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CHAPTER TWO

- CHAPTER TWO -
"SELFLESSNESS IS BOTH THE BEST AND WORST QUALITY A PERSON COULD HAVE."

Beth wiped the sweat from her brow as she finished her squat. Out of breath, she took a moment to steady herself before moving to the next set. Her brown eyes traveled to the window, looking through to the crack of dawn.

It had been a late night on RAW the night before, yet here she was just a mere hours later at the gym, early enough that she had been one of the only occupants. Running on a power bar and coffee, she felt at the top of the world, though she would regret it later.

Sleep was rare to her these days, more than ever, but not for the reasons many thought. She lay awake at night for hours just staring at the ceiling, looking back on her past—her mother, to be exact. The anniversary of her death was approaching, perhaps making the nightmares more visual than they had been before. Therefore, she didn't dream, and instead avoided it completely as she felt numb on hotel beds.

She returned her attention back to the squat rack, adding more weight before continuing her lifts. Seeing as today would be her day away from wrestling, she knew it would be the most opportune time to work the muscle that made her the most sore.

Across the gym, where gym goers enter and exit the building, icy blue eyes walked through the door, sporting heavy under eye bags from the long night the night before. He, too, had trouble sleeping, and as much as he hoped for the gym to clear his head, it was unfortunate that the same thing that kept him up at night was squatting across the building.

Rolling his eyes out of frustration, he made his way to a rower for a warm-up. Without wanting to, he found his eyes lingering on the Irish girl as she lifted. He admired the fact that she still had the same work ethic after all of these years—though it also made him angry; jealous even. He couldn't even explain why he felt the way he did.

Beth turned to grab her water, her throat becoming dry from the activity. Those same blue orbs that were once on her left, just in time for her to miss his stare. Seeing Finn on the other side of the gym made her heart skip a beat, like he's the missing piece in her heart. Sighing, she continued her workout to it's end.

Finn noticed as the ginger began to pack up her belongings to ready herself to leave. He released a breath of relief as he turned to his phone to change the music. Suddenly, she was standing in front of him.

He removed the headphones from his ears, raising his eyebrows in annoyance, though the action felt so foreign and forced. Finn was honestly shocked that she had approached him. Her shy nature used to stop her from approaching anyone—but time changes things, he supposed.

She smiled, sarcastically. "What are you doing in the gym so early?" she asked, innocently, as if they were sparking conversation as old friends.