Chapter Twenty Six - Practise

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Sleep for me had been restless, I had so many images and scenarios running through my head, I was sure it would soon burst through my ears.

I'd had many dreams that night, both nightmares of the fight, and also dreams of my future, happy, alive, curled warm and safe in the arms of Callum.
I was beginning to hate myself, how could I think like that? How could I betray Duke that way?

Afraid of my own mind and body, I decided to stay awake from midnight onwards. I kept my head back, my eyes closed.
I couldn't sleep, and not too long later, a nasty head ache had developed.
Really, I had deserved it. I deserved to feel pain for the things that I had been intentionally and unintentionally thinking.

Callum hadn't stirred all night, in fact, he seemed to be having a wonderful sleep.
Every now and then, I would peer over at his figure, slumped over the short lounge as he lightly snored. Sometimes, he would twitch, other times, he would smile. I became curious in those moments, wanting to know what he was dreaming of.

By morning, I had given up on sitting inside the house. With Callum so close, with my irritated and irrational mind, I knew it was time to escape and find distraction.
It was getting close to fight night, 15 hours away, I needed to be ready, mind, body and soul.
When the sun crept up, so did I. I soaked myself in a warm shower and even that didn't seem to calm my nerves. I tugged on some warm clothes and prepared to head outside, much to Callum's dismay without him.
It was only about 7 in the morning and besides, he would be asleep for a good 3 more hours, so I took my chance.

Carefully, I shut the front door behind myself, leaving behind a note on the coffee table just in case Callum did awaken and panic.
I made my way up the same path Callum had shown me the day before, watching over my shoulder in mere natural paranoia.

It took me a little longer to reach the top of the hill than it had the day before, but I had made it successfully within an hour.
It seemed even more perfect than the day before, and right then and there, I knew it was where I was going to be when the battle was to start.
I could concentrate, one hundred percent, there were no distractions, nothing but me and the beauty of nature surrounding me.

I soaked it in, taking fresh breathes of air into my lungs. I let it fill me up, then slowly, I found myself lighter and more composed.
I chose a dry spot of grass on the hill and sat down crossing my legs like a child did in kindergarten. I took in another deep breath and checked my surroundings one more time before confidently shutting my eyes.

It wasn't hard to clear my mind, for once in my life, I was left with a blank canvas. I took that as a good sign and began.
I thought about Duke, his face, his smile, his eyes, every detail I could imagine of his face. I found myself staring into his eyes, his golden deep honey coloured eyes, and then his smile, that crooked smile that made me quiver. His soft pale skin, dark tousled hair falling perfectly messy around his ears, it was all there, quiet and beautiful.

I felt myself smile, and before I knew it, I was there, with him.

I looked around my new surroundings, taking in the hot summer air, sticky and humid. I could hear the soft distant melody of Spanish music being played from a small cassette player. A pool was to my left, only half filled, the water murky and silent. Buildings surrounded me, dozens of doors meters from one another, dirty and numbered.

It hadn't taken me long to realise that the suburb I was in, wasn't a good one.
The wire fencing was torn, unkept and cut, barely upright. It surrounded me, like a small prison, and that's when I knew where I was standing, outside of a motel, a dark, run down motel on the outskirts of Brazil.
I was in the parking lot, few cars, few visitors, and for obvious reasons.

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