Fire and Ice

Chapter Ten

     My shift at the diner seems to go by slower than it usually does that day.  As much as I hate to admit it, I'm a little excited to find out what Emmett has planned.  Finally, the clock on the wall next to the TV says four o' clock, and Linda tells me I can leave.  I clock out, but then realize that Emmett isn't here to pick me up yet, so I decide to order a salad to eat before he arrives.  As I'm eating, I'm suddenly nervous.  What if he doesn't show up?  Then again, he doesn't seem like the type of person who's always on time.  I finish the salad, and then Emmett walks into the diner.  He's wearing the same clothes that he was wearing this morning and carrying a plastic bag filled with what looks like clothes.  In his other hand, he's carrying a gym bag. 

     "Change into these."  he says, handing the plastic bag to me.  

     "Why?" I ask, confused.  

     "Just do it." He answers, probably becoming sick of my stubbornness.  I go into the bathroom and look inside the bag.  Inside there is a pair of yoga pants and a grey tank top.  Gym clothes?  What could we possibly be doing that requires me working out?  I change and then walk out of the bathroom.  Emmett is talking to the waitress that had taken over for me when I clocked out.  He has a flirtatious look on his face, and I roll my eyes.  He sees me ready to go and says good-bye to her.  "Ready to go?"  He asks. 

     "Yup." I answer, and we leave the diner.  "Are we flying or walking to wherever we're going?"

     "Walking."  He answers.  "It's right down the street."  We walk for a couple minutes and he stops us in front of a brick building.  A sign in front of it says "Flash City Boxing Club".  

     "Boxing?" I ask, even more confused.  "What are we doing here?"  We walk into the building.  

     "You're going to learn to fight."  Emmett answers.  Inside, there's a large room.  In the middle, there's what looks like a boxing ring.  There were a few punching bags hanging from the ceiling throughout the room. There were two men fighting each other in the ring.  The was another one punching a punching bag in the corner.  

     "Why?" I ask.  "It's not like I'm out fighting crime anymore."  

     "True."  he answers.  He doesn't explain any further and I don't bother asking him anymore.  He's not going to answer any of my questions anyways.  We stop in front of one of the punching bags that's closest to us.  He puts the gym bag that he's been holding down and takes out two boxing gloves.  "Put these on."  I do what he says, and he points to the punching bag.  "Punch it."  I punch the bag halfheartedly and he rolls his eyes.  "Come on, that was weak."  

     "Well, sorry."  I answer sarcastically.  "It's not like I'm out having fist fights with people all the time."

     "Yeah, because you always relied on your powers.  You need to learn how to defend yourself without them."  I glare at him at the mention of my powers.  I punch the bag again.  "Put your whole body into the punch.  It gives you more power.  And don't hold your breath either."  Emmett suddenly wrap his arms around me from behind me.  I squirm uncomfortably, but he grabs my wrist and moves them in front of my face.  "Always block your face."  I keep punching the bag, thinking of all the anger I have at the world.  "There you go, use your anger."  He says, seeing the rage on my face.  "Who are you angry at?"

     "I'm angry at you for dragging me here." Punch.  I hear him chuckle at this.

     "I'm angry at whoever took my powers."  I punch the bag again, harder this time.

     "I'm angry at Alex for making me feel like this."  I whisper this, feeling tears form in my eyes.  I try to keep them from falling down my face, and punch the bag again.  I realize that I had spoken about Alex right in front of Emmett, who is standing right behind.  He doesn't say anything, thankfully.

     "I'm angry at myself, for being worthless without my powers."  My voice is trembling now.  I'm about to punch the bag again, but Emmett grabs my wrist before I can.

     "I think that's enough for today." he says softly, probably seeing how upset I'm becoming.  Tears are falling down my face now.  For the past week, I've been keeping all my anger inside and I just let it all out.  I drop my hands from where they are in front of my face.  I look down, ashamed at the fact that I'm acting weak in front of him.  I take off the gloves and put them in the gym bag without looking at him.  

     "Are you okay?" he asks.  I just nod, not trusting my voice.  "Who's Alex?"  Dammit.  I was hoping he hadn't caught that part of my breakdown.  

     "He's nobody."  I whisper.  He looks like he's about to question me about it more, but I try to change the subject.  "I'm sorry."

     "Don't be." he answers.  "You've been through a lot.  I should be sorry, I didn't know this would make you so upset."

     "It's okay.  I think I needed that."  I attempt to smile through my tears.  We walk out of the gym in silence.  

     "You're not worthless." he suddenly says after we've been walking for a couple of minutes.  I look at him in surprise.  He just looks ahead instead of at me.

     "What?" 

     "You're not worthless."  he repeats.  "You said you're worthless without your powers, but you're not.  You've been holding it together this past week even though you've been about to fall apart.  That shows strength, not worthlessness."  He looks at me after he says this and see the shock on my face.  "What, did you think I wouldn't argue with you on that part?  You didn't think I would let you get away with saying that, did you?"  He grins.

     "Thank you."  The smile I give him is real this time.  

     "No problem." He says.  We stop and I realize that we're in front of my apartment.  "Do you want to do this again when you get out of work tomorrow night?" 

     "Sure." I answer.  "This really helped me.  Thank you."

     "I'll see you tomorrow night." He starts to walk down the street.

     "See you." I say softly. I walk into the apartment and Lexi's sitting in the kitchen eating a sandwich. 

     "Hey." she says, looking confused at what I'm wearing.  "Where have you been?"  I explain how Emmett decided to take me to the boxing club.  I decide to leave out the part about my breakdown.  "Wow." Lexi says after I'm done explaining.  "I'm happy for you Amy."

     "Why?" I look at her in confusion.

     "You found a guy who you trust."  she answers.  "I haven't seen that in a while.  He seems to care about you too and is helping you."  

     "Thanks Lexi."  I smile.  "I'm going to bed.  I'll see you tomorrow."

     "Night." she says.  I go into my bedroom, thinking about Emmett and our boxing lesson today.  What he did today actually helped me a lot.  Punching the punching bag made me feel less weak and more powerful.  I'm already starting to feel stronger and that's after only one lesson.  As I'm falling asleep that night, I can't help but feel excitement for our lesson tomorrow night.  

     Surprisingly, that night I only wake up from a nightmare once instead of the usual two or three times.  I get more sleep than I have in the past week.