Fred *chicago*
I threw punches at the punching bag swinging towards me, hoping that it'd relieve some of the anger I had built up.
I'd caught onto Dad's habits from a young age. When he got angry, he'd always go down in the basement and stay away from everyone. He'd usually get his blood pumping in any way he could, he, to this day, claimed that it calmed him.
And I'd received that trait.
I looked down at my skinned knuckles. I could've chosen to wrap them, or wear gloves, but I really wasn't even partially worried about the well being of my knuckles.
I sighed and fell back on the bench behind me. I braced my elbows on my thighs, my hands fisted in front of my mouth.
I hadn't slept in three solid days. I was running on adrenaline at this point, and I knew that at some point within the near future, I'd crash.
I stood up and loaded the barbell with plates. Maybe I could do more than just punch the hell out of a bag.
I sat back down on the bench and leaned back, wrapping my hands around the bar. I lifted it up and did a few reps before letting it crash on the rack.
"Your knuckles."
"You should see the other guy," I said, slipping out from beneath the bar.
I sat upright and looked over my shoulder, seeing Alexis standing in the doorway. She was wearing one of my shirts, her arms folded over her chest.
"You could severely injure your wrists by doing that," she said, tilting her head over.
I looked at the bag, noticing the droplets of blood standing out against the white surface.
"I know."
She walked over to me, resting a hand on my shoulder as she straddled my legs. "You need sleep."
I chewed on my bottom lip. "I'm fine."
"Seventy-four hours."
I looked at her, my jaw set.
"You haven't slept in seventy-four hours."
"Hey, a new record," I said.
"Fred, it's not something to be proud of," she said, "you need rest."
"I need to finish this set."
I fell on my back yet again, making her let out an audible, but quiet scoff. "Fred."
I wrapped my hands around the bar, lifting it. I did a few more reps than my lest set, placing it gently on the rack this time.
"So the theory that people lift more with something on their lap is true."
"Fred," she warningly muttered.
"What, Alexis?"
"You need some rest before you and I clash. Very hard."
I sat upright, my eyebrows in a furrow. "I'll get rest."
"You've been saying that for two days."
"Well, Lex, you can't understand it, but it's a little hard to rest when something you created falls to the ground-"
"Woah!" She yelled, standing up, "woah."
"What?" I asked, standing up.
"You have wiped out everything around you!" She chuckled out, "so trust me, I understand."
