CHAPTER 3
Mila's POV
Thump, thump, BAM! The punching bag swung violently from the ceiling. I bounced back and waited for the bag to swing towards me. When it did, I lunged forward and struck. I wiped sweat off my forehead and stepped back. I grabbed my water bottle and drank deeply. Collapsing on the floor, I checked my phone. Sheelin had called me and asked that I stay out of her business. I leaned against the wall and poured more water down my face.
Whenever I closed my eyes, all I could see was the tattooed man. Memories that I had buried were flying around my head again. Emotions I had thought I destroyed were creeping towards the surface. My life was burning up in an emotional flame. Why couldn’t I get him out of my head?
Hot teardrops slid down my face. Crying. I was crying. I never cry. Especially in public places. It went against everything I stood for. Tears were a sign of emotional weakness and I was supposed to be the leader of L4L. How could I be a leader if I cried?!
"Uh," a guy's voice said, breaking my concentration, "I think I have this room now," I stood up and looked at who had interrupted my training session and had seen my tears. He had sharp facial features that would be considered 'cruel-looking' by others, startling green eyes that seemed to bore into my soul, slightly tanned skin, and short, brown hair. The nerve of him! If this bastard thinks he can prance into the room I scheduled for two hours and take it away from me, he's dead wrong.
"No," I said testily, "I have this room for another hour,"
"But the schedule outside says," he began.
"That I have this room for another hour," I said. I knew I was being arrogant, but I wasn't going to be pushed around by this guy. He stepped outside and checked the paper.
"Mila?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said warily.
"Wow," he aid, "It's been a long time!" he came up and hugged me. I went into my defensive mode and grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back.
"Who the hell are you?" I demanded.
"It's me," he said, "Josh Blakelee," my grip loosened. Josh and I went way back. We used to live right next to each other until his dad lost his job and they moved to Eastern Washington. Josh was there for me right after the accident too.
I spun him around and hugged him, despite the fact that I probably looked awful.
"I didn't recognize you without your signature red highlights," he said.
"And I didn't recognize you," I laughed, "I'm sorry, it's been a tough four years without you," Especially since I liked him so much, I thought to myself.
"Yeah," he laughed, "So what have you been up to?"
"Well," I said hesitantly, debating if I could trust him, "I'm still involved with Lakas for Life, and we're still doing the usual," I wiped off sweat on my brow and sat down.
"Yeah, I'm sorry I never got involved with that, but you know what happened," he said, grimacing about his past.
Mila's POV
Thump, thump, BAM! The punching bag swung violently from the ceiling. I bounced back and waited for the bag to swing towards me. When it did, I lunged forward and struck. I wiped sweat off my forehead and stepped back. I grabbed my water bottle and drank deeply. Collapsing on the floor, I checked my phone. Sheelin had called me and asked that I stay out of her business. I leaned against the wall and poured more water down my face.
Whenever I closed my eyes, all I could see was the tattooed man. Memories that I had buried were flying around my head again. Emotions I had thought I destroyed were creeping towards the surface. My life was burning up in an emotional flame. Why couldn’t I get him out of my head?
Hot teardrops slid down my face. Crying. I was crying. I never cry. Especially in public places. It went against everything I stood for. Tears were a sign of emotional weakness and I was supposed to be the leader of L4L. How could I be a leader if I cried?!
"Uh," a guy's voice said, breaking my concentration, "I think I have this room now," I stood up and looked at who had interrupted my training session and had seen my tears. He had sharp facial features that would be considered 'cruel-looking' by others, startling green eyes that seemed to bore into my soul, slightly tanned skin, and short, brown hair. The nerve of him! If this bastard thinks he can prance into the room I scheduled for two hours and take it away from me, he's dead wrong.
"No," I said testily, "I have this room for another hour,"
"But the schedule outside says," he began.
"That I have this room for another hour," I said. I knew I was being arrogant, but I wasn't going to be pushed around by this guy. He stepped outside and checked the paper.
"Mila?" he asked.
"Yeah," I said warily.
"Wow," he aid, "It's been a long time!" he came up and hugged me. I went into my defensive mode and grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back.
"Who the hell are you?" I demanded.
"It's me," he said, "Josh Blakelee," my grip loosened. Josh and I went way back. We used to live right next to each other until his dad lost his job and they moved to Eastern Washington. Josh was there for me right after the accident too.
I spun him around and hugged him, despite the fact that I probably looked awful.
"I didn't recognize you without your signature red highlights," he said.
"And I didn't recognize you," I laughed, "I'm sorry, it's been a tough four years without you," Especially since I liked him so much, I thought to myself.
"Yeah," he laughed, "So what have you been up to?"
"Well," I said hesitantly, debating if I could trust him, "I'm still involved with Lakas for Life, and we're still doing the usual," I wiped off sweat on my brow and sat down.
"Yeah, I'm sorry I never got involved with that, but you know what happened," he said, grimacing about his past.
