Good Things

Kamry’s Hope by Crystal G. Smith

Kamry stood and gasped for air as her body came down from the high she always got from working out. God, she was definitely out of shape and had no idea what she was doing, but one way or another, she was going to make sure that no man would ever be able to get the best of her the way Steven had.

She hated him. She had only been married to him for a little over a year, but had been with him for four. She hated that the minute ‘I do’ was said, everything changed.

In his eyes, she never did anything right. They would argue and scream. He would throw insults just as quickly as the last one registered in her brain. He would make her feel completely worthless. Then she had decided that when he wanted to yell and scream, she would ignore him and move on.

Then one day, it happened. He was screaming and telling her what a complete loser she was. She took a deep breath and kept cutting the carrots she was preparing for supper. Wrong move.

Before she knew what happened, she was on the floor. She remembered her head and the floor connecting, and then she was waking up. Of course, Steven was standing over her, asking her if she was okay and telling her how sorry he was. She fell for it.

The next time, he didn’t shove her. He straight up close-fisted her face. It escalated until he was no longer even apologizing for it. She couldn’t take it. She packed up and left while he was at work, never looking back. With help of her family, she filed for divorce.

Two months ago, she was lying in bed when she realized that she would never really be able to defend herself against a man if it happened again. She began watching YouTube videos of self-defense training and now, she was sitting on a bench after kicking and punching the heavy bag in front of her.

Everyone watched her, but she didn’t care. She really didn’t care that she had no clue what she was doing. What she did know was that she was not going to take it again. If the bag did nothing more than help her build strength, she would at least be able to kick and punch.

“You know, I’ve seen you coming in here and I have to say, you got some heart, kid.”

Kamry turned and stared at a young Hispanic man.

“Thanks,” she said, wondering why he was still standing there. She looked him over and knew she hadn’t seen him in the gym before, but he looked familiar. She just wasn’t able to place him. Maybe it was… Hell, she didn’t know. The man was covered in tattoos from his wrists, up his arms, then down his chiseled chest and back. He looked maybe mid-twenties or so, with short cropped hair and big brown eyes that reeked of mystery.

When her eyes returned to his, she realized she was busted. She hadn’t really been checking him out, well, she had, but not for the reasons she was afraid he thought.

“Heart is attractive and heart can get you a trainer. What are your goals?”

“I’m sorry, what?”

He chuckled, sitting next to her. “Why are you here?”

“I want to be able to fight,” she answered, not willing to tell the truth of it to a complete stranger.

“How long have you been split from him?”

“How do you know this has to do with Steven?”

He smiled. “I didn’t until you answered that way. I’ve been coming here for years and I only see women fight like you do when they either have something to prove, or someone they need to protect themselves from.”

“I see.” She wiped the sweat from her eyes. “Well, then I guess you have me figured out.”

“Look, I don’t mean to bother you. I just thought I would offer you some advice. It’s not much, but I can help you out if I’m here when you are. I can give you ten, maybe fifteen minutes if I see you here.”

“What, are you saying watching YouTube isn’t going to help me?” She was only half-serious.

He laughed. “I like your sense of humor just as much as that oversized heart. I’ll see you around, kid.”

Kid? He looked around her age, and she had just turned twenty-six. He didn’t look nearly old enough to be calling her a kid. She was far from it.

She watched him walk away, still chuckling at her lack of knowledge or skill, depending on how a person wanted to look at it.

She grabbed her bag and tossed her towel over her shoulders. She would take a shower when she got home. Normally, she took one before leaving, but today she would just wait until later.

The walk home was great. Living in NYC was as far away from him as she could get. Well, technically she could have gone a lot further, but she figured the larger the city, the better off she was.

Her apartment wasn’t anything to brag over. It was nothing more than a studio apartment with a bathroom that had walls. She didn’t mind, though. It was large enough to split the bedroom area and the living area. She didn’t have a kitchen table because she didn’t need one. She never invited anyone over. In fact, the only person to see the inside of her apartment was her neighbor Jess.

Jess and Kamry had hit it off from the start. Jess was also twenty-six, a small town girl who was also running from her past. They spent their evenings when Jess wasn’t working talking and having popcorn slash scary movie festivals in one of their apartments.

Jess worked two jobs as a waitress, so they only met up about once a week, twice if they were lucky. Thankfully, Kamry was an occupational therapist and found it rather easy to find all the work she needed. Sure, she could afford a larger apartment in a better neighborhood, with all the bells and whistles, but she didn’t want that because she knew if Steven ever came looking for her, he would look in nice areas. The only thing that scared her about work was him finding her address, if he wanted to dig enough.

