by Karen Ruth
I darted my eyes over to him as I saw a smile etching his face. In response to this Cath said nothing. Her eyes just looked towards the floor pretending to be distracted by something.
Gradually, I remembered that my mother was still here and was asleep in the other room. Anxiety began to go through me again as I came to this realization. I really wasn’t ready to face her, especially after all those hurtful things she said about me. By the look on her face, it was clear that she really believed them. Unlike Cath, she didn’t just say it in the heat of the moment. I turned my face away from everyone pretending that I heard something. My eyes began to water as the thoughts flooded my brain. I felt Lucas squeeze my hand in comfort. I wasn’t fooling him.
“Hey, who wants to go do some training?” Lucas asked us.
Catherine jumped in excitement screaming “I do!” Causing me to jump from not expecting it.
“Are you sure Catherine? There isn’t any rush. I mean you are still getting comfortable in your own body.”
“Nina! Quit being such a mother. Let the babe fight.” Reed said while rolling his eyes and crossing his arms.
“Alright fine,” I said to Cath. “But if anything gets too hard on you, you better stop. I don’t want you getting hurt.” Cath just rolled her eyes and headed towards the door.
“Don’t forget I’m the big sister. I’m supposed to be worried about you. Not the other way around.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Oh well, too bad,” I responded and I let go of Lucas’s hand as I headed towards the door after my sister.
Apparently, my feet had other plans because as soon as I started walking I tripped over my own foot. Lucas’s hands reached out and grabbed me around the waist stabilizing me.
Catherine laughed and said, “And I’m the one who shouldn’t fight.”
My cheeks flushed red as I didn’t say a word. Reed’s laugher echoed inside of my head. I flashed him the dirtiest look I could muster and went out the door.
Once I entered the hall I realized I had no idea where I was supposed to go. I looked both ways and decided to just wait for the others. I went towards the wall and leaned my back up against it. The door opened once more and the rest of the group pooled out.
“No idea where you were supposed to go Nina huh?” Reed winked at me.
I stuck out my tongue towards him and then looked at Lucas. Cath came up beside me and stood next to me.
Lucas said “this way,” as I pulled myself off of the wall. I followed him without making a sound.
Eventually, we made it to a door that had some weird chains on it. I gave Lucas a puzzling look. My eyebrows were furrowed in wonder and why there could possibly be chains on this door. Immediately he answered me, obviously picking up that I was confused.
“It’s to keep the children out. It’s a little dangerous for them to be messing around in.”
I shot a worried look over towards Cath. She met me back with a vicious face.
“Seriously Nina. Stop. I’m fine.” She pushed past me and into the room.
I was so focused on Catherine that I didn’t even see him unlock the door. My heart stung by the accusation. I only cared about her health. I couldn’t stand it if she got hurt. Reed went over to me and squeezed my shoulder as he passed, reassuring me.
I heard him whisper as he passed, “Be easy on her.”
I tried to mask the pain that it caused me but I didn’t do so well. I smiled up at Lucas and he bent down and whispered in my ear.
“It’ll be ok dear sweet Nina. Don’t take what she said to heart.”
He opened the door for me and I walked past. I heard the door close and felt Lucas’s presence behind me. Awe struck me as soon as I entered the room. Obstacle courses of all sizes filled the room. Some even had dangerous-looking wrecking balls along with spikes.
I felt Lucas’s arms wrap around my waist as he said into my ear, “go to the locker room and change. There will be clothes ready for you. It is your first door on the right. That is where Cath and Reed are located. I’m going to go get a few things from the closet.”
I shook my head at him speechless. I was so focused on the room that I didn’t even notice that Reed and Cath weren’t right in front of me. I shook my head and walked towards the direction Lucas told me to go.
As I reached the locker room I heard a noise from within it. I could hear my sister's laugh echoing from the doorway. As I approached I peeked into the lighted room. The walls kind of looked like bathroom floor tile. It wasn’t the prettiest of rooms I have seen since I have been here, but there really wasn’t any reason for it to be. The only reason it was used was to change into clothing suitable for workouts. I spotted my sister who was laughing at something I could only guess what Reed said being that they were the only two in the room. As I went into the locker room, they both looked over in my direction.
“Yo, what’s up!” Reed called out to me.
“Oh hey, Nina,” Cath said to me.
She focused her gaze back on Reed. I just waved at them and continued to a pile of clothes that were laid out on the wooden bench. I could only guess that this is what Lucas was talking about. From the look that Cath gave me I could tell that she wasn’t too interested in me. Maybe she thought that I was trying to steal Reed away from her? But why would she think like that? I only liked Reed as a friend, nothing more. To be honest, I really hoped Catherine didn’t like Reed more than friends. Just from his personality and only knowing him for a short while, I could tell that he could be a player. I don’t think that he would try to hurt us, but you never know. Plus with Cath, I don’t think Reed really likes her that way. Unfortunately, I’m beginning to feel as though Cath is developing feelings for Reed. From the way that she looks at him and only focuses on him when others are in the room. I really hoped that I was wrong. I couldn’t stand seeing her get hurt over something like this. It would just add to the many problems that are happening right now.
