Connor looked around in curiosity as he reached over and held the door to the gym open for Ellie.
A large counter with a couple registers and papers was in the entryway. He glanced at all the t-shirts, bags, and wrappings hanging on the wall. Claudia was sitting in one of the waiting chars nearby, looking at her phone.
"Welcome to the Mixed Martial Arts Center of Saragota Springs. How can I help you?"
Connor looked to see a young woman walking toward them from the back part of the gym. "Get Ezio," Claudia said before anyone could respond.
The young woman rolled her eyes with a smile and walked back toward the gym. Connor looked toward the back to see many rows of punching bags hanging from various beams in the ceiling. A boxing ring was to the right of the punching bags and jump ropes and dumbbells were sitting to the left.
Connor spotted Ezio with a student at one of the punching bags. Ellie let out a little squeal when she spotted them.
The little girl hit the punching bag in front of her as hard as she could, letting out a squeaky grunt as her fist connected with it.
"Now kick!" Ezio ordered, adjusting his grip on the bag.
The little girl's ginger pigtails fell over her shoulders as she swung her leg around. She regained her footing and clapped her hands happily. Ezio clapped with her.
"Well done!" he cheered, giving her a high five.
Ellie and Claudia squealed over the scene, babbling about how cute it was.
Connor shared an eye roll with Desmond. Desmond's eyes suddenly widened and he leaned closer. "Dude, that's the secret."
The woman that originally talked to them was talking to Ezio and gesturing to Claudia now.
Connor crossed his arms, sighing. "Secret to what?"
"Secret to girls."
"What?" Connor knew there were many things he didn't know about girls, but he didn't know about any secrets.
"It's perfect! Bring a kid into the picture and they're blubbering messes."
Connor wiped a hand down his face. "You're beyond help."
"What?"
Ezio started to walk toward them with his little student in toe. "Hey, sorry we couldn't meet you at the café. I had a last minute lesson," he said with a smile, crossing his arms.
The little girl crossed her arms too, looking up at Ezio. Ellie stepped back to Connor's side, beaming down at the little girl. Claudia stood next to Ezio. "And I was stupid and decided to ride with him."
Ellie held out the Tupperware dish to Ezio. "You're forgiven."
Ezio's eyes widened. "Are those-"
"Yes."
Ezio plucked the Tupperware dish from her hands and quickly ripped off the lid. His face fell when he looked inside. "Pink? Seriously?"
Ellie threw her hands up. "The store was out of vanilla frosting, sue me," she laughed.
Ezio shrugged and stuffed one in his mouth.
Connor didn't know how Ezio made eating a pink cookie manly, but he did somehow. Ezio plucked another one out of the dish and handed one to his student. The little girl hummed and walked away, nibbling on the cookie.
Claudia helped herself to a cookie as well. "Ellie, you're the next Betty Crocker," she said before taking a bite.
Ellie shrugged, looking smug.
Ezio nodded in agreement and stuffed another one in his mouth.
Claudia rolled her eyes and smacked his arm. "Take bites, you idiot!"
Ellie looked up at Connor. "You both are hogs," she said with a pout.
Connor plucked a cookie out too and stuffed it in his mouth. Desmond did the same. "Hogs unite," Desmond said around his cookie.
Ellie rolled her eyes and smacked Desmond's arm playfully. "You're all jerks!"
Desmond looked at Connor and pointed at her. "Aren't you going to control her?"
Connor arched a brow. "That's not on the list of my boyfriend duties."
Ellie crossed her arms with a smirk.
Ezio barked out a laugh, setting the Tupperware dish on the counter. "And he shouldn't. The moment you try to control girls, you lose. Not to mention, its old school," he said, walking back toward the locker rooms.
"Old school?! Aren't couples supposed to keep each other in check?"
Ezio paused and turned to look at him. "That shouldn't even be in the equation," he laughed, finally walking away.
Ellie acted like she was holding a notepad, winking at Connor really quick. "Dating advice from Ezio. Rule number 64: No control," she said, acting like she was writing stuff down.
Connor leaned over and acted like he was looking at the fake notepad. "You missed one."
Ellie looked up at him. "And what's that?"
Connor looked up, nodding. "Desmond needs to listen to Ezio."
Desmond frowned at them before letting a little grin get through. "Maybe I should. He dated Christina, after all."
Claudia scoffed a little. "And they broke up. So maybe you guys shouldn't."
Ellie shook her head. "That doesn't mean he doesn't know what he's talking about."
Another woman walked in the door and looked around. Connor glanced at her while everyone discussed the validity of Ezio's advice.