She couldn’t go on living her life without working, though. She had for a while, but after six months of NYC prices, her savings were about out and she missed working anyways. It was a risk she didn’t have a choice but to take.

After her shower, she flopped on the couch. She stared at the ceiling for a minute then reached for the remote. She didn’t have many favorite shows, but she enjoyed house hunting, remodeling, and cooking.

She flipped through the channels and when she found a show she was interested in, she grabbed a pillow and cuddled it as they began stripping out the bungalow the couple had just purchased.

At some point, she fell asleep. It wasn’t until she heard a loud crash and shattering glass that she was startled awake.

For a moment, she froze. Unable to move. Barely able to breathe. Her heart raced and the fear was almost crippling.

Without moving her body, her eyes searched what they could see. With a sigh of relief, she sat up.

“Damn it.” She ran her fingers through her hair and then went in search of the broom and dustpan. She had left her water glass on the coffee table and must have knocked it over.

She swept up the mess and headed back to her original spot. The rest of the day was going to be straight up lazy and then back to work tomorrow.

Kamry looked over her schedule for the day. She worked mainly in long term care, but because she required a full work load, she worked for a company that would send her to three different locations to get her hours in.

She smiled. She would be visiting Brook Haven today and that was one of her favorite places to go. She loved Ms. Maybelle.

Ms. Maybelle was an eighty-seven-year young lovely lady who could light up Kamry’s day with just a smile. Her blue eyes were always twinkling and she was never in a foul mood. She told stories of how she had been an actress back in her day, and Kamry would soak it all up. The woman had a knack for telling stories. Whether they were true or not, Kamry didn’t care. She loved her and that was all that mattered.

She really loved the stories about how Ms. Maybelle met her husband. He preceded her in death, and it had been seven years, but she loved him just as much today as she did the day he had gone to Heaven.

The minute Kamry walked into Brook Haven and around the corner to the therapy department, she saw her and smiled.

“Good morning, Ms. Maybelle.”

“There’s my favorite young lady. How are you today?”

“I’m fantastic. How are you today?”

“Didn’t sleep well last night. I keep getting these headaches that just won’t go away.”

“Did you tell the nurses?” Kamry asked, raising an eyebrow because she knew Ms. Maybelle hadn’t said a word.

“No. They are so busy. Them girls run and run and run some more. I feel sorry for them, actually.”

“Ms. Maybelle, we have had this discussion before. That’s their job, and obviously they love doing it because it’s the field they have chosen to work in.”

“Just because you work here doesn’t mean you love it.”

“I love it and I work here.”

“But you, my young friend, are a special breed of woman.”

“Thank you,” Kamry said, patting her hand before grabbing the back of the wheelchair and pushing her into the department.

Forty-five minutes and a lot of hard work on Ms. Maybelle’s part later, her session was over. It always seemed like the time flew by during their sessions, because of the stories. She pushed Ms. Maybelle to the dining room where bingo was about to begin. After getting her situated, Kamry went to the nurse’s station and reported the complaint about headaches. They both frowned.

“Its starting,” Suzy, one of the LPNs there, said.

“What’s starting?” Kamry asked.

“She has an aneurysm that is inoperable.”

“Oh, no.” Kamry turned, looking to where Ms. Maybelle now played with the four cards she had chosen.

“She doesn’t know. She has pain medication that she can ask for, but it’s obvious she isn’t going to, so I will call and get them scheduled.”

“Thank you.”

Kamry turned, walking back to Ms. Maybelle and kissing her head before going on to the next resident of the day.

Kamry arrived at the gym shortly after six. She changed into her workout clothing and stepped up to the bag. The place was unusually empty, but she didn’t mind. She preferred it this way, because there were less people staring at her.

She stretched her legs and then her arms. She didn’t know a lot about working out and learning to fight, but stretching was right up her alley.

“Hey, you came back.”

Kamry jumped at the deep voice behind her. She quickly turned to see the same man that had approached her before. “Um, yeah.”

“So I was thinking, show me how you handle the bag and then I can help you with the technique. Then I thought maybe you would want to do some self defense on the floor. I’ve never had a need to learn to fight for the same reason as you, but I do know that when I am in the ring with my back flat against the mat, ju ju comes in handy.”

“Ju ju?”

He smiled. “Jujitsu.”

“Oh. Thanks, I think. I’m Kamry.” She held out her hand.

“Jose, nice to meet you,” he replied, shaking her hand.

That explained why he looked so tough then. She assumed when he said ring, he meant MMA. His body was definitely in shape, at least six foot one, maybe two or three. He was rather large, for sure. Probably weighing in at one-ninety or so. She didn’t know much about MMA, only what she had heard the guys in the gym talking about.

