TrustFall | Under HEAVY Revision & Editing

Chapter 18. Just Breathe, Baby

Audrey's POV

One Week Later

"Augh," Scarlett grunted as she hit the punching bag, her strength causing the bag to nearly topple over backwards.

It was about 11:30 PM and we were at the gym where Scarlett told me she went to "transfer her negative energy into animated objects". I sat cross-legged on the bench while I watched her strike the bag over and over again without stopping. She had her luscious red hair tied up in a ponytail that bounced against her back every time she swung at the bag with full force. Even from where I was, I could see drops of sweat flying in multiple directions. The way her tall, toned, and lean body flowed with every hit made me feel mesmerized by her every move. Her shiny tanned skin glistened with sweat from the overhead lighting as she punched the bag.

The bruises on my face had healed by this point, and even though I still felt sharp stabs of pain when I washed my face or touched it in any way, at least appearance-wise it looked good. Scarlett constantly asks me if I'm okay whenever she kisses my face, especially when I unconsciously flinch at her touch.

These past few weeks have been... difficult to say the least. More than half the time that I woke up, I would notice Scarlett staring listlessly out the window or at the wall with a blank expression on her face. And when I would try to ask her what's wrong or if I could do anything for her, she always told me to go back to sleep and to not worry about her. Which irritated me most of the time, because I could tell that she was going through something emotionally complicated, and I wanted to provide her with the support and understanding that she has given me.

However, every time I tried to offer my help, she would push me away. I knew there was something that she wasn't telling me, especially based on her reaction when Andrew started to... hit me. I may be a little disoriented from the incident, but I could tell there was some sort of history between them, a history that she refused to talk to me about. As much as I wanted to confront her, it would make me a hypocrite since I've never told her about what happened between me and my ex-girlfriend Julia, or the fact that my mother is homophobic.

I understood why she wanted to keep her past away from me. We've only known one another for a couple weeks. You can't expect couples to know everything about each other within a short time frame, right?

Living with Scarlett and her Colombian roommate has been pretty amazing so far. Carmen had offered to give up her bedroom for me, but I had refused because I didn't want to impose. Scarlett, however, had a King-size bed, and when she attempted to assure me that she could sleep on the floor while I took the bed, I felt as if I was punched in the gut. Sure, it was a little early, but we were dating though.  But I finally managed to convince her to sleep in the same bed with me after some coaxing and pressuring.

A loud thud brought me out of my contemplation with a jolt. My attention immediately returned to Scarlett as I watched her lift the fallen Bob dummy back up from the ground. I knew that the base of the dummy holds thirty-three gallons of water, which was equivalent to 280 pounds, so I was impressively shocked that she knocked it over with a punch and lifted it up with such ease.

She noticed me staring at her, probably with a dumbfounded look on my face, and she winked at me. I felt my face heat up and there was no doubt that I looked like a blushing idiot. Thank God the gym was empty.

"Audrey!" Scarlett shouted, excitedly waving me over. "Come here!"

I sighed loudly as I stood up from my seat and walked over to where Scarlett was standing with a smirk on her face.

"Enjoying the view?" She asked, a mischievous smile appearing on her face as she grabbed my waist and pulled me close to her so that I was pressed up against her sweaty body.