Half of her dark red hair was pulled back and her green eyes glanced around the room.
"Sissy!"
Ezio's student basically sprinted in, wrapping her arms around the woman's legs. The woman looked around the gym again, trying to pry the girl off her legs. "Hello to you too," she laughed.
"Sofia!"
Everyone looked toward the owner of the voice. It was a tall man with a bandana tied around his forehead, keeping his dark hair back.
Connor let out an 'oof' when Ellie tugged him down to her level. "That's Yusuf. I think Claudia has a crush on him. Don't say anything stupid."
Connor leaned closer, bringing his lips closer to her ear. "What are you talking about?"
Ellie gestured to Claudia.
Claudia was glaring daggers at the new man, who was now talking to the woman, Sofia.
Connor was confused. Why would Claudia be glaring at a guy she had a crush on? He decided to just ignore it and not care. Girls made no sense to him anyway.
"I'm sorry I couldn't train her today. I had a doctor's appointment last second. Luckily though, Ezio was here; and I would trust him with any of my students," Yusuf was saying, gesturing toward the back.
The woman gave him a smile, holding the little girl's hand. "I'm glad that we didn't have to cancel. Isabelle loves coming here."
Yusuf looked around, scratching under his headband. He glanced at Claudia. "Where's your brother?" he asked.
Claudia jerked a thumb toward the locker rooms. "Making himself pretty."
Yusuf let out a laugh. "Of course he is."
The only sound now was Yusuf chatting with Sofia about the little girl, Isabella's, lesson.
Ezio finally walked back out, pushing some bangs back from his face as he held the strap of his gym bag over his shoulder. He tapped Claudia on the shoulder. "Ready when you are, sis."
Connor held the door open again for Ellie and everybody.
"Hello."
Connor frowned. Ezio sounded completely different now. His voice seemed deeper and more...somthing. He glanced over his shoulder to see Ezio smiling at Sofia.
Sofia just gave him a polite nod and paid attention to Yusuf again. Connor almost laughed at the frown on Ezio's face.
Looks like Ezio wasn't used to girls ignoring him.
Lucy looked around the room she was in, squirming in the chair. She tried to not tremble as she heard doors opening and closing in the hallway.
She tightly clasped her hands in her lap, biting her lip.
She didn't know if she could do what they were asking of her. Then again, they would just kill her if she didn't. Not to mention they knew where her family was.
She jumped when the door slammed open, revealing her boss.
"Hello, Miss Stillman," he said smoothly, sitting across from her.
Lucy gulped and managed to mumble out a greeting as well.
"Now, Miss Stillman, you're taking much longer than expected in the assignment we gave you," he continued. His voice reminded her of an elementary school teacher talking to a child.
She trembled again. "I know," she meekly managed to croak out.
"Now, you know that you got to the wrong person, correct? We need the papers and disk that Mr. Kenway stole from us many years ago, and you haven't even gotten near the man's house. Why are you spending time with Mr. Miles?"
Her boss leaned forward, suddenly looking menacing. His hand whipped across the table quickly, grabbing her arm. She whimpered a little as his grip tightened. "It's not because you actually give a shit about him, is it?"
Lucy's heart felt like a bird trying to break free from a cage. Her stomach rolled and she could feel a drop of sweat start making its way down her temple. "No sir. I just thought that getting close to Connor's best friend would turn into an invitation to their house eventually," she managed to blurt out, hoping he would buy it.
She honestly wished that she could hide under the table and forget that he was making her do this in the first place. She really liked Desmond. Not to mention, she made a lot of new friends that made her forget about everything that happened to her.
Her boss leaned back, scratching at his beard. He finally let go of her arm. "I see. And when will you think that will happen?"
Lucy bit her lip. She had to think of something, and fast. "Well…I was hoping soon. I-If I could spend more time with them and get closer to Ellie…"
Lucy felt her stomach sink even more and she could feel her blood turning to ice in her veins. Her heart clenched when she thought about what her friends would think of her if they found out she was doing this.
"I see. You have till the end of May, Miss Stillman, or there will be dire consequences."
Lucy gulped. "Why the end of May, sir?"
Her boss shrugged. "That is when I'm off from my other occupation. It will be the perfect time to make Kenway pay for what he did in Jerusalem all those years ago."
Lucy looked down at the table, wondering what Connor's dad could have possibly done to earn the wrath of her boss.
She decided that she didn't want to know.
The sooner she did this, the sooner her family could be safe.
And, if she took her time, the FBI could find out what was going on and end this once and for all.
Hopefully.
