Ch. 14: Lock The Guard

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     Conner and Delilah strolled down the eight aisle of the posh natural food store as a radio-friendly 90's Faith Hill classic hummed through the intercom. It was Conner's closest exposure to country music in months, and it heightened his mood. 

     When did I trade the grisly stench of a fight gym for this?    

     Delilah dropped a packet of firm tofu in the shopping cart Conner pushed, and caught him looking at the organic sustenance inside the cart

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     Delilah dropped a packet of firm tofu in the shopping cart Conner pushed, and caught him looking at the organic sustenance inside the cart. "I promised JR I'd be good.

     Conner squiggled his lip at the tofu. Despite being 5'8, Delilah looked small, and he wanted to wrap her up in blankets, lest she vanish in a crowd like a needle in a haystack. "Why's he starving you of protein?"

     She turned to him, eyes mimicking concern. "You're right. I oughta' sue him for negligence."

     Faint laughter rumbled in his stomach, but died before he could enjoy it.

     Delilah smirked, satisfied with her wisecrack as they traveled to the condiment aisle, the one with the salad dressings. "Find the teriyaki, will ya?"

     Conner scrutinized the shelves, but couldn't focus on the labels. 

     He yearned to fight again, but The Brotherhood had gone to extraordinary lengths to ban him from training centers as far as Anaheim, and he wondered if this was how The Brotherhood exerted revenge, by denying men their most primitive desires until they imploded.

     He yearned to fight again, but The Brotherhood had gone to extraordinary lengths to ban him from training centers as far as Anaheim, and he wondered if this was how The Brotherhood exerted revenge, by denying men their most primitive desires ...

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     He couldn't live on the constant verge of an outburst, as it was hazardous, for him and to the company he kept, to repress such vigor. 

     Delilah read the labels on the dressings, toying with the pronunciations of the international varieties, and Conner smiled, enjoying the thoughtlessness of their amity. 

     Her panic attacks didn't disturb him, not when she was receptive to his tutelage, because it added purpose to his otherwise rudderless days. 

     She was an empty vessel, ideal for his superfluous brawn. All he did was open the valve and she'd soak him up while the release relaxed him.

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