"I woke up in the morning, feeling quite excited. I was about to go to Port Angeles and I'm going to be back on track within two weeks. It was just five in the morning and I knew for a fact that the gym opened only at 6. 30 and I can't run longer than two miles as it'd affect my speed. As I brushed my teeth and washed the sleep away from my face, I heard Charlie getting up and around the house. I knew he was waiting to go inside the bathroom, so I hurried up and quickly rushed out, yelling, "Good morning, Dad," which got the usual, "Morning, kiddo!". I ran to my room due to excessive energy and excitement and took out my black Nike backpack and packed a set of athletic wear and a set of clothes, my Ipod, my phone charger and set it on my bed. I then read the e-mail my coach sent me with the details of the upcoming race. I was really excited because I knew that it wasn't really a difficult one, seeing everyone would be practicing for the USATF championship. In all honesty, I should be too. But I didn't want my first race after six months to be the USATF championship. I sent another e-mail to my coach, asking for a letter to the Principal of my school, Mr. Green, to grant permission for me to practice extra hours in the gym and field. I then checked the clock to see it was 5:45 already. I ran down the stairs to see that Charlie was just heading out and he bade my goodbye. I reached for a glass of milk and an apple. I thought about what I was to do today. I decided that I'd head to the gym and comeback at eight, with an hour to spare to reach the Forks Transit. I drank the milk slowly and just lost myself in my train of thoughts. I shook myself out of my thoughts and stood up and ran up the stairs and changed from my pjs into a pair of shorts and a black top and put my black and white sweatshirt on. It was so large it came down to my knees. I put on a pair of sweats to keep warm and got into my car. I winced as it made a sound that could wake up the whole street. I ignored the noise and reached the gym and got out of my sweats and after warming up, I reached the weights section and started my workout with a smile.
Sometimes, you feel like you need a break. But if you take the break, you'll regret it for life. When you're working out, its nit easy. But it's definitely worth it. After a few very difficult reps, I went to the boxing side and grinned happily. It had been a few weeks since I had practiced one of my favorite hobbies. I did a few punches to start with when the guy there scoffed at me, probably judging me.
"What? You got something to say?" I raised an eyebrow at him and asked.
"You don't want the answer to the question, darling," he smirked at me. "Wouldn't want that pretty face to be blue, do we?"
"Is that a challenge, Mister?" I asked him, more than a little annoyed.
"And if it is?"
"It wouldn't be very sportsmanly of me to back away from a challenge, would it?
We both sized each other up and I pretended to cower in fear to make him angry or distract him or whatever. Well obviously, he had more power, so I should stay away from his punches. We agreed that the first to get their back down the floor loses. I know it wasn't the typical, but hey, this is Isabella Swan we're talking about. I asked him if it was just boxing or a fight and he raised his eyebrows at me and smirked at me as if this was the question he was about to ask.
"If you can deal it, sweetie, then let's fight." I did not like the tone he used or his confidence, but I just smirked back. Did I ever tell you that I trained for kick boxing? I was good at it and I could take him out any day. Or so I thought.
It was a good fight, but he underestimated me and that was his fall. I was able to land a kick to his face that he was not expecting and then I reached out for his leg and pulled my leg from beneath. Due to his already lost balance, he fell and I won.
"It was a good fight," I smiled at him and held out my hand for him to stand up. He shook his head and took my hand. "I really felt that punch, I said and grimaced as I put my hand on my abdomen. I lifted my top to see if there was a bruise already and sure enough, there was one starting to show. I shook my head and let the shirt flow down. I saw him looking at him and for the first time, I saw him. He had blue eyes and black hair and he was pretty young. Probably in his early twenties. The kick I landed on his face was also starting to show.
"I don't always punch pretty girls, you know," he smiled at me. He held out his hand and smiled at me saying," Jimmy Parker, pleasure. Or not." He said, pointing to the bruise and winked at me. I laughed and took his hand and introduced myself.
"Aha! That's why you were able to defeat me. You're the chief's daughter. Should've known," he laughed with me. I smiled at him. He seemed like a nice guy. I casually glanced at my watch and my eyes widened. I had been there for longer than I thought. I quickly bade Jim goodbye and rushed over to the car. I was a little sweaty and uncomfortable but I rushed home. I ran up the stairs took a bath and changed into a pair of black jeans and a black t-shirt and put on an oversized hoodie. I took my backpack and rushed to the door. I glanced at my Nike watch—I should probably explain all the Nike stuff. See, they are my sponsor so, I have a lot of Nike stuff. Due to my rushing, I had more than enough time. The hoodie I was wearing was one of the largest I owned. It touched my knees and my sleeves were so long I had to pull it up a little and even then, only my fingers peeked out. I still had about half-an-hour till the bus, so I decided to walk and I set up a slow pace. I took out my Ipod and my earphones and listened to some songs as I waited for Liam.
"After he finally came and we boarded the bus I just stared at the scenery outside and couldn't help the smile that broke into my
face.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I asked, turning to face him. He grinned in a silly way and nodded his head.