Connor sighed as he sat down in his second class of the day, American Government. Desmond took his seat beside him.
"I wonder what the old fart is going to talk about today," Desmond mused, getting his book out.
Connor shrugged, looking down at the worksheet packet that was due that day. The class was given many voting ballots that were up for debate and the point of the worksheets was to judge if the vote could be counted or not. Connor wondered how America functioned after he finished the worksheet the night before.
He still couldn't believe that a person actually wrote 'Lizard People' as another party on one of them. Ellie thought it was hilarious.
The bell rang and Mr. Washington walked to the front of the classroom. "Alright everyone, pass up the worksheets I asked you to do this weekend."
Connor handed his sheet to the person in front of him and waited patiently for Mr. Washington to begin teaching. He honestly liked how Mr. Washington taught. It was easy to follow and he made it a little interesting.
Today's lesson was about how the law and government changed during the Civil Rights movement.
The bell rang and Connor lightly shoved Desmond to wake him up. Desmond jolted awake. "Wuz goin' on?" he asked groggily, looking around.
"Class is over," Connor answered, standing up. He hooked his backpack over his shoulder and started to make his way toward the door.
"Nice game Friday, boys."
Connor turned to Mr. Washington. "Thanks."
Mr. Washington sat on the edge of his desk, messing with the collar of his sweater vest. "I remembered when I played baseball. Those were good days."
Desmond halted in his tracks. "YOU played baseball once?"
Mr. Washington smiled. "I may be an old fart, Mr. Miles, but I did many things when I was young."
Desmond cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck.
Connor knew that calling teachers names would catch up with his friend one day.
"I'll let you boys go. You're probably ready for your next class."
Connor inwardly shuddered. College English was next.
"Say hello to your father for me, Connor," Mr. Washington said, moving to fix some papers.
Connor's eyes widened in surprise. "You know my dad?" he asked, wondering where in the world Mr. Washington and his father could have met.
Mr. Washington grinned. "Yes. We went to Harvard together. We lived in the same hall in the dorms. I only went for a couple years though."
And just when Connor thought his father couldn't have any more surprises up his sleeve.
Connor and Desmond finally left the classroom.
"Dude, introduce me to someone your dad doesn't know," Desmond laughed, hitching his bag higher.
Connor shook his head. "That'll be hard to do."
They parted ways and Connor went about the rest of his day as he normally did.
Practice was good that day. Coach Putnam was in a good mood about their win the week before and excited for the upcoming game in a couple days.
Connor went to his car after practice, carelessly tossing his bag in the back and leaping in. It was his turn to drive that day and he still had to pick Ellie up from practice. He drove as quickly as he could to the track and let out a breath of relief when he saw the hurdlers still running.
He rested his head back on his seat and closed his eyes, enjoying the breeze running through the open windows of the Mustang. He slowed his breathing down and just basked in the moment.
For the first time in a while, he felt at peace.
He opened his eyes just as Ellie walked up to the car. "See ya tomorrow, Lucy!"
Lucy waved goodbye as she walked toward her own car. Connor waved back, leaning over and opening the door for Ellie.
Ellie let out a big sigh as she sat down. "What a day. Coach must be nervous about the meet tomorrow."
Connor turned the key into the ignition. "Why do you say that?"
"She didn't make us run as much, but she screamed at us the whole time we did our sprints."
Connor winced as he pulled out of the parking spot. "Ouch."
"Yeah. How was your practice?"
"Surprisingly easy."
"Huh. Putnam must have still been in a good mood from Friday," Ellie said with a laugh, sticking her arm out the open window.
"Yeah, he was."
They drove in a comfortable silence for most of the drive. Ellie reached over and held his hand as he drove. Connor wondered how she could stand touching all the dirt that covered his hand, her being a tidy person and all.
"Connor?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think something's-well, I don't know," she looked up as she searched for the right word. "..Off? About Lucy?"
Connor frowned a little. She seemed a little jumpy, and he knew her step-dad was controlling, but other than that he didn't see anything wrong with her.
"No. Do you think there is?"
Ellie sighed, scratching her cheek. "Well…yeah. She seems scared when we talk about certain things and she never talks about anything outside of school or among our group of friends. I'm just wondering if something is wrong at home for her. Her step-dad sounds like a big jerk from what she's told me and Claudia."
Connor's frown deepened. "What did she say?"
Ellie bit her lip. "She said he was really scary once, and she's always asking to stay at our houses. She wore a sweater all day today, even during practice."
