Breaking

Chapter 6.

Arabella

After eating only half of our sandwiches, Tobias and I got ready for the gym and the others left. "Why did you and Rosalee pack so many of my clothes if I'm only staying for the weekend?" I ask him as we leave his apartment.

"Because you're not staying for the weekend."

"What? What about school?"

"I'll drop you off and pick you'll up every day until..." he trails off and his face hardens.

"Thank you, Tobias," I try to help but his expression only darkens. "Can I sit in the front seat now?!" I ask, whining and throwing my arms a little just to add to the dramatic effect. It works. He fights a smile.

"Yeah. Come on."

I was excited to show some of my go-to songs to Tobias. He had no clue who any of the artists were and I found that hilarious. He went completely old school on me when I decided to play music from before I was born. He knew almost every song, some of them were a little too old for him to either know or remember. It was a shock for both of us. We arrived at the gym and climbed out of the car.

"Stay close, okay?" He tells me as we step through the entrance. Instantly, we're slapped with heat and the stench of body odor. I make a face that makes him laugh. "You'll get used to it."

"I don't see how."

We check-in at the front desk then walk down a narrow hallway covered with paintings of famous boxers. We enter the actual part of the gym with a boxing cage in the middle, surrounded by different types of workouts areas. There are only three people at the punching bags, two at the treadmills, and five lifting weights. Tobias nods towards the two men sparing in the cage. "We're with them."

They somehow sense our approach and pull away from each other. The guy to my right is in his early twenties, the other is in his late thirties.

"That's Jamal," Tobias points at the younger guy, then to the other man, "Frank." He opens the cage door. "Frank, Jamal, this is Arabella."

"Nice to meet you." Jamal offers a warning smile while he shakes my hand.

"Likewise," I tell him.

"Are you training with us today?" Frank asks, shaking my hand.

"No," Tobias answers before I could say anything. "She's on the bags today."

"She has a strong, firm shake," smiles Frank. "I would love to see how good her right hook is."

"Please, Tobias," I pout at him.

"It's MMA training. You'll have to get really close, it's almost suffocating."

"Okay!" I kick my shoes off and jog up the small flight of stairs. I hear Frank laughing as I move towards the middle of the cage. I turn and see that Jamal followed me.

"You ever box before?" He asks me.

"My dad taught me when I was young. Then he went to prison and I had to improvise the rest of my moves."

"Oh...so Tobias isn't your dad?" I shake my head. "Sorry, he just keeps to himself, turns down every offer we make to have at least one round of beers. I figured anything is possible with him."

"You thinking Tobias is my dad is nothing to apologize for nor is it something I should be offended by."

"Okay," he chuckles.

"She's fine!" I hear Frank say in a risen voice. I peer around to him shoving Tobias out of the cage and closing the door behind them.

A little over an hour later...
"Again!" Jamal shouts then quickly steps behind me and throws us to the floor. I'm hot and sweaty and out of breath but there's adrenaline pulsing through me, encouraging me to do more and give it all I got. I can hear Tobias in the background threatening Jamal every now and then, whenever Jamal hits me or throws me to the floor, or slams me against the fence. Tobias wasn't kidding about getting real close and personal, and he was right about the smell too, I can barely notice it. Not the smell or the mouthpiece in my mouth or the wraps around my hands.