North America / Illinois / South Side Chicago (Big Fist Gym): January 8th, 1984.
(Robert's POV)
"Is this the gym." I asked calmly while turning the car off.
The car was absolutely silent.
I glanced at ashley and saw her nose was into a book and stared at her for a moment, only to swipe my hand by her face and say "Ms o'brien, any day now."
Ashley looked up from the book she was into and seen the gym and nodded and dove her face back into the book.
The car was silent.
"Good." I said calmly while opening the car door and stepping out.
Cold air Immediately smacked me in the face.
Chicago was disrespectful as hell.
Ashley closed her book and put it inside her purse before stepping out of the passenger side with a bored look on her face.
"You look like your about to fight the weather." Said ashley while closing the door.
"I am." I said calmly while putting my hands in my jacket pockets.
Ashley rolled her eyes and started walking towards the gym entrance.
I looked up at the sign.
BIG FIST GYM.
The words were big, red and ugly as hell, but the place looked alive.
Lights on.
Windows foggy.
The sound of weights clanking inside like somebody was trying to beat metal into submission.
"Big fist gym." I said muttering underneath my breath with a raised brow.
Ashley looked back at me and asked "What."
"Nothing. The name just sound like a place where people get beat up for free." I said calmly while following behind her.
Ashley snorted.
We walked up to the door.
*Ding*
A little bell rang as ashley pushed it open.
Warm air hit me.
Sweat.
Iron.
Rubber.
Old cologne.
And men lying to themselves in tank tops.
The gym was not big, but it was packed with equipment.
Benches.
Dumbbells.
Heavy bags.
Treadmills that looked like they had been bought used from a hospital, only to be moved to a even more raggedy but useful place.
A boxing ring in the corner.
A wall mirror cracked down the middle.
The place looked like pain had a monthly membership.
An old chocolate skinned man sat behind the reception counter with a newspaper in his hands and a gray beard covering half his face.
He looked up slowly.
Ashley walked to the counter, reached into her purse and pulled out a little gym membership card.
The old man glanced at it.
Then glanced at her.
Then glanced at me.
The gym was silent.
He waved his hand lazily and said "Go ahead."
Ashley put the card back in her purse and walked in.
I stepped forward.
The old man looked at me.
I looked at him.
The gym was silent.
"You with her." Asked the old man with a tired voice.
"Obviously." I said calmly.
The old man stared at me for a moment.
Then waved his hand.
"Don't break nothing." Said the old man before going back to his newspaper.
"I'll try." I said calmly while walking past the counter.
Ashley looked back at me with narrowed eyes.
"What." I asked calmly.
"Why do you always answer people like you want problems." Asked ashley while putting her purse inside a locker by the wall.
"Because people ask questions like they want answers." I said calmly.
Ashley stared at me.
The gym was loud.
Weights clanked.
Somebody grunted too loud near the bench press.
A skinny man jumped rope in the corner like his rent depended on it.
A woman with thick thighs and a headband was doing leg lifts with a serious look on her face.
I looked around silently.
"Not bad." I thought while taking my jacket off.
Ashley tied her shoes and said "I'm going to stretch first."
"Do that." I said calmly while looking at the dumbbells.
Before I could even take two steps, a well built chocolate skinned bald headed man walked up to ashley with a towel around his neck and a smile on his face.
The gym was loud.
But my ears Immediately locked in.
"Excuse me, sweetheart. I seen you come in here before. I been meaning to ask if I could get your number." Said the man with a smooth voice as he leaned slightly against the locker.
Ashley blinked.
The gym was silent.
Well.
Silent to me.
My head slowly turned.
Ashley opened her mouth.
I moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
I stepped in between them and gently shoved ashley back with my left hand.
Ashley stumbled one step and looked at me crazy.
The man frowned.
I smiled kindly and reached my right hand out.
"How you doing, brother." I said warmly.
The man looked at my hand.
Then looked at me.
The gym was silent.
He slowly shook my hand.
Strong grip.
Cute.
"Your shoe lace was untied." I said with a kind smile.
The man looked down.
The world paused.
Ashley eyes widened.
