Long Run

5

After a week, I had become accustomed to a schedule that mostly consisted of appointments, with a break in the middle where I would just doodle or write little poems, eating, and sleeping. I saw Jason minimally due to the ambushes, but he would stop by my room each night when he came back to just check in on me, and I appreciated the small gesture.

I had just finished dinner and was looking through my clothes for pajamas when there was a knock on my door. When I opened it, Jason stood there looking tired but still a small grin on his face. "Hey, you're back earlier than usual," I greeted as he pecked me on the lips.

"We've made some progress, for real this time. Are you already getting in pajamas?" he asked, pointing at my opened drawer.

"Yeah, I'm not doing anything else."

"You are now, dress into something more...comfortable...athletic if possible," he instructed. I raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask any questions and just obeyed. I grabbed some gym shorts and a plain t shirt, slipping them on before going back to Jason. "Let's go," he nodded his head and started to lead the way.

"What's going on?" I asked, although knowing Jason I wasn't expecting much of an answer.

"We'll be there soon, just wait," he said.

We finally walked into a room I had only seen once, but never intended on being in: the gym. I furrowed my eyebrows and slowly turned to Jason. "What are we doing here?" I questioned.

"I'm gonna teach you some self defense," he replied, walking over to some mats in a corner.

I gave a surprised expression, not expecting that. Especially since he seemed so hesitant when I asked him about it before. "Like...actual self defense?"

"You said you should be able to protect yourself, and I said I'd have my men teach you," he replied. "So who better to teach you than me?" A smile crept on my face, causing Jason to smile as well as he took a step closer. "But just because we're together doesn't mean I'll go easy on you," he warned.

"It wouldn't be right if you did," I agreed.

"Good," he said simply. Then, next thing I knew Jason had both my hands held behind my back and I was facing away from him. I tried to get out of his grip by pulling my hands, but he was too strong. "First lesson? Never let your guard down," he said into my ear, sending shivers down my spine, before releasing.

I brushed my hair behind my ear before facing him. "I didn't know we were starting," I defended myself, trying to make sure my voice wasn't shaking as I spoke.

"You never do," he shrugged, making me roll my eyes. "You might want to start doing some weights too," he suggested playfully, and even though we both laughed I knew he was right. I hadn't worked out a day in my life and I had no chance of truly defending myself if I didn't at least try.

After training, which lasted about an hour, I stood in the kitchen drinking water as Jason prepared us smoothies using miscellaneous fruit that was available. "I'd say that was pretty successful, for the first day at least," I commented, a bit proud of myself.

"Yeah, for the first day," he emphasized with a smirk as he grabbed bananas.

I chuckled, looking down. "It was nice to actually do something together," I hesitated to say.

Jason took a breath. "Yeah...but it won't always be like that. I have someone to train you 3 days a week because I'll be busy," he explained. I just nodded, understanding and having nothing to say. "I'm sorry I haven't been around. This wasn't what I pictured when I took you away from the hospital," he apologized as he dropped some strawberries in the blender.

"Well, what did you picture? I mean, this is your job," I actually wondered.

He shook his head. "This isn't how it normally is. I'm usually here to overlook things and communicate with sources, maybe going into the field if needed or for fun. But with these attacks on my men and my supplies...I have to be out there and fix this!"

"Who would do that anyway? A rival gang?" I guessed, feeling it was the most logical answer.

Jason poured some milk in the blender and gave a nod, "Yeah, this stuff happens. Probably just to get ahead of us, especially now that I'm back and out of jail, they know my gang is the best when it comes to...deals."

"Do you know which gang?"

Jason bit his lip and looked off to the side. "I'm working on it, " he finally replied, looking at me. I stared at him and tried to analyze his odd response, wondering how worried he was and how worried I should be. Jason noticed this and spoke up once more, "But until then, this is just how it has to be." He then ended the conversation there by turning the blender on and leaving me to wonder