Rise and Fall

Sweat poured down my back as I forced myself down towards the ground for my fifth push-up. “Down,” Shadows said. “Six,” everyone chanted back. He was standing right over me, arms crossed over his black Guns N Roses t-shirt. Special interest. Why did he have a special interest in me? That thought had been racing through my mind since he said it to me two days ago. Did he like women who bossed him around? Doubtful. I figured he’d be the opposite. He probably preferred women to be quiet and passive, letting him do whatever he wanted. Shadows would never surrender his control.

Well that wasn’t going to happen with me. Fuck that. Even if he was really attractive. And strong. And intimidating. And an asshole, I reminded myself. I did my final push-up and we rolled onto our backs for crunches. I groaned when he informed us that we would be doing twenty of them instead of the usual ten. He walked away from me and I did them in silence along with the jump squats.

After our warm up and stretching out our muscles, we paired up to get ready for class to begin. “Hey want to be my partner,” someone asked. I thought it was Damien again but he had partnered up with someone else. This guy was slightly larger than Damien, had short brown hair and was kind of muscular. He almost reminded me of Shadows, minus the tattoos. “I’d love to,” I said and his whole face lit up. He went to grab a pair of focus mitts and I went to get my boxing gloves.

“I’m Jules,” I said when he returned and sat down next to me. “Jeremy,” he grinned. I noticed for the first time how piercing his blue eyes were. Gorgeous. “Alright, listen up,” Shadows began, interrupting us.

“Today we are going to be working on different punch combinations as well as defending ourselves. You will use the perry to block the two main punches and the helmet guard to protect yourself from hooks. Perries are simple. you just hit your partner's gloves before the punches hit you in the face. It's one of the most basic defense moves. I will call out different combinations and you will follow. In between that time I want you blocking punches,” Shadows explained.

He then called up Damien to demonstrate how the drill would work. Shadows seemed to be slamming his punches into the focus mitts a little too hard. Damien was wincing a bit. It kind of reminded me on my first day. Not that I was a pro or anything. This was only my second day of class. After they finished their demonstration we went to work with our partners.

Jeremy held up the black circular pads for me. They were big enough to cover your hands and had white circles in the middle, serving as a target for you to aim for. “Two, three, five,” Shadows announced and the sound of people hitting the mitts echoed throughout the gym. Damien threw a hook at me and clocked me on the side of the head.

“You’re supposed to do a helmet guard,” Jeremy said, smiling a little at my frown. He demonstrated for me. I mimicked him, holding my arm up to the side of my face, reaching for the back of my head to make sure the side of my face was covered. “Good,” Jeremy said. He did it again on the other side and this time I blocked it.

“One, two, three, two,” Shadows said and I hit the pads. Soon after Jeremy threw some jabs and crosses but my reflexes weren’t quick enough. “You want to perry them when they get close to you. You don’t want to have to reach out for them. Just swat them away once they are right in front of your face,” Shadows said as he approached us. Shadows took Jeremy’s place and started throwing punches at me. I managed the hooks pretty good and when it came to the jabs and crosses I finally started to get it. “Not bad, cupcake. You’re getting it,” Shadows said and I felt a surge of pride.

Jeremy was raising a brow at me. “Cupcake? You sleeping with him,” Jeremy asked and I felt my face immediately heat up. “NO,” I said a little too loudly because some people nearby and their partners looked over at us. Why the hell was he using that nickname in class? Did he want a giant spotlight over me? No one else had nicknames like that! It was almost... endearing and I didn't want that attention drawn on me. People would probably think he felt sorry for me or was showing favoritism.

“He’s an odd dude. Shadows is an odd name,” Jeremy said, holding up the focus mitts as another combination was called. “I think it kind of suits him. He’s like a mystery. And he lurks around like a shadow. You don’t know he’s there until he… speaks,” I said, blocking a hook as I recalled encountering him at the bar the other night. And I also learned his real name. Matt.

The clock buzzed, breaking up my thoughts, and I was about to take my gloves off when Shadows announced that we were doing one hundred straight punches. I began and Jeremy counted off every ten for me to keep track. I was gasping for breath by the end of it, desperate for water. I threw my gloves off to the side and reached for my water bottle, chugging it immediately.

