Blake’s Pov
Emily has left the club. It’s silent and just me and all memories hanging around in the club, staring me in the face!I picked up gloves and put them on. This time I used Emily’s.
As I pull it over my hands, I can feel the pain. I don’t know her story, but I have my own story about why I started to become a kickboxer. The memories of my father run through my mind when I pull the punch bag closer.
“Did you hit him back?” father is sitting with a knife peeling his apple on the front porch when I came home from school with a bloody nose.
“I asked if you punched him back?” I hear my father’s voice clearly as I punch the bag.
I just stared at him that day, remembering how he used women, how he was never there for me. He only cared about his title as the world-famous kickboxing champion and how women were falling at his feet. And here I am, getting bullied at school because I’m not my father.
The words repeat themselves as I kick and punch the bag.
Hit harder, kick harder, fight little boy, don’t be weak, don’t be scared, never let the opponent have the upper hand!!! The words repeat and repeats until I kicked the bag so hard it fell to the ground.
My father trained me to be the best, but he never trained me to be a man, to have a soul. As I grew up, I became the best. No one dares to look in my way without fear in their eyes. I train children exactly the way my father trained me, to always be the best and to never allow someone to bully you, but I don’t train them to love as well, I only train them for people to fear them, and for them to never have fear.
Until Emily walked into my gym. Fear all over her face, fear for her past, but not fear for me, fear for being defeated, but not by me. Fear for losing, but not fear of losing me.
What am I doing? Teaching her the way I teach these kids? Or Is she teaching me how to love? And to have compassion?
I sit flat on my ass with her hand gloves on. I can still feel the sweat of her tiny hands melting with mine. Who is she so afraid of that she’s not showing any sign of fear for me?
I would take women home, and still, I would see fear in their eyes, because they’re at the undefeated worldwide kickboxers’ house, but not Emily, when I look at her, I see someone that wants revenge, and not for what happened to her in the Alley, no one knows who that man was, and what happened to Emily happens daily around here. Some just know how to defend themselves, but Emily could not even throw a punch when I first met her, and she’s beautiful and charming and have so much compassion that I can’t think that someone ever bullied her, well not as a child, anyway.
I stand up and pulled another bag closer and placed the hand gloves back on.
My father’s voice runs like a river through my mind.
“anger is hot, evil, and rage. This can help because it boosts your adrenaline through the roof and adds motivation and power to your punches, punch the bag, Blake!” Tears are streaming out of a 10-year-old boy’s eyes.
“Stop crying Blake, tears make you weak!” the words repeat itself, while the blood is dripping on the floor when he made me punch a bag without gloves.
“Pain will make you mad and strong.” I hit the bag, and it fell to the ground again. I pulled another one closer as the rage and anger and pain filled my body.
“anger is like fire. Fire can be very useful if you use it right. Use the anger in you, Blake! See your bully!” my father yelled. He pushed me and I tripped and hit my head against the bag.
“Control your emotions!” my father yelled again and kicked me. I remember how the rage took over, and I turned around and tried to punch him in the face, but who was I fooling? I tried to take on the best fighter in the world.
“Through kickboxing, you’ll learn the correct way to punch and kick to make a much larger effect, and you’ll learn endless combinations of kicks and punches. This can be used if you ever end up in a dangerous situation like now.” he threw a punch and I hit the floor.
With all the memories and the rage, I stopped hitting the bag.
I don’t know what I am doing? I’ve been fighting all these years with rage and how to control my outcome with breathing, but there is so much that Emily is teaching me, and I don’t know if it’s a food thing or a bad thing.
I sit for a while before I decided to stand up and go home.
Home, where no one is waiting for me. I was only trained to use women for my pleasure and train like a champ since I was beaten and bullied in school.
I finally got home and threw my bag on the floor, plot down on the couch and ordered some takeaway, when a message from Emily came through.
*thank you for helping me today.* thank you? I’ve never heard that word before, or how to even use it. The only word I know is, defeat the opponent.
*no need to thank me, I’m just training you* I replied back.
*I know, but you didn’t have to, and you still do. I bet there are a million other things you would rather do than train a girl who doesn’t even know how to punch a bag.* a million other things. No, I would rather train her. I said to myself.
*no, it’s nice helping you. I can see a difference already from when the day you walked into the gym* I replied and lied. I don’t know why I’m boosting her confidence. She is not ready to take on anyone. One hit and she will drop like a banging bag on the floor.
*thank you, but no need to make me feel better. I know I’m not good, but with your help, I will be able to defeat my demons one day.* demons? What demons are haunting this beautiful woman? And if it’s demons, I feel like I can crush them with my bare hands and keep her safe, keep her as beautiful as she is, so that no one can ever hurt her face again like the day I rescued her from the alley.
I sit in silence. What is this woman doing to me?
*sleep tight* I replied.
*sleep tight* she replied with a hug emoji. I threw my phone on the couch and grab my head. I need to get myself together. I said no strings attached. I reminded myself.
