Rewrite the Stars (bxb)

Chapter 14 The Gym Hurts

I throw the comforter off and slip out of the room. I don't think I can stand another minute in there with my thoughts or Peter. He won't talk to me anymore. I feel terrible, and I don't know how to make it up to him. I walk downstairs to the kitchen, hoping for a glass of water to help me calm down from the crazy night, but I find Jax there instead. "What are you doing up?" I ask, looking around the dimly lit kitchen to see if anyone else is here.

"Going to the gym," he says and puts a bag over his shoulders.

"At five in the morning?"

He nods.

"Can I come with?" I usually don't do this, but I'm going insane. I need something to get my mind off of everything.

He finally looks at me. "It's five in the morning."

I shrug. "I can't sleep."

Jax seems to think about it but then shrugs. "Fine with me. But I don't deal with whiners. Do whatever you want, just don't disturb me. I'm leaving in five."

I nod and hurry back upstairs. I'm careful not to wake Peter as I pull on some running shorts, a t-shirt, and some tennis shoes. I grab my ipod before going back through the kitchen and getting in the running car in the open garage.

"All set," I say, and Jax backs out of the driveway. He doesn't seem to want to talk, but I'm okay with that. Even if I can't sleep, it's too early to be awake and therefore too early to converse.

We drive in silence until we get to this small building and pull into the back. There's a garage door that sits up, and I follow Jax in that way. I look around at all the equipment, but then I realize that we're the only people here.

I break the silence. "What kind of a gym is this?"

Jax puts his bag on a table. "My friend owns it. It doesn't open until later, but he lets me come earlier."

"At five in the morning?"

He nods and starts stretching. Not really knowing what to do, I follow his lead, and soon we're running around the track placed around the inside of the building. We each have music in, so there's no talking, and we kinda do our own things. He goes over to the weights and things, but I have no idea what most of them are, so I stick to the track. I take breaks every so often, but after an hour and a half, I'm exhausted. The room is spinning, and my body feels like jelly. I need a cold shower and a nap. And maybe some water.

I see a water fountain over at the side and drink some, making sure not to drink too much at one time. I may not be that athletic, but I do know some things.

I decide to take another break, so I sit on one of the chairs next to the table and watch Jax. I don't mean to, but he's kind of hard to resist. He's on the bench press right now, and I can see he's struggling, but I can also see the determination in his eyes. Sweat drips down his face.

He puts the weights down and grabs a towel to wipe his face. "Are you done staring at me?" His voice echoes in the large, empty room.

I look away. "I'm not staring at you."

He walks over, downs his water, and grabs his bag. "I'm going to shower. Stay here." He walks away before I can say anything.

It doesn't bother me, but now I'm bored and fidgety again. I get up and walk around on the track. By now the sun is up, and it casts a glow over the room. I walk over to the bench press Jax was using before he left. The weights are coated in rubber as I read the numbers printed on them. Two forty-fives and a ten on each side. Damn. That's a lot of weight. I wonder what I can do.