Fighter

Two

        Scarlett Johansson POV

    I knew what being late meant. Colin would be furious with me, but not for having to cover for me at the front desk for less than an hour. In his mind, the only possible reason I was fifty-five minutes late on a Friday morning was because I'd slept with someone. No matter who. The restaurant waiter, the guy who politely and innocently opened the cafeteria door for me, or even the bank clerk where it took me a little longer than usual to make a deposit the other day.

    I don't remember exactly when the jealousy and possessiveness started. Maybe it was always there I was just too blind to see. But when I finally opened my eyes, accusations were already part of our daily routine. I think the fact that I own a gym doesn't help much. A place full of burly men brimming with testosterone, where Colin spends most of his days training for his next fight at the MMA Open.

    Johansson's gym was founded by my father and his partner Colin's uncle Robert Downey Jr. The two men were best friends since they were little. Both devoted themselves to the sport: my father made a name for himself as a wrestler and Robert as a professional trainer. Fifteen years ago my father - known around the world in the fighting world as "The Saint" - retired as the middleweight champion of the United States Boxing Conference. Taking advantage of Robert's fame and talent as a trainer, the two best friends decided to open an academy dedicated to Mixed Martial Arts. At the time the sport was starting to gain national popularity and there were few academies designed to train fighters who wanted to be professional MMA. The dynamic duo's academy took off after the sport grew so much and so quickly. One academy became two, then fourteen , then eighteen in just three years. Today the Johansson's name owns the East Coast wrestling market, operating in sixty-two locations.

    I reluctantly peer through the glass door at the entrance to the academy. I feel a wave of relief to see he's not there. Seated. Riled up. Waiting for me to do a full offensive inquisition. But the damn bells strapped to the top of the door jingle loudly even as I carefully try to open the door. Shit I need to get rid of these things.

    - Where were you? - Colin is on top of me before I've even finished taking off my coat.

    - I overslept. Sorry I made you cover me here.- I flash a hesitant and forced smile. Then I shrug my shoulders trying to look casual and grab the mail off the reception desk.

    - So why didn't your cell phone wake you up? I called. You must be too busy to answer it.- There's no mistaking the anger in his voice and the edge of sarcasm in saying I've been busy.

    Taking my cell phone out of my bag, I look at the screen and see eleven missed calls. All from Colin. A quick assessment of the time between calls tells me he was getting impatient. It's fast. The first calls were at five-minute intervals... the last ones were less than a minute.

    -I am really sorry. I must have forgotten to unmute it again last night. I went to class and then fell asleep.

    -You're apologizing a lot this morning, aren't you?

    Lowering my voice. I don't want a scene. Not again.

    - Please don't do this Colin. I went to class and then home. I didn't hear the cell phone alarm for the same reason I didn't hear your calls. It was in silence. Don't turn this into anything more than what it is.- I pause, pondering the words for a few seconds.- And you need to stop acting like we're still together Colin.

    I don't want to hurt him, but he needs more than a subtle reminder that he has no right to question what I'm doing anymore. I know he's nervous about his big fight coming up so I've been taking it easy on him. Obviously "take it easy" is not the right tactic.