He stayed for another hour and then bowed out. It was loud and the music was giving him a headache. He normally had a good time even when he wasn't drinking, but the last week of training must have really gotten to him. Once he was out of the bar and in the street he found that he didn't want to go home yet. Instead, he put his hands in his pockets and headed north on Main Street.
The little town was quiet. The traffic lights blinked yellow and there were no cars in sight. The bar he had been at was really the only one open. He walked up a block and then crossed the street. He pushed back the hood on his sweater as he stared up at the Hawks Mansion. It was imposing and dark, like a creature from another age that had survived to modern times. It was too big. It imposed on the buildings around it. The house had always creeped him out, but now there was something inside waiting for him, maybe. He had no idea if the woman on the street was Marie the girl who lived at the museum, but it was his only lead.
Chapter Ten
It was strange how quickly Marie settled into her new routine. It was easy for her to close her eyes and pretend she had always been here. Her past life didn't exist and she wasn't running from anything. This was her home. Cate ran a little ahead and Marie made herself let go of her daughter's hand. It still hurt, but it was getting easier and she knew it was important to give her daughter room to grow.
Like an expert after all of three days, Cate raced into the daycare center ahead of Marie and carefully took her shoes off and put them and her snack in a little cubby stenciled with her name. Marie smiled at the daycare worker and gave one last look at Cate before walking back out. She was fitting right in. Already she had a little crowd of friends happy to see her. Marie had been worried about Cate. What if she had trouble fitting in or trouble making friends in a new town? They had been isolated back in Arizona and she hadn't spent much time with children her own age. But now Cate was doing a better job adjusting than Marie was.
Not needing to be back at work for a few hours, Marie stood in front of the daycare deciding what to do. She was wearing a pair of yoga pants and a tank top. She had passed the gym the other day and she thought she might check it out again. She felt a little nervous, but she did her best to ignore her roiling stomach as she walked down Main Street. As she came upon the building she saw the people working out inside, so confident and coordinated, and she lost her nerve and with her head down she kept walking.
She wished she had a friend to join the gym with. That was what she needed, someone else with her who also had no idea what she was doing. They could learn together. The sad fact was Ingrid was her only friend and she wasn't really interested in speed walking with Ingrid. She wanted to get stronger and tougher. She didn't want to learn how to run or walk really fast; she wanted to learn how to throw a punch and deliver a kick. She made a fist and frowned at it. It looked way too small to actually hurt someone.
In high school, before she had gotten pregnant with Cate, she had been a cheerleader. She had always like learning the routines and the lifts. She liked the workouts they had before practice. She remembered the feeling of her heart pounding as she ran, the adrenaline pumping through her veins. She had to quit senior year when Austin got jealous. He was convinced she was spending time with the football players instead of the other girls on her squad. She tried to explain to him that they almost never saw the players, but he refused to listen.
Why did she quit? Why did she let him boss her around like that? In the later years it had been because she was afraid of him. But back in high school, why hadn't she stood up for herself? But all she could remember of that time was loving him unconditionally and unreasonably. She was blind to his temper and his cruelty. She was lost in being in love and after enough time she simply thought that was what love looked like.
So what did it really look like? What was her life now without Austin? Who was she? What did she want? She didn't even know anymore. She had spent so much time trying to make someone else happy and she had received nothing but hatred back. So what was she supposed to do? How was she supposed to finally be herself if she didn't know who that person was?
She wanted to go to the gym. She just wanted to check it out; that was all. But she was letting fear stop her. She was letting Austin and his cruelty stop her from trying something new. She couldn't let that happen. With a deep breath, Marie turned around and walked back to the gym. She squared her shoulders and kept her eyes straight ahead.
What was there to be afraid of? It was just a gym. Certainly nothing bad would happen. The worst thing would be that she didn't like it and then she would never have to come back. It was a no lose scenario. She was back at the front door of the gym and without a second thought she pushed it open and took a step inside.
It was bright and smelled clean and airy. The sound of machines squeaking and people talking could be heard along with the radio, which was currently planning the new Rihanna song. It looked like a friendly enough place. She turned to the desk, but no one was there. Disappointed, Marie stood with her arms crossed and waited for someone to come back.
She waited for a few minutes, but no one came. Not a good sign, she thought to herself as she walked farther into the gym. She passed a set of machines where she saw a beautiful woman who was wearing quite a bit of makeup. The woman was leaning on a complicated looking machine, but not using it. She put her left hip out and made a duck face at her own reflection tilting her head down and pushing her breasts forward. Taking a strand of hair, she twirled it around her finger and snapped about a dozen pictures on her phone in rapid success.
Then her eyes made contact with Marie's in the mirror and Marie realized she had just been caught staring. The other woman glared at Marie from her mirror. Blushing, Marie looked away and walked to the next room, which was filled with treadmills. She could feel her face growing red and she kept it facing the floor and so she didn't see him until she had practically run into him.
"Sorry," Marie sputtered as she backed away from the man. He was tall with tattoo-covered muscles and a steely gaze. He had short dark light and blue eyes with pale skin. Marie looked away. She didn't know what else to say; the man wasn't saying anything. He was just standing there and staring at her.
"Do you belong to this gym?"
"No," Marie said. Her stomach was in knots, but she didn't know why. She wasn't doing anything wrong. She had nothing to apologize for. She stood up straighter and adjusted her shirt and spoke directly to the man hoping he couldn't hear the fear in her voice. "I was waiting at the desk, but no one showed up, so I thought I would just take a look around."
"You interested in joining the gym?"
"Do you offer self-defense classes?" She had seen the sign for boxing and MMA fighting classes on a sign outside.
The man scoffed and looked down at her, "We teach mixed martial arts. It's not a self-defense class. It's a tough program and not one for amateurs."
She wanted to cry. She knew it was stupid, but she couldn't help it. She had come in here hoping something good would happen. She should have known that her good luck streak was going to come to a screeching halt. Now, instead of feeling like she was walking on cloud nine, Marie was holding back tears at the gym. It wasn't exactly what she had hoped for. Austin had been right. The gym was a stupid waste of money. She didn't belong in one any way.
"Okay then," Marie said. "Thanks a lot," she turned around and walked past the treadmills wiping an errant tear away from her eye. The overly made up woman from before brushed past her giving her a dirty look as she did so. Of course Marie had made a new enemy. Now this was officially a disaster. "No," Marie said, stopping herself. This wasn't how this was going to go down. She had done nothing wrong. He had been wrong. "Do you work here?" Marie said turning around quickly, but to her surprise the man was right behind her as if he had been following her.
"Kind of," he replied with a smirk.
"Well, you're not very good at it," Marie said pulling her courage from some hidden depth inside herself. "I was a potential customer and you were just very rude to me. Now not only are you not going to get my business, but I'm also not going to recommend you to anyone I know. So, really, you lose out in this scenario."
"I actually own the gym," he said with a sort of shrug.
"Of course you do," Marie said after taking a deep breath. "That is just perfect," she shook her head and turned to walk away.