Rise [Bruno Mars]

Chapter thirty-nine

Chapter thirty-nine

It was a quick and impressive fight. The two women were similar in frame so the spar was even-handed. The blonde sent so many roundhouse kicks to her partner my own gut began to hurt, but it had been an enjoyable watch. It was after they finished I gained enough confidence to slip inside the training room, a flat and wide space covered in blue mats with gear pushed up against the walls.

I thought about doing this for days. It would be better, I decided, to open my mouth than to keep it shut. Anyway, the real reason I did not want to come was because of the risk of running into my mother. Luckily, she was not in the main building at the time.

Turned out, I had taken too long to enter. Two trainees already begun to dance on the practice floor. Even in my plain clothes, I was spotted by one of them. His eyes popped open and caught off guard, he took a punch to the face that knocked him flat into the ground and gave rise to laughter. The second trainee saw me and hurriedly helped her opponent. While so, polite grins developed on other faces and I heard a pile of hello daughter evening daughter.

"Yes, hi."

They gathered round. Those who were sitting stood. I peered into about ten faces, or ten faces peered into me, frozen and friendly, waiting for me to speak. I hated that I couldn't remember any of their names.

"Come to watch us practice?" a girl asked, breaking the silence.

"Actually, I've come to warn you." To my surprise, the words were easy to say.

"Warn us?"

"Yes. There may be someone after me."

Almost instantly, they shifted into a protective stance, save for one man who raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Someone? Just one someone?"

I nodded at the fact.

A bubble of loud, conceited laughter popped out of him. "No offense, daughter, but have you not seen us practice? You haven't yet seen me with a pistol. We have hundreds of enemies. You need not warn us of a single man."

"No doubt you all have talent," I said, impervious to his vain. "But not even I know what he's capable of."

A murmur wafted through the small crowd. One woman asked, "Who is this man?"

"He's someone I thought I could trust." And he could not be underestimated.

"What's he look like?"

I gave a vague description and, having enough already, moved to leave. "Please, warn others."

"We will," they responded. A man added with a fist over his heart, "We will guard you as we guard your mother."

I almost shook my head. It was not me that needed protection. Instead I murmured a quick gratitude then scurried out. Bruno and I had been moved to an empty house at the far end of the road. It had one bedroom and one bathroom and a wraparound porch. It had a fireplace. I couldn't wait for the quiet.

*

"Take me out," Bruno demanded, bed-ridden and dressed in a hospital gown. The procedure went well. Not even that, but extremely well. It had been five days since then and now when I entered his room his vomit-bucket was just a bucket. I slept on the living room sofa. Bruno was not a pretty sight.