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I smiled. “Promise?”
He held up his pinky, awaiting mine. “I promise.”
Chapter Nineteen
Endings Are Just New Beginnings
Walking through the gym doors, I felt anxious. I had not spoken to T.J. since the night before I left for California. I also had not fully finished my last week of training, and was hoping we could pick up where we had left off, despite his revealing confession. When I told him that I was coming in today, he replied with everyone’s favorite text: “K.” I didn’t know what kind of mood he would be in, but I still breathed a bit easier when I saw him waiting for me in the ring.
He gave me a slight smile when we made eye contact. As I got into the ring, his eyes tightened when he saw the scabs and bruises on the tops of my hands.
I stuck my hands into my pockets, thankful that my shorts were loose enough.
T.J. held out his hands. “Show me.”
Reluctantly, I removed my hands from my pockets, and held them out in front of me.
“I saw what happened on the news. When Shelly showed up at the gym, I thought… I thought the worst.” He stepped back to look at the cuts on my knees. “What happened?”
“I was asleep when the earthquake started. The shaking kept knocking me onto the floor, so I had to crawl over all the broken glass. That’s why my knees are cut up.”
“And your knuckles?”
I exhaled, not wanting to revisit the terrifying experience. “I couldn’t open the door to get out of my apartment. Something was blocking it from the other side. I had to break the door down so that I could get to Chase. He was crushed by a big piece of wood.” I laughed nervously. “I heard your voice in my head the entire time.”
One of his eyebrows arched. “What was I saying?”
“You told me to get up and keep fighting. Every time I would start to panic, every time I felt helpless, you came into my mind. I survived because of you.”
He shook his head. “You survived because of you.”
“You taught me how.”
We stood there in front of each other, unsure of what to say or do next. I wanted to hug him, but I didn’t know if it would be crossing the line. Before I knew how he truly felt, I wouldn’t have thought twice about it. I didn’t want things to be different between us, though I was not foolish enough to believe that they wouldn’t be.
“T.J.,” I started.
He held up his hand. “Please don’t. It will only make it worse if you say it out loud.”
“I won’t say anything ever again. I just need to say this. I need you to hear it.”
He pulled the brim of his hat lower, almost covering his eyes. “Fine.”
“You have become such an important part in my life in such a short amount of time. You were able to cut through all of my bullshit, and you helped teach me things about myself that nobody else could. I know I can’t be what you want me to be, and I’m so sorry for that, because you deserve to have everything you want… but I hope that we can still be friends. I hope that I don’t have to say goodbye to you. That would be a huge loss. Your friendship means the world to me.”
After thinking for a moment, he folded his arms across his chest. “What are your plans once you finish training?”
“I’ve thought about it, and I would like to continue coming here. I know I won’t be training every day with you, but I like it here. I think it’s good for me to be here.”
“So, you’re not going to back to California?”
“No. I’m here to stay.”
“Well,” he sighed, pausing dramatically. “I can’t have you warm up with punches if your hands are injured. I guess it’s time I showed you how to do that Ninja Turtle spinny thing.”
My eyes widened. “Really?”
“It’s only fitting on your last week of training.”
