The Russian Billionaire's Fiesty Serb

The guy rolls out from under him and jumps up to his feet, wheezing. He pulls in big breaths of air, 'Damn you are a beast today man.'

Nik just stares at him without saying anything. 

Now that I think about it he does look different. His expression and aura is more predatorial and sharp than when I last saw him in my room. It reminds me of how he was when he was in my apartment when we were trying to figure out the break in. 

The sparring partner grabs a towel to wipe off all the sweat and downs a bottle of water like a dog on a hot day. 

'Nik, I haven't seen you this wound up in a while. What's going on?' 

More silence from Nik.

'I see. So the night terrors have come back?'

Nik scowls. 

'Lance, mind your damn business. I didn't call you here to psych evaluate me.'

Lance holds his hands up in surrender, 'Still prickly Nik.' he smirks at him.

Nik glowers at Lance, 'Shall we go for another round so I can demonstrate how nice I am now.'

'Nah man, I think you've bashed me around enough for tonight. Plus unlike you, I have a wife to go back to.'

Nik is wrapping tape around his hands, when Lance puts his hand on Nik's shoulder, 'Moy brat, as your friend and ex-councillor, I'm telling you that what happened back then wasn't your fault. You've got to let it go. It's shit seeing it still tearing you up.' It's only now that I notice that Lance has a slight accent. 

Nik's face contorts in pain, and his face turns an ashen colour. 'Blya, ya znayu. No inogda eto ne tak.' 

Argh so annoying. I wish I could understand Russian. The only thing I could vaguely understand from that was, I know. 

'Alright moy brat. I'm heading off. I'll send you some new sleeping meds, in case you find yourself needing it.'

Lance starts to head off in the opposite direction of where i am, i'm assuming there must be another exit in here. He opens a door that I didn't even realise was in the room, it blends into the white wall, and is about to leave but before he's gone Nik calls out, 'Spacibo brat.'

After Lance is gone, Nik starts pounding the boxing bag with a punishing rhythm. Each strike harder than the last. In seconds he is dripping with sweat. His face is so concentrated, but not on the bag. No. On his demons.

He keeps pounding, and pounding until the tape starts to unravel on his hands. He doesn't seem to notice, or if he does it doesn't bother him. He keeps going and welts start to form on his hands. Nik is relentless, and doesn't stop even when i can tell it must hurt a fair bit. Blood starts to drip from his hands.

I was going to just watch him and go get my hot chocolate but I can't stand seeing him doing this to himself. I walk out of my hiding spot, and head over to where he is. 

I can tell that he senses my presence but continues pounding the bag. 'Nik.' I say carefully.

He stops hitting the punching bag for a moment to say in a harsh tone, 'What the hell are you doing here?'

'I don't know...I just kind of ended up here. What are you doing?' I turn it back on him.

He glares at me, 'I'm working out. I would've thought that was fairly obvious.'

'I don't think people usually work out at 3am.' I say as I walk up to him. 

He stares at me, rage set in those green depths, a warning. Instead of being put off by that, something else beckons me closer. Behind the rage is a pool of pain that I can see is ripping him apart. 

'Drip, drip, drip' the sound of his blood dripping on the mat echoes in the silence.

I was so distracted by his raw pain that I nearly forgot about his mangled hands.

I snatch his hand, holding it up to my face to inspect the damage, 'Jesus, you call this exercise?' I say 

He shakes his hand out of my grip, 'It's none of your business!' 

'Oh yes it is! Your hand is going to get infected!' 

'I don't remember giving you permission to be here. So remind me why you are still here, again?' 

I put my hands on my hips and glare at him, ready to rip into him for being pigheaded, but i'm distracted when out of the corner of my eye I spot a first aid kit hanging on the back wall. I head over and grab it.

I return and Nik is pounding the boxing bag as if I never said anything. 

'Nik, stop!' I command.

He continues in rhythm with his playlist. Arghh this insufferable bastard. That's it.

I walk right up to the boxing bag while he's dancing around it before he swings, and insert myself between him and the boxing bag. 

'What the fuck are you doing?!' Nik shouts at me, 'I nearly hit you!'

'Yeah, well you should've thought about that before you decided to act like an asshole. Now sit down so I can fix your hand!' I say pointing at the mat. 

He stares at me for a while, as if he can't decide whether to listen to me or tell me off for being stupid.

Finally, he sits down.

I follow after him. I get comfy and grab his hand. I open the kit and pull out the disinfectant and proceed to clean all his open wounds. I do it a little more aggressively than I intended to but he doesn't make a noise of complaint. 

I look up and see that he has a vacant expression. He isn't even registering the pain from his wounds and they're not small cuts either.

I continue administering the disinfectant and muster up the courage to ask him, 'So what was Lance talking about before?'

'So you were eavesdropping!' He scowls at me.

'No.' 

He stares at me unconvinced. 

'Well at least not intentionally.' I say apologetically.

I start wrapping his hands, 'You know I'm here if you want to talk Nik.'

He doesn't say anything. Well I guess that's that. He still doesn't trust me enough to even just talk about himself, it hurts but I can't force it out of him. 

 'Ok you're all done, I'm off then.' I say in resignation.

I start packing everything up. I'm about to stand up when Nik's arm shoots out, halting me. He has a firm grip on my arm.

'Don't go.' He says.

I look at his expression. It's so desolate, and lonely, that I know I can't leave him.