Family Matters

Chapter Seventeen

"Hah!" I put my right fist forward as I changed my stance to match with the man in the movie. When he kicked, I kicked. When he punched, I punched.

"Um...Honey, what are you doing?" Kade asked as I threw another punch at my invisible enemy. I panted a bit as I tried to get my breathing straight.

"Training" I said simply before mimicking another kick.

"Training for what? The apocalypse?" Ares asked as he leaned on the couch with his forearms and just watched as I continued to practice, not really bothered that I was being watched.

"Well, Roman has someone coming over so in a little while you'll have to do this in your room" Kade said and I nodded.

Ares watched me for a little before speaking up.

"I'll practice with you" Ares said with a grin before coming around the couch and standing next to me. I glanced at him before moving a little so that I wouldn't accidentally hit him if I turned too suddenly.

We both mimicked the man's actions but I could see that Ares was struggling to match the stances correctly so I would help him adjust his body at some parts.

"Well, look at that. My little sis is the next karate kid" he said jokingly the first time I had helped him. I only gave him a small smile in return.

I didn't want to reveal my true intentions for why I was practicing. I wanted to be able to have confidence, and I thought that maybe if I were stronger mentally and physically, then I would have the confidence to approach my everyday challenges.

And also because I wanted to protect my family. My brothers were always coming to my aid when I was in trouble but who would come to theirs? I wanted to be that person for them, someone that they could rely on when they needed help.

When we were finished, we collapsed on to the couch, both sweaty and tired.

"Good work out young grasshopper" Ares said ruffling my hair. I frowned before reaching up and ruffling his hair, seeing how he liked it.

"Hey, hey. You don't get to do that..." He said with an embarrassed look and I smiled in triumph before leaving him and going up to shower.

After showering and putting on new pajamas, I tried to brush my hair but huffed when my arms began to hurt. It really is a pain to have to do this everyday. I looked at myself in the mirror as I brushed. Putting up two fingers to my hair in scissor style, I tried to imagine how I would look with shorter hair.

"Ceres, your hair is so beautiful...Mama loves it so much"

"But I don't like it..." I muttered, responding to the voice as if it were actually talking to me. I sighed before just trying to finish brushing it and putting it in a low pony before heading downstairs to get something to eat.

What I wasn't expecting was for Roman and his company to be downstairs.

"Oh, Ceres, there you are. This is Alain, my coworker" Roman said. I looked at the man who was standing next to Roman with a smile as he waved at me.

He was flashy. Sunglasses, gold watch, and cool clothing. He reminded me of the men Mama brought home and she would do bad things with them and they'd give her money.

I hated everytime it happened and I refused to let this man do it to Roman so I ran in front of him and spread my arms out in an attempt to shield Roman from him but with Roman being way taller than me it wasn't really working. So to help, I also put on my best glare, which I knew could be frightening because Diana had told me so.