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Even Aksel staying quiet and not making a harsh comment is a step in the right direction.
Twenty Nine
Anna
Blaze has been more absent than usual. I haven’t had a moment alone with him that wasn’t dominated by something else.
So when I find him in the gym running on the treadmill, I take the opportunity and join him.
“Hey,” I say.
He doesn’t break stride. “Are you coming to work out?”
“Yes.”
I wrap my hands, move over to the punching bag and start a light warm-up.
I don’t put headphones in like I normally would.
Blaze shuts the treadmill off and comes over to hold the bag for me.
“I wasn’t trying to interrupt you,” I say.
He just grunts in response and keeps standing there.
I take advantage of his help and start my routine. He even corrects some of my moves or helps make them more powerful.
He’s a good teacher even if he’s mostly silent aside from his corrections.
“You have skill. We should train more to bring you to the next level,” he says with a slight smirk.
I punch the bag directly in the center before executing a spin move.
“I would love that. Maybe we can set up a time each day or every other day to do that.”
Blaze grunts with a nod.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you something. Why did you pay my rent?”
His eyes narrow. “What are you talking about?”
“My landlord spilled the beans so your secret is out. Why would you do that?”
He leans back in his chair and looks away from me. His body is tense.
“I know how important a home is. A place for yourself that you can always go back to. When you had to quit the bar, I wanted to make sure you didn’t lose that.”
I’m quiet as I absorb his words.
“Do you have that?”
He still hasn’t looked at me. “Yes, even though we are on missions all the time and I never get to spend time there, I know it’s waiting for me. That’s enough for me.”
I want to ask him more and find out every detail of his life but his phone beeps shattering the moment. He looks down at it and tenses up even more.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
My eyes are glued to his reaction. What about this text has him so stressed?