Emily’s Pov “Miss, what happened? You need to tell us what happen so that someone can help you.” the unfamiliar woman is laying in the ED, her lip busted ad can barely keep her left eye open. My day shift is almost finished and Blake said he will pick me up so that don’t have to take the bus in the rain. “Miss?” she picked her head up long enough to look at the man that was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. “Did he do this to you?” I point a finger at him and asked her again, but she looked scared when I pointed it out. “Did you do this to her?” I push forward to the man with so much anger inside me. “Wow, wow. I would never beat a woman like that.” he jugg
Blake’s PovI’m still sitting on the couch like an ass. What was I thinking?If my dad was here now, he would’ve said with your *dig* but yeah, he is not here, and that is not what I was doing. For the first time in my entire life, I felt something, something that I wanted more of.I’ve had women in my life before. I know the adrenalin feeling of winning over and over, and I know how it feels to have a joint and to zone out, but this feeling I don’t know.It’s a feeling of wanting someone or something so bad that you’re willing to give up everything for that.It’s a feeling that you can’t see or touch, but it stares at you brighter than the sun and cuts you deeper than a knife. It’s a feeling that you beg to hold on to, but it’s slowly slipping away into the darkness, and the only way to grab it is to climb down the lather and pull it up.*meet as, at the club, drinks on
Emily’s Pov I watch the clock against the wall for the 100th time now. Linda was supposed to be back by 10, it’s already 1 PM, and I haven’t heard from her. I pulled my phone out and there were no messages, no calls from her. What could’ve happened to her? Surely you don’t take that long to evaluate someone? The patient called this morning to go to a house call. She actually asked for me, but Linda took the phone before I could answer it and said she will go. The lady apparently wasn’t strong enough to get to the hospital, so we had to send someone out to evaluate and stabilise the patient to get to the ED. I haven’t heard from Blake in 5weeks. I’ve stopped training as well. Blake proved that night that I was weak, not
Blake’s POV “What happened?” I jumped out of the car when I saw Em sitting on the staircase waiting for me to come home. “Seriously, Blake, we have to get going!” Vicky climbs out of the car and, like always, fucking moans about shit. I run up to Emily, who looks like she passed out a few times. Her face was swollen. I search for any bleeding marks on her body, while my body is trembling with fear. What happened to her? Her knuckles are busted, so it means she fought back. I had a small smile on the corners of my lips, but I still have fear. “That’s my girl,” I mumbled. “Blake?” Vicky yells. “Just call a damn ambulance. We have to get going.” My eyes still scan her body. She’s really here, beat up, but she’s here.
Emily’s Pov My mind is racing with all the feelings stirring inside me, feelings I’ve never gotten before, not even once. That is what you get for believing that you’re not worthy of anything in life. Blake is starting me blank in the eyes. I don’t even think he knows what’s going on now. Maybe he’s playing with me, maybe not, but for now, I don’t care. I just want to be close to him, as close as si can be. Why I chose it with him, god knows why. I know I feel safe with him, like I can feel all my emotions and let my inner demons out without him questioning my intentions. I know he doesn’t know how to let go, and not be in control all the time, but this time, I need him to let go and just give in! “Just breath, close your eyes and let go of whatever control
Blake’s PovEm is sleeping for three hours straight now. The wind has picked up and a massive storm is brewing. I kept checking if she was okay and that the swelling didn’t get worse. She refuses to go to a hospital, and for god knows why she’s a nurse and most of the people at the ED know what happened in her past, okay I think only Linda does, and I know her worse fear is being weak, but sometimes being weak is not a bad thing, well in my eyes. I grew up learning that being weak is your worse enemy, until I met Emily, and saw that being weak comes with passion and love and dependence. That’s all I ever wanted.I closed her with a blanket when someone knocked on the door. It’s nearly midnight who in the world would come here this time.The knocking became louder when I rush to the door before the fucking noise woke up Emily.“What in the world are you doing here?” I asked when my moth
Emily’s Pov“You know, it’s okay to feel you don’t have to hide what happened.” I try to ease the pain that he’s trying to hide behind the tough man he was raised to be. He looked down and kept his eyes focus on my lap while I’m still sitting on his lap. “I don’t want to lose focus when I’m high on emotions. I never learned how to show or even let it in.” “Then let me teach you the same way you’re teaching me to fight. Let me show you how to feel.” My hands are hooked around his neck and his hands are around my body. I can feel how ye shiver, trying to hold back what is dying to let out, but he’s too afraid to feel anything. “How did you feel when your sister overdosed?” he snap his head with anger and removed me from his lap. “Blake, I don&rsqu
Emily’s Pov I woke up in Blakes’s enormous bed with him nowhere to be seen. I pulled the blanket and wrapped it around my naked body and made my way downstairs. Blake is busy working out and I can’t help by stare at him. He caught me staring and just carried on. I can’t help but shake the feeling that he regrets what happened last night. “Are you okay?” I asked, but he didn’t answer. “Blake?” “Yes, I made a pot of coffee. I’m sure you need to get to work,” he answered without looking at me. “Did I do something wrong? Or are you treating everyone like this the next morning you had sex with women?” I challenged him. “What?” He ask