Everything Anew

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Lila

The basement was darker than I remembered. Even with the light hanging above us, I found myself looking around towards the corners of the room as if I'd see someone standing there, watching. A chill ran down my spine, my attention fixated back on Evan to distract myself.

The beta was going through a room in the back, taking his time while I sat on the bench beside the cracked mirror. It was quiet, even with the others above us; I barely heard their footsteps walking across the foyer floor.

When Evan finally returned, his hands were full. He tossed gloves over to me while he held his own worn-out pair; they had been taped so many times, I was surprised they hadn't already fallen apart.

"We'll try some punches first, start slow and then we'll move onto the heavier stuff." I released a relieved breath as he went on. "Come on, slide those on and tell me how they feel."

I got up from the bench and tugged the gloves on. They weren't boxing gloves, though they had a little padding in them similar to its counterpart. They were fingerless, leaving half of my hand exposed while my knuckles and wrist were protected.

"Meet me in the middle, we'll start with some basics."

Evan took the time to correct my stance, and break me through the basics. Realistically I wouldn't be standing with my legs shoulder width apart and braced for impact in a typical fight, in fact he recommended I punch whoever the poor bastard was regardless of where, or how I was standing.

He took out what were called 'focus mitts', and slid them over his hands. I listened carefully when he told me to give it all I got. "Are you sure?" I asked, only to receive an eye roll in response.

I lifted my gloved hands and struck as he raised the mitt beside his face. He leaned to the side as I did, barely moving an inch otherwise. I went in with my other hand, feeling some of my anger leave with it. Evan waited for me to throw a few more before stopping me completely.

"You're not putting enough of your weight into it. It feels like my niece is punching me."

I glared at him. "If I landed one to your face, I doubt you'd say that."

The beta laughed, his green eyes bright. "True, but you still need to learn to hit harder."

I watched him head over to the punching bag nearby to show how he did it. The chain holding it to the ceiling rattled so loud I thought it would snap. The punches were so strong that I felt concerned for anyone who found themselves on the receiving end of it. 

"Try it here, then we'll try again."

I squared up and struck the punching bag while Evan stood behind it, holding it still. He corrected me each time I swung too low, reminding me if I wanted to throw a punch, the best place was up towards the face.

"Knee up, drive it in. There ya go!"

I felt sweat on my neck by the time he slid the focus mitts back on and told me to try again. This time as I swung, I could feel his hands snap back a bit from the contact. Still, it barely seemed to faze him.

"Once you gain a bit more weight and muscle, you'll be knocking me back a bit more. Until then, focus on getting used to that throw, don't drive too far back or you'll be knocked out before you even get the hit in."

I nodded my head and took a long drink of water. The training had been simple, simpler than I thought at least. I was thankful he hadn't laid a hand on me the entire time, though I knew eventually I'd have to know how to break someone's hold, regardless if I wanted to be touched or not.