Bad Blood (h.s.)

Part Forty-Nine

Part Forty-Nine

I sit on a bench inside the gym while Harry works out. He refused to have me alone in the hotel and needed to work out, so now I sit, looking through comments on GoodReads.

"You bored?" a manly voice asks. I look up to see about a man, around forty years old, smiling down at me.

"Um, a little." He extends his hand and I hesitantly take it, his arm pulling me to stand. My uncertainty grows when he tells me to take my sweatshirt off, but I do as he says.

"I'm Scott. How about I teach you some defense since Styles is so protective of you? I'm sure he'd be happy to know you can at least defend yourself."

I slightly laugh and nod, introducing myself and following him into the boxing ring. I spot Harry in the corner, talking with someone but he doesn't notice me, deep into a conversation with his trainer I assume. Scott guides me and teaches me how to wrap my hands and shows me a simple defensive stance. He grabs his hand blockers and tells me to direct punches, blocks, and kicks to them, his voice affirming me in good posture.

"Your stance is excellent. Keep your left leg forward more."

I nod and continue placing punches on the blockers, his head continuing nodding and telling me I'm doing a good job. My eyes stay focused on the blockers as he moves them around, allowing me to block, kick, and punch at the targets.

"Good!"

We get faster, continuously moving so I have to think more and use reflexes. My feet movements get quicker, his own moving to try and inflict moves onto me.

"Go all out. Don't hold back."

As he says it, I feel as though I am punching with everything in me. My mind is completely gone into focusing on the red blockers on his hands, punching and moving to get out of his punches. The sweat begins to drip down my face and my tee sticks to my torso. I did change into some athletic spandex shorts before I came and they move with every movement I do.

"Push it Beth!"

I move quicker and turn, kicking his hands and he falls back on his feet. My breathing is erratic and he starts clapping, a smile appearing on my face. He gives me a high-five and tells me I am a natural. I thank him and he walks to the office, grabbing a water bottle and handing it to me.

"You should come in here more often. I'm here weekends if you need it."

"Definitely. That was fun."

He laughs and I drink some of the water. I feel extremely overheated so I take off my tee, the black sports bra now on show.

"Do you want to do another round?" Scott asks, my head immediately nodding.

~~~

Harry.

"We fight almost once a month, but Harry. Once again, your punch is way out of weight-class. You aren't safe to your opponent."

I sigh and look at Mark, his hands extending and placing on my shoulders. "You will only fight if you get asked to fight. Your only option is if someone selects you to fight."

"Why is my weight-class and punch so important?"

He shakes his head and smiles. "Harry, your punch has the potential of putting an opponent in serious pain. You could put them in a coma and/or fatally hurt them."