Afraid to Love ✔

Part 8

Mia

Mai always running her mouth when she should be quiet. How can she be so irritating while sounding so concerned.
After my shower, I was more agitated and restless then before.
"Big Sexy! Can you set me up with Baptiste? Yes, sounds good. Okay I'll be there in 20."
I pack my gym back then change into my workout clothes. When I open my door all heads turned towards me.
"I see story time is over. I meeting Big Sexy and Baptiste be back later."
"Leaving? I thought you tired." Laurent looks concerned. Not him too.
"I'm just going to the gym to work off some of the food I wasn't supposed to be eating." I pull up my hood turning away from the pity I know they feel for me.
"Great! I go to watch." He smiles.
"You want to watch me work out?" I ask catching Larry's concerned look. "Yeah sure." After adjusting my bag on my back, we jog to the gym down the street.
I spot Big Sexy by the matted section of the gym. After stretching and warming up, I sit in the middle of the mat. A man quickly sneaks up on me from behind grabbing my top. He laughs as I catch his extended arm, flipping him in front of me then pulling his arm behind him until he taps the mat.
"Sensei!" I release him quickly.
"Who is he?" Laurent asked.
"Sensei Lee Baptiste, his great pleasure is watching me fall like a rag doll." I bow to him.
"Kumquat, come let me squish you." We stand up and he hugs me.
Baptiste is about 5'5", 130lbs, he's from Hokkaido and my Aikido instructor.

Laurent

I admit I felt nervous that Mia was going to get hurt when she was rolling and falling on the mat. Matt is sitting with me on the side of the mat. Baptiste was speaking to her in Japanese and Mia follows without hesitation but her instructor kept telling her to Fōkasu (focus).
He attacks her knocking her down hard while explain her mistake.
"Are you okay?" I try to reach her but Matt pulls me back.
"I'm fine." Mia huffs rolling away from Baptiste then kneels facing him.
"Ready?" Baptiste yells at her.
She looks at me then back at Baptiste. "Ikimashou, Let's go."
He starts to attack her and she avoids his attacks, "Fōkasu, yoidesu (Focus, good)."
She sends him flying to the mat. "Hayaku, hayaku! (Faster!)"
She side steps his attacks and he falls. He laughs and stands up. "Warukunai. (Not bad.) Furusupīdo. (full speed)." She exhales sharply, "Hai!"
He attacks her but she easily knocks him down. She bows to Lee.
"Had enough, M?" She's panting and sweating, while Matt checks his phone. She drops to her knees.
"Feeling better?" Matt glances at her.
"Yes. Thank you so much." She finally grabs her towel and wipes her neck.
"You're done?" Matt laughs.
"Aren't I?" She stands up.
"You don't want to go a few rounds with me?" He smirks.
"I'm not ready for that." She frowns.
He pats her back as he walks away. She shoves her stuff back in her bag.
"What's that about?"
"Graduation." She watches Matt leave.
"What?"
"I'm going to run for a while, you can head home if you want." Mia puts on her running shoes.
"How far you run?"
"Nine to ten kilometers." She stretches her legs.

Mai

Larry let Laurent in when he knocked on the door. I notice he was quiet when he comes in. Larry hands him a plate while they discuss their schedule for the next few weeks. I leave them to talk and head to my room.
After my shower, I lay on my bed wondering if I made the right decision glossing over Mia's past. I told Larry the reason my sister was still inexperienced was her first boyfriend tried to rape her and she never let anyone else get close. Nothing about the kidnapping because she never told me everything she went through or how she escaped.
I know a lot more happened than she told me, I know she spared me a lot of the ugly details. I saw her after, she wasn't my little sister, she was a dirty, battered mess that sobbed for days. She barely spoke for the first week, she would lash out at anyone who came near her for months, and there's still a higher than normal chance of her flipping out if someone touches her. My heart has never hurt more in my life wondering what she went through to come back to me.
That was years ago and no matter how hard I try to see her as the same loving sweet girl I grew up with, honestly I can't shake the image of the fragile person I saw in the hospital.
"Mai? We leave for club now, ok?"
I nod as Larry kisses my cheek and disappears from sight.

