Page 68 of Healing Souls

I scoff, “Then are you going to do it? For real? No holding back. I need it, Ryker. It’s important to me. Plus, I love it. And,” I growl, shoving him off of me, which fails as he barely moves an inch, “I can fight whoever the fuck I want. If they do something I don’t like, I will take care of it myself. I don’t need you doing shit for me.”

A wicked grin spreads over Ryker’s lips as he bends down and leans forward, bringing us nose to nose. “Don’t test me, Harley. You have no idea the lengths I will go to for you. Whether you want me to or not.”

“Why?” I whisper as goosebumps break out all over my skin.

Staring into my eyes, he exhales and stands back up straight, taking a step away from me. “Fight me,” he says instead of answering.

“No. Answer me. Why?” I demand as I step forward closer to him again.

Ryker smirks. “Box with me and knock me on my ass and I’ll answer you.”

I raise a brow and scoff. “Cocky much?”

Ryker doesn’t respond; he just keeps his fucking cocky smirk in place and gets in position in the middle of the mats.

Grabbing my gloves with a huff, I put them back on before nodding at Grayson, who had been watching the whole thing quietly until now. He presses play on the music, and Ryker and I begin.

I go at him first, landing a good punch to his side but he easily recovers and nabs one right back to my ribs.

It knocks the air out of me, but Atlas is immediately in my head again.Come on, Harls! Linc hits hard, but you can get him back. If you can’t breathe, keep moving. Bounce on your toes and dodge and circle your partner so you can catch your breath.

Staying up and keeping my breathing easy, we circle each other until we start swinging and trading blows. Ryker starts blocking more of mine, and I block some of his, but we both get good hits in. Until I get cocky and swing, almost knocking Ryker down, but he catches himself at the last second. I grin, feeling really proud of myself, and lose focus for a split second, which means Ryker has an opening. Shit.

One second, I am standing, and the next I am flat on my back with Ryker hovering over me. He leans down like he is going to kiss me, and my heart skips a beat.

A smile stretches across his face as he whispers against my lips, “I win.”

He jumps up and takes his gloves off, tossing them to the side and stretching out his arms above his head.

“You almost gave me as good of a match as Cade. I’m impressed,” Ryker says as he takes one of the waters Grayson is holding out to us.

I sit up on the mat and take my gloves off before grabbing the other water. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Are you alright?” he asks.

I nod. “Yeah. I feel pretty good. I think I need to do more, though.”

Ryker runs Grayson through a workout while I run on the treadmill and use some of the other equipment they have down here. By the end of the hour, I feel much lighter and calmer. I feel like I can breathe again, and being around Ryker and Grayson feels good. It doesn’t feel suffocating or overwhelming.

Even sometimes at Brielle’s I would get overwhelmed and need to go walk the beach alone or just go up to the room I used and spend some time alone. Being around her and the guys a lot would get to be too much.

But I find myself wanting to be around Ryker and Grayson… and even Cayden, who I have spent the least amount of time with, all the time.

Once we finish our workouts, we all cool down together and then get ready to leave the gym.

Ryker looks back at me. “Do you want to try going up? Or I can just carry you again.”

Hesitating by the doors with both Grayson and Ryker looking back at me, now I feel my muscles tense.

The entire time we were down here, I never once panicked or even felt like I was on the verge of panicking. It doesn’t feel like a basement at all, and I think being with them helped a lot. But what if I go to walk up the stairs and can’t do it? I don’t want Ryker to have to fucking carry me every time I want to be down here. That’s pathetic.

“I want to try,” I say, straightening my spine. I take a deep breath and walk out the doors with Grayson and Ryker on either side of me.

The hallway outside the gym is wide, not suffocating at all. If you go further down the right, there are two doors, while directly across from the gym is another door, and then to the left is more hallway with an opening on the right side that must be the stairs.

We turn left and walk towards them. When we reach the bottom of the stairs, I glance up and take a shaky breath.

My eyes close shut, and my nightmares are right there threatening to drag me under. Before they can, soft, warm hands are gripping my cheeks as another more calloused hand takes my own, squeezing it.

---