Chapter Text
It was late at night almost midnight, sounds of panting filled the gym, both from exhaustion and anger, only two people remaining, one beating the hell out of a punching bag and the other waiting to close the place.
One, two, three, you’re fired don’t come back...
One, two, three, you were supposed to take care of her...
One, two, three, we can’t continue this Tobin- it has not been the same since that day you accepted the job...
A loud scream filled the air, followed by a last desperate punch and kick, so loud it startled Kelley from her nap, she rapidly removed the traces of drool on her mouth with her sleeve and rubbed her eyes along her cheek that had the pattern of the surface result from sleeping at her desk, she looked for the source of the noise, the computer still playing her favorite playlist, she looked around and remembered she was waiting for the last customer to go, to close and lock her gym, this so-called customer happened to be Tobin, her friend, who after a long workout of three hours, she checked, had the energy to do some box combinations and probably to her bad luck, breaking the last functional punching bag Kelley had left.
She got up and crossed the training equipment noting that some were out of place rolling her eyes at some people who don’t pick up their things, but oh well, she will put some signs, she reached the open space that her yoga and box trainers used and cautiously approached the figure who was lying on the black mat, eyes closed and heavily breathing, that covered the floor, she was worried, the only times she saw Tobin like this were when something bad happened to her friend or she was stressed from work, by the looks of it and from what little she heard her friend say maybe both, she cleared her throat to announce her presence.
“Hey there champ- time to go home” Tobin remained silent fatigue taking over “Are you-”
“Yeah, Kell” she muttered so low Kelley could barely hear her “I will let you lock” she didn’t want to hear that question nor answer, she was never good talking about her feelings. Maybe that’s why she deserved all of this Tobin thought.
“Thanks” Kelley retreated to the front to pick up her things knowing Tobin won’t open up right now, maybe they can talk over some work out or something, she stopped and looked from her shoulder back to Tobin “I’m here for you, you know” Tobin sighed she knew that but it was difficult to let people in, the only people she let inside were now gone.
Tobin was alone, again , she clenched her eyes, she just wanted to cry keep punching that bag until it broke like the last one, but here wasn’t the place to break her walls down also she couldn’t do that to Kelley, she kept her place open for three more hours for her pathetic ass after all.
She sat and started removing the tape from her hands and feet, immediately she felt her knuckles throbbing, red and almost bleeding, her right foot swollen from that last attempted cross kick, it was a problem for another day she thought, she got up to her things she left on the bench next to the dumbbells and put her black hoodie on, her sneakers and took her bag, don’t minding for a shower this late, she walked across the gym to the entrance and looked for Kelley, who was rubbing furiously to probably some inexistant stain she already took away- always so paranoid with cleaning.
“Hey, I’m going home, do you need any help?”
“Nah, I’m alright, just be careful” Kelley said head down, she did one last look at her desk then lifted her eyes to see Tobin, “you know where to find me” she gave Tobin a thumbs up. “Tomorrow we can spar together if you want?”
Tobin gave a small tired smile, “Only if you want to get beaten down” Kelley chuckled.
“In your dreams, Heath”
…
She left the gym with a last wave to Kelley and started her motorbike, the noise of the motor was the only thing that resonated through the silent night, the streets were almost empty except for full bars and loud music or people drunkenly stumbling on their way home, she never liked those places, the feeling of alcohol controlling her senses used for them to forget, she preferred exercise, the feeling of her body pumping and just having something else in her mind was better, still this time hours of exercising wasn't enough.
She left her bike in her designated parking lot marked with her number 17 and automatically arrived at her apartment located on the third floor, preferring to take the stairs to not bump into someone and get some *extra exercise*, she unlocked the door and closed it with a kick, threw her bag somewhere in the living room not minding to turn the lights on and went directly to her bedroom, she removed her clothes leaving her in only her boxers and sports bra, she looked to the mirror in her wardrobe and grimaced, a lot of bruises covered her ribs, shoulders and legs which even the dark could not hide, reminding her of her work or in this case how she lost her job and the way she has been punishing her body. With a last disappointing look to the mirror she went to her bed and laid her back, some minutes passed, fighting for some sleep, her eyes open but not paying attention at something in particular, tears made their way down, falling effortlessly from her cold eyes, too tired to fight them anymore.
She still can't believe how everything could change for the worse in a few days from a loving-stable relationship to a ‘don’t ever look for me again’ and a fantastic job with a loving-still demanding family, her protégée who she considered a friend, someone who helped Tobin when times were rough and vice versa, the same she failed to even when Tobin’s family and people tried to tell her it wasn't her fault, reasoning that she did everything she could, that she made her happy, it was her fault and she knew it, she wasn't hired to please her client but to protect them, she was supposed to be by her side at every single moment, it was in her contract but now the cheerful loud girl is now fighting for her life just because Tobin had a tender heart, one that could be easily manipulated, her weakness she realized, was her heart.
She was trained for everything, her education in the bodyguard academy prepared her to be the best out there, from close combat to water rescue and guns training, even escorting someone across a sea of paparazzi for crying out loud but she wasn't able to say no to puppy eyes and a pout from a girl, her high ranked Training Center would be damned, she left many people disappointed.
She sighed, images of those two filled her dreams for another night, memories of the good times filled with laughs, smiles and sparkling blue and brown eyes, but also bad ones, a door being closed right on her face, tears a lot of tears, a laying motionless body, these last two days have taken everything from her, she laid in her bed in her new apartment both mentally and physically drained, exhaustion was finally covering her body, she fell asleep like that, facing the ceiling, numb and tired from crying her eyes out, from being weak, wishing for tomorrow to be better.
When the morning came she took a shower, cleaning the trails her tears left from yesterday, she took a towel from the rack while she was drying the water of her body she started to build her walls again, like it has been her routine for years...
She got dressed, ready for this new day to come.