Bad At Love

Chapter Nine

There is a time and place for everything. In this case, I wanted nothing more than to punch into something hard and repeatedly. Murphy's Gym was the perfect place to do so. I had been coming here for years, ever since Jake and I ended, I needed something to take all my anger out on. Something that didn't involve hurting other people, despite how badly I wanted to punch Jake in his groin. I knew it wouldn't solve anything.

So, I started coming here. Murphy taught me all his techniques. He liked to call me his Femtege -- like Protege, but he liked to remind me of my underlying femininity.

I grabbed a hold of my hand wraps. Their black color contrasting with my olive skin tone, as I enclosed my knuckles firmly. I watched calmly as Murphy finished with his other client, their jabs landing every so often. I couldn't help but scoff at his poorly executed hits; Murph taught me better than that. The guy's stance didn't help him either. Instead of balancing on the balls of his feet, the man had unevenly distributed his weight. It would be easier to knock him down.

"Oof," the man whined as his back plummeted into the mats on the floor. I winced momentarily as he rose to his feet. His hands raised in surrender. Murph laughed viciously with an outstretched hand.

"Next time, I don't want to see you fall, even if it was satisfying. Practice your stance and make sure you are doing exactly what I taught you." I watched as the two men dipped beneath the ropes to exit the ring. The smaller man stalked towards the locker room. His shoulders tense from his obvious failure. He was nowhere near ready to fight Murph without his head gear, let alone his knee pads. It only fueled my cockiness in the ring.

"There's my favorite fighter," Murph walked towards me. His hands unwrapped themselves as he reached me. He had a wide grin on his plump lips, his beautiful brown skin glistening with sweat, "How are you doing, baby girl?" He leaned in for a side hug, his strong arm tightly enveloping me. He was gorgeous, I would never deny that. His muscles bulged out with the kind of tightness you only see in professional athletes.

"What did I say about calling me that? I can easily take you down, babydoll," I replied. I smirked at my word choice as I gently jabbed him in the ribs, earning a soft groan from him. "I can let you take a quick break before we start. I know I can actually tire you out." I mused as I leaned my head onto his shoulder, his arm still firmly wrapped around my waist. I am certain anyone who saw us would assume the worst. In reality, this man was more of a father figure than most would realize.

"Very funny, Pearce. I will rest for fifteen and we can get into the ring and settle this once and for all," he answered. He squeezed my shoulder tightly, before letting me go. We both shook our heads together as he stepped in the direction of his office. I bent down at the waist, stretching my muscles for the fight to come.

~

Left. Right. Left.. Left. Right.

I jabbed into Murph's side, before ducking down to avoid his hook to the face. His hand flew past my jaw as he grunted. My hand raised to jab into his shoulder, causing him to land a hit onto my arm. I grunted in response, before leaning into him. My hands covering my solar plexus as he jabbed into me. Each hit he landed only fueled my frustrations. I leaned into him further, causing him to fall back. His hands raised instinctively to protect his face and chest.

I smirked cautiously as I leaned forward.

My hands started to jab into his lower abdomen:

Left. Right. Right. Left. Right. Left.

I missed my first two shots, as the final four landed perfectly into his abdomen. His hands dipped below to reveal his face and chest. I eased into him as I propelled a left hook into his jaw; with limited force. He slid back into the ropes of the ring as I bounced on my feet, waiting for his return. He smirked at me as he shook his head. He lunged towards me, a yelp released from my lips as my back became flush with the ropes. I felt his fists jab into my abdomen as my chest heaved forward to force him back. With no success, I hurled my shoulders forward as I pushed him backwards with a grunt.

I heaved a breath as I raised my fists to cover my face again as I waited for his attack. I knew he wouldn't go for my stomach. He would rather let me rest for a moment. We danced around one another, our feet bouncing the mat of the ring. Neither of us wanted to throw the next hit, that was certain.

"Come on, Murph. Hit me already," I teased as I let my hands shift below to cover my abdomen. Briefly, I let my eyes wander across the room of the gym. I caught sight of the one familiar faces I had never expected to see here. I knitted my brows as I eased my focus back onto Murph. He had a small smirk on his lips as he lunged forward, knocking me onto the mat as the timer rang aloud. It's obnoxious ring signaling the end of our session. I heaved a groan as I pushed Murph off of me, his laugh ringing through my ears.

"Finally, I needed a good fight," Murph chuckled as he pushed himself off the mat. His hand outstretched to help me up. My hand raised to wipe a bead of sweat off my cheek bone as I smiled softly at the man.

"Glad to be of service," I teased as I took his hand into mine, hoisting myself up with his help. I bounced onto my feet as my eyes danced around the room, looking for the face that distracted me for a moment. I walked towards the ropes of the ring as I dipped out, my feet slamming onto the concrete flooring. I heard the voice that had haunted my dreams the last few nights.

My head raised to find the source, a small smile forming on my lips as his eyes stared into me.

"Silas?" I called out, earning a soft smile from him. My feet began to carry themselves towards him before I heard Murph's voice call out to me, earning my gaze. I eyed him as I listened to him question me.

"Pearce, you know him?" His thick brow raised in my direction and gave a soft nod. I returned my gaze onto where Silas once stood. But, he had disappeared, leaving me questioning not only my sanity, but Murph's as well.