Haven

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

              I trudged over to Alec’s car with as much determination as a brick wall: I had none. I blew out a sigh and Alec pretended not to notice. It had been two weeks of training and all I had been doing is running, with the occasional stretching technique. I am bored out of my mind and had gained five pounds of muscle. I am proud of myself for gaining muscle, but I wanted to train, not run.

              You would think that in two weeks a lot would have happened, but not in Haven. That might be a good thing since Demons have been known to lurk around Haven. I look over at Alec who is focused on the road. He feels my gaze and meets mine. We share a smile and I feel the presence of butterflies and love curled up in a tight unfolding knot resting in my stomach.

              Since the whole “I love you,” thing in the woods things have been so much better between Alec and I. Things were never bad, really, but everything is clear now. I start to crack my knuckles and Alec picks up my hand and holds it in his. It’s a nice gesture that we finally feel comfortable to do whenever we want. This is nice, I think as I stare at the window. It’s a good day: the sun is out and shining brightly on the evergreens.

              “Okay, so today we’re working on something else.” He put the car in park and we filed out, still walking towards the backdoor. I didn’t mind the field. It is peaceful and quiet and is far away from Malachi, which is an added bonus. I is shocked by his words, is I finally going to learn something useful?

              “Something like what?” I asked intrigued. Alec took such long steps that in the beginning I is out of breath by just following him, now my lungs had adjusted and I felt perfectly fine.

              “You’re going to learn how to punch.” I smiled at the thought. Alec led me to our usual spot in the woods behind his house. I took my stance: feet spread out and my knees slightly bent, hands in front of my chest: guarding.

              “So how?” Adrenaline is pumping through my veins at an intense speed. I am ready to punch something so badly my hands shook. Is this aggressive behavior in the making?

              “Make a fist.” I did. He frowned and fixed my thumb so it isn’t inside my hand. “Never put your thumb there, you need to keep it outside or you’ll break your thumb.” I thought I fixed it but he frowned again. “No not there either, he put it there.” He moved my thumb to the front of my hand, towards where the other fingertips were. “Okay so you’re in your stance, but when you throw a punch you want your knuckles to do everything for you and roll your hips forward so that they’ll help you. Your hips pack a punch too.” I practiced what he told me: air punching. It didn’t seem that hard.

              “This is easy!” He laughed and crossed his arms over his chest like he isn’t intimidating the slightest. He probably isn’t. I glanced at my tiny pale fist. I am not even intimidating by it.

              “Try to hit me.” I gulped. I couldn’t hit Alec. I bit my tongue. There is no reason for me to hit him. I am training and I needed to picture him as a Demon trying to steal my light. I released the vice-like grip I had on my tongue and exhaled.

              “Okay.” He shook his head chuckling to himself.

              “You’re not supposed to tell me when you’re going to hit me. Just do it.” I took a deep breath in.