by P. A. Jones
"Why did you avoid me?" He cocked his brow. His jaw was firm, and his eyes focused on mine.
"Because you’re a jerk."
"You aren’t acting professional, Julie. You’re my trainer." He grabbed my hand, eyes full of possessiveness.
"I'm not yours, Noah." I pulled my arm out of his grasp. I didn't like the way he talked with me. He behaved like he fucking owned me.
"I meant you’re my exclusive trainer."
He scared me by the raw emotions I saw in his eyes. I didn’t say anything.
"Are you coming to spar, or do you need some more time?" he asked.
"I'll be down in a couple of minutes."
"Great." He left cockily.
***
He was in the ring when I came downstairs. Today, I could see he wore a locket. That locket was a unique one. I felt like I’d seen it somewhere before. In some movie, maybe.
"You can't wear that in here," I said, pointing it out.
"I don't care what you think about it. I will not remove it just because you say so."
"They won't let you wear anything like that in actual matches," I said.
"This isn’t a real match. I can’t hurt you with it." He pushed it inside his shirt and charged at me. I wasn't ready when he pulled back his hand and bumped his fist on my shoulder.
A sharp pain passed through my shoulder. For a moment, I felt like something broke. I pushed him away and walked to the other side of the ring. What the hell was he thinking when he charged like that? "What are you doing, Noah? You could’ve injured me.”
"Are you focused, Julie? If you don’t pay attention, you could die in an actual match,” he taunted.
"I’m not here to fight in one. I'm here to attend to your injuries and train you, not play a match with you " Now he was pushing my nerves.
"Come on." He invited me to attack him with his stance.
I stepped back. "I'm leaving, Noah. You don't deserve to work with me."
"Wrong! You’re backing out because you’re afraid of me. You don't have the guts to hit me. Rose is ten times better than you, and she has a great body too. At least she can distract me with her full grown boobs." He chuckled.
He’d challenged me. Now I would show him what a girl could do to an asshole like him. Pure anger flew through my veins.
I turned back and charged on him. He was ready, but I knew his moves. I didn't let him catch my flying fist, but instead, hit him with a swing kick.
"Now that's what I call force.” He laughed again. "But you lack the performance."
What the fuck. Who was he, to determine my performance? I ran at him again. I was going to hit him with the same technique, and then put him in a dead lock. But this time, he got the better of me. When I hit him with my kick, he caught it with his hands and pushed me backwards. I stumbled on one leg and fell back on the ground.
He quickly moved and pressed his knees onto both of my arms. "You don't deserve to be my trainer, Julie. And that's the truth."
I didn’t get this guy. Did he hate me for some reason? I wanted to push him away, but I couldn't do it. "Let me go, Noah. You’re hurting me.”
His eyes changed, and he got off of me. In a whisper, he said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hurt you. You aren’t her."
He walked out of the ring. I sat there, wondering what had gotten into him. I was sure that I didn't want to work with him anymore.. I ought to meet up with Gavin and tell him about Noah’s craziness. He hurt me today. Tomorrow, he could kill me. He was a psychopath. I needed to stay away.
But then he said he was sorry. Did he mean it?
No. Jerks like him never mean what they say. Yesterday, he left Rose alone. If he was a gentleman, he would’ve taken care of his lady.
I don't care if Gavin downgrades my pay. I just can't work with this man anymore. It was done. I was ready to fire him as my client. I didn't care what story he’d tell to Gavin. I just wanted him gone from my life.
"Julie? Are you all right?" Tony called.
I realized I was still lying down in the ring, looking at the ceiling. He jumped in the ring and gave me his hand to help me up.
"Thanks for that." I stood on shaky legs. My arms still hurt from Noah’s weight. I should ask Gavin to ban him from the club.
"So are we going to the place I told you about?" he asked.
"Yup. Whatever."
"If you don't want to go that's fine,” Tony said cautiously.
"No. We will definitely go. Just call me, and I’ll join you." I had no reason to be angry at him. He did nothing.
