Hey guys! Hope life is going well for you all and I hope you're enjoying the story so far :) Thanks for my reviewers and generally everyone who has read it, I love you all. That's it really I hope you like this chapter and sure why not stick an aule review if you're so inclined. Thanks guys! Love you!

-Sailor

When I got to the gym, the place was totally empty as usual. I threw my stuff in my usual corner and went to the bathroom to fix my hair. I noticed my face was healing nicely, the bruising was still there but the cuts weren't as sore and the scabbing had stopped any infection. But I still looked awful I can't sugar coat that. I walked back out, sat down and started taping my hands. The door opened and I immediately looked up expecting…except it wasn't Tommy. An old man hobbled in his knees clearly not what they used to be.

"Excuse me, have you seen my son? Big guy…tattoos"

I could only imagine who he was describing…

"Is his name Tommy by any chance?"

"Yea that's him you know him?"

"Only know him to see" I lied fixing the tape tight around my hands. It seems that lately nothing in my life can happen without Tommy or someone related to Tommy being involved.

"He's supposed to be here getting warmed up…we're going to the yard" he said glancing at his watch. "He's training for Sparta you know…" this aule fella was just gonna keep on talking no matter how much I didn't listen. "Yea asked for the ole man's help and sure why not, gets me out of the house. He talks about all these new training techniques but I tell him there aint nothing wrong with the old ways. Picking up a tractor wheel and pushing it forward, keep the ole shoulders in good nick" he just kept going. "Very proud of him I am. Used to wrestle as a kid you know…"

Then the door to the dressing room nearly swung off its hinges and Tommy bounded out. He walked past me, ignoring me and grabbed his bag, pulling out his water bottle. He walked over to the fountain and began filling it up while his father continued to praise him.

"Very proud of my boy, really glad he's back home I gotta say" wow this guy clearly wasn't aware of how much of a douchebag his son really is. "Do you fight yourself?" he said clearly wondering what was going on with my face.

"I fought a few times, but nothing major. I really just do the training"

"Yea you know those fights where women claw at each other in their bras drowning in spunk from the old guys around the ring. Not proper fighting pop" mumbled Tommy screwing the cap back on his bottle. I noticed he had a few cuts and lumps gone out of his hands, stupid fuck probably thinking he doesn't need gloves to fight anymore because he's 'o so tough'.

I shot him a glare but I thought better of it than to call him a prick in front of his elderly father.

"Tommy that's not a very nice thing to say" he said fixing his cap.

"Fuck off Tommy will ya" I muttered.

"Don't worry I'm going c'mon pop" he ordered as he walked out the door.

"Right so Tommy, it was nice chatting with you…"

"Erika"

"Erika. Have a good day kid" he smiled.

It was nice to have the gym to myself I gotta say. It was nice to just do my work out without worrying about arguing with Tommy…was kinda quiet though. I figured I'd go out for something to eat after my workout just to do something different. I walked the few minutes up the road from the gym to the café and sat in a booth. I noticed the waitress and I knew she recognised me by the way she was looking at me. She used to go to school with me.

"Erika!" she exclaimed.

"Hey Sarah how's things?"

"Ah shit, stuck in this dead end job" she mumbled realising her boss was only feet from her.

"Did I not hear you got accepted into college?"

"Yea dropped out…wasn't for me so I packed it in and came home and now I'm here. What are you up to?"

"Ah nothing much, I moved out a while ago but it didn't work out so now I'm back home. Been at the gym a lot"

"Yea you've really bulked up; do you do boxing or something?"

"Yea mixture of that and a couple of other things, I'm thinking of entering some competitions you know test the waters or something"

"Yea totally! You're built for it…actually now you mention that, some guy dropped a load of flyers in here earlier…" she said looking through the pocket in her apron. "It said something about female fight night…" she said pulling it out. "Sure might as well check it out…"

A loud cough came from the suit behind her and she looked back around rolling her eyes. "Suppose I should get back to work…you want to order something?"

"Yea sure, can I have a diet coke and the BLT?"

"Sure no problem" she smiled "It was nice catching up, we should go for a drink some evening"

I nodded and smiled while she went to fetch my drink. It was a shock to the system seeing her working in a shitty café. She was the bright star of the class. Good at everything, took higher levels subjects when they didn't even offer them at my school. I believe I heard a few teachers refer to her as 'gifted' and now she was stuck in a dead end job going nowhere. She brought me my dinner and wandered off to clean some tables. At graduation she was the one all the teachers told us was going to go far while the rest of us were stuck here forever. I glanced at the leaflet she put on my table. It read "Female fight night! Watch the sexist women in the world of boxing and martial arts battle it out for the grand prize, 500 dollars! Parking lot of Spearmint Rhino, Friday night 11.30" I mulled over it while eating my dinner…looking around and watching Sarah after her fall from grace really made me think about my own life. I think it's definitely time to get serious…

"Well look who it is" I suddenly heard from behind me. Before I got a chance to turn around my sister slid into the seat in front of me.

"What do you want?"

"Well I was just meeting Damian here, grab some food before we head out" he said with a sickly smile on her face.

"What are your plans for the evening?" I asked more so out of habit than actually out of care.

"Just heading back, watch a movie etc."

I raised my eyebrows pretending to still be listening. I knew what etc. meant, stick up with the same needle and pass out in the living room.

I chewed on a bite of my sandwich along with the crisps that were haphazardly thrown on the side of the plate. I glanced at the scar on her eyebrow, I still felt good I burst her eye, not going to lie but she was smiling like a fucking tool and it was really irritating me.

"What the fuck are you grinning at?"