Mia

I know why he wants me to graduate and I should want it too. It's not like he'd disappear from my life. Big Sexy would always be close by me. He's like another older brother to me. He feels that I'm scared but he's going to push me to graduate anyway to prove I can handle myself until security can get to me however long it takes to reach me. If he thinks I'm ready I should try.
"Hey!" A female yells from a car stopped in front of me.
"Hi." I answer changing directions.
"You know who I am?" She moves the car to cut me off.
"Not really. Should I?" I stop and stare at her face. She looks like someone I've seen before but she must not be important since I can't really remember.
"You are trying to steal my man. I've saw you two dancing in the club." She sneers as I start cackling. Okay she's either confusing me for Mai or she's tripping.
"What's funny?" She glares at me.
"You are!" I continue laughing. "And confronting me is your solution? " I laugh harder.
"Leave my man alone!" She yells.
"What's your name?" I cover my mouth trying to contain my laughter.
"Jenna."
"Okay Jenna, what's your man's name?" I smile widely at her barely controlling my laughter.
"Stop trying to be funny, you know who my man is! Just stay away from him!" She walks closer to me.
"If that's how you want to be, then NON. I will see who ever he is when ever I want. Have a good day!" I jog away.
She runs after me grabbing the backpack. I turn and firmly push her hands away. She stumbles backwards and curses as she lands on her bottom. "Jenna go home." I cross the street to continue my jog home.
As I open my door, I hear tires screech behind me. I drop my bag inside the door and turn to see two girls and Jenna heading towards me.
"You gone leave my man alone!" She yells while her friends bolster her. "Handle that hoe Jen!"
Let me tell you I thought I was being tested. "Jenna? Why are you here?" I sigh.
"To make sure you leave my man alone." She puts her hands on her hips.
"You keep my man this, my man that, who is this guy?" I watch the others try to surround me so I make it easier by moving towards them.
"Larry!" She yells.
"The cable guy, King, Holmes, or Byrd? I have met them all and you don't look like any of their wives." I cackle again, dumb bitch.
"He has a twin, they dance with Beyoncé." Her friends add. They don't even know his last name. A group of idiots, they can find me but can't Google his last name.
"Ah him, non. That's not for me or you to decide. It's his choice and right now his choice isn't you. Be a good girl and go wait for his call, no?" I flash a smile and prepare my body expecting them to attack. I just hope Mai doesn't show up.
Jenna rushes me and I redirect her into her friend, then turn to keep some space between us. (Don't understand? Aikido is a defensive martial art that in the most basic of terms redirects a person's energy or attack. Look it up.)
The third girl ran to punch me and landed on her back. "You all need to go now, I am not going to fight over La-" I redirect another attack, are they serious? Who fights over a guy? Especially one that apparently doesn't want them.
I sigh and remove my jacket. The next girl crashes into the wall very hard, I think her nose was broken. Before I could check on her the other two attacked at once. I use one to block the other pushing them both away then apply a few pounds of pressure to their fingers. Once they are yelling for me to stop, I calmly repeat myself. "You need to go now." I release them stepping away.
They are breathing hard and giving me hateful glares but they slowly move towards their car.
"Jenna?" Larry says from behind me. I snicker and turn towards the house.
"What did you do?" He turns me around.
"Why tell when I can show." I step inside grabbing a tablet then punch up the feed and rewind it. He is upset but I don't care. He needs to control his thots.
(Playback audio)
"Jenna? Why are you here?"
"To make sure you leave my man alone."
"You keep my man this, my man that, who is this guy?" Larry watches the others try to surround me and me moving towards them.
I burst out laughing again on the audio. Laurent makes an ugly face at the sound of my laughter.
Larry frowns then laughs, "Ooooh, Lau look." Laurent shakes his head disapprovingly.
"Enough Larry." He hands me the tablet and pushes through the girls.
Larry kisses my cheek then follows his brother. I glare at him. Jenna glares at me then looks after Larry. "This isn't over, bitch." She huffs.
"Yes it is, leave us alone." Larry says back at Jenna. He gets in the waiting car and rides away. I hear Mai on the stairs and quickly duck into the house closing the door behind me.
"What's going on? I heard your ugly laugh." Mai looks at the monitor in my hand.
"Nothing, just seeing the guys off." I put the tablet back and turned her back upstairs.
Thankfully she let it go. I don't know what type of relationship they have but obviously he isn't a serious about my sister or her feelings. Now for a shower, scrub my face where Larry kissed me and get some sleep.