"Fine. See ya.” Tony walked out of there, but my mind still wondered about Noah and his behavior recently. He seemed to be little shaky around me.
***
We took a cab to Tony’s location, and it wasn’t what I thought it would be. We were standing in front of a large building, named Peter’s Orphanage. The building looked very old, but the big door it had was decorated in various colors.
"What are we doing here?” I asked.
"Let's go in, and you’ll get the answer." Tony smiled and walked in front of me.
"I thought there are no more orphanages in our state."
"It's a one off. You won't find another one in the state." Tony added.
I followed him, wondering what he wanted to show me. When we entered the orphanage, many small kids gathered around Tony.
"Hello, Tony!” they called in a chorus.
"Hello kids,” he said, grinning. “Are we ready for today's lesson?"
Lesson? I couldn't guess what he would teach to young kids.
"Let me get changed, then." He walked into a room, and five minutes later walked back in his gym clothes.
"What are you going to teach them?" I asked.
"Martial Arts. I was an orphan, so I had no one to teach me how to fight. I was forced into street fighting by goons,” he told me. “But I don't want these kids to suffer the same. So I'm teaching them self-defense in advance."
He smiled. He was such a great person. I wish Noah was like him.
"And why did you bring me here?"
"I'll be going on tour soon, so I want you to continue teaching these kids in my absence. This job fetches no money, but you’ll feel good after.”
"I know that. You don't have to give me reasons to do it." I felt good for the first time that day. Black shadows cast by Noah were disappearing by Tony’s good intentions. "I'll do it."
"Thanks a lot, Julie. I knew you would help me. Now, let me introduce you to the kids."
We walked inside the play room, where kids were already doing some stretching. Tony introduced me to the crowd, and then we enjoyed teaching them some techniques. I realized that kids have the power to cheer you up, even in your darkest moments.
Later, my cell rang. My mom's hospital had called me. I picked it up suspiciously. because they never called me without a reason.
"Hello. Julie here."
"Miss Julie, we are calling you for your overdue payment. You will need to pay us by this month’s end, or you have to take your mother somewhere else." She cut the phone as soon as she was done.
My heart sank. How could I forget that I’m obligated to pay for my mother's hospital care? How could I even think of asking Gavin to fire Noah? What if Gavin got angry, and he fires me instead? What would I do then?
No. I can't go to Gavin. I need to face Noah myself. I can't lose my job.
My fate bound me to Noah. I had no choice but to continue training him.
Chapter 14
Julie
After the phone call, I couldn't stay in the orphanage anymore. I had to visit the cancer care center as soon as possible. I said goodbye to the kids and took a cab to the hospital. Every moment that passed by, I cried harder. My mom was my everything. I couldn't see her in pain. I would do anything to keep her in the care center. She had raised me in difficult circumstances, and now, I was failing to take care of her. My dad passed away when I was very small. Mom did a lot to raise me, and pay for my studies. I owed
her my life, and I was failing her miserably.
The moment the cab stopped, I ran inside and bolted to her room. She looked worse than the last time I saw her, and that was just a week back.
"Julie. What are you doing here?" Her eyes widened, and she grabbed the corner of the bed, trying to sit.
I stopped her from doing that, because I could see how much energy she needed to do it, and it was a lot. "Please don't, Mom." I sat next to her, and held her hands. She was so thin. She looked nothing like the Mom I knew a couple of years back. Cancer had changed her completely.
Every time I saw her I cursed the disease. I remembered the day we found out. It was photographed in my memory.
A couple of years back, I got a call from the library she was working in. She’d fainted. Her coworkers had called 911, and they took her to the hospital. When I reached the hospital, doctor told me that my mother had a tumor in her brain, and it was too risky to operate. I fell on my knees and begged the doctor to do something, but he said there were few options. I took my mother to many other specialists, but no one advised surgery, and after three months of frustration, I ended up putting her here, in this cancer care facility. It was the best I could afford, but I didn't care for the money because I loved my mom more than anything in the world.