"Someone had a visitor today"

I ignored her. I wasn't going to play into her hands, begging her to tell me who it was, she was such a child. I cleared my throat and continued eating.

"Don't you want to know who it was?"

"Not really, no"

After about a minute I knew it was killing her that I didn't care.

"He was a beaut" she grinned. I immediately knew who she was talking about.

"I don't care; don't forget though you do have a "boyfriend" if you could call him that"

"Seriously I would dump him for this guy"

"True love is officially alive and well"

"His body is just…" she made a noise I can't describe although I would imagine its some noise she makes during sex.

"That's right" I sighed chewing on a piece of lettuce "It's all about the physical…"

"Shame it wasn't me he was interested in talking to…" she said in a really sarcastic tone.

"Jamie"

"Yea?"

"I still don't care"

"Well he seemed to care a lot. He waited there for a good hour after ma insisted of course. He can really talk you know. In fact I got the impression he had something serious he needed to say to you…" she said clearly fishing for answers. Although the man she described certainly doesn't sound like the Tommy I know.

"Jamie no offence but you're a drunk and a junkie. The day I start taking your impression of a conversation on board is the day I officially lose all faith in humanity"

This seemed to just roll off her back because her only response was a slight shrug and robbing some crisps off my plate.

"So I have a question…where does someone like you, because let's be honest here just ew" she says referring to my whole demeanour and attitude I'm presuming "meet an absolute beaut like him"

"Jamie…"

"And actually are two going to be like dating now? Coz that's majorly weird…"

"Jamie…" I sneered again.

"And you just know Peter is going to have something to say about you two banging each other"

"Jamie!" I roared banging the table. "This has got nothing to do with you and if you go mouthing off to people saying what you just said you're gonna find yourself in serious shit I'm not messing" I sneered, something inside me fearing slightly that Peter might hear and seek us out.

"Fine…Jesus sis it's always nice chatting to you" she said getting up. "Fuckin bitch…" I heard her mummer under her breath as she walked away.

Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, he seemed to just be a reoccurring character in my life which just pissed me off more to be honest. He was at my house again today, what does he want now? I grabbed the flyer, threw the money on the table, said bye to Sarah and headed for home. I got to the end of my driveway and fished through my bag for my keys when I heard a car door creak open across the street. Someone got out and called over, it was Tommy. I rolled my eyes and I could feel a growl come from deep within my chest.

"You're fucking waiting outside my house watching from your car like some sort of fuckin serial killer? The fuck's the matter with you?" I said walking over to his beat up car.

"I wanted to talk to you and I wasn't sure what time you'd be home"

"What is it?"

"Sit in the car"

I crossed my arms not moving.

"Sit in the fuckin car" he ordered.

I pulled open the door and sat in my anger already starting to boil over. I threw my bag onto the floor and waited for him to speak.

He looked even bigger in the small car also helped by the fact he appeared to wearing two jumpers and a jacket.

"My pop told me he chewing the ears off you this morning…"

"Tommy seriously…"

"Seriously will you just shut up for two seconds and let me speak!" he yelled. Clearly speaking to me is such a herculean task he feels the need to fill it with small talk before actually saying anything of value.

I closed my mouth and told myself that I was going to let him speak. Even though when I tried to talk to him the first day I met him he ignored me and threw many an insult at me…but I was holding that for a later argument.

"Has your boy been back?"

"No" I snapped.

"Have you spoken to him?"

"No"

"That's because he'll find it hard to talk with no teeth"

"What? What did you do?"

He gazed out the windscreen that was starting to get foggy from the inside.

"He needed to be taught a lesson" he croaked.

"I can't believe I'm hearing this. You smashed his face in?"

"Pretty much yea" just like that, like it was nothing "he won't be bothering you again"

"And why did you take it upon yourself to do this? That wasn't your decision to make!"

I could tell by his face he wasn't telling me everything.

"What?"

"He was going to kill you, d'ya know that?"

I crinkled my nose in disgust.

"I overheard him talking in a bar about you that night. He was going to wait for you to come out the gym one evening and get you while you were walking home, smash your head in with a pipe or somethin'. He didn't know I could hear him or who I was; I had my hood up so I waited outside for him…"

"So instead of telling me you decided to take matters into your own hands"

"Yes because…because you wouldn't have been able to handle it I know about these things!" his voice suddenly cracked and he punched the steering wheel in anger.

"How would you know?"

"I couldn't stop it before…" he said his eyes becoming glazed over "when I was a kid…and after he tuned you up with the bat…since I could stop it this time I decided I would…" suddenly all this raw emotion I had never seen before was coming to the surface. "I get it you're tough…but it's not just about being physically tough…my ma was tough…and yet we had to drive across the country to…to get away…you have to be mentally strong as well…and you say you could handle it and yet he just kept coming back…"

I was getting slightly confused but I decided not to ask questions and while his whole story was hitting me hard in the chest I had to retain a tough exterior…that's just the way I was. The air was getting heavy in the car and the emotions were certainly running high. This was a side to Tommy I had never seen before

"So to make you feel better you tuned him up, well thanks a bunch Tommy you've effectively handed me a death sentence. Tell me what happens when he's all healed and out for revenge and you've fucked off to Atlantic City for Sparta in a few weeks never to return? We all can't just fuck off at the drop of a hat you know! Who's he gonna be coming looking for when you're not around huh? Who's he gonna beat to a bloody pulp or possibly kill? Can you answer me that?"

Tears formed in his eyes but only one or two fell showing his raw interior, the interior he kept hidden from everyone, every day. His breathing jolted and got caught in his chest as he tried to control it.

"No I didn't think you could" I said my own voice cracking involuntarily out of fear. I slammed the car door and walked into my house and didn't leave my bedroom for two days.