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Chapter 41 - he's safe

It was 5am when Sophie was awoken by Aaron who was attempting to get ready quietly. He was heading off to the gym to train and she had realised that there was no hope in her getting back to sleep now. She had tried to do some work on her laptop while in bed however, with very little motivation it was not working out.

Instead, Aaron had managed to persuade her to go along with him and although she had been reluctant at first, she knew it was what she needed. After the conversations of Andrew had occurred due to Juliet, going to the gym, which she knew so well, would provide her with a sense of comfort she could not get anywhere else.

...

"I don't think I remember how to do this." Sophie announced as they stepped into the ring. Pulling her hair back, she had definitely dressed for the part yet was not feeling quite so confident now that she was here.

"Put on the gloves and I'll show you." Aaron urged with a grin on his face, as he was clearly excited about having her here for once.

His training session would definitely not be as intense but he was more than willing to give that up to do this with her instead.

As the pair finally got into a rhythmic pattern of punch after punch, Sophie was beginning to look as though she was enjoying herself. It no longer seemed like the dangerous sport it was and instead, just felt more like fun.

"Woah babe!" Aaron teased, as he had not managed to duck in time as her gloved fist collided with his cheek. "That was sneaky."

Sticking her tongue out, Sophie was now well and truly out of the 'teach me' mode and trying to catch him off guard, with some success. She knew he was taking things easy with her considering he was the professional however; she liked feeling as though she did have a chance.

"Your brother taught you well." A voice was suddenly heard, causing Sophie to glimpse up and take notice of Andrew's old trainer, Toni walking into the gym.

He was looking good considering he was nearly 50 and it was obvious that the sport was holding onto his youth. He still held that muscular physique however, his dark hair was greying slightly on the sides. Nevertheless, he still acted the same and that boyish and humorous side was still very evident within him.

"She's good, right?" Aaron looked proud as Sophie opened her arms and did a full spin of pride.

Toni was chuckling along as she walked over to him before enveloping her into a huge hug. It was most definitely needed after everything that had happened and it had been some time since she had seen him last.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah..."

"I heard that Juliet got told everything." Toni went onto say as Sophie pulled a face.

"Er... not quite everything but..."

"Enough?" He replied for her to which Sophie agreed.

Although she did want to open up and tell her sister everything, there was a huge part of her that didn't. Since being disowned by their parents, she wanted to protect Juliet with every effort and this felt like one of those necessary moments.

"It's just a lot for her to take in, you know?"

"Yeah. I get it." Toni began before glimpsing up at Aaron and back down to Sophie. "If you need any help let me know?"

Toni's words were more evidence of the guilt he still held. He felt highly responsible for what happened to Andrew even though it had been completely out of his control.