Chapter 3: Even Trainers Have Hearts.
1002 Words
Tanner watched Talia head to the lake with a small chuckle and a smile on his face, guess all those times of making her mop the sand had really paid off. He couldn’t help but feel the swell of pride in watching her training session though. She had taken to doing the extra sessions on her own when he wasn’t around, and she thought he hadn’t noticed them. He had wanted to tell her not to overdo it but he knew that the fire in her wouldn’t let her quit, so instead he monitored. He knew she was getting faster, better, so in turn he upped their sessions together. If she was going to train on her own then he would make sure that she was getting better at it and not just used to the routine. He had to switch it up and just like he knew she would she met him at the challenge every time and never once did she disappoint. She never complained about the pain or the injuries that she would get during their sparing sessions; it was like she cataloged it all for later and then never made the same mistake again.
He had to admit that he enjoyed both the company and the training sessions with her. Her dedication was amazing, but he knew the source. Rage and injustice fueled her, consumed her every waking moment, and would continue to do so until she reached her target and completed her goal. It was an all consuming fire within her. It had become a thing of its own, breathing life into her every move and would not stop in its burning hunger until she satisfied its one desire for completion. He couldn’t blame her, or even expect otherwise, he had heard her story and seen what that monster had done to her. It was all sport to him and he was good at it, now his prey would become the hunter and finally take him down.
Yet, somehow the knowledge of what she would do to get there tugged at him. It wasn’t that he was worried it would change her, rather he thought that completing the task would heal her, it was the thought in the back of his mind that she would gladly meet her end to ensure his. That was the thought that had been keeping him up recently, like a specter haunting his dreams it kept him from reaching that hard sought nights rest.
He would find himself walking the house at night and checking on her from the windows. He would see her light on in her cabin and know that in a way the same dreadful ghost was keeping her up as well. Only, while his made him feel like someone had just walked over his grave, hers was her fuel for survival. He only hoped that when she laid that ghost to rest it didn’t take her with it.
He shook his head to clear it when he heard her feet on the porch, stopping to no doubt dry herself off before coming inside. He hid his smile so she wouldn’t see it, no point in allowing that can of worms to be opened just yet. Even though he had seen her taking glimpses of him when she thought he wasn’t watching, he wouldn’t tell her yet. It wasn’t time, and she definitely would not take it well if he did, she had a goal and nothing would stop her from reaching it just yet, not even him.
He couldn’t do that to her, he wouldn’t; making his feelings known would only complicate things. It would make her feel like he was throwing another option out there for her, trying to get her to choose him. He couldn’t, she would choose her mission no matter what, he wasn’t a fool, and he knew that telling her how he felt wouldn’t change her mind on what needed to be done. The most he could do for her right now was make sure she was ready, make sure that when it all went down she had a fighting chance of making it through the other side. Then, when she did, he would be there for her if she wanted him.
If she would have him he would tell her how his feelings for her were real. That he had gone from wanting her to be able to stop her monster, to wanting to hold her and protect her from all the evil she had seen. He wasn’t blind; he knew she didn’t need a protector. She had more than proved in all their sessions together that she could handle her own, she could more than defend herself and she could eliminate any threat that might come her way. It didn’t stop him from wanting those threats to have to go through him first, but he could fight alongside her, and help her heal.
He would tell her that no matter what came their way he would be there, not standing in front of her, standing beside her. Come hell or high water he would help her fight those battles. He would just simply love her. The scars and the past made her the woman he fell in love with, without even trying she had carved a place in his heart, and with deadly precision she became the thing that could end him. Without lifting a finger or even trying hard, all it would take was for her to not make it, and he would be done. Even before he realized it she was standing next to him and he had that damned smile plastered to his face like a dang loon. Damn.
- Writer
