex.” I said stopping hitting the bag and look at him. “I got this. You know me. I can handle just about anything. If anyone f***s with me, I’ll f**k with them harder. I’m going to lay low, stay under the radar, and hopefully finish high school unscathed.” He put his arms around me and kissed my forehead. “If you need me, just call. I’ll be there no questions.” This is why I loved my big brother. He just understood. “Now let’s finish up so you can get ready for school.” I decided on ripped jeans and a v neck t shirt. No brand names. Nothing to stand out. Hoping this gives off the ‘don’t talk to me’ vibe I’m going for, I head outside to my bike. My Kawasaki Ninja, on the other hand will stick out. f**k it. My bike is my baby. I throw my long dark brown hair aside in a braid and grab my helmet. Here we go.