~Avery's POV~
"Get your lazy ass up and start punching me!" Alex yelled at me when I lay down on the grass, catching my breath, and enjoying the endorphin rush happening inside me right now.
"Oh come on, five minutes!" I whined, but before I could fully enjoy the feeling, Alex grabbed my hand and yanked me up on my feet.
"You can rest later, let's do this." He said as he held the pads up. I started throwing punches. I may not be strong, but with the right technique and breathing, I actually made his arm move at least a few inches.
"You got this, cupcake!" I stared him dead in the eyes and threw another punch. This time his arm moved a lot more than a few inches and his mouth made an O-shape.
"That was awesome! Now I know what gets you going, anger." He said with a smirk. I was really wondering when we could remove the pads and I could punch him in the face. I was hoping that I could run away once I had hit him.
"Alright we're done for today. You did great, Avery. It's good to have you back." A sense of guilt washed over me when I saw the happiness in his eyes. He had been so worried. They all had.
But I needed to follow my heart.
"It's good to be back. Come on." I said as I grabbed his arm and we went to sit on one of the benches next to the training fields.
"What's on your mind?" Alex asked me before he gulped down the water from the bottle.
"I wanted to apologize to you for how I acted the last time we worked out. I don't know what got into me. I could say it was the wizard and make myself feel better, but I'm not entirely sure that it was. Maybe partially. But anyhow, I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I think it's really sweet how much you care about me. I'm just not very used to it." I said. I shrugged my shoulders and put my hands on my knees. Certain conversations made me uncomfortable and the ones where feelings were exposed were the worst ones.
"It's okay, you're going through some weird shit, kid, there's nothing to apologize for. I will always care about you, and protect you and annoy the shit out of you. Because that's what a family does." He said as he took my hand. He looked me in the eyes. He was sincere. This was going to be harder than I thought.
"Alex, umm, you're like the brother I always wished mine was. I lost him early on when he moved away. You're so loving, joyful, and serious all at once. You can make anyone laugh and cry at the same time. You're so special and I want you to really understand that." Alex's smile dropped and was replaced by a frown. His eyebrows furrowed and his eyes were scanning mine.
"I need you to know how special you are and how eternally grateful I am for everything you've done. I know that in the beginning I was just supposed to marry James and that I was sold to him but along the way, something changed. You guys have become my family, and I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world."
"Avery, what's going on? Why does it sound like you're saying goodbye?" I bit my tongue and dug my nails into my hand trying to fight back the tears.
"I'm not, it's just... you never know what's gonna happen. We have no idea what we're about to face. I just want to know that I've said everything in my heart so I don't have any regrets." I said, hoping it would somehow comfort him, reassure him in some way.
"Nothing is ever going to happen to you, Avery. No one will let it."
That's the problem. I thought to myself.
"I know. Alright, enough of this, seriously, everything is fine, I just needed to get that off my chest. Let's go eat, I'm starving."
I stood to my feet and started walking before I realized that Alex wasn't behind me, I turned around and saw him sitting on the bench, looking out over the fields.
"Hey, are you coming?" I asked him and his head turned to me slowly. He gave me a sad smile before getting up. I could see sorrow in his eyes. He knew.
'No, but he thinks that he does. Leave it that way'
The voice in my head, that I now knew who it was, said. Her voice only came in moments where I was desperate. And this was truly one of those moments.