“Do I need to go over any of that again?” Sean asked.
I shook my head.
Sean was slow to place his hand on my arm, putting just a bit of pressure right above my elbow. I knew I could easily break the hold if I tried.
“Don’t go easy on me,” I said with a breath. “I can’t learn otherwise.”
“I also don’t want you to panic just yet, hon. I’d like to get a few more positions out of you first.” He paused. “Now push against my face.”
I did, which he dodged. And in the next second, I brought my knee up, hitting him lightly in the groin.
“Harder. Don’t hold back.”
I did it again, only slightly harder.
“You can do better than that,” Zevon coaxed behind me. “Put everything behind it.”
With a quick breath in, and feeling slightly annoyed that he was telling me what to do, I put more pressure into kneeing Sean.
“Much better. I think you’ll like the punching bag, which we’ll get to later.” He let go of my arm before circling around me.
“Meaning you’ll teach us how to punch?”
“Muscle gain is as important as fighting back. Plus, it gives you a great outlet to get that frustration out. And believe me, you’ll need it. I plan to push you when you get to that stage. Mentally, of course. But it’s needed.
“Now, I’m pretty sure this next one will be a trigger, so tell me to stop if you need a break. I’m going to be behind you and grab onto your upper arms. Now, normally, I’d grab a person around the chest, but I feel like that may be pushing you too far. So when I grab you, I want you to try to pull away. When you are unable to do so, stomp on my foot. Use your head to hit my nose or chin as hard as you can. Or use your leg, and hit me on my knees. Hit me wherever you possibly can. Fight through the panic that you will feel. Fight with everything you have.”
“Okay,” I breathed, already fighting off the panic that was begging to come out. My chest felt tight, but I pushed on. I had to.
My breath stuck in my throat as Sean’s hands found purchase on my upper arms, near my shoulders. My mind grew fuzzy, but I pushed on. Trying to follow his directions, I stomped down on his foot.
“You can do better than that,” Sean goaded.
With a grunt, I slammed my head back, hitting Sean somewhere.
“Good,” he huffed in pain. “Keep going.” Slowly, he repositioned his hands so one went down my arm, right at the elbow, and put slightly more pressure than he did before.
With a tight chest, I twisted slightly and tried to kick Sean in the knee. This time, he stepped back, causing me to miss.
“Don’t give up,” he said. “Think. Fight. Get free.” The words were whispered in my ear where I could only hear him. “Pretend I’m that man who hurt you.”
Yeah, that wasn’t going to work. I refused to bring the thought of him into this room.
Sean must have noticed, as he inched another hand slightly across my chest with his next words. “Don’t make me goad you, Scarlett. Because I will.”
Surprising myself, and Sean too, I spun in his loose hold. His arm dropped from around my chest, but the one on my arm stayed, as his grip was tighter there. Once I faced him, my arm was a bit of an odd angle, but I used my knee to hit him in the groin, harder than the first time I did it.
“Good,” he said. “That’s what I like to see.” He let go of me. “Now that, I was not expecting, which is a perfect way to surprise an attacker. I was expecting you to panic.”
“It was there, but I may be getting better at keeping it at bay. For a little bit, anyhow.”
“That means I don’t have to be as careful as I first thought. Everyone certainly needs to give you more credit. For being so beaten down, you have some guts on you, girl. Don’t ever let anyone know, because it may be what saves you.”
“She’s just a natural,” Sawyer said.
“Or I’m just having a good day today. Next time could not work as well,” I said, proud of myself.
“Nah. My girl has this. According to her brother, she’s always been determined to do what’s needed to be done if she puts her mind to it. Even if she has to be sneaky to get it done.”
