Nomad 101 (Completed)

Chapter 94

Happy Thanksgiving! Hopefully, you enjoy this! Don't be afraid to let me know what you think. I'm hoping when NaNoWriMo wraps up, I'll be able to update more often.

***

**| Sang's POV |**

I couldn't get rid of the stiffness in my body or the pain in my heart. I knew Raven would never intentionally hurt me but that word. One word with so much punch in it, it threatened to tear me apart.

Corey walked ahead of me as we went down to the living room.

Gabriel, Luke, Brandon, North, and Victor were in there, but not Raven. Corey didn't seem worried as he led us through the kitchen where Owen and Sean were cooking. Sean was cutting up something while Owen stirred something in a pot. The air smelled of garlic and vegetables, with extra spices tossed in there.

From there we went through a side door, leading us outside.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"There's a gym," Corey replied. We followed a small stone path lined with blossomed flowers up to a building only a few feet away from the main house. I could already hear the thudding sound of something hitting something else.

"Again!" someone barked and the familiarity in it told me Nathan was in there.

Another loud thud.

"Again!"

The double doors were propped open and Corey went inside. I paused at the entrance to look at the large, spacious room. Mats covered the majority of the floor with weights along one side, mirrors lining another wall, and cardio machines on another. One section of the mats had different styles of punching bags.

Raven and Nathan stood in the middle of the mats, wearing pads on their limbs. Nathan held a round pad in each hand as he held them up and Raven took swings at him.

Nathan's hand lashed out and hit the side of Raven's face. Raven shook it off.

"Again. You're too slow," Nathan said, eyes focused.

Raven's eyes met with Corey's before widening. He ignored Corey as he turned to me.

"Sang," he said, getting Nathan's attention.

"Hi, Tough Guy," I said, stepping further into the room despite wanting to turn around and run away. I could hear the echoes of the names he called earlier as they rang through my head. But this was Raven. Corey was right.

Raven was a silly Russian who liked to play with the English language, even when he didn't realize what he was doing. I couldn't fault him for a mistake. He didn't know. It still hurt but I couldn't hold it against him.

Corey went over and whispered something to Nathan. Nathan's eyes hardened as he glared at Raven.

"Sweetie," Nathan said.

"Hm?"

"Would you like to see Raven and I spar?" he asked. Raven glanced at Nathan, taking note of the stiffness in his stance. The Russian nodded as if understanding something. I didn't get it as I looked between the two of them. Corey smiled and came back over to me.

"It'll be fun," Corey said.

"And I deserve it," Raven said.

"Deserve what?" I asked, completely confused now. I wished these guys used their words more often.

"Nathan's a good fighter," Raven said. "He'll put me in my place."

"Place?" I frowned. "What's going on?"