Catherine stopped laughing and muttered, “I’ll see you soon Nina, I’m going to head over to the courses.”
She started walking in my direction, her feet in new shiny tennis shoes. My eyes got wide as I suddenly thought about how advanced those courses really were. As she walked past me I grabbed her arm. She gave me a confused expression causing wrinkles to form on her pretty face.
“What?” She questioned me.
“Cath are you sure your ready…”
“STOP!” She yelled cutting me off mid-sentence.
I jumped in surprise by how stiff her voice sounded. My eyes widened in shock.
“I can take care of myself! She yelled in frustration.”
She roughly pulled her arm away from me and went out the door. Not before she purposely ran her shoulder into me causing me to flinch. I was hurt by what she said to me. This wasn’t the sister I knew, the one person who was the sweetest above them all. Never would she raise her voice to me like she has been doing. Never would she try to cause me harm. I looked over towards Reed who gave me a sympathetic expression and shrugged his shoulders. I shook my head to clear it. She must just be acting this way because of everything that has been happening. I personally don’t blame her. It was a huge change and it wasn’t easy on anybody.
Reed walked past me and uttered, “I’ll meet you out there.” Pointing his head in the direction of the door. “Take all the time you need. Don’t rush.”
And with that, he walked out the door leaving me alone in the empty room.
I began to change into the clothes that were stacked ever so neatly on the bench for me. Apparently, someone didn’t think that I needed a shirt. All that was left for me was a lime-green sports bra and black spandex for shorts. Someone didn’t believe in appropriate clothing for exercise or else they assumed it was appropriate because it would keep me cool.
“Oh well,” I thought to myself as I got dressed. “At least I won’t have to worry about overheating."
Once I got dressed I immediately exited the locker room and went ba
ck to where I saw my sister and Reed standing. Quickly, my sister looked over towards me, her face full of disgust as she shook her head.
“Jesus Nina. Put some clothes on. You look like a tramp.”
And with that, she looked away from me not paying any more attention. My jaw dropped.
“What?!” I questioned her.
No response came from her tight, straight-lined mouth. I drug my feet closer to her and stood in front of her line of vision.
“What did you say?” I pushed her further.
“I called you a tramp now get out of my way.” She simply replied causing me to drop my jaw once more.
“What makes you think that you could call me that?” I questioned her again, becoming very agitated.
“Because you apparently don’t believe in clothing, now get out of my way.”
Being that Cath was taller than me I had to look up while she looked down in order to look into each other’s eyes.
“Wow,” was all I could say as my eyes sparkled the way they do when I start to change. “Say it again, I dare you.” I threatened my blue eyes sparkling as I squinted with my arms crossed over my chest.
She rolled her eyes and copied the movements that I just did.
“YOU…. ARE….A…..TRAMP.” She said emphasizing every word in the sentence her eyes sparkling as well.
I dug my nails into my palms and began to shake. It took all of my self-control to not change into my wolf. My blood began to boil as red, hot, anger filled me. Reed jumped in the middle of both of us just then. His hands extending in the air in a stop position.
“Seriously Catherine. You shouldn’t call your sister that. Maybe you should go to the other side of the room while I try to calm Nina down. She is too dangerous for you right now.” He said directly speaking to her.
“Wow your siding with her?” She gave a bewildered expression.
Reed didn’t say a word.
“Wow, fine!” She huffed and stomped her feet away from where we were standing.
I closed my eyes to try to calm myself.
“Nina?” Reed asked in a gentle voice trying not to provoke me further.
I didn’t respond to what he was saying.
“You’re not a tramp, actually you are far from it. Are you alright?” He asked in a worried tone.
“Yes, I’m fine.” I was still shaking from the adrenaline.
“Do you need me to go get Lucas to help calm you down?”
“No thank you, Reed, I’ll be alright. Actually, I think it will be better if we don’t even tell him about it.”
“Are you sure?” He asked.
“Yes, I’m positive.”
“Alright then, let’s head over to where they are standing," Reed said as he motioned towards the others.
As I looked over towards the other side of the room. I noticed that Cath and Lucas were standing side by side. They appeared to be in a conversation with one another. It struck my curiosity about what they could possibly be talking about. There was no way they would be saying anything bad against me. That’s not something Lucas would do. I used to think that was what Cath would never do as well, but recently that is all she has been doing. I shook my head trying to clear the thought. Everything would be back to normal sooner or later. I just hoped it was sooner rather than later because I had no idea how much more of this I could take.
“Are we ready to start?” Lucas asked me as I approached him.
I let out a small laugh about what he was dressed in. He wore a referee outfit equipped with a whistle.
“What?” He asked me taken off guard.
“Nice outfit.” I giggled again looking him up and down.
“Oh, you bet.” He said as he winked at me. “Be careful or I’m going to make you do more than you are prepared for,” Lucas said to me.
“Ahh, I’m so scared.” I mocked putting my hands in the air in pretend surrender.
Reed leaned over towards me and said, “I would be careful. He really will do it, and trust me, doing extra is not fun.”
I thought about this for a moment. Lucas could be demanding when it came to physical exercise.
