Straight through the Heart

Chapter 17

"We need to do something. Anything." I state to Nicco, Lorenzo, and Rob with renewed vigor.

"And what exactly is that?" Niccolo asks merely out of curiosity. I think he's more surprised that I appear normal. After my talk with Luca, I went back to the gym. Surprisingly, my brother and cousins were patiently waiting for me. 

"Anything, really." I bite my lip as I think of a better answer because I am only receiving skeptical looks.

"We've been through this." I can't help but grow angry at the patronizing looks. Are they going to sit on their asses as more people die?

"You're not the only one suffering here." Robin snaps as his eyes light up dangerously. I must have vocalized my last thoughts on accident. 

"Well, you have a poor way of showing it." I retort without thinking. For a second, Robin looks hurt before gritting his teeth and turning away. I can imagine what he looks like: his eyes closed in frustration at me as he clenches his fist tightly. His skin grows a red tinge as his veins bulge in anger. 

"Hey. That was uncalled for." Niccolo speaks up in Robin's defense. I narrow my eyes at him.

"So you are telling me that you haven't thought of anything to do." I direct my bitterness at Niccolo. A part of me knows this is unfair to them when all they have been is understanding. I don't care.

"You don't think we have?" Lorenzo finally speaks up. His eyes widen incredulously with his raised voice, "You think we like seeing you two, our closest friends and family, like this? We may not have known Amber and Anthony for the longest time, but we still understand what you are going through. It makes it worse that we can't do anything to help you. This healing process is one that you have to go through yourself. We can only be on the sidelines to help you." 

He takes a deep breath before continuing, "We must put our duty as your bodyguards over anything else. We want you alive. That means we can't just recklessly go charging into unknown territories. So much time has passed by but we have yet to know anything concrete about them. We must be cautious. The four of us are in a real, dangerous world where every move must be calculated and planned." 

The anger deflates from me as I sigh after his statement.  "Why are you always right?" I mutter under my breath. I glance to Robin's back, which is noticeably less tense.

"One last thing." Niccolo's lips curl into a tiny smile. "That doesn't mean we don't actually have a plan."

"What is it?" I frown because they made me think they sat on their asses the whole time. 

"Let's workout first." Niccolo grins mercilessly. 

"Please go easy on me. I haven't worked out in a while."

"Which is why it's not going to be easy." Lorenzo quips happily. They are sadists. 

Rob chuckles at the banter.

"What are you laughing at? You need to train too. You haven't trained in a while either." Niccolo raises a brow at Rob, who shuts up immediately. 

After we all change into a workout attire, we start off with thirty minutes of intense cardio. The first two miles are casual jogs but start building up after ten minutes pass. I half-watch and half-gawk at the twins who manage to run a mile averaging four minutes and thirty seconds as they pace. I don't even know how fast they truly are. 

To think that Olympians are a minute faster. 

I also glance at Rob, who is struggling with me. We have not trained properly and thoroughly in a while. We try to practice and train together but it's been downhill ever since our training with our parents.