BAM
My knee slammed up into his face.
His head snapped back.
Before his body could drop, my right foot came down hard between his legs.
CRUNCH
The gym went absolutely silent.
The man made a sound that did not belong to any human language.
His body folded.
Then dropped.
BOOM
He hit the floor and curled up like a shrimp.
The gym was frozen.
Somebody dropped a dumbbell.
CLANG
Ashley stared at me with wide eyes.
I looked down at the man calmly.
"Don't ask my woman for her number." I said calmly.
The man groaned.
Ashley grabbed my arm and whisper yelled "ROBERT, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU."
I looked at her.
The gym was silent.
"He was flirting." I said calmly.
"So you broke his face and crushed his balls." Said ashley with a horrified look on her face.
"I didn't break his face." I said calmly.
The man groaned louder.
I looked down.
"Probably." I said with a slight shrug.
The old man at the counter slowly stood up and looked over.
The gym was silent.
"What happened." Asked the old man calmly.
"He tripped." I said calmly.
Everybody stared at me.
Ashley stared at me like I had lost my mind.
The old man looked down at the man still curled up on the floor.
The man was holding his face with one hand and between his legs with the other.
The old man looked back at me.
"That boy ain't trip." Said the old man.
"He tripped into consequences." I said calmly.
The gym remained absolutely silent.
Ashley rubbed her face with both hands.
"Somebody call a ambulance." Said the old man with a sigh.
A woman near the treadmill hurried to the phone by the wall.
The bald man groaned again.
I stepped over him and walked towards the dumbbells.
Ashley followed behind me like she was trying not to scream.
"Robert." Said ashley lowly.
"What." I asked calmly while picking up a twenty pound dumbbell.
"Are you crazy." Asked ashley with wide eyes.
"No. I'm possessive." I said calmly while curling the dumbbell.
Ashley stared at me.
The gym was loud again.
People were whispering.
I could feel eyes on my back.
Good.
Let them look.
"I hope you know the police might come." Said ashley while folding her arms.
"For what. He tripped." I said calmly while switching arms.
Ashley looked at me like she wanted to hit me again.
I kept curling.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
My arm shook slightly by six.
"Disgusting." I thought with a frown as my bicep started burning.
This body had talent.
A voice.
Height.
Face.
Charm.
But physically?
Trash.
Soft.
Weak.
Neglected.
"Yeah. This ain't going to work." I thought with narrowed eyes as I kept curling.
The bald man was still on the floor.
Somebody put a towel under his head.
A skinny man near the boxing ring whispered "Man, that nigga dangerous."
I looked at him.
He Immediately turned around.
Good.
Ashley stood beside me silently for a moment.
Then she sighed and walked over to the stretching mats.
I glanced at her.
She sat down and started stretching her legs.
Her face was still annoyed.
But she was working out.
I smiled slightly.
"Good girl." I thought.
Then I grabbed another dumbbell.
The ambulance came about twenty minutes later.
Two paramedics walked inside with tired faces like they had already seen too much stupid shit tonight.
One looked down at the bald man.
Then looked around the gym.
"What happened." Asked the paramedic.
The gym went silent.
"He tripped." I said from the dumbbell rack.
Ashley threw a towel at my head.
SMACK
The towel hit my face.
I pulled it off slowly and looked at her.
Ashley looked away.
The old man at the counter sighed and said "He got into a disagreement."
The paramedic looked at the bald man.
The bald man pointed weakly at me.
I waved at him kindly.
The gym was silent.
The paramedics lifted him onto the stretcher.
He groaned the whole way.
His eyes never left me.
I smiled.
The doors opened.
*Ding*
Then closed.
The ambulance lights flashed through the front windows.
Then they were gone and the gym slowly just slowly returned to normal.
Weights clanked again.
People talked again.
Music from a little radio in the corner played lowly.
I kept working out.
Chest.
Arms.
Back.
Legs.
Badly.
Very badly.
I did not know what the hell I was doing, but I kept doing it.
Every machine humbled me.
The bench press humbled me.
The pull up bar embarrassed me.
The treadmill attacked my lungs personally.
