Ch. 8 Old Wounds

"Ryan," Autumn called out. "Ryan, let's talk about this!"

"There's nothing left to talk about," Ryan yelled back, "the fact that you could even suggest such a thing scares me!" Ryan stormed off into the sparring chamber. Peyton walked up to Autumn.

"What was that all about?"

"All that I said was maybe there's still a chance for Pedro to come back. He wouldn't kill me and Will. I thought that maybe he's beginning to see how wrong he was. I told Ryan that maybe if he tried to make peace with him, we could take away one of Flint's allies, but he flipped out." Autumn wiped the tears that were starting to form under her eyes away. "I don't blame him, but maybe you could talk some sense into him." Peyton was taken aback.

"Why me?!"

"He needs a friend right now and one that he trusts even a little. He respects you. Please just talk to him."

"Fine," Peyton responded, "I'll see what I can do." Peyton made her way to the sparring chamber. You'd think his own wife would be able to talk to him. Peyton opened the door and saw Ryan throwing punched on one of the training dummies. He struck with a right jab, followed by a left hook and a palm strike to the dummy's face. Finally, he finished off his vicious assault with a bicycle kick to the head. The dummy's severed head rolled on the floor and stopped at Peyton's feet. She picked it up. "Hey, ninja!" Ryan turned around quick enough to catch the dummy's head.

"I didn't even hear you come in."

"I guess I'm a natural," Peyton chuckled as she leaned on her hip. Ryan let out a chuckle before reattaching the dummy's head. He continued to attack the training tool while Peyton watched him. "You're form is poor. Here let me show you." She gently nudged him out of the way. "Suck in your gut when you attack; your strike's will be more accurate and have more power to them. And instead of following your jab with a hook, kick out your opponent's legs. If they're off balance, you can get some cheap shots in." Peyton proceeded to do the move as a demonstration.

"That's pretty good."

"I used to be a professional fighter before going pirate. Entered a lot of tournaments and made it to the finals, but I was always tired by that last match." Peyton relaxed herself. "That's not why I came in here though." Ryan raised his right eyebrow. "I heard the end of you and Autumn's argument."

"I'm not going to talk about it." Ryan took his place in front of the dummy and attempted to do the move Peyton had executed.

"You don't have to say a word. Bonnie told me everything that has happened to all of you." Ryan punched the dummy's stomach and stopped to listen. "He was your best friend and he betrayed you."

"Then why can't my wife see that? He had his chance and," Peyton interrupted Ryan before he could finish.

"You also had your chance. You chose not to kill him. There had to be a reason." Ryan sighed in surrender.

"I already killed him once and I just had this empty feeling afterwards. Besides, there was no point in doing it again. I needed to prove that I was better than him."

"Okay, so you spared him, but he also spared your wife and Will." Ryan was confused.

"So?"

"So," Peyton stated matter-of-factly, "maybe he still has a chance for redemption. You heard what Autumn said: Flint would have killed them on sight. Maybe he saved them for himself, but he did something good for you."

"He tried to steal my life!"

"He made a mistake, and a bad one at that. Haven't you ever made a mistake?" Ryan took a step back. No one had ever called him out like that. "You have, haven't you?"

"Okay, I see your point." Ryan kicked a box that was laying on the floor. He leaned against the wall and slunk to the floor. Peyton took a seat next to him. "Maybe there is a chance for Pedro to be trusted again, but I don't think there's anything that could get me to forgive his past transgressions."

"Then don't focus on what he's done." Peyton took Ryan's left hand in her right. "Just think about what he could do." Ryan smiled. Then he noticed their fingers were locked. The two of them broke their grasp and looked away from each other. Ryan stood up and offered his hand.

"Want to show me exactly how to do that combo you did?" Peyton looked at his hand then back to his face.

"Heh," she chuckled, "Sure." Taking her hand, Ryan pulled her up and they started practicing. What they didn't know was that Autumn had been right outside the door, watching and listening.

"Oh, Ryan."