I am Isabel (published)✔️

Chapter three What a week

A beautiful, late dinner cooked by my awesome brother. Great conversation as I told them what had happened during training. They laughed with me but turned serious after a while telling me that it was another close call and my luck would run out sooner or later.
We all knew it but decided I had come out on top again so it was good for another day. Dad and Peter didn't really understand why I didn't want anyone to know about my fighting skills.

When I was about six and a half, my mother died in childbirth. Two days after she died so did the baby girl that would have been my little sister. We were broken. Dad had always been a fighter and he's already taken my brother to the dojo but I was momma's little princess. In my misery I started lashing out. I got into fights and had the biggest temper tantrums possible, so dad decided to channel my rage into fighting. For three years it worked while I went to the dojo for classes. That was how I got to know Jarred, we both started at his dad's martial arts classes at the same level.

At the age of ten some of the girls at school found out ho much I liked to fight when I brought my new belt to show and tell. Even back then, I was a good fighter but not good at being a girl. Cassie came to me when I was being teased by the other girls in the locker rooms and told me she would be my best friend because it was cool that I could fight. She wanted a cool new best friend. Vicky had been her best friend but she was turning into a big meanie, we started calling her Barbie and became the best of friends.

I stopped going to the dojo not long after that when the twins and Derek told me that the girls at school were right. Girls shouldn't fight because boys would be able to that for them. But I didn't stop, dad didn't raise a quitter. I started training with Jarred and our dads instead. No more run of the mill lessons. Two years later I beat my brother and Jarred for the first time. Peter quit, Jarred worked harder. After my brother quit we became more aware of our different bodies, when we were fourteen the kissing incident happened and we never looked back.

Jarred made State championship that year and I was beating his ass every training session. We had both thrown ourselves into training as hard as we could. The year after that he made Nationals the first time. I helped him by beating his ass in training, it became a matter of pride. I was a mix of styles. Every fighter develops a style of fighting, everybody works what they do best to the best of their advantage. I copied other fighters that Jarred would be up against and that way he could work his style to beat them. It was a lot like what his dad did for mine. My dad had a world championship under his belt, holding the title, but Jarred's dad could still beat him.

Jarred relied heavily on my input before his fights but nobody else knew, they thought that I came to every match because of our dads. My dad refereed now that he retired from the official fights and his dad was Jared's sensei. The girls thought I only went because it was hot to watch guys fight. Even Cassie didn't know. While we were there I wrote down stats on the better fighters. Everybody thought that I wrote in a diary when I was taking notes on the fighters. They thought that I filmed fights because the guys were hot, but I only taped the ones that would be up against Jarred. The dads were sure that we would be found out. So far we had been able to keep the secret but there had been a fair few close calls over the years.

"You need to tell Cassie before she finds out from someone else, sis. She won't forgive you if you don't and then she won't ever make us cupcakes again."

Peter had a point, I knew it. This time however, dad agreed, until now he had always taken my side on the not telling anyone rule. I'd have to talk to Jarred because when she found out we would both be in the hot seat. So I texted him after dinner and he texted me he would talk to me tomorrow. Our code for the guys are here, can't talk. I was in bed and almost asleep after finishing my homework when the phone rang.
"What?"
"I know it's late but they just wouldn't bloody leave. Your fault I might add."

"What? Why is it my fault that the idiots you hang with wouldn't leave?" I asked grumpily.
"Woman, you made me blush!"

"Oh yeah... that! I didn't know you dibsed me, baby?"
He laughed at my attempt to sound seductive. "That was right after the incident, my friend!"

"Oh. Well, I didn't know that! Now tell me what the deal is on that, is there a time limit on a dibs?"
"Yeah, euh, see there normally is. I kinda said that as long as I beat them in the lines you are mine."

"So? You are way better than them."
"There might be more..."

"How much more?"
"Until they beat me... Or until you get a boyfriend because that would mean you don't want me and make you fair game." He mumbled.

"What? How the hell does it make me fair game if I have a boyfriend?" I yelled, suddenly wide awake.
"Intimidation, if he backs off instead of fight for you. Bribary, if he is offered an in to The Five. Blackmail, if we have dirt on him. You know the usual."

"Shit!"
"Yeah, well... Now you know why I got in Mark's face the other day when he asked you out."

Mark was a fighter from one of the other centres. I'd seen him before because he also made nationals twice now. I'd seen him a lot. He was funny to talk to and hot as hell. I'd been ecstatic when he asked me for my number. Then Jarred marched up and talked shit about me just wanting to give the guy a pity date, pulling me away before I could do anything else. It was only because the other four had been close by, laughing their asses off, that I hadn't reamed him a new one when he had topped it off by hugging me and giving me a kiss on the cheek whispering. "Stay away from him."
I'd asked about it later, he'd told me it was for the best and to drop it.

"Goodnight Tom." Jarred whispered when I didn't say anything else.
"Goodnight Jerry." I replied to his nickname for me, forgetting to tell him about including Cassie in our secret.

I went to sleep thinking of Jarred and woke up with the phone next to me blaring. Just the man I wanted to talk to according to the caller ID.

"Morning Jerry. I was hoping to talk to you this morning." I mumbled in a sleepy voice.
"Wow? He lets you call him Jerry? Yo Jarred man! You didn't tell us she calls you Jerry! Guess you don't hate it that much! She wanted to talk to you!"

"Give Jarred the phone MacAllistar." I grumbled.
"Hey Jeeeerry, she wants youuuu!" Thump, crash.
"Hi." Jarred came on the line sounding pissed.

"What the hell, Jarred? Why is that idiot ringing me on your phone first thing in the morning? I was actually hoping to talk to you before school and now he ruined my freaking day!"
"That's harsh baby!" I hear Mac yell in the background.

There was another thump and then some cursing, following that there were a few more thumps. They were fighting, great. Just as I was about to hang up the phone a sexy deep voice stopped me. "Isabel?"
"Euh? Yeah?"

"This is Derek."
"Oh, okay, cool. Good morning, Derek. Well I gottogo, bey!"

"Wait." He growled.
"What!?"

"Why did you need to speak to Jarred? I can give him a message for you."
"Nope it's fine. Bey." I hung up fast and jumped out of bed in to the shower. It was Friday and I didn't have swimming in the morning today. I went twice a week from six to seven, the days were random but I never went on Friday. By the time I made my way downstairs dressed in boot cut jeans that allowed free movement, a nice dark green tank and an open white shirt over it I was over my rude awakening. Dad was still home and had made steak, eggs and bacon. High protein breakfast of the best kind. Peter was already there digging in. By the time I had my boots on dad innocently had to ask.
"So when are you taking that beauty out of the shed again?"

"It's Friday, papa." I smiled in return. On Friday Jarred and I went to the state forest and ran our ten mile lap around the lake. Dad knew this. I drove myself there so that we weren't seen together. Everybody thought that he liked to run alone before he had competitions on Saturday but we had been doing this since I was fourteen and neither of us missed it, ever. We used to run with our dads, now we went alone.

After hassling Peter and giving dad a hug I jumped on my pushbike, put on my headphone, picked an upbeat playlist and set off for school.