Connor's grip on the steering wheel tightened. If Lucy's step-dad was what Ellie was hinting at…
"Or it could just be me being paranoid," Ellie sighed, sinking down in her seat.
Connor shook his head. "You can never be too paranoid about that."
Ellie shrugged. "I guess you're right."
The cul-de-sac finally showed up and Connor pulled into his driveway. He was a little surprised to see Jenny's Suzuki parked behind his father's car.
"See you tomorrow," Ellie said, leaning over and giving him a peck on the cheek before turning away again.
Connor quickly grabbed her arm and turned her back around to kiss her on the lips. He remembered when she told him that he could surprise her more…and he really just wanted to kiss her.
He pulled away and Ellie bit her lip. "Is this you surprising me again?" she asked, cocking her head a little with a sly grin.
Connor felt his cheeks heat up and he looked away, clearing his throat.
She saw right through him.
"Perhaps," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.
Ellie snickered and leaned forward, pressing her lips against his again.
Connor closed his eyes and moved his hand up and down her arm as he deepened the kiss.
God, he loved this feeling.
And he wished it could never end.
Ellie finally pulled away. "You know your dad can walk out and embarrass us again, right?" she giggled.
Connor frowned at the thought. His father had an uncanny sense of knowing just when and where to be to ruin Connor and Ellie's moments.
"You're right," Connor sighed, finally getting out.
Ellie hurried over to his side and gave him another peck before hurrying over to her house. She stopped as she reached her porch. "You can come over and work on homework later, if you want!"
"Okay," Connor replied, waving his hand, "I'll text ya."
Ellie smiled at him before disappearing into her house.
Connor grinned and grabbed his backpack out of his car, quickly walking toward the door. The sooner he got showered meant the sooner he could hang out with Ellie.
He closed the door quietly, trying to move as quickly as he could. He paused when he heard the sharp tone of Jenny's voice from the living room.
"You still have those pieces of shit?! No wonder they attacked us!"
Connor peeked into the living room, seeing his father and Jenny both standing. Jenny had her hands on her hips and her lip was quivering.
"Haytham…why, why, WHY did you keep those?"
Haytham sighed and looked at bundle of papers he was holding. "Because I thought I could use them against him someday. They turned out to be useless to the FBI."
Connor squinted and saw that the papers looked like profiles.
"Haytham, they had secret codes all over the place that only THEY know. Who knows what that arse hole hid in there!"
"Jenny, I'm planning on burning them as soon as the boss is caught and-"
"Oh that's brilliant! And what makes you think they're going to play nice until then?!"
"Jenny I-"
"I came over here to tell you to get rid of them before I do it for you. If you won't do it for me, do it for your son!"
Connor stiffened. What were those papers?
Haytham sighed and tossed the papers into his open briefcase. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're right, Jen. I'll get rid of them," he said quietly, sounding weary and worn down.
Jenny sighed, her face softened a little. "I'm sorry, Haytham."
Haytham looked up at her again. "For what?"
Jenny shrugged. "You saved my life in Jerusalem and I repay you with bitching."
Haytham shook his head and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "You're here to bitch at me. That's all that matters."
Jenny let out a quiet laugh and rubbed her nose. Tears were forming in her eyes.
Connor walked as quietly as he could back to the foyer and opened and closed the door again, making sure it was loud enough.
He wondered what exactly happened with Jenny was he walked into the living room. He tried to not look at the briefcase as he answered his father and Jenny's questions about his day.
"Dad, you didn't tell me you knew one of my teachers from Harvard," he said, plopping down on the couch.
Haytham's eyes narrowed. "Ah. Mr. George Washington, no?"
Connor shrugged. "Yeah, he said you guys lived in the same hall once."
Haytham grumbled. "Yes, I remember. The bastard was the most disorganized out of all of us. He and his friends used to make the hall smell horrible all the bloody time. Berks."
Connor almost laughed. Washington's room was probably the neatest in the school.
Jenny finally sighed and moved to walk out. She waved without looking over her shoulder. "I'm getting out of here before he starts being too big of a bitch."
Haytham frowned at her. "You're one to talk!"
The door shut and Haytham looked up at the ceiling. "Well, I'm going to let you go, since I know you probably have something else to do like homework or snogging with Miss Johnston."
Connor spluttered and almost fell off the couch. "We don't snog!"
Haytham rolled his eyes, picking up his briefcase. "And I'm the bloody toothfairy!" he retorted with a snort, walking toward the stairs.
Connor groaned and buried his face in the couch cushion as the sound of his father's footsteps finally disappeared.
Looks like all those times his father walked in at the wrong time was going to come back and haunt him.