{ON HOLD} Where My Loyalties Lie (Vanoss Crew Fanfic)

Chapter 23

I blew out some air through my mouth, putting my hands on my hips. Sweat lined my brow, I was breathing heavily, and I was sore all over, having been working out and training since this morning. Haley stood in front of me in a fighting stance, both her hands up in front of her face, her knees slightly bent, and her expression was one of concentration and determination. Sweat glistened on her skin and she too was taking deep breaths in an attempt to steady her breathing. Her brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail that ended just short of the nape of her neck which was also drenched in sweat. Panting, I pulled off the wraps off my hands and stretched out my back; I was really damn tired and I was spent. "Haley," I said in between breaths, "we've been training for a couple of hours. What about we just take a water break and call it a day?"

Haley nodded, grabbing her water bottle off of the seat next to her and took its place, pulling off her own wraps. I did some other stretches before joining her, taking gulps of water out of my water bottle as I sat there, letting my aching muscles rest. Haley had managed to get in a couple of good hits on me, and the bruises on my arms and legs were evidence of that. She had also landed a kick straight to my chest that had left me on my back, winded and gasping for air. For a while, I had laid there, wondering if I was ever going to ever breathe sweet, sweet air ever again. That girl can kick hard that's for sure.

"So," Haley said breaking the silence. "How was I today?"

I flashed her a reassuring smile and gave her the "OK" symbol with my fingers. "You did great today," I answered taking another sip of water. "You've really improved your form and I can tell that your hits are getting stronger."

"Is that why you seem so stiff whenever you move? Are you too sore from my punches and kicks?" Haley asked with a playful grin.

"Hardly."

Haley raised her hand and lightly punched me in the shoulder (not the one that had only recently been healed). I winced at the pain which was kind of embarrassing, considering the fact that I knew that Haley could hit a lot harder. "Really?" Haley said sarcastically, throwing a smirk in my direction. I just shook my head and continued to take sips from my water bottle, occasionally shooting glances at Haley as she sat beside me, remedying her own thirst. After a few long moments though, Haley inquired, "So, Evan... how are the boys?"

I shrugged, turning to face her. I replied, "You know how everyone is. They're all tip-toeing around like everyone's walking on a floor of broken glass and knives, and nobody's talking to each other." I sighed, putting my head in my hands. "Even Craig's been quiet, and you know how talkative, loud and annoying he can be. It's the same thing with Jonathan and David." By now we were all addressing each other on a first name basis; I had told everyone that if we wanted to survive and band together as a group, then we needed to have some trust in between us. And it had worked. The crew and the girls had started to bond a lot more, but we had a lot of work to do. It's a start though. "At least Luke was fine when he left two weeks ago." I added, "I had a little talk with him when we were in the armory, you know, about him not blaming himself for what happened and about how he shouldn't beat himself up over it."

Haley nodded thoughtfully and said, "Yeah. If that were me, I would totally blame myself for Kelly's death. It must've been hard for him, especially since you said you guys all knew each other before the whole entire outbreak."

"Yeah," I responded, running a hand through my damp hair, "I would too. But I didn't want Luke to feel guilty and do something irrational and stupid. We've already lost enough people, and I don't want to lose any more for reckless reasons."

Haley rested her hand on my own and I glanced down at it. "None of us want to lose anybody important," she said softly, flashing me a quick smile. Her skin was warm from our four hour straight workout, and the area of my hand where her hand was started to tingle under her touch.