The Country Boy: Annie X Reader

Chapter 7: The Grind

Annie's POV: 

After we parted ways on our way home from the restaurant, I was still greatly embarrassed for passing out in front of him. For some bizarre reason, my mind went blank for a while just as I was going to tell him about the phone. On our way to my place, I caught Mikasa glance every now and then as she walked alongside me. I could sense that she was trying her best to not interrupt the awkward silence that rose around us. 

"You wanna say something?" I murmured, breaking the silence. When I turned to look at her,  her face was drenched with a look of concern. Her eye brows were furrowed and her lips were bleeding probably from biting on them too hard. She cleared her throat before whispering softly to me, "You ok? Do you need to go to the doctor or something? Or maybe I'll help you postpone your training today-" 

"Hey. I'm fine ok? I just need a bit of rest." I cut in. 

"Alright then, I'll leave you be. I'll come and check up on you in the afternoon" she said before giving me a tight hug. I groaned instantly. Her hugs were always too strong for me. 

I waved her goodbye and began heading back to my crummy old house. 

The exterior of the house was horrendous. The white paint that originally ran alongside the front of the porch had already turned green from the mold and the wooden floor were filled with cracks. But that wasn't even the worse thing that anyone has ever set their eyes on, the door was far worse. The door stood a good 2 m tall and 10inch  thick. Needless to say, it was huge and probably weighed a ton. The fact that it was made of steel only made the closing and opening of the door a living nightmare. It was so heavy and stiff that it could only open a few inches. And in the rare occasion that it was opened more than that, it made scratch marks on the ground. 

The door screeched loudly when I forcefully pried it open. There was no lock and not even a door knob to grab onto to open it. It was just basically a sheet of metal. But I knew that no one would ever come and rob me,  given my living condition, I should be the burglar. 

The moment I entered the house, I tossed my bag onto the couch nearby and headed for the basement. Fortunately, the interior was not as bad as the outside. The walls were coated in white paint and the furniture were all relatively useable and did not show signs of it being ripped apart by animals. The ceiling lights that hung from above still worked but with the occasional flicker. 

Without a second thought, I headed for the basement. I flicked a light switch and everything came into view. There were dumbbells of different weights that lined against the wooden walls. In the middle laid a bench where I did my chest and bench presses. It was like my very own mancave or rather women-cave. I chuckled at the thought of it. To others, a home gym may be the place to get into shape but for me it was more than that. It was a place where I could leave behind the troubles of the world, a place where I could better myself by fighting my inner demons. 

I instantly stripped out of my attire and changed into my signature black tank top. Was it revealing? Yes, but it was comfortable considering that the basement didn't have proper ventilation. 

After looking around, I decided to start off on the heavy bag. It was a gift from my trainer when I won my first championship title. Back then, it took a lot of persuading for me to finally agree to accept this gift. After wrapping my hands tightly and fitting on my gloves, I was ready to start my vigorous training. 

Third person POV: 

In the 30 years that the house has been here, no one was crazy enough to even go near it. It was even rumored that there lived a spirit from the previous owner. At exactly 3 am, screams and screeches could be heard from that houses with the occasional flashes of light. Even the property agents feared stepping into that neighborhood for fear of incurring the wrath of some evil spirit. However, this was the exact reason that made people come up with theories on their own because no one dared even walk by the house. 

But little do they know that they were the screams of hard work and dedication to one of the most famous and admired sports in the world. BOXING! 

Although shadowed by others MMA, boxing remained a relic and a precious treasure to the world. 

Every night, Annie would start her daily training at 3 am by working on the heavy bag. No matter her mental state, her hooks, crosses, jabs would always be as sharp as ever. Each move was so well-executed that her fists always travelled the shortest distance. And each shot was a designed to knock out not a human but an elephant. It was a miracle that the bag was still standing even after taking all that beating. Although over the years the sand was replaced multiple times, the leather was still intact. 

During her workout, she always made sure to not neglect her footwork. Even whilst pounding the bag, she was still constantly working on her footwork and position. That was her secret for staying so light on her feet alongside the miles and miles of running she does everyday. After about a grueling hour on the heavy bag, it was time for a short rest. She cleaned up her sweat that had formed a puddle on the floor and began wiping her precious equipment. 

Afterwards, she began her weight lifting exercise which started with bench press and ending with barbell squats.