Chapter 24

"Keep it up Chinaa! I wanna see sweat. Come on, I know you can go faster!" G shouts somewhere behind me.

It had been two weeks senice I was discharged from the Hospital. Everyone had taken it upon themselves to get me back into fighting shape. As if I was ever out of it! Everyone's been running me raged the minute they got the A-Okay from the Doc. You'd think I would've gotten to relax for a bit, but I guess having a death threat over your head changes things a bit huh?

Gustavo's in charge of my morning work outs or like he enjoys calling them, warm-up's. He wakes me up at four A.M. exsactly every morning for a 12 mile run on the Griffen trail then we spend two hours on fighting techniques. Gustavo's "job" is to get me into shape, Sonya's is to bring the old me back, Dylan helps me with my speed, Sam trains me for hand to hand combat, and Casandra help me with making quick desicons durring a fight.

Fang and I were back on good terms now. When I woke up at the Hospital I tried to make it seem like he was still unforgiven, but I just couldn't not see why he did everything that he did after my hallucination. No one knows about what I saw back at the Hospital or heard and I plan to keep it that way. There were enough people worrying about me, I don't need them thinking I'm crazy too.

Although I have forgiven Fang I never see much of him on my training days. He's the only one that isn't assigned a "job" on the Jessica Valdez project. Whenever I bring him up Dylan and Sam quickly dismiss it, only making my suspisonces even higher. I ask Sonya and G once too but they just gave me a weird look and I just drop it.

Fang has given up everything to escape his past and only hold on to whats important and now I was bring him back into all of it. It's not fair. Not to him, not to his family.

"Whatcha thinking 'bout Chinaa?" G whispers in my ear bring reality back into perspective.

Last I checked Gustavo was a good mile and a half behind me I guess when Fang enters my mind everything just freezes or at least I do physicly. Which is never a good idea when your fighting for your life.

"Sorry G, my mind's been kinda blah latley." I reply to him quickly escaping my trance of my thoughts on Luis.

Gustavo gives me a weird look I've never seen G sport. His eyes display the mix of emotion between worry and grief. A look that scares me more than even Jack himself. G never gives up. He's always been the first one that walks into mission and the last one to walk out but now he has no choice but to walk ahead of me instead of behind.

I hide my reaction to his worried eyes and say "So what's next coach?"

He just shakes his head lighly as if i had just broke him out of his thoughts.

"Your done for the day Chinaa" He says and starts to walk down the trail.

"But it's only five? My time with Munoz doesn't start 'til seven." I argue from behind him.

"Class is cut short today" G mumbles into the forest as he keeps on walking down the trail.

I don't run after G to see whats wrong because I already know. The fight was coming up soon and everyone was on the edge. Gustavo was-no is the only father figure I've ever had. I've heard him say I was a daughter to him a million of times, I've seen it in the way he makes me work hard for everything I want, I've felt it in the way he's always had my back when no one else did.

I know it must be hard for him to just stand on the sideline while I risk my life so that maybe someday I can live without fear. I know that my parents wouldn't miss me if I was gone tomorrow, but I also know that to my family, my real family I'll be dearly missed. I know that I'd never be replaced.

"Wassup Valdez? G said I'd find you hear. He told me you just got tired so he cut class short, but damn the look in his eyes made him seem like a part of him just died." Munoz says taking a seat on the tree stump next to mine.

Time passes and I don't say a word and neither does she. Confortable silence was always something me and her shared. After a while I gather up the courge unable to take the silence thats holds so many questions and ask the one I need to know.

"Do you think I'll come out of it...alive?" I ask quietly into the woods.

Sonya doesn't reply to me. She just takes me hand and stares into the open forest. Her silent presences means more than anything she could've said. When we were girls and her mom had died I never knew what to say so I'd just hold her when she sobed, listen when she ranted, and simply be there when she felt she had no one. The same way she did for me when my sister died.

I couldn't imagine who I'd be if I had just ran away from Sonya when she came to school like a zombie after her mom's death, only funcioning cause she couldn't help it. Everyone was terified of the girl with the broken heart but I in some way understood her, felt her pain.

"I won't be able to take it if everyone just keeps depressing me all day" I tell her quietly.

Munoz looks up at me with an old twinkle in her eyes. That reminds me for a second who she use to be before her mothers death. For a second she resembles the little girl who had no care in the world. The girl with the big bright smile.

"Let's go to that old park we use to run away to. Back when we were angry with the world." She suggests turning to look at me with that old childish smile we both never really got to use.

"Where we never left each others side" I say to her with the same smile.

"Through the best and the worse, and trust me Valdez we've been through the worst." Munoz says as if we're making a cheer to better days.

And with that we make our way down to maybe the only place that knows all our secrets besides us. The place where two little girls went from having fun to crying to being angry to fucking up to what we hope will be a better tomorrow.