Cleo Hart: Intelligence by Default

Fight or flight

Luke was in a bad state. He was in a wheelchair most of the time and when he did walk, it was painful even to watch. He hissed out shaky breaths every time he shifted his weight to his left side, and although he tried to hide that it was hurting him, his brow was constantly beaded with sweat from the excertion of moving.

I wheeled him through the Italian airport. We had slept through the plane journey and only regained consciousness when shoved by the stocky air hostess, who was caked in so much make up that when she moved too quickly powder seemed to scatter from her face.

"Right slave, take us to a cafe, I want breakfast."
Luke craned his neck round to dorkishly grin at me and then pointed vaguely in the direction of the town centre.

I sighed and wheeled him off, trying not to bite back.

-

After a clichéd tourist trip around the puny excuse for a town, we got a bus to the hotel, which was a few miles out, but huge. There was a pool, a restaurant, gardens and god knows what else. But apparently, not enough room for a bedroom each, or even a twin bed room.

"Oh no." I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to breathe.

"It's just a week Cleo." Luke stammered. He looked slightly afraid, and I almost pitied him. It must be hard to feel powerful when sat in a wheelchair.

"A week sharing a bed with you." It took all of my willpower not to kick his chair so he rolled into a wall, but something in my mind stopped me, thankfully.

"We've done it before..."

"Yeah, once, because I fell asleep stuck in your hold in your fucked up idea of helping me after I found out-"

"Public place Cleo."

I groaned, exhasperated, and wheeled him into the lift.

"This is not the same. I'll probably hate you by the end of the week, you have a very impressive way of pissing me off."

"Babe, you'll hate me by the end of tomorrow. If not earlier."

I screamed through my teeth, my anger only growing when Luke didn't flinch.

"Okay ground rules." I leant against the lift wall.
"1. No calling me pet names I will end you."

Luke smirked, "No wasting my time arguing against what I tell you to do."

"What? That's not fair."

"You're literally doing it right now. Wow." He chuckled.

-
I stirred from my sleep and grunted, turning over and closing my eyes again. This bed was far more comfy than the one at the apartment.
Something hard hit my stomach. I sat up, looking around.
Luke sat in a chair in the corner of the room. A shoe lay dormant in my lap.

"Thirty press ups."
I snorted, lying back down and closing my eyes.

"Cleo. Now."

"Tired." I mumbled, pulling the dovet over my eyes. I felt an arm grab my ankle and I was pulled to the floor.
"I'm hardly clothed!" I protested.

He smirked, "You don't say. Now go, I need to see your physical capabilities."

I rolled my eyes and did thirty press ups, making the last ten one handed so I could stick my middle finger up at him while I did them.

He whistled, "Impressive. Pull ups?"

I looked around. "What on?"

"There's a gym downstairs."

I groaned. "Can I put some clothes on?"

He chucked me some readily prepared black running leggings and a tank top. I stripped off to my underwear. Luke squealed.

"What you're not even going to do it in the bathroom? Jesus people don't just get next to naked infront of eachother!"

"What's the matter Lukey, am I distracting? Never seen a girl in her undies before? Cute."

He growled and handed me my trainers as i donned the outfit.

-

The clock on the wall of the huge gym said 6am, which made me feel slightly queazy to say the least.

"Pull ups."

"How many?" I glared at him.

"As many as you can." He smiled, stepping out of his wheelchair and standing next to the bar.
"I'll count."

I had been practising pull ups since I was four, with my parents watching over me for most of them. My body mass wasn't much and my arms were strong. This wasn't very tasking.

At fourty-nine he stopped me.

"Alright your arms are evidently strong enough. Rowing machine."

"This is bor-"

"Rowing machine."
Luke had started taking some painkillers the night before, meaning he was less reliant on the chair, and annoyingly, more confident.

I growled and stormed up to it, turning the difficulty to ten before using more of my strength than I should have to row as quickly as possible.

"Do 200, then we go swimming."

I hissed through my teeth. Luke knew I would be exhausted after 200 on full pelt. What he had forgotten was that I was extremely stubborn and wouldn't show any fatigue at all. I just thanked my body for not turning red when I did exercise, as most pale people did.

At 150 I was spent, and started to slow down.

"Awh, are you too tired Honey? Cute."

I growled and sped back up, doing the last fifty in just under a minute. Luke shut up at that point.

"You broke a rule." I panted, wiping my brow.

"Swimming time." He smirked.

"Nuh-uh, you broke a rule, now I break a rule. I refuse."

He sighed, "Cleo." It was his warning tone, which he was acutely aware that i hated.

"Haha fuck you." I Stood up and reached for my towel before being dragged back towards Luke.
He spun me round to face him, arching his neck downward to bore his eyes into mine.

"Did I stutter?"
My heart was drumming through my chest. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"I don't fear you." It came out as a whisper, making him laugh.

"Swim or I make you swim."

I fought in his grip, lashing out.

"Suit yourself."

He walked to the swimming pool changing rooms, with me firmly held in his grasp. He walked to a cubicle, and lifted me in. Chucking a bikini after me, and slamming the door shut behind him.

"I'm right outside the door. Put it on, then shower yourself, then get in the pool."

I sat on the little blue seat in the corner, slipping my top off.

"You don't have to be such a dick Luke."

I heard him chuckle from outside the cubicle.

I finished getting changed and stalked out, not giving him a second glance, but when I walked past the mirror, I could see him gaping through the reflection. I had bought the bikini for a school trip, when I was in an attention loving phase, and I would be lying if I pretended the look Luke was giving me didn't make me blush a little.