The Street Fighter (#Wattys2014)

Chapter 12.

“Okay, what gives? For the past two weeks you’ve been pulling away again, you’re distant and barely even there. And though you seem to have your head on in fights, I know for a fact that something is definitely wrong.” Alex demanded to know as soon as he barged through the door. I slowly dragged my head up to look at him, giving him a lazy look, before I went back to stare into space and workout. “Seriously, man... are you like, on your period or something?” he asked with a confused face, though his analogy made my head snap up to face with a perplexed look on my face.

“Seriously? I’m not a freakin’ girl.” I scowled at him.

“And he finally speaks!” He shouts in victory, clapping his hands together. I rolled my eye’s at him and went back to my bench presses. “No! See, the only way I can get you to talk is if I say something really smart-alecky or stupid!” He threw his hands up into the air, frustrated. “what gives? You were fine, practically prancing in the flower with goldie-locks two weeks ago... did something happen between y’all?—” I cut him off.

“Nothing happened, because there’s nothing there.” I snapped at him. “Besides, she doesn’t need someone like me in her life, and I don’t need her.” I murmured quietly.

“Something did happen!” he snaps his fingers like and idea came to his mind. “is that why you’re all pouty? because she turned you down or something? or because-“

“Nothing happened! How many times do I have to tell you that?” I shouted in frustration. Doesn’t he get it yet? I thought to myself.

“Something obviously did, you weren’t like this till....” Alex suddenly went quiet. I wondered why there was a sudden silence, lifted my head off the bench and looked at his face. It resembled a look of confusion and sureness at the same time, which down right confused me. “What happened when Luke was here? What did you guy’s talk about?” he suddenly asked me, his face resembled stone as he looked at me.

“Just stuff,” I shrugged. “we talked about the orphanage and friends... My parent’s, his too...” I muttered quietly.

“Hold it right there, he brought up your parents? Why?” Alex asked, a hard scowl on his face and a look of anger flashed threw his eyes.

“He was just asking If I’ve been to their grave’s yet, apparently I used to talk about doing that a lot back when I was at the orphanage.”  I faintly remembered talking about it a couple times. Though that was only the first two years when I was there, I’d lost hope of ever getting out of there after then and didn’t think I’d get to see my parent’s until I was 18, so I just put the thought out of my head.

“So not only did he bring up your parent’s, but he brought up their graves as well? What the heck! If he was in the orphanage, he should know how it feels for someone to bring that crap up!” Alex shouted, a hint of disbelief was laced in his voice, though directed at Luke’s action. “And you said he wash an old friend? That is a load of bull for him to bring that up...” he paced in front of me, a look I couldn’t decipher on his face. “So that’s what’s got you so down? You feel guilty for not visiting your parent’s grave every year?” He asked, more to himself than me.

“Nah, he also echoed some distant thoughts that were circling my head...” I muttered under my breath, the same thoughts still running through my head like a broken record.

“No... Again? Really?” Alex asked as he apparently had heard what I said. I gave him a dry smile, letting him know that I was indeed thinking those thought’s again. 

“And that’s not the best part...” I chuckled dark and humorlessly, he was already telling me to continue with his eye’s. “that same night... I dreamed about Lacy again.... And my parent’s... and Nate.” I spat his name out of my mouth like it was acid. “All in the same bloody night... so, you can see where the reasoning is coming from?” I asked dryly, the reached up and grabbed the weight bar once more before throwing myself back into my workout. I let out an angry breath every time the bar came down and went back up, and ignored the dumbfounded, astonished, and completely distraught look Alex was giving me. Though it wasn’t before long that I heard his footsteps go off into the distance, but too soon they came back, and with an unwelcome present. “Dude! What the heck!?” I shouted as ice-cold water splashed in my face and covered my shirtless body.