“Hmm, I suppose you are right.”
“Alright, Reed you’re up. You can start at the first obstacle over there.” His long finger pointed to the right. “The rest of you can wait until after he is finished. Make sure to watch what he is doing.”
It was the first obstacle in the room and it looked like the easiest. The further left you went, the harder it looked. Reed simply shrugged his broad shoulders without saying a word. He stood on the box that was the start of the obstacle course. Luckily, this obstacle course had no wrecking balls or spikes. By the looks of it, this one only had black long cylinder barrels that you were supposed to jump over.
“All right go!” Lucas yelled to Reed causing my thinking to become interrupted.
Reed took off on a fast sprint. Barrels came from the shoot one after another. They didn’t look like they were coming too fast, they must gain faster speed the further you progress. When the barrel would be directly right in front of him, Reed would jump over them like they were nothing. Finally, he made it to the end. He stopped and looked over to us smiling. He wasn’t even out of breath nor did he look any bit exhausted or flustered.
“Very well,” Lucas said while looking at his golden stopwatch. “You could have been a little faster though.”
“Oh come on, we all know that none of us are as fast as you. Cut me some slack.” Reed said rolling his eyes and walking back over to us.
“I’m not going to cut you any slack,” Lucas said in a stern voice. “Speed can get you out of many dangerous situations and who knows, it could even possibly save your life.” He said to Reed, his golden eyes staring directly at him.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Reed said rolling his eyes and shaking his head in annoyance. “I’ll go faster next time.”
“You better,” Lucas said sternly before looking away from him.
I placed my hand next to my mouth and whispered not very quietly over to Reed. “What did I get myself into?” I asked him.
“I told you he could be a hard butt.”
“Apparently,” I replied and gave out a small giggle.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Lucas roll his eyes and look over to Catherine.
“Catherine you’re up.” He said to her.
“Alright!” She squealed jumping up into the air and clapping her hands in excitement.
“Just do what Reed did and you will do great,” Lucas told her and giving her a pat on the back.
“Alright sounds good, just tell me when.” She said to him as she patted her feet over to the starting box.
As she reached the box she focused her attention back on Lucas. She had one foot in front of her and she was in a crouched position anxious to start.
“GO!” Lucas yelled and my sister pushed off with all her might and began to run as fast as she could.
She stretched one foot after another to make it to the finish line. The barrels began to get ever so close to her. She leaped into the air and jumped past the first with ease landing silently back on her feet. She attempted to do the same to the second barrel. Unfortunately, she must have caught her feet to the rolling barrel, since she stumbled and fell on her knees. Instinctively I moved a foot forward in her direction. Lucas put an arm out in front of me as I watched her get back up to her feet. The rest of the barrels she dodged with ease. I tried to look over to Lucas to see how long she had been running for. It seemed like much longer than what it took Reed. Since Lucas is so much taller than I am, I couldn’t check the time. Finally, my sister reached the finish line and slumped over putting her small white hands on her knees. She looked as if she was out of energy due to the fact that she was panting.
“How… did….I……do?” She questioned taking a deep breath in between words to fill her lungs back up with air.
“You need to work on your speed and coordination.” He said to her. “I wa
nt you to do it again after Nina goes before you move unto the next obstacle. I don’t want to see you get hurt by advancing before you’re ready.”
“Alright,” Catherine said in a depressed voice.
She dipped her head in a sign of defeat. I kind of felt a little bad for her, but I wasn’t going to say anything. I was still pretty upset with her about what she called me earlier.
“Ok Nina, you’re up,” Lucas said to me not looking at me at all, only his stopwatch.
I went up to the platform and looked over at my sister in curiosity. To my surprise, she was giving me the dirtiest look I have ever seen from her. It looked quite menacing. I shook my head to clear my thought. When I looked back over towards her she was smiling at me. It must have been the figment of my imagination.
“Go!” Yelled Lucas as I took off running to my fullest potential.
I pushed my legs forward one foot at a time. The barrels kept coming as I jumped over each one with ease. As I made it to the finish line, I still had all of my energy. This obstacle course was extremely easy, but I didn’t want to get too cocky. Looking to my left I reminded myself that the rest were going to become harder and harder as we went.
“Very nice!” Lucas said as I jogged over to him.
Reed rolled his eyes and said, “show off.”
I stuck my tongue out at him. Lucas laid his hand out for a high five and I accepted it. A smacking sound echoed throughout the room.
“Are you ready to go again, Catherine?” Lucas asked her. “
Yes.” She simply said and got into position.
Just as last time when Lucas told her to go she tripped and fell. When she reached the finish line she looked extremely depressed.
“You will have to keep trying this one until you pass it,” Lucas said to her.
She looked extremely gloomy so I said to her to try to cheer her up “it’s ok Catherine, you will get it next time.”
She rapidly turned her head to face me her eyes burning. “Shut up Nina. I don’t need your help.”
I looked over towards Lucas and said nothing.
“It takes time Catherine. None of us expect you to get it right away. You’re still not comfortable within your own body, it’s ok.” He said to her trying to soothe her unhappiness.