Battle Scars

Chapter One

Chapter One

Anna

"she builds others up because she knows what it's like to be torn down."

• • • • •

I've been awake for almost three hours now. The gym opens in another ten minutes and I'm nowhere close to being ready to deal with people today. The amount of stress I've had pressing down on my shoulders lately only seems to get worse the longer my dad is gone for his meeting with the bank.

He's supposed to be home tomorrow, but I can't help but feel like something is going to prevent him from getting home on Thursday.

The constant ringing of the office phone has my head pounding from the annoying sound. Even from upstairs I can still hear the shrill ring of it.

Trudging down the stairs in one of my dads WBA sweatshirts and a pair of black yoga pants, I quickly make my way to the phone to stop the intrusive sound.

"Marie's gymnasium for boxing. How may I help you?" I ask, using the most peppy voice I can muster while still being half asleep.

"Hey munchkin." My dads voice says from the other end and I instantly relax.

I let out a tired sigh and plop down in my desk chair. "Hey dad." I mumble, not even trying to be upbeat anymore.

"How's everything on your end doing?" He asks, sounding just as tired as me.

"Fine. The gyms still busy as per usual." I reply, tracing little circles on the wooden desk with my finger.

He hums as a response and I can imagine him distractedly nodding his head. "Good. Good." He mumbles after a second.

"What is it?" I ask, stopping my fingers movements. I know fully well that something is wrong and he's holding off on telling me.

He sighs defeated, just as the bell on the front door rings. Milo walks inside the office then and I watch as he drops his gym bag on the floor. He plops down in the seat across from me, knowing fully well that something is wrong.

"The meetings being pushed back until tomorrow." Dad finally says from the other end, confirming my suspicions.

"Of course they had to move it back." I groan into the phone. This just means he's going to be gone longer.

"Look munchkin, I can't control the bank. I'll just be here for one more day and then I'll be home. There's nothing we can do about it now." He says tiredly.

"I know that." I huff out, glancing over at Milo. His sleek black hair is disheveled and messy, matching his tired look. He raises a hand and waves at me in greeting, sending a somewhat reassuring smile my way.

"I need you to call Kyle and see if he can come down to the gym on Monday. Im going to have to talk to him about all this once I'm back." Dad says just as I force a smile back at Milo.

I grab a pen and paper and quickly scrawl down a reminder for myself to do so. "Alright dad, I'll call in tomorrow morning and see if I can get him down here."

"Thank you munchkin. I'm not going to be home until Friday so you're gonna have to run the gym for a few more days without me. Alright?"

"Alright, I'll see you in a few days." I say. "I love you."