Please Don't Go (The Story of Us Book 3)

Chapter 40- Please Don't Go

For most people, dreaming is a form of escaping their reality. Some people get their out-of-reality fix through tv shows or reading but most get it through their dreams. Spencer has always been one of those people. Every time Amanda left him, he clung to the dreams of her until eventually, she returned. Even when she left when he was 17, he dreamt of her from time to time. Maybe it was the letters that she wrote him that he never dared open out of fear of learning she truly did hate him that gave him hope of her return. Maybe the thought that he had truly lost her for good was too awful to accept.

Whatever the reason, things were different this time. He wasn't waiting for Amanda to return or hoping against all the odds that she doesn't completely hate him. No, this time she was gone. Forever. But that didn't stop the dreams that were always more memory than dream when it came to her.

The sweet dreams of times when they were happy were no longer a reprieve from reality but rather a reminder of what he would never have again. They were a sweet form of torture that left him even more miserable when he wakes than he was when he finally cried himself to sleep. Nevertheless, he preferred the dreams and sought them out when he could. It was easier to pretend she was alive, even if it left him shattered when he awoke.

Spencer stands in the gym at Caltech as he stares at Amanda incredulously, not that she can see as she continues to lay the mats down to her liking. Finally, she finishes and sees his look, making her frown. "What?"

"You're kidding right?" He questions, hope filling his tone. "We aren't actually going to fight and you're just messing with me."

"No, I'm going to teach you how to fight, Vegas," she commands and he can't help the worry coating his features.

"Amanda, if you fight me, you'll kill me. I have no idea how to fight," he points out, hoping to bring her to her senses but she just laughs in her inviting manner before replying.

"I can control my strength, Vegas, and once I teach you how to fight, I won't have to be as worried about me. Trust me, you'll be kicking ass in no time. Now, mimic my position." He reluctantly does as told as she begins coaching him in different defensive moves. Unlike with cooking, Spencer is a lot more alert in these lessons after getting knocked on his ass a few times. Before he knows it, they're moving onto offensive maneuvers and he's starting to feel confident that if anyone like Kaiden tries to fight him again, he can actually win.

The dream shifts and suddenly, Amanda is no longer 14 but rather 25 as she faces Spencer in a very similar setting to before, except the floors are no longer linoleum wood flooring but rather just cement, sans the mats. "What's the point of this?" He asks Amanda, worried that they aren't supposed to be on the lowest floor of her parking garage.

Amanda, who is setting up targets on the wall pauses to answer. "The point is to help you learn to shoot better," she reveals. "You helped me out on this last case so I'm repaying the favor."

"You were helping prove Morgan's innocence," he tells her and she shrugs as he continues. "And I don't need help shooting. I passed my gun qualification this year."

"Right but that's a still target," she informs him. "You need to learn how to shoot while in motion. If I'm going to be working with you, I need to know you have the capability to have my back." When she put it like that, Spencer couldn't help but want to agree so he groans, giving in.

"Fine, what am I supposed to do?" Amanda grins at him before holding up the gun she's holding.

"This is an airsoft pistol. It's not as loud as a gun and also won't put bullet holes in the wall. You're going to practice retrieving a gun and immediately shooting it in at the center of the target." Spencer looks at her like she's insane because she certainly sounds like it.