Classified ☑

[ chapter 07 ]

As soon as I opened the gym doors, warmth hit my face, slowly getting rid of the tingling that lingered on my skin from the cold air outside. Sadly, the heater in my truck hadn't kicked on until I got here.

I gave Gracie a tight smile as I passed her and looked for Thomas. He stood at a rack as he spotted someone who bench pressed the barbell. It went up and down in a smooth manner. As I got closer I realized it was Joseph.

He heaved the barbell up once more and Thomas grabbed it, helping Joseph rack it before he sat up. He smiled when he saw me, wiping a white sweat towel over his face. "What's up kid?"

That caused my uncle to look up in surprise. "Please tell me you're not here to workout." He glanced at my hands and shook his head in silent disapproval.

I couldn't blame him. It hurt like hell.

"I'm not," I said, responding to his question.

Thomas crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrow suspiciously, something my dad had done often when he thought I was causing trouble. I smiled at the thought. "Mhm."

Joseph glanced up at him and shook his head slightly, chuckling at my uncle's response.

"Seriously, why are you here?" Thomas asked, narrowing his eyes at me.

Truth was I had nowhere else to go, and I didn't feel like being alone. "Just to hangout," I answered him, shrugging my shoulders nonchalantly. "Why can't I do that?"

"I didn't say you couldn't."

I placed my hands on my hips defiantly. "Why are you implying that I shouldn't?"

My uncle held up his hands defensively and looked at Joseph for backup. "Did I remotely say anything like that?"

Joseph laughed some more, flashing his perfectly straight teeth as his eyes glinted with amusement. "You two act more like brother and sister rather than uncle and niece."

I rolled my eyes but couldn't stop the smile that took over my face. "Yeah, yeah." I waved my hand in the air dismissively as I took a seat on an empty bench next to the rack Joseph was at.

My uncle watched me closely. "You seem like you're in a good mood. You're never in a good mood. Did you make any plans for Friday?"

Bluntness was a family shared trait it seemed.

"Yeah." I shrugged my shoulders, trying not to make a big deal out of it. Truth was I always had a hard time making friends. Even when I had lived with my dad when he was alive. Relationships had never been something I was good at.

"You did?" The annoyed look on his face told me he didn't believe me.

"Yup," I answered. The look of surprise on his face matched how I felt.

"Are you doing something with the guy that wouldn't stop staring at you yesterday?" Joseph asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively at me.

I sent him a dirty look at the exact same time my uncle blurted out, "What guy was staring at you yesterday?"

My eyes widened in irritation. "Just a boy who goes to my school."

"Who is this boy?" My uncle emphasized the word boy like it was a dirty term.

"A boy that's a friend," Joseph said, butting in again.

I raised my hands palm up. "Can you not?" I asked Joseph.

He shrugged his shoulders and avoided my eyes, not bothering to hide the smile.

"Who is this boy?" Thomas asked again, annoyance written all over his face.

"A boy that goes to my school. Plus, he's not the one I'm hanging out with." Technically. I was just going to see his game. That was all. "Besides, you're going out with Gracie and I barely know anything about her. Do you?" I asked in the same tone he had used, mocking him.

"Nina!" Thomas threw his hands up in the air like I'd betrayed some type of secret.

Joseph smirked, enjoying every little moment of what was happening in front of him. "You're going out with Gracie?"

My uncle held his hand up like he was silencing us. "I'm done with this conversation. Nina, you can spot Joseph since you're not being useful."

Joseph and I watched my uncle slink away with a moody look on his face, definitely not pleased that I'd just told someone about his date with Gracie.

I felt a shove in my arm and looked at Joseph who still had a smirk on his face. "You're such a troll."

My mouth dropped, forming an 'o.' "Says the one who was meddling with my life and telling my uncle about a boy. Hypocrite," I added, shaking my head at him.

He chuckled. "You and Thomas are alike in more ways than one."

My eyes darted to my hands as they intertwined with each other. "He's the only family I got left," I said quietly, not sure if he even heard me.

The look on his face told me he had. Something flickered in his eyes but he leaned back onto the bench before I could decipher what it was, putting his hands on the bar just above him. "Come spot me."

I did as told and placed my hands a few inches under the bar just in case he dropped it. Though he didn't need it, he repped the weight out easily. Once he re-racked the bar, I said, "you should add some weight, hypocrite." I was trying to lighten the awkward atmosphere that had taken over our previously joking one.

Joseph grunted in disagreement as he sat up, ducking his head underneath the bar. He held out his hands to me and motioned his fingers towards him. When I didn't oblige, he said, "let me see your knuckles, kid."

I pushed up the sleeves on my sweatshirt and placed my hands in his. He looked carefully at them, putting pressure on a couple of my knuckles with his thumbs which caused me to wince in pain. "Does that hurt?"

"What do you think, Sherlock?" I spit out before being able to filter what I had said. I mashed my lips together quickly. "Uh, sorry."

He laughed, letting go of my hands. "You're good. I think they'll start feeling better in a couple of days."

"Thanks," I said, looking a little longer at my hands. I hoped that it was true. Wincing every time I moved my hands that put pressure on my knuckles was getting old fast.

Joseph stood up and pulled the clips off the bar that kept the weights intact. "So, what are you doing Friday night?"

I took a seat on the same bench as I had earlier, watching him pull the weights off the bar. "Going to watch a basketball game."


"Interesting," Joseph murmured, more to himself than me. "Who are you going with?"

"Shelly." I couldn't help but laugh at the face Joseph made. "She's in my science and P.E. classes."

"That's an odd name," he said, voicing his thoughts.

He wasn't wrong. "She's kind of an odd person, but she's nice."

Joseph smiled, grabbing his sweat towel after finishing putting up the weights. "Well, I'm glad you're making friends, kid." Before he walked past me, he rubbed a hand on top of my head, making my hair stand up. I swatted at his hand and he laughed as he pulled it away. "See you around."

I watched him pick up his workout bag and wave at Gracie before he left the building. I couldn't help but watch him in admiration. He was older than me but something about his demeanor, despite the teasing, told me he'd gone through some hardships in his life as well.

He was quiet, yet attentive. The way he teased Thomas along with me confirmed my suspicions that they've known each other for awhile. It'd seemed like they had a history that I didn't know about, but maybe one day I would. Joseph seemed like the kind of guy I could learn a lot from.

But something deep down told me I knew him from somewhere. Where and how though was the big mystery.