Page 46 of Encounter

Did he really think I didn’t actually care about the answer? He’s too much.

I shook my head and waved my hand down. “Forget it and get goin’.”

I turned my attention to the warm-up, starting with a few slower, controlled jumps, and he quickly followed suit.

After about two hundred skips, I glanced at Galen, who somehow still managed to keep up with me. The way he barely lifted his legs and heaved—sweat running down his face to the point his glasses were slowly slipping down his nose—told me he was done. No more jumping, before he gets a heart attack.

I couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh. “This is supposed to be awarm-up,you know,” I said, stepping toward him with my hand outstretched. Looking mighty relieved, Galen handed me the rope and rested his hands against his knees, flinching slightly.

While his lungs caught up, I picked up the boxing gloves and went to the bags.

“Remember what I said last time?”

Nodding, Galen positioned himself in front of the heavy bag, meticulously readying his position. “Keep... keep focusing on speed and technique. Footwork. Don’t stare at the bag... Hands up.”

Seems like he remembers the advice I gave him pretty well.

Even if he was often somewhat out of rhythm and his arms were not as strong and controlled as we both would have liked, he wasn’tcompletelyhopeless.

I’d trained with men who threw their everything at the bag, thinking they could brute-force their way through the training and into perfection. He was the opposite, but not exactly in the worst of ways. He thought about his movements—albeit a bit too much, and definitely let his mind wander to other topics, which was not ideal. Even if his confidence wasn’t really there, it made him easier to work with than with someone who thought they could do everything right.

Finally, he punched, and then again, but it was like he ran on fumes.Probably shouldn’t have let him do so many jumps with me.

I could almost see those doubts and dark thoughts crawling their way out in his eyes, so I frowned and abruptly stepped in front of him. I held the bag from swaying and blocked Galen from reaching it. “You’re not serious, right?” I asked, burning my gaze into him, but Galen quickly stepped back with a heavy sigh and avoided it by hanging his head down. “Thought you seemed motivated. Willin’ to give it a try.”

“I—”

“What’d I tell you about fear?” I snapped, forcing him to meet my eyes again as my voice echoed through the room.

“I’m not scared!” He finally managed to muster some courage and keep his voice from shaking.

I snorted. “Fear, self-loathing, laziness. Doesn’t matter—’s all the damn same.”

He studied me with care, as if I was some animal he expected to strike. Exhaling, I closed my eyes in frustration. Turning around, I walked away from the bag and from him, trying to cool down while I ran my hand through my hair. His trembling breath behind me echoed in my ears.

I’m too rough on him. I haven’t got a clue what’s going on in his life, and this was supposed to be helping him. Maybe I’m just a bad teacher? Maybe I’m doing this all wrong.

“Take the gloves off,” I said, still back to him. There was no point torturing him with that and getting angry if he wasn’t in the right mindset for it. Only an idiot does the same thing, expecting a different result.

After a few seconds of silence—as he no doubt panicked internally—Galen blurted, “I can try again. I’ll... do better.”

He should want to get better for himself.

“I said take your damn gloves off and sit down,” I ordered firmly, finally turning back at him. “This way ain’t workin’ for you. I should’ve seen it. Pushing you like this isn’t doin’ you any good, so just stop.” I lowered my voice at the end, hoping to show him it wasn’t all his fault. He wasn’t ‘one of the guys’. He was… Galen.I can’t forget that.

To my surprise, he didn’t protest or argue—probably because he was too exhausted to. Dropping the gloves, he backed away until he hit the edge of the boxing ring. He flopped on it, hanging his hands down while he looked to the ground.

I sat next to him, and he didn’t hide his surprise when I did. Heat still radiated out of his body, and salty sweat ran down his nose as he hesitantly looked at me.

“You reallydothink way too much, ya know?” I said in a low voice. Swallowing, he locked his hands together and darted his eyes across the floor. “When you come to train, you’ve gotta leave all your problems at the door. That’s half the magic. Now... tell me what makes a smart, well-off kid like you worry this much?” I moved closer, leaning on my knee to be able to see his face.

Galen drew in a deep breath—like he had to pull himself together before facing me.

“I meant it. I ain’t mockin’ you, so stop listenin’ to that stupid voice in your head,” I said, smiling. “Is it about the kidnapping? Are you havin’ flashbacks? PTSD?”

“No... Not really, actually,” he said, shaking his head.Well, good. Unexpected, but good.“I still... get a little on edge when I see a weird car coming toward me, but I got over the whole thing pretty well. Nightmares, sometimes—almost gone now. It’s a miracle, really.” He awkwardly chuckled. “My brain probably decided to give me a break for once.”

“Then what is it?” I kept gently pressing with my questions—desperate for him to get it out, to finally unravel instead of existing next to me like some bundle of worries. His soft eyes studied my face, as if he couldn’t understand why I cared, and it almost frustrated me, knowing he was that hard on himself. “Why did you decide to come in today? What made you change your mind?”

---