I stayed up all night, feeling anxiety bundled in my chest.
Something about that dream last night felt so real. Like the kids were actually in danger.
I shook my head and got out of bed, going towards the closet so I could get dressed. I decided on yoga pants and a v neck tshirt since that's all I had.
I wanted to ask Colby for more clothes but I didn't think he would take too kindly to that. I would have to get him in a good mood to ask that.
I got dressed then brushed my teeth and hair before putting it in two tight french braids.
"Ready?" Colby asked as I walked into the main part of the bedroom.
"I don't have any work out shoes. Just my boots." I said and looked down at my feet.
"Those will work for now." He said then turned and left the room.
I followed behind him, feeling the discomfort in my belly. I just had a feeling that today was going to suck.
"Going to fight?" Sam asked as we walked through the kitchen. "Yep. Wish her luck." Colby said then tossed me a water bottle.
"Go easy on her, Colby. It's her first time." Sam said with a laugh. "The real world won't go easy on her. Tony won't go easy on her." Colby said as I scrunched my brow.
"Who's Tony?" I asked as he shook his head. "Later. Come on." He said then led the way to the front door.
I followed behind him until we got to the car, then I got in the passenger's seat.
I wanted to ask a million questions but didn't think it would be a good idea to piss Colby off before I was supposed to be fighting him.
When we got to the auto body shop, we made our way down to the secret base that they called the office.
I didn't really understand why because it was far from being an office. It looked more like a lab from a sci-fi movie.
"Mr. Brock, Nate said you have a package on your desk." A man said as Colby nodded. "Perfect, thank you." He said then led the way to his office.
"These are for you." He said then picked up a little white bag that looked like it was from a pharmacy.
"How did you get these?" I asked in amazement. "I told you I would get them." He said with a shrug. "But how?" I asked as he took the bag and grabbed the pill bottle.
"Don't worry about it." He said then opened the bottle and handed me a pill.
"Do you need to take it with food?" He asked as I shook my head. "Perfect. Then we can get started." He said as I took the pill.
I had no idea how he managed to get this without look suspicious but I guess I was grateful.
"Enough stalling, Julia. Let's go." Colby said then put his hand on my back and pushed me slightly to go out into the hallway.
"I'm not stalling." I argued as he led the way. "Oh, so you haven't been scared shitless?" He asked with a cocky grin.
"No. I'm ready. Gonna be great." I said with little to no confidence.
I had never fought a day in my life. I didn't even know self defense tactics, clearly.
If I did then I probably wouldn't be here right now.
"Alright. We're gonna start in here." Colby said as we walked into a room that looked like a gym.
"We need to bulk you up a little bit." He said and tossed me a towel.
"What, you don't think I'm strong?" I asked and flexed my nearly non existent muscle. "Very funny. Start with arms." He said and pointed to one of the machines.
"Ten reps of ten, whatever weight you're comfortable with." He said then stripped his shirt off.
I watched as his muscles flexed, his tattoos dancing on his skin.
There was a bandaid still on his side, probably from the night that he came into my work.
"You're staring." Colby mumbled as he continued his own set, looking straight ahead.
"What happened to your side?" I asked and lifted my own weights. "Got stabbed. Thought you'd remember." He said as I shrugged.
"I didn't know what happened. Just that I had to clean up a strangers blood." I said as he shrugged.
"Sorry." He said nonchalantly. "No biggie." I said then huffed out a breath. "Less talking, more lifting." He said and kept his eyes forward.
We ended up working out for a while before it was time for the actual lesson.
"Have you ever taken any self defense classes?" Colby asked as I pulled my shirt off, leaving me in just my pants and a sports bra.
"No." I said as Colby looked at me intensely., letting his eyes travel down my now bare torso.
"You're staring." I teased as he shook his head. "No, I'm sizing you up. Finding your weaknesses before we even get started." He said as I squinted.
"Right." I said then crossed my arms. "So we're gonna start with you being the attacker. It'll show you how people usually approach so when you are the one being attacked you have a better idea." He explained then clapped his hands together.
"So you're gonna come at me and try to wrap your one arm around my neck and the other hand will go over my mouth." He said as I puffed my cheeks out.
"You're like..way taller than me though." I said as he shrugged. "Doesn't matter, figure it out." He said as I nodded and ran towards him at full speed, trying to do what he said.
I was halfway successful before he picked me up with ease and slammed me onto the ground.
Luckily he laid down some mats because I would have probably broken something if he didn't.
"What the hell, Colby?!" I yelled angrily. "Always be prepared for anything. That's lesson number one." He said and held his hand out to help me up.
"Can you maybe not do that?" I asked and brushed myself off after getting up. "Sorry, sweetheart. Gotta toughen you up." He said as I rolled my eyes.
"Again." He said then clapped his hands. I did the same thing I did before but was ready for him to flip me over.
This time he wrapped his arm around my waist and picked me up with ease, tossing me to the side.
"Fuck!" I grunted as he grinned. "I'm supposed to be attacking you. This is so fucking stupid." I said and stood up, ignoring the hand he was offering me.
"I'm subconsciously showing you ways to get out of situations." He said as I shook my head. "No, you're taking advantage of your height and strength to hurt me." I said and crossed my arms.
"Possibly true. Try again." He said as I shook my head.
"No. I'm ready to prove that I can get away without brut force." I said and swayed side to side, ready for him to charge me.
"Nope. I'm in charge here. Come on, give me your all, Jules." He said as I clenched my jaw.
I screamed and charged at him, aiming low so I could hopefully knock him off his feet.
I was partially successful since I did knock him down but before I could do anything else he was rolling us over so he was on top of me.
I went to knee him in the groin but he had me positioned so I couldn't.
I gasped as he pinned my wrists to the ground, leaving me completely defenseless.
I suddenly became hyper aware at how close he was to me.
We were both breathing heavily, sweat prominent on our faces and bodies as we stared into each others eyes.
I watched as Colby's eyes darted between my eyes to my lips a couple times before they darkened.
Before I could process anything else he was getting up and grabbing his towel.
I sat up and watched him, trying to figure out what he was doing.
"We're taking a break. Just stay here." He said then left the room, slamming the door.
I frowned and looked around, not knowing what to do.
I didn't know what I did to piss him off, but I felt instant regret.
Was he mad because of how close we had gotten just now? Did he feel the same tension that I was feeling?
No. He couldn't because there was no tension. He was showing me how to fight and I was absolutely sucking at it.
That's all that happened.
That's all that could happen.