“So what do you do outside of here,” Jeremy asked conversationally as he put on his gloves. “I’m a bartender. Haven’t had any luck getting a job even though I got my Bachelor’s and in the meantime, there’s always money involved with booze,” I explained and Jeremy laughed in agreement. I took the focus mitts off the ground and slipped them on, getting ready to hold them for Jeremy.

Class flew by. Jeremy was a fun guy. I learned that he was a stockbroker and actually lived a few blocks away from the apartment I shared with Shelby. After explaining the dilemma with Shelby and Rob, he agreed to help me find some apartments, promising me that he could find me some good deals. He was a really nice guy. And he was good looking, which didn't hurt. No it definitely didn't hurt at all. We exchanged numbers after class and said our goodbyes after I told him to stop by Jay’s one of these nights and I’d buy him a drink or two.

“You never buy me drinks,” Shadows said as I drank the rest of my water bottle and tossed it in a nearby recycling bin. “Yeah well so far his friends haven’t gotten me stitches,” I said as I scooped up my backpack. Shadows was frowning at me and looked troubled about something. I almost wanted to ask him what was bothering him but resisted. “He shouldn’t of done that,” Shadows said quietly.

“Well maybe you should invest in some new friends Matt,” and before I could think I was being shoved up against a wall. “Do NOT call me that here. Ever. Do you understand me,” Shadows said, his arm lodged up against my throat. My heart was racing and I was gasping for my breath. I grabbed at his arm as he lifted me in the air slightly, my feet dangling a few inches in the air. My eyes widened but he showed no signs of releasing me. For a moment I had a crazy thought that this was how I was going to die. He wasn't going to let me go. “Ok,” I finally managed to breathe out and he released me and I fell to the ground.

“What the hell is the matter with you,” I yelled as I stared up at him, clutching onto my throat. “A lot of things, cupcake. And he’s not my friend,” Shadows said, offering me a hand. I refused it and pulled myself up. “Then why was he with you,” I asked. “Business,” he shrugged. What that guy had to do with business and the gym I’ll never understand. Unless he meant something else. I stared at him but his expression was unreadable. I said nothing and turned to leave the gym. I didn’t want anything to do with him until next class. I really hoped he didn’t show his face at Jay’s anytime soon because I really wasn’t up to being any more civil with him than I needed to.

I stepped outside and started walking out to the parking lot to call a cab. Due to my confrontation with Shadows I was the last one to leave the gym. Stupid asshole was always wasting my time. I waved at Brian as I saw him pull up into a nearby parking space. He returned the wave as he got out of his car and began walking towards me, but my smile faded as I saw a black car with tinted windows slowly approaching that looked suspicious and out of place. The passenger window lowered and I screamed as they pulled out a gun and started shooting. I jumped onto Brian and hid behind a car as shots went off.

‘THIS IS FOR SHADOWS,” the person bellowed and kept on shooting. The sounds of bullets hitting the windows of cars and the building echoed in the air. I was terrified for my life, afraid that they would get out of the car and try to kill me. But after the damage was done they sped off, tires squealing, and left me and Brian behind the car. I was shaking and Brian pulled me up easily as if I were a rag doll.

“Are you ok,” Brian asked and I nodded slightly but I was still freaking out. Someone had tried to shoot the place up. Because of Shadows. What the hell were they talking about? Why would they want to shoot him?

Shadows suddenly came out of the gym, gun in hand ready to be used. I screamed and hid behind Brian. “Coast is clear man. They took off real fast,” Brian informed him. Shadows hitched the gun in the back of his pants and made his way over to me. I backed away from him and slammed my back into a car. He looked hurt at my reaction.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt,” he asked, reaching out to me and I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing he would go away. “Stay away from me,” I said after I managed to open my eyes. Tears started pouring out as my body fully absorbed what just happened.

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Shadows said quietly. “See THAT? So does this happen frequently? What is this gym a front for something? They were fucking shooting at us! Real god damn bullets,” I said and I moved to the side to avoid his touch when Shadows reached for me again. “They wanted you, Matt. They said it was for you,” I said quietly, tears leaking out before I could stop them. Brian looked surprised that I knew his real name but he didn’t say anything.

