His Rose

Protection skills level 0

Rose's POV:

I opened my eyes, and the sun had yet risen. I turn in the comfortable bed and look outside the window at the pink sky as thoughts begin to invade my mind. What am I really doing here? I'm hiding from some New York gang who somehow thinks Jack and I are together and wants to hurt me or worse kill me. 

I've never even been to New York! 

I sigh and close my eyes, rubbing them harshly with my palms. A few minutes later there's a knock on my door. I frown and check the time, it's barely six am.

"Come in" I yell sitting up in confusion. Jack walks in, but stays away from the bed. "Get up, time for training. Wear something comfortable" he grunts before leaving. I stare at his retreating figure even more confused, but I get up and make my way to the bathroom anyway. 

I wash my face and brush my teeth, and then put my hair up in a ponytail. I put on a pair of black yoga pants, a sports bra and a big tee shirt and some running shoes. I exit my room and make my way to the foyer. All the boys are sitting, dressed to work out.

"Morning princess" on of them greets smiling. I blush lightly and greet him back, I remember his name is Jamal. He is one beautiful man. He was tall, almost as tall as Jack, and had a couple tattoos on his arms. "There's breakfast on the kitchen counter, better eat before training starts" he winks. I nod wordlessly, and walk past the boys, or should I say men towards the kitchen. There was an assortment of fruits, cereal, orange juice and coffee, french toast and turkey slices. I grab a plate and add some fruits and yogurt, a cup of coffee and one slice of turkey with toast. 

"Ricardo, call Lee and Thomas over we need to start preparing a schedule"Jack booms, walking in the kitchen, his eyes zeroing in on me. I gulp the last drop of my coffee as my eyes roam all over his body. I was always tiny, ever since I was child I was known as the little one. In highschool, everyone thought it was cute even the football team and they treated me as their "little" sister- and I never felt insecure about my height. But looking at Jack I can't help but feel small and intimidated, he could literally snap my body in half in the blink of an eye. 

"I guess princess likes what she's seeing", Jamal and Gabriel I think his name was, snicker. Heat reaches my face quickly, as Jack's eyes harden at the boys. 

"Don't call her that. Her name is Rose" he snarls. "C'mon, everyone in the backyard. Training starts now" and with thundering steps, exits the house. We all follow quietly, as the last two, Lee and Thomas arrive.

"It's pretty obvious that Rose has 0 protection skills, therefore we will have to train her in case she needs to protect herself. I doubt it'll happen because she will never be alone, but it is still necessary- Jack speaks with a clear voice. Rose, you will work on endurance with Gabriel, Ricardo and Thomas. Enzo and Dany will teach you how to assemble a gun and shoot it- he chuckles as he sees the horror on my face at the mention of a gun. Jamal and Lee will teach you how to use a knife and I will teach you how to fight."

"Uh, I well, you see I don't want to?" I stutter, taking a small step back only to bump into Lee. Jack's eyebrow raises at my answer. 

"I don't care what you want. You will go through the training as planned without any complaints because last time I checked it wasn't my house that got broken into and I wasn't almost kidnapped. Got it?" he strongly stated. 

I gulped nodding, he was right. This is more for me than for him. 

"Alright, you start with endurance. Gabe is the timer, Ric and Tom will chase you. They cannot catch you. If they do, you'll have to run 5 miles. The more you loose, the more miles I add" he sternly said before taking a seat on one of the outdoor lounge chairs. 

I looked at Thomas and Gabriel who smirked at me. 

"Run little bunny" and I sprinted. I kept running around the house, the backyard was pretty big with access to a small forest. I ran for what felt like forever, I could hear their pants behind me. I am a dancer so my endurance is really good, and I could tell they were surprised. At one point, Thomas almost grabbed me by the waist but I swiftly turned to the side and fastened my pace. I was out of breath and my lungs were on fire, but I needed to prove to Jack that I am not weak. 

"AND TIME!"Gabriel yelled and my knees gave out. I lay sprawled on the grass, my chest rising up and down so fast I think my heart skipped a couple beats. 

"That was fucking impressive little bunny, no girl has ever outran us" Thomas breathed heavily, raising his hand for a high five. I giggled and reached up to his hand, but another caught me and lifted me up from the ground like a sack of potatoes. 

"No time to waste, hydrate and follow me" Jack grunted. Lee snickered while the rest of the boys just smirked. I blinked, clueless, and accepted the water bottle from Jamal. I chugged half of it before giving it back to him. "Thank you Jamal" I softly said before I moved towards Jack. 

"Have y'all heard anything so angelic before?" he asked mesmerized, and I just laughed as Dany smacked the back of his head. 

I stood in front of Jack, he easily towered over my small frame. "Okay, Rose I need you to punch me" he ordered. I blinked at him. "I've never punched anyone before" I whisper to him. His eyes soften for a moment, but they quickly hardened again. 

"I know. Punch me" he said again. I quickly nodded, and drew my fist back before punching him in the stomach. He didn't flinch nor did he move. He just tilted his head to the side, staring at me like a confused puppy. After 30 seconds of uncomfortable silence, laughter emerged from behind me. 

"Dear Lord", Ricardo wheezed. Thomas covered his face he was laughing so hard. Even Lee had a small smile. Jamal was on the floor while Dany just shook his head. 

"Girl your protection skills are at level 0" Enzo remarked. I flushed in embarrassment. 

"Everyone shut the fuck up. Rose, punch harder. And get your thumb out of your fist if you don't want to break it." Jack said. The boys mumbled something but I was too focused on the encouragement in the tattooed man's eyes to notice. 

Eventually, the boys retreated into the house as Jack and spent a couple hours training. After a few more tries, I finally managed to land a solid punch. 

"That's it baby you got it" Jack encouraged as I punched again. The term of endearment caught me off guard, but he was so focused it felt like he did not even realize he had called me baby. 

We continued sparring until it was almost one. By that time my body was sore and all I wanted was to lay down in bed. 

"Good work babygirl, tomorrow we'll work on knives and guns. Now go take a shower" Jack spoke before turning away and marching in the house. 

Bewildered by his curt tone, I shrug and run upstairs to take a bath. Once I was done, I wrapped myself in my bathrobe and lied on my bed. My muscles were screaming in pain, and before I knew it, I was asleep.