Page 98 of With Wine Comes War

“I don’t think so. She’s never said she’s gotten hurt. She always comes back with a bruise or two, though.”

She chuckled. “I think you may be overreacting then.”

Ugh. I never used to overreact. This girl makes me nuts.

I groaned, “You may be right. I guess I should just go in there, sit down and shut up.”

“Exactly. Love you, honey, talk to you later.”

Looks like my mom just told me to man up.

Alex was in the ring talking to Bruce. Felix waved to me across the room, and I waved back. I wonder if he’s ever had to spar with her. Doesn’t matter. I know Bruce won’t hurt her and he’s in there with her.

Wait, what’s this? Why is Bruce getting out of the ring? Why is some guy twice her size now in there with her? He doesn’t look friendly and I’m getting a bad vibe.

Bruce sat down next to me and said, “Hey Roman. I didn’t think we’d see you here again.”

I kept staring at Alex. “Mhmm. Me either.”

I think Bruce laughed. I couldn’t really hear him.

“I told her that classes on Tuesday are canceled, so today is the last training before the hearing.”

That snapped me out of it.

I looked over and said, “Oh shit, it’s almost here, isn’t it?” He shook his head and yelled over his shoulder, “What are you waiting for?Get to it.”

Right as I looked up, Alex’s opponent had her on the ground. I jumped off the bench. Bruce stopped me with one hand on my shoulder.

“Roman, this is what I’ve been training her for. I told Raphael to get her all worked up and go after her. I promise he won’t hurt her, but I want to see where she’s at. Raphael is about the same size as Mr. Ellington, and he’s not afraid to get hit. She came in here the other day and said she might be too tired to fight because she didn’t get enough sleep. She’s talked to me about what’s happened and how self-defense classes were too easy. She’s scared something like that could happen again and she wants to be prepared. She’s afraid of that guy. He’s not going to stop and ask if she’s ready, you know? I’m trying to take that fear away, so just stay calm and watch.”

Now I was going to throw up. I put my head down for a minute and Bruce patted me on the back. I took a few deep breaths and then looked up. What I saw blew my mind. That guy was big, and he was coming at her, and she had an answer for everything. She looked pissed though. She took him down over and over, blocking everything he threw at her.

About fifteen minutes in, Bruce stood up and said, “That’s good. Let’s get some water.” The guy patted her on the head, and she hit his hand away, still not smiling. I stayed right where I was, not saying one word. Bruce went to talk to her, and she listened, then she shook her head. She was bouncing a bit on her toes, biting her lip like she did when she was anxious. He made her sit down and drink some water. I could feel the intensity easing up from that and one of the female fighters came over and sat with me after Bruce motioned her over.

“Hi, I’m Jules.” I looked at her knowing she was just there for me.

“Are you my next distraction?”

She snorted and said, “Yep.”

“It’s nice to meet you Jules, I’m Roman.”

“Yeah, we all know who you are.”

Great. The pitiful boyfriend.

“That bad, am I?”

She put her hand on my shoulder. “I’ve been doing this for years, Roman, and let me tell you. She’s a natural. You shouldn’t worry about her so much.”

“Jules, I don’t know if that helped. Telling me my girlfriend is a natural fighter makes me worry that she may have some serious anger issues.”

She had a surprised expression and laughed. “Alex? She’s the least angry person in this place. If you knew some of the stories in here it would make you cringe and have nightmares.” I think I already do, but I’m not interested in another cringeworthy story, maybe forever.

“You’re not planning to tell me any of them, are you?”

She shook her head hanging it low trying not to laugh at me. “Nope, I just wanted you to know that she’s not alone and we’re all a big family here. Think of it like siblings fighting.”

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