By 9 pm, my shirt was soaked.
By 11 pm, my arms felt like noodles.
By 1 am, my legs felt like they belonged to somebody else.
By 3 am, I was moving out of spite.
Ashley worked out too.
At first she was just stretching.
Then she started walking on the treadmill.
Then she did some leg machines.
Then some light weights.
Then she got tired and sat on the floor with her water bottle while glaring at me.
"You done yet." Asked ashley with irritation.
"No." I said calmly while trying to do another push up.
My arms gave out.
*Boom*
My chest hit the floor.
The gym was silent.
Ashley stared at me.
I stared at the floor.
"That was intentional." I said calmly with a wave of my twitching left hand.
Ashley burst out laughing.
I closed my eyes.
"Shut up." I said calmly into the floor.
Ashley kept laughing.
The old man at the reception counter chuckled from far away.
I slowly pushed myself up with hatred in my heart.
The night kept dragging.
The gym emptied little by little.
The loud ones left first.
Then the serious ones.
Then the quiet ones.
Soon it was just me, ashley, the old man and two men hitting the heavy bags in the corner.
Then they left too.
The gym became calm.
Almost peaceful.
I sat on a bench with my elbows on my knees and sweat dripping from my face.
My body hurt everywhere which was good.
Pain meant that this body was still listening.
Ashley sat beside me, breathing hard, her blonde buzz cut damp with sweat and her makeup still somehow holding on better than my dignity.
"You good dude, you look dead." Asked ashley with a snicker.
"I feel reborn." I said calmly in a godly tone as if I had ascended.
"You look dead." Said ashley repeating herself without shame.
I looked at her. The gym was silent.
"You hungry." I asked calmly.
Ashley nodded Immediately and said while rubbing her stomach "Very."
I stood up slowly.
My legs shook.
Ashley looked down at them.Then back up at me.
"Don't say nothing." I said calmly with a middle finger.
"I wasn't." Said ashley with a small smile on her face.
"You were thinking it." I said calmly with my eyes squinting.
Ashley adjusted her throat and said with her eyes averting "I was."
I walked towards the locker area and grabbed my jacket.
Ashley grabbed her purse and book.
I looked down at my watch.
5:00 am.
"Damn." I said muttering underneath my breath.
Ashley looked down at the watch on my right arm and said "We've been here all night."
"I did tell you I might not be back until 1 or 2 in the morning." I said calmly with my eyes giving her a look with a sigh.
"It's five in the morning, robert." Said ashley with a blank look on her face.
"I lied. I was secretly seeing another woman named ashley o'brien, please forgive me." I said calmly and very dryler with a regretful look on my face.
Ashley stared at me.
I smiled.
She shook her head and walked towards the entrance.
I followed behind her with sore legs and a aching back.
The gym was silent now.
Machines still.
Weights resting.
Mirrors fogged.
The old muscular gym owner was asleep at the reception counter with his arms folded under his head and the newspaper stuck to the side of his face.
A little snore came from his mouth.
The lobby was absolutely silent.
I stopped and stared at him for a moment.
"Should we wake him up." Asked ashley with a whispering voice.
"No. We should rob him and flee." I said calmly while gesturing at all the places a surveillance could be.
Ashley looked at me and rolled her eyes.
I reached over the counter slowly and grabbed a small pen.
Then I wrote on the corner of his newspaper.
ROB WAS HERE, NEXT TIME YOU BETTER STAY AWAKE YOU OLD BASTARD OR YOU WILL GET ROBBED.
Ashley covered her mouth.
I put the pen back.
The old man snored.
I walked to the door and opened it slowly.
*Ding*
The bell rang softly.
The old man moved slightly.
We froze.
The gym was silent.
He kept sleeping.
I stepped outside.
Cold morning air hit me in the face.
Ashley walked out beside me and hugged herself.
The sky was still dark.
Chicago looked tired.
I looked back inside at the sleeping old man.
Then at the machines.
Then at my own sore hands.
"Yeah, this is the shit" I thought calmly.
I looked up at the sky turning morning and thought "I'll definitely be back tomorrow for some more"
…
THE END…