I wondered now if her illness drove me to propose Eddie earlier than I should have.
"I'm fine, Julie. I couldn’t be better. Yesterday a young man came to meet me and asked me if I needed anything. I said to him that I wanted to meet the Almighty.” She pointed her finger up.
"Why would you say such a thing, Mom? We will find a cure for you. Medical research has done a miraculous job in the past few years. It's just a matter of time. Someone will find the cure to cancer." A hole was forming inside of me. But I knew I couldn't cry in front of her, or else she would cry, too, and her health would take a toll.
"That man also said something like that. But my time is overdue, my little angel. I'm living only because you want me to. Otherwise, I would have happily died months ago." A lone teardrop came out of her eyes.
I wiped it with my hand and hugged her. "Don't worry, Mom. We will get through this together. I'm not letting you go anywhere. I'll work extra hard to make sure you get everything you want."
"And that's what I don't want to see, my little angel. You giving up your life for me."
"Mom, I want you to see your grandchildren and play with them. I won't let you go before that." It was getting hard to be strong. I wanted to enclose myself in a cube and cry until the world ended.
"Are you planning to marry Eddie?" Her eyes widened with hope.
"No. I'm not getting married. It’s too soon, Mom. It’ll have to wait." Bitter memories of my failed relationship passed through my mind. I wished I could’ve given better news to my mom.
"Where is that boy anyway? He hasn’t come to see me for a long time. Why?" she asked.
She didn't know about me and Eddie. And she didn't know about me moving to L.A. as well. I didn't want to shock her by telling her all my issues. I just wanted to see her happy, and nothing else.
"Mom, why don't we talk about the man you met yesterday? Was he a doctor? Was he hot?" I winked at her.
"He was definitely hot. Hotter than Eddie, I would say. But he wasn't a doctor. He didn't ask me anything about medicines or any symptoms. He sat here, looked out of the window, talked to me for a bit, and then walked out. He seemed like a nice guy. If you didn’t have a boyfriend, I would have happily introduced you to him." She smiled, but I could see some pain there, too.
"Wow. If he’s that hot, I might think about dumping Eddie." I giggled.
She laughed too, but then she coughed. The cancer was eating the organs in her body, and it was taking a toll on everything.
"I’m gonna go, Mom. I'm here for a couple of days, so I’ll see you tomorrow." I just wanted to get out of there and cry my eyes out.
"Take care sweetheart, and come early tomorrow. You might just see that guy."
I left. As soon I was away from my Mom's room, I started weeping.
"Hey, are you all right?" A hand touched my shoulder. I turned around, and saw it was a nurse.
"I'm fine. Just walked out of my Mom's room."
"I know it must be hard for you. But we are doing the best we can, and trust me, your mother is in good hands." She smiled at me.
I was about to say something back to her, but then I saw Noah walking out of another room.
"What is he doing here?" I couldn't believe my eyes.
"Are you talking about Noah Rich?" the nurse asked.
"Yes."
"He bought this care center last week. He’s visiting and asking about the welfare of every patient. I've never seen an owner do that before. He’s quite generous." She seemed highly impressed.
"Did he visit my Mom’s room yesterday? Mrs. McCord's room?"
"Yes, he did."
"Thanks for telling me,” I said, a little phased. Noah surprised me. Was he planning something weird? Or was he genuinely interested in welfare of these people? I figured I ought to find out, and ask my mother what he talked to her about.
Chapter 15
Noah
"Good evening, sir.” My butler opened the car door for me. I stepped outside and threw the key to him. Before he got in, he stopped for a second, "Sir, I forgot to mention we have a guest."
"A guest? Why did you let him in?" This irked me. No one was supposed to know my home address and enter my house without my permission. No one invaded my privacy.
"She came with Mr. Rich," he answered politely.
"Uncle Sam brought a woman in the house?" That was something...unexpected. I had better check it out myself.
"Yes sir," he replied.