“Don’t come to Jay’s. I don’t want that at my bar. I don’t need it,” I said and got my cell phone out to call a cab. “Let me take you home,” Matt pleaded. “And risk getting shot again? No thank you,” I said, still on hold with the cab company. “Is this like the Pelican Brief? Do I know too much and now they’re going to kill me too,” I asked sarcastically.

“Just let me take you home. It’s safer than a fucking cab,” Matt grumbled. “I quit, ok? I don’t want a part of your stupid fucking gym and risk getting shot at. This wasn’t in the paperwork. This is bullshit,” I said. “You signed a contract,” Matt and Brian said lazily. “I don’t give a shit. I’ll pay the god damn money but you won’t see me around here,” I said, and was about to give my location to the cab company when I was interrupted.

Matt ripped the cell phone out of my hand and hung up on the cab company. I glared at him and he yanked at my hand and pulled me towards his car. “I’ll be back later,” Matt said and all but shoved me into the passenger seat. I buckled up after putting my backpack on the floor and folded my arms across my chest. Tears that I couldn’t control began falling down my cheeks again.

Matt sighed and reached across me in the glove compartment to hand me a pack of tissues. I sniffled and blew my nose as he drove in silence. He said he would give me a ride, he didn’t say anything about the need for conversation.

“What did the car look like,” Matt asked, breaking the silence. “Why are you questioning me when you could easily get the information from Brian,” I said and he sighed. “You saw them first didn’t you,” he asked and I said nothing. “It was a black car with tinted windows. A goddamned Escalade by the looks of it. Then they rolled the passenger window down and someone yelled this is for Shadows, and they started shooting. So I jumped on top of Brian and we hid behind a car,” I said. “Do I have to give a report to the police or something,” I asked.

“You’re not going to the police,” Matt said shortly. “What? But we were shot at,” I exclaimed. “We’ll sort it out. Do not go to the police,” Matt said in a voice that was very menacing and intimidating so I dropped the subject immediately. He was gripping the steering wheel tightly and I was afraid he was going to rip the thing off. Why didn’t he want the police involved? Wasn't it common sense to call the police when guns were involved? It wasn't like he did anything wrong. He was the one being shot at. My head was spinning, trying to process everything.

I ignored him for the rest of the car ride and said nothing. I just wanted to get home and curl up in comfortable clothes and try my best to forget what happened. Unfortunately I worked tonight and would have to deal with annoying drunks. I don’t know what I would prefer, dealing with drunken assholes or getting shot at. Probably getting shot at. I chuckled at that and Matt looked over at me. I continued ignoring him, letting him use his imagination for what I could possibly be laughing at.

He pulled up outside of my apartment and cut the engine. I managed to open the door before he could lock it but he grabbed my wrist. "Do you work tonight," Matt asked. "Of course," I said shortly, still upset with him. “I’ll pick you up after work,” Matt said, holding onto me a little too tightly. “Thanks but no thanks. I’ll get Shelb to do it,” I said, yanking at my wrist. It was useless. It was like an iron grip. Damn him for being so strong. “I’ll pick you up after work. And I’ll tell you everything,” Matt said, loosening his grip a bit.

Now that was tempting. I mentally weighed my options. The thing that made the most common sense, and my conscience screamed at me to do it, was to get the hell out of the car and keep away from Matt. He reeked of trouble and getting to know information probably wouldn’t benefit me in any way. Matt was staring at me, waiting for my response. The question that was constantly on my mind resurfaced: why me? What if when I found out more those people in the Escalade went after me? What if they used me as leverage to get to Matt? Would he even care or would he shrug it off and allow them to kill me? All I knew is that I had more questions than answers, and that fact drove me crazy.

Despite all the red flags, I couldn’t resist. “Fine. Pick me up at three,” I said shortly, reaching for my backpack. Matt squeezed my wrist gently and released me. “I’m glad you’re ok,” he said quietly. “Yeah, me too,” I said dryly and I heard him chuckle. I shut the car door and stared at him. I knew I was getting myself into a whole lot of trouble, but something about that guy intrigued me. He was staring right back at me, still not starting the car. I sighed and turned around to face the apartment and walked to go inside, his car engine revving shortly after and I heard him drive away. I walked inside realizing I never asked if it was okay to tell Shelb what happened. I decided that it was probably best to keep it to myself for now.