My First, My Last, My Everything

Chapter 26

Gabriella

Once we got back to the safehouse, I hurried upstairs to my room to change into something comfy for the gym.

After that surprise attack we'd planned at the warehouse, my body felt weaker than usual, which is pretty odd for me. We've only been here a day, and I haven't hit up the gym in this place to stick to my usual workout routine.

I slipped into a pair of Nike shorts and a black sports bra. Grabbing my towel and a small water bottle, I headed out of my room, making my way down the hallway to the gym.

I took a turn, and there were those big double doors labeled 'Gym' in bold letters.

Seriously? Do they really have to label it like that ? What is this some kind of training center?

I pushed one of the doors open and stepped inside. I let out a gasp as I looked around. The room was jam-packed with all sorts of gym equipment, way more than I expected. A long blue carpet split the room down the middle, keeping the gear separated.

"Like it?" a voice chimed in out of nowhere, startling me.

Anthony emerged from behind a treadmill, already dressed in shorts and a loose vest that showed off his muscles.

"Eh, it's alright. Reminds me of my gym back home," I replied, glancing away from him to check out a set of weights.

"Right. So, where do you wanna start?" I shrugged, placing my water bottle on a bench on the other side of the room.

"Think I'll give the punching bag a go. Been feeling like throwing some punches lately, but I've got no target. But you know who could work as an example?" I teased. He frowned, positioning himself behind the hanging bag, gripping it on both sides.

"Who?" he asked.

I smirked as I pulled on a pair of boxing gloves. Without hesitation, I let loose a solid punch that pushed the bag back a bit. Anthony regained control of it, nodding at me to continue.

"How about your girlfriend?" I quipped. His grip on the bag tightened.

"You got an issue with Cleo?" he asked, a bit harshly.

"Not really. But if I did, you'd be the last to find out about it. So relax," I said, throwing a few more punches while bouncing lightly on my feet.

"Oh, so it's not Cleo, you're just jealous, huh?" he teased.

"Jealous? Why would I be jealous of someone that looks like a Walmart version of me? Come on, Anthony, you know me better than that."

I hammered the bag with both fists, glancing at him to see a flash of anger in his eyes.

"No, I don't. Not anymore," he muttered softly.

I paused, fists clenched inside the gloves, eyeing him closely.

"Right, let me rephrase that for you. You never knew me, because you never bothered to get to know the real me. Back then, all you wanted was to get into my pants, right Mr. Playboy?" I snapped.

He stepped away from the bag, standing in front of me.

"Are you kidding me? So, we're going there right now? Well, guess what, Gabriella? There was no 'real you'. You were just faking it the whole time," he retorted.

"Same goes for you," I countered back, my tone never losing its firmness.

"Don't turn this around on me. You preached honesty all the time, but you were the one hiding behind a fake identity. You only cared about yourself," I scoffed.

"Well, you weren't exactly planning on coming clean either. You were going to keep your secret all to yourself, lying to me all along, just to get what you wanted. You never trusted me, and if you did, you would've told me the truth four years ago. But that's you, isn't it? You don't trust anyone but yourself," I fired back.

"Trust? Yeah good thing I didn't trust you, or I'd be dead now for trusting the enemy! That's why we're not meant to be, Merliah. Because of you. You put us in this position because you cared too much about your family, the title, and especially who you are now. All because of you!"

My throat tightened, and suddenly, I couldn't breathe. I locked eyes with him, and in one swift motion, I slammed my fist into the bag so hard that a white cloud of powder erupted from the other side.

"Look, Merliah—" I raised my hand, silencing him.

"You're right. Our history ended because of me. I tried to make things right for us, but let's face it, I couldn't. So you know what, Anthony? I expected that someday you'd say these things to me, but now that you have, it doesn't even make me feel the slightest bit of closure. It hurts, because all these time you still don't get it."

I picked up my water bottle and towel from the bench, giving him a steady look.

"You didn't come close to realizing that I was being myself the entire time we were together. I thought you were worthy of knowing the real person behind the mask. But I guess I was wrong about you."

I quickly left the gym, not giving him the chance to say anything else that might shatter my heart once again.

Come to think of it, I don't think how many times we'll cross paths or talk to each other, but we'll still won't get the closure we both needed.