Fighting the Fall ✔

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Lydia Dunst

I watched my gloves hit the punching bag. I was exhausted but convinced I had to keep going. I felt like I was having an out of body experience, watching myself hit over and over again. It no longer hurt, nor did it take any effort. An hour had passed since practice ended but I was still there, practicing because I needed it. I wanted to live up to my dad's expectations. I needed to. So I kept hitting, jab after jab.

"What are you doing?" Jackson snuck up behind me and I jumped, almost falling on my butt. "Sorry, sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm just practicing..." I muttered, getting back to it.

"Slow down, Lydia." He laughed, covering over his worry. But I could still sense it.

"Yeah, yeah, I should." I sat down, wiping a pound of sweat from my forehead. I felt like jelly but I also felt good and alive. "What are you still doing here?" I asked.

"I forgot my gloves." He looked around and scooped his gloves off the floor. "Didn't expect to find you here, though." Jackson sat down beside me and passed me a towel to wipe my sweat. "I think you need a shower..."

"People have been telling me that a lot." I took that as my queue to smell myself. "Oh my... Yup, I stink, like a really stinky gym bag." I rolled my eyes at myself and stood up. "I'm going to go take a shower. Maybe then this will be less embarrassing."

"Okay. I'll see you later." He nodded and left through the front doors.

I didn't want to go home, so I went into the girl's locker room and turned on the shower to cold. I didn't shampoo or condition. I just stood there under the water, letting the droplets wash the sweat away. I was still going to be sore in the morning. The water wasn't going to take that away, but I was okay with that as long as the work I was putting in amounted to something. I wanted to be a great boxer and I was willing to work for it, to make my dad proud and to make myself proud.

I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a fresh beach towel around myself. Then I reached for my clothes, except they weren't in their normal spot. I looked around the room and swore under my breath when I realized I'd forgotten them all together. I slipped my wet feet into my soggy sneakers and slowly made my way back to my bag in the middle of the gym. I hated when I forgot things, especially things as important as clothes in a public area.

The entrance to the gym opened suddenly. Startled, I almost dropped the towel. Thankfully I caught it. If I hadn't, I'd have probably died of embarrassment.

Standing in front of me was a teenage boy. Just my luck, I thought to myself. I couldn't bring myself to look him in the eyes, and he was doing everything he could not to look at me. His eyes were locked on the emergency exit sign ten feet away from me and mine were locked on the floor.

"Sorry, um... I think I forgot my phone here yesterday..." he mumbled. "Do you mind if I look around?" He spoke up, but I was too busy holding onto my towel for dear life to answer. "Hello?" He tried to get my attention.

"Um... Uh... Yeah..." I stuttered, not sure what to say. Even with the towel I still felt naked, exposed. It was probably because he was a nameless stranger. I cleared my throat. "Look around, I'll be back there." I scurried back into the locker room with my bag and threw on my extra pair of clothes at the speed of light. The thought that we were being robbed lingered in the back of my mind and that the potential robber saw me half naked.

Putting clothes on didn't make things any less awkward. I knew I was still going to have to walk back out there. I put on my fierce girl attitude and walked out there like my shoes were filled with confidence.