Our Bruised Bodies | Bradley Bradshaw

ACT THREE - PART FOUR

Back here with another chapter, please let me know what you think. Cheers!

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Keeping her arms steady, Grace watched as a drop of sweat travelled down the long slope of her nose before gathering at the tip. A drop was forming, about to fall to the tarmac ground right below her, but Grace willed it to stay. Willed gravity to not fail her, to not show weakness, to not allow a reaction for her body to this punishment.

"And down. 312." Nova said almost joyful, watching Grace doing push-up after push-up. Until she would puke, that was what Nova had said to her, once she had come back down after her patrol flight, for breaking formation. That she broke formation so she wouldn't hit a bird, that might not only have killed her, but also destroyed a multimillion fighter jet, bought by taxpayer money, didn't matter to her officer in command. Frankly she was overjoyed that for once Grace had broken a rule, even though not doing it might have ended her life, so she kind of hand to.

"Come on, Kazansky." Nova said, after Grace had pushed herself up again into plank position. Her arms were fucking shaking and her lower back felt as if on fire. She wouldn't be able to do this much longer, but she also wouldn't puke. She never puked in a jet before, her stomach made of the same stuff her dad's was made of and a few hundred push-ups wouldn't change that either. Their stomachs were made to fly fighter jets, this wouldn't end Grace, not that Nova didn't fucking try to end her.

Glancing slightly up as Nova crunched down in front of her, Grace was trying to keep her breathing controlled. If she would lose her breathing, that would be the beginning of the end, she knew that and moved to lock her elbows to stop the shaking now that Nova was so close.

"Until you puke, princess." Nova reminded her, which had Grace stubbornly stare ahead. The youngest Kazansky knew herself well enough to know that if she looked at the woman now she wouldn't be able to keep the hate out of her gaze and that would only get her another unjustified punishment.

"Do yourself a favour and just get it over with, this is getting boring." Fuck you. I hope your baby will be ugly. Grace didn't say a single word, which had Nova snort, before she got up again, her arms crossed over her baby belly.

"No? Don't want to?" She asked Grace mockingly, before gesturing around with her hand, which the younger woman only saw out of the corner of her eyes.

"Then go on." Her superior officer said, which had Grace slightly reposition her arms on the tarmac a determined gaze in her eyes, which caused Nova to scoff.

"And down. 313." She was calling it like a motivational speaker, as if there was any melody to it, her hand making a downwards movement, before she pulled her hand up again right as Grace moved back up.

"And 314." She told Grace almost cheerfully, but Nova was very wrong if she believed herself to have more stamina than Grace. Well, maybe it wasn't stamina which kept her up, more like sheer hate for her superior officer and stubbornness that would Grace try it right now, might even bend the law of gravity.

It went on and on and Grace was fuming. Her limbs were burning. Her entire body arched and screamed at her to stop this madness, but Grace would not yield. Not now and not anytime soon, which the surrounding Lieutenants seemed to have understood by now too. Daring to watch the whole scene of Grace stubbornly and quietly doing push-up after push-up while Nova reminded her that all she needed to do to end this was admit defeat and finally let her body feel all the aches and pain and just puke. Grace refused.

The 532 push-ups she did, were just adding to her reputation of a hard ass that took no bullshit, was stubborn as hell and more importantly than anything else, never gave up.