“I know how to fucking punch.”
“Yeah?” His eyes lowered to my hands.
“Been in plenty of fights and haven’t gotten my ass kicked yet,” I affirmed, cockily.
“You keep punching the way you are and you’re going to have more than some bruising on those knuckles. To the bag!” he ordered.
I narrowed my gaze and took another look at him, assessing him. After a minute’s hesitation, I reluctantly moved in the direction of the punching bags. I silently followed his instruction on how to land the proper punch, as to avoid the most damage to my own hands, while still causing plenty of damage to my opponent. After a few run throughs, he taped up my wrists and hands, handed me back the pair of gloves, and stood opposite me, holding the heavy bag in place to allow me to wail on it.
“That’s it!” he yelled when I would hit the bag to his liking.
“Is that how the fuck I taught you?” he’d yell when I’d revert back to my old punching style.
“Now you’re just getting sloppy!” he yelled when my anger rose, causing me to throw punch after punch, clumsily.
On and on it went. I punched and punched. I don’t remember how long it took for the flashbacks to start coming, but they did. The flashback of the first day I met Chelsea in kindergarten. The day she introduced me to the new girl in school in sixth grade. I remembered being in awe seeing Kayla’s naturally auburn hair against her cinnamon skin for the first time. The smile she gave me when we met had me tongue-tied. I swallowed and hit the bag harder as my memory took me to that horrible day in Chelsea’s doctor’s office when she cried in my arms upon hearing her cancer diagnosis.A rare and aggressive form …The doctor’s words echoed in my head and I hit the bag harder.
“That’s it!” Buddy called, oblivious to the fact that I’d zoned out, at least I thought he was oblivious. “Let the anger out. Put it into the bag.”
He knew what I was doing.
By the time my father arrived two hours later, my arms felt like lead and my lungs burned from all the exertion.
“See ya tomorrow, kid,” Buddy called.
I nodded. “Tomorrow,” I agreed in between gulps of air and sips of water. I had nowhere else to go. My career with Townsend Real Estate didn’t hold the same appeal after Chelsea’s death. Kayla was gone, off living her life in Portland without so much as a good-bye. The two closest people to me in the world were gone. My family was there but they didn’t get it. Besides, they each had their own lives. I might as well return to that dark room where nothing mattered but fighting.This is what I need, I thought as I followed behind my father as we exited the gym.
****
Joshua
“Long time no see.” My voice was cold as I pulled myself from those long ago memories and refocused on Kayla in the present.
“Joshua.” Her voice was just above a whisper.
“Hey, Joshua.”
An instant glower covered my face at the intrusion of the male voice to my right. Still, I kept my eyes trained on a squirming Kayla.
“Dr. Carlson,” I stated as he appeared in my peripheral, moving next to Kayla, who’d taken a step back.
“I see you’ve met our new naturopathic doctor.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Really?”
Kayla noticeably swallowed.
“Yes, Dr. Reyes comes highly recommended all the way from the West Coast.”
My belly filled with a warm anger I fought hard to keep from showing on my face. This man knew more about Kayla than I did. That didn’t sit well with me at all.
“Dr. Reyes and I are old friends,” I told Dr. Carlson, briefly looking to him before putting my full attention back on Kayla, who remained uncannily silent. “Luke, how about you let a pair of old friends catch up?” I tossed him a friendly smile, while reaching for Kayla’s hand. I got the sense she was just on the verge of trying to get away but I wasn’t allowing that.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Dr. Carlson narrow his gaze but eventually shrugged it off and left us. I pulled Kayla a few feet into the ballroom, still clutching her hand in mine as I turned to her.
“Cat got your tongue?”
She lowered her head before lifting it again, squaring her shoulders. “I-I’m just surprised to see you here.”
