I went into a daze, imagining hearing my name over the loudspeaker as the announcer called me out for my walk.
In the blue corner, making her debut, Valerie‘The Revenant’St. Clair standing at five foot fi-
“Hello?” Summer snapped her fingers three times in front of my face interrupting my vision. “Hey, let’s have a sleepover like old times! You can have the spare bedroom.”
???
It had been a week since I colored my hair and my confidence was starting to return with a vengeance. I had always heard others talk about how a new tattoo, hair color, piercing, or even getting their nails done would help them feel like a brand new person. For the first time in my entire life, I finally understood what they meant.
The bubblegum pink hair?Perfect. I had forgotten to ask Miranda any tips she had for stretching her lobes so I took it as the perfect opportunity to stop by Mane Street Supplies to show off the hair color she had helped me choose.
She was even more obsessed with it than I was and even gave me some more tips for how I could preserve the color longer, including the cold water trick Summer tried to drill into my head. Miranda also provided me with some great tips on how to do the stretching. I was able to find a kit online and some vitamin e oil and started the process. I couldn’t believe how many cute gauges and tunnels existed and had already started making a wish list for when I reached my desired size.
My phone rang and I pulled it out of my pocket two seconds too late and saw I had missed a call from the gym to which I had sent an inquiry. They seemed almost too good to be true and offered classes I felt were perfect for what I was hoping to find. Quickly, I dialed the number back and listened to the menu waiting for it to tell me what to dial in order to speak with an actual human being.
Press zero to speak with customer service.
“Of course it was zero the entire time.” I said to myself as someone picked up the phone.
“Thank you for calling Revelation Fitness, my name is Tanner. How may I help you?”
I went to speak and nothing came out. The gentleman had one of the most soft-spoken voices I had ever heard. It was calm and made me feel at ease. I wonder if he is one of the trainers.
“Hello? How may I assist you today?” he asked again.
Shit. I cleared my throat. “Sorry, hi.” The words in my brain started working faster than my mouth could move and I found myself starting to stumble over them. “Let me try again. Hi, I’m Valerie and I missed a call from your gym just a few moments ago.”
He laughed, which put me on edge but he didn’t mention anything about my awkwardness. “Hi, Valerie.”
??“You can call me Val,” I blurted out.
“Okay, Val.” He paused. “Yes, it looks like Natalie called you a few minutes ago, but she’s already gone on a break. I am available to help and answer any questions you might have.” He continued blabbing about all of the details of the gym, the classes they offered, types of equipment they had, and when he mentioned there were boxing classes for women, I was sold.
“So, what kind of pricing are we talking about?” I braced myself to hear the numbers.
“Well, why don’t we set up a time for you to come in and take a tour andthenwe can discuss membership costs.”
“Alright, I don’t suppose you want to scare me off with numbers before I see what I’m getting myself into.” My tone came out flirty,was I flirting with the man on the other line?My confidence really was starting to reappear.
“I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised,” he assured me. “I have an opening this afternoon unless you want to wait for Natalie to have availability.”
“I’m perfectly fine with you.” There it was again, my flirtatious tone. Maybe Ishouldwait for Natalie, not like it really mattered though. “See you this afternoon.” I immediately pulled the phone away from my face, pushing the end button multiple times in embarrassment of how my conversation with another male had just gone. It had been just over a week since James was hauled off in the back of the police cruiser, and it’s not like I actually ended things…
I glanced up at the clock on the stovetop and saw I still had a few hours until it was time to be at Revelation for my tour. I thought for a moment and decided it was time to do something I should have done a long time ago: commit to an ending. I got out a piece of paper, an envelope, and a pen and started to write a letter to James.
Seven
Kaden
The week after Isabella left had been a blur.
I barely slept, hardly ate, could barely focus on work. Yet, somehow, I still managed. Part of me wished I could have done things differently and the other part was upset I wasn’t more devastated after how long we had been together.
On the surface we seemed like the perfect couple, but she wasn’t perfect. Neither of us were. Sure, we could have done things differently, but she knew what my goals were when we started dating in high school. On occasion, she would throw it in my face and I just wanted to scream,you knew what you were signing up for.
I always felt like she had hoped my injury would shift my focus, but never once did I allude to that possibility. Should I have proposed? Probably. Would it have changed the plans I had? No.
Would she have eventually gotten tired and curious about what else was out there? It’s hard to say but I think her random breakup hints at yes. It takes a special woman to understand andbe able to live life as a significant other to someone involved in sports of any kind.