Vice

Eight

Thea's breaths came in ragged bursts. Her lungs burned, her legs ached, and she could feel a blister forming on her left ankle.

But she didn't stop.

Sweat poured down her face and she tugged the sleeves of her sweatshirt over her elbows. The sound of sneakers slapping on pavement combined with the blood pumping through her ears deafened the sounds of the busy city.

She ran past parks filled with frost covered grass, untouched by the early morning sun.

Pushing herself harder she forced her feet foreward. Her muscles screaming as she sprinted the last mile.

She sped down the deserted street at full speed, trees were green blurs in her peripheral vision. Her muscles finally gave out and she collapsed in a heap on the front lawn of the house. Her chest moved rapidly as she forced air back into her lungs.

A few moments later the front door opened and two hands roughly pulled her to her feet.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Thea ripped out of James' forceful grasp. "I just went for a jog."

He took a ravenous step forward, "how am I supposed to protect you when I wake up and you're not even here?"

Thea narrowed her eyes, "I don't need twenty-four hour surveillance. I'm perfectly capable of defending myself."

James' eyes glanced down to her neck then back up at her face, "Sure you are."

She shoved past him and walked toward the front steps.

"Don't bother showering, we're training after breakfast."

Thea didn't look back as she entered the warm house, and walked straight to her room. She immediately tore off her sweatshirt and threw it across the room. She didn't understand why he was so angry. It's not like she put his life in danger. She wasn't used to people checking up on her. Or even noticing her absence.

She groaned in annoyance and balled her hands into fists. It shouldn't have pissed her off this much, he was just keeping his side of the deal. But the condescending look on his face caused a flame to burn inside her. She didn't want his protection. No, you just don't want to need his protection. She mentally shook herself for the unwanted thought and collapsed onto the bed.

Exhausted from the run she let her eyes drift shut.

She had laid there peacefully for barely ten minutes before a knock roused her from her rest. Groaning she pulled herself off the bed.

"What now?" she growled as she opened the door.

"B-breakfast is ready." Thea's gaze softened. Lottie quickly recovered and plastered a smile over her nervous expression. Thea nodded and followed the girl to the kitchen.

The delicious smell of bacon and fresh coffee wafted through the main floor of the house, making Thea's stomach growl in response. She took a seat and quickly began devouring the food off the plate when it was set in front of her.

"Woah, how far did you run this morning?" Trevor shot her a disgusted glance as she shoved yet another piece of bacon into her mouth.

"Fifteen miles." Thea shrugged.

Trevor's fork clattered against his plate, "You ran half a marathon? It's only seven in the morning!"

Thea looked up from her plate and caught James' penetrating stare.

"I needed to clear my head."

Trevor shook his head in disbelief.

They finished eating in silence.

****

A grunt escaped Thea's lips as she was thrown into the mat. She slowly pulled herself up, second guessing her run as her muscles wailed in agony. James watched her struggle with a smug smile.

"I thought you would put up more of a fight."

Thea didn't respond. Ignoring her burning muscles she attacked him from the side, sending a kick towards his left shoulder. He turned and knocked her foot away easily, and she quickly threw her left fist into his stomach. His stance faltered and she returned the smug smile as he grimaced in pain.

Leaping out of the way of his counterattack, she harnessed in on analyzing his fighting style. He stood with his right foot forward. She threw an experimental jab to his right side, he deflected it quickly and scoffed. She sent another towards his left. Again deflecting it but Thea saw the momentary lapse.

It was only a millisecond delay, but it was there.

Unlike Ryder, James didn't abuse his strength. Nor did he rely on speed like Lottie. His moves were careful and well thought out, making him a tougher opponent. Thea couldn't predict where his next hit was coming from, so she focused on finding a weak spot in his defense.

Spinning out of the way of a punch aimed at her jaw, she brought her knee up and kicked her heel into his left side. He attempted to block it but missed his chance by a fraction of a second. Although he didn't go down, Thea could tell the blow hurt. He recovered quickly and caught Thea offguard by sending a series of punches. As soon as she blocked one, another one followed.

Her head rocked backward and she caught a glimpse of the ceiling as his fist clipped her chin. Her left foot slid back and she braced the heel of her sneaker into the mat.

His attack was relentless, without waiting for her to recover he advanced on her and continued his assault. She blocked his onslaught, but he tirelessly threw fist after fist. She could only watch as his muscles rippled and popped as he threw his bulk at her.

It became harder and harder to ward off his blows as her body became drenched in bone-crushing fatigue. She fought through it, looking for an opening in his attack. His pace began to slow as his attack continued, Thea surged forward ducking under his right arm. She slammed her elbow underneath his chin and he tottered backwards.

She barreled into his chest and they fell to the mat in a mess of tangled limbs. Thea pulled herself on top of him and placed a knee on his chest.

Neither moved as they locked eyes, breathing heavily.

"That was the longest sparring fight I've ever seen." Trevor bounded over to them. He rested his arms against the ropes and peeked over at them. "You guys are a perfect match."