Shattered (Book One of The Progressive Trilogy)

Chapter 19: I Feel Pretty/Unpretty

*Unedited* 

I made it to The Cage late but my students didn't seem to notice; they had already begun on their warm-up exercises.

"Sorry I'm late y'all, but I'm glad that you started your warm-ups without me. It shows your dedication and it makes me see how seriously you are taking your training. Good Job." I said to my students, who in turn beamed at the compliment and praise. I noticed the twins in their usual spot surrounded by Louisa and Hunter. I looked them over to make sure they were able to workout with the wounds that were inflicted on them from those morons the other day, only to be shocked by what I saw. Their faces looked almost completely healed. There wasn't a sign of bruising on either one and Axel's arm looked completely fine.

Hadn't Toucan guy broken his arm? I questioned myself.

All I could do for a solid minute was stare at the two in confusion, making them squirm under my relentless gaze.

I'll have to talk with them privately later to get answers, I thought with determination.

Ignoring the uncomfortable atmosphere I had unintentionally created, I rounded them up. "All right, let's get started." Everyone followed suit without question and we began. The memory of being held down and feeling defenseless flitted through my mind and my brain went in overdrive coming up with an alternative lessen for my class today.

I never want them to feel helpless, I thought. With my resolve settled, I went to work on their ground work.

By the end of their class I was more comfortable with their ability to get away from an opponent on the ground. As they made their way to the locker rooms to change before my match with Heather, I took my chance and pulled the twins aside. Axel looked at me curiously, but Blair seemed to know exactly why I wanted to speak with them. Her expression was a mixture of uncertainty and frustration. I could tell with the right push I could get some answers from the girl who had become a surrogate sister to me.

"So, you wanted to talk Coach Em," Axel asked innocently.

"Yeah, and after our workouts, feel free to call me Emma. You know the only place you need to see me as your teacher is when we're in class," I told them to show my comfort and trust I have around them.

"Um, okay Co- um, Emma," Axel said with an uncomfortable shift. Blair gave a small smile at Axel before looking up at me. Her eyes seemed to say, "Go ahead. do it like you're ripping off a band-aid."

I took a deep breath and plunged into the conversation head first, "Who were those men that attacked you on Saturday? What did they want? Who were those men following your uncle's orders like he was a mob boss? Why were y'all in the woods in the first place? What the hell is a Jackal? Most importantly, why do neither of you seem hurt in the slightest?" I finally finished my torrent of questions and took deep lungfuls of air so I could breath properly again. Axel and Blair stared at me with their jaws dropped, completely shocked at the onslaught of questions I threw their way.

Blair was the first to recover. Her face showed an unwilling resistance as she spoke, "I don't know what you mean. We were playing in the woods and the weirdos just came up to us talking nonsense. We weren't as hurt as you believed obviously. I don't know how to answer your other questions because they are utterly ridiculous." Axel eyed his sister, his expression held confusion and disbelief at her obvious lies.

"Look, I know for some reason or another everyone wants to keep me in the dark and you are only following rules. But, how would you feel if it was you? If you had lost everything before your eyes and as soon as you get some semblance of normalcy shit starts hitting the fan and it somehow all connects back to you. Imagine you're experiencing things you know shouldn't be possible, you're doing things that aren't normal, and having painful episodes that everyone around you seem to know about. How frustrating and even terrifying do you think that is? It feels like I have zero control over my own life and it reminds me of when I was held captive. Why would you want me to feel like that again? Just, please. Please help me understand," I begged. I realized I was letting my guard down and showing them my raw emotions, but rather than being scared, I felt relieved. If anyone could understand how I was feeling, it was the twins.