GOOD HEART, BAD TEMPER - keene, robby

five

Rory got up and did her normal morning routine. Shower, wash face, brush teeth, stuff like that. Her bruises were starting to fade, so it didn't take as long to cover them.

She got dressed in a thin long sleeve and leggings since she had early training today.

Rory walked down the steps of her home and went to the kitchen, but stopped once she saw her dad making breakfast.

"What is this?" she asked.

"Hey... I'm sorry about the other day, and to show you I'm sorry, I made breakfast." he tells her.

"It's fine," she lies. "But I have early training."

"Oh, ok. I'll get your water bottle." Ben makes his way over to the fridge, pulling out her water bottle.

Rory grabs it from him before turning to walk away, but he grabs her and stops her.

"Look, R. I'm-" Ben started crying. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. Please, forgive me."

"I have to go." she says, trying to pull her arm away.

"Just forgive me." Ben says.

"Why would I? You hurt me, apologize, beg for forgiveness, then do it again. It's a cycle with you. You don't care about my forgiveness, you just sober up and remember what you did, but the second you drink again it's hell for me." Rory spoke.

"I'm gonna- I'm gonna change. Believe me." Ben tells her.

"I've heard that before." Rory pulls her arm away and grabs her bag by the door before walking off.

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Rory's breathing grew heavier as she did push ups on her knuckles by Miguel. Johnny continued to walk in circles around them.

"Ready?" he questioned the two, causing them to stop.

They quickly got up and put on the padding Johnny got for them. They stood in front of the machine, waiting for the balls to fly at them.

"Yes, Sensei." they both say.

The balls quickly came at them and they move swiftly to block them. Rory groans as a ball hits her arm where she's wearing no pads.

The two continue to workout for hours until it was finally over. The girl took a deep breath as Johnny told them to stop.

The next few days were exactly like that and Rory didn't know if she was going to survive it, but Miguel continued to encourage her.

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"Dinner's ready." Ben told the girl who was currently lying on the floor and doing sit-ups.

"Not hungry." she spoke as she continued to workout.

"Working out on an empty stomach isn't good for you." Ben says.

"Neither is getting beat by your father." she mumbled before standing up. "I'm gonna go take a shower. I'll eat when I'm done."

"Alright." he sighs.

Rory smiles before running upstairs. She gathers all of her clothes before heading to the bathroom. Her showers usually lasted 15-25 minutes, but after the training today, she needed to soak her body.

Once she got out of the shower and got dressed, she went downstairs. Her dad was asleep on the couch while football blared through the speakers on the TV.

She turned the volume down before heading to the kitchen. Her plate was already made, but she still wasn't hungry so she ended up putting it in the fridge.