"Okay, fine. Just don't inform him I'm already here." I walked quickly towards the house. My curiosity was peaked already.
When I entered, I heard two familiar voices. One was Uncle Sam, and the other was Julie’s.
Am I hallucinating? She can't be here. Yet to my surprise, Julie was sitting on the couch, talking with Uncle Sam.
"Julie, you..."
"Noah! What are you doing here?" Her eyes grazed me up and down.
"It's my home. I should ask that same question to you."
"You two seem to know each other very well." Uncle Sam stared at us.
"I work at the club where Noah is a client," Julie replied, her eyes still focused on me.
"Didn't I tell you about the fight club, Uncle Sam?" I fixed my eyes on him. I was afraid that he would talk about Tonya by mistake. And Julie was the last person I would want to know about Tonya.
"I should probably go, Uncle Sam. Thanks for the tea." Julie smiled and stood up. Seeing her ready to leave broke a cord in my heart. What the fuck was happening to me? Why I was getting all hyped up about her? She was just a normal girl. But whenever I saw her, something happened inside me. I was a bee, and she was the sweetest flower in all the world. And it wasn't just her smile, I liked the way she dealt with me. Girl's don't fool around me for respect, they want my money or my body. But this girl, wanted respect and she fought for it.
"No no, I invited you to dinner. You should stay. Don't worry, Noah won’t mention this to your employer. Would you, Noah?" Uncle Sam was burning a hole in my body with his eyes now. He seemed to like her.
"Of course not, Julie. It's none of my business what you do outside of your working hours,” I stammered.
"Are you sure, Noah? I hope this isn’t too awkward for you," she replied.
"It’s fine. Yes, you should stay for dinner. I shall take leave from you."
"If you aren’t staying for dinner in your own home I would feel embarrassed," Julie added.
I looked at her. I wondered if she really meant that, after how I behaved with her. But her eyes sparkled with innocence. There was nothing dark within them.
"Okay, I'll join you for dinner,” I relented. “How do you know each other? Sam never talked about you before."
"It's a funny story, actually. And we met not only once, but twice in the last few days. Both the times this girl saved me from falling on my ass." Uncle Sam chuckled.
"Falling where?" After the incident with Tonya, I didn't visit Uncle Sam regularly, but he was my superhero from childhood and I couldn't loath him for his decision to support Tonya’s choice to leave. He was the only family I had left.
"I nearly crashed into a bush a few days back, when I was shopping, and she caught me mid-fall. When I visited the Peter's Orphanage today, one small kid smacked into me accidentally. I was about to take a tumble. But thanks to Julie, I’m okay.”
Uncle Sam smiled at her. I knew he regularly visited orphanages for charity purposes. But what was Julie doing there?
"I know, it sounds stupid. But she literally held me in her arms when I fell down," Uncle Sam replied in a shameful voice.
We all laughed and headed straight for the dining room. During dinner, we were smiling and laughing. I felt good because it was like having dinner with a real family. Julie added a nice touch to the dinner. When the dinner was over, she picked up the dishes.
"Leave them there. We have waiters for that,” Sam told her.
"You’re a sweet old man, but that doesn't mean I should accept every order from you," Julie teased.
"Uncle Sam, why don't you stay here tonight? It would be a nice change," I said, hoping for a yes.
He looked surprised at my offer. "Why not? I should get my medicines from my car.”
"Please, go ahead. And thanks for inviting me to dinner. I really enjoyed it," Julie added her smile beaming through her words.
"You are welcome anytime, child. I shall invite you again to my other house, as I have your number now." Sam smiled and went to go get his medication.
"Thanks a lot, Julie." I extended my hand to her.
She rolled her eyes at my hand for a moment, before accepting it. “My pleasure.”
"I'm sorry for my rude behavior." I was finally realizing that I was wrong about her from the start. I guess she was all right. But then she looked like Tonya, and how could she be normal after looking like Tonya. But somewhere deep inside my mind I knew she wasn't Tonya.