"Yeah, it's really beautiful. But I can't sit the whole ride silently, doing nothing, can I?" he asked, with horror that was only half-untrue. I laughed at his face and asked him, "Please don't tell me you didn't bring anything?"
I couldn't help but chuckle at the speed with which he shook his head. I took my bag and offered him a bag of chocolate and took out my earphones and started to listen to the first song on my playlist. He shook his head and took the proffered bar of chocolate and said, "You and your chocolates," and punctuated it with a shake of his head. I also held out one end of my earphone to him and he just held onto it.
After about an hour, we finally reached Port Angeles and I jumped out of the bus and literally bounced up and down and waited for the slow poke impatiently.
"OH, come on! Why are you so slow?" I asked impatiently.
"Wait a second, shortie," he said with an amused smile that I hated the moment I saw. I stuck my tongue at him as he emfinally/em stood next to me. He ruffled my hair and I grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward as if I knew everything there.
"Come on, come on, lets go!" I dragged him and asked him to take me to all the places.He smiled at me and said," You remind me of my cousin," he smirked and continued," She's annoying." I glared at him and punched his arm and twisted ears.
After visiting the gallery, the reservation for native birds and the marine life center, we decided to stop at the lunch. At lunch, we talked about the places I wanted to visit.
"I read that the view here was beautiful and that you should bicycle your way through the Olympic discovery trail."
"You know how to ride a bicycle?"
"Of course! When I was a little younger, I was too absorbed into athletics. To take a break from it, I'd often do something extremely new to relax. I love motorbikes too. Don't tell Dad." I put a finger on my lips and made a 'shoosh' sound .
"But why something so dangerous? You could have hurt yourself."
"Simple, my parents didn't want me to do that and I wanted to show them that I'm not under their control." I replied with a shrug. "I also learnt how to ride a motorbike. It was not totally easy though. It gave me a few scars for sure," I smiled and pointed to the scar on my eyebrow.
"That's how you got that scar! You know there was a lot of gossip about that scar."
"Really? Come on!" I couldn't help but feel disgusted when I learnt that.
"Yup!" he said with a smile. We just sat there in silence until he asked," Hey, what's with your ring by the way?"
"What's with my ring?" I asked in surprise, twisting my ring.
"Well, is that the ring your boyfriend gave you before you came here? A promise ring, perhaps? "
"Eww! No! Why'd you ask that?"
"Just informing you what I heard." He shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal.
"Dude, when do these people get the time to gossip? I find it hard to find some 'me' time and they come up with these ridiculous rumors within a week. I don't have a boyfriend for heaven's sake." I finished with a scowl and glared at my spaghetti. Suddenly I realized that some people might be uncomfortable on coming with a girl on a trip, alone. I also realized that his girlfriend—if he had one that was—might not be okay with this.
"Bro, do you have a girlfriend? Is she okay with this? I'm sorry I didn't realize that this might not be okay with you—"
"I don't have one and if I didn't feel comfortable, I wouldn't have come with you and simply rejected your offer like the others did." I just nodded and calmed down as I realized he was right.
I removed my bronze ring from my finger and gave it to him for him to see. He smiled at me as he saw what was engraved inside and outside. Hope. Believe. Two of the most powerful words out there. During some hard times, I needed someone, something, anything for me to give me hope. And hope it gave me. I fidgeted with the loop on my t-shirt that I'd put my thumb into as he observed my ring and gave it back.
After lunch, we just visited the rest of the places I wanted to visit. We also went to some of the places there for me to get the paint I wanted to paint my room with and I got some canvas and acrylic at too. Liam asked me about how I had so much money and I told him about winning a few competitions and races. What I didn't tell him was that, I also sold a few of my paintings. We decided that we'd watch the sunrise at the Elwha beach and only then I remembered that I'd forgotten to book for a place to stay. We just found one and dumped the things I bought in my room and we left for dinner. There was a place called Pofoke's Pizza which had woodfired pizza's. We just devoured the pizza and reached our respective rooms and slept in exhaustion. The next day came and it was just as exciting. I hade to wake him up and we walked all the way over to Elwaha Beach. The sunrise was, perhaps, one of the most beautiful I'd ever seen and I was a little sad that we had to go. As I boarded the bus with all the stuff I bought, I just smiled at the scenery and I decided that I'd come again. When we were at the Forks Transit, I hugged Liam for the good time we had. I had a bunch of new happy memories in Port Angeles. As soon as I entered the house, Charlie hugged me and told me that he missed me. I smiled at him, made dinner and went straight to bed. As I slept, I couldn't help but feel really happy. Life is beautiful, after all. I also felt strangely relieved as if I'd just found a true friend. Maybe, in this small, rainy town with the population of maybe, four thousand people, I'd found a friend I could trust. How fate mocks us with her unpredictability. Perhaps it is in the unpredictability that the beauty of life exists.
Sorry for the late upload guys but it was a chapter. Read and Review!!!
Sorry for those who read it before 6/6/2021--I didn't realising you were seeing that and thank you 0oKitteno0 and Blissful2006 for telling me what you were seeing!!! My sincere apologies to you guys!! Hopefully you aren't too frustrated, but to make it up to you, I'll post an extra long chapter!!n