He walked to the back of the bag and gripped it. “Well, shall we?”

“Don’t laugh at me and don’t make fun of me. I appreciate your help or any advice you can give me, but I won’t be laughed at.”

She watched his face turn serious as he let go of the bag and stood in front of her. He brushed a strand of hair from her face and locked eyes with her. “Everyone was a white belt at one point or another. I would never laugh at you.”

She nodded.

He walked back to the bag and she began alternating kicks and punches. When she was finished, she waited for him to begin criticizing her every move.

“That was pretty good. My only thing is this...” He come to stand behind her, and then his breath was in her ear. “Don’t knock me out.” He placed his hands on her hips, pivoting them slightly. “When you kick, rotate just a bit like this. Go with the flow.” He reached out and gripped her hands. “Make a fist.” She did. He gripped her wrist, pointing to the ring finger and pinky. “These knuckles here, you can fracture them easily.”

“Yes, a boxer’s fracture.”

“Exactly, so you want to make sure you are hitting with these two digits.”

“Gotcha.” She knew about boxer fractures. She just never really thought about the possibility of punching wrong and so had never paid attention to it.

“Okay, let’s hit the floor mats.”

She followed him to a set of mats.

“Lay on your back.”

“What?”

He smiled and then lay down in the position he wanted her in. “Like this.” Then he stood and waited for her. He had laid flat on his back, knees bent and feet flat on the mat.

She took a deep breath and then as she started to lay down, her body began to grow nervous, trembling. Tears began to pour from her eyes. Sweat broke from her skin to a point that it was like a water hose on a slow drip, just drizzling down her body. The feeling of pins and needles came across her body briefly before she felt numb, almost paralytic.

The room began spinning and then the earth around her followed.

She could feel the weight of Steven laying on top of her. All the control she felt she had in her life now was rapidly disappearing. Suddenly, all she could feel was the overwhelming need to get away. She needed to escape and run for her life.

The next thing she knew, Jose was sitting next to her with the palm resting in his as he used the thumb of his other hand to massage it.

She locked eyes with him and in that moment that she stared into his…it was as if she had just stared into his soul. There was something inside her telling her to breathe with him. She watched his shoulders move up and down in an exaggerated way. He was breathing slowly and deeply just so she could see his pattern and catch on to the rhythm.

Slowly, the nervousness began to fade. The trembling was no longer noticeable. The tears dried from her eyes. The sweat was a glisten on her skin instead of a fountain. Her feet seemed to be okay with sitting still instead of running. She began feeling her limbs come back to her and with that, the control as well.

She knew that she should have felt embarrassed for the reasonless panic attack, but then, most people who suffer from them seldom know the trigger for their attacks. They come on so sudden that most just deal with it the best way they can and move on.

Before long, she could feel herself wanting to smile and she did. “Thank you. I don’t know how you knew or how you managed to help without even saying a word, but I sincerely can’t thank you enough.”

“My mother used to suffer from panic attacks. It’s no big deal. I learned early on to give the person who is in the middle of losing their minds, or so they feel, every ounce of control I can and mainly something to focus on other than what is running through their bodies.”

“It’s a nice trick. One that I should remember.”

“Do you have them often?”

“No.”

“Can you share with me what you think might have triggered it? You don’t have to; I would just like to avoid that if I can.”

She took a deep breath and went to move her hand from his, but his grip tightened and he slowly and very calmly shook his head as he continued to massage her.

“Steven used to do most of the damage when he had me pinned to the floor.”

“I see. Shall we work on that?”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“Sure you can. You just have to make a choice, right here, right now. Do you want to be a survivor or a victim? The choice is yours.”

“I’m a survivor.”

“Not yet, but you can be.”

She didn’t have to ask him what he meant by that. She knew. If she was a survivor, she needed to overcome her fears and put every single ounce of effort into moving on and forgetting him all together.

Jose smiled as she returned to her position on the mat and moved to lay down next to her. “I just want you to look up at the ceiling for a moment. When you are ready, close your eyes and take a deep breath several times.”

“Okay,” she replied, concentrating on one single stain on the ceiling where it was apparent there was a leak. When she was ready, she closed her eyes.

“Keep breathing, relaxing, and keep telling yourself that I am here to help you. I will not hurt you. I am going to show you how to kick a man’s ass so you never have to fear abuse again.”

After several minutes, she was ready to go. She opened her eyes and turned to look at him. He was staring up to the ceiling, patiently giving her the time she needed.

“I’m ready.” She smiled.

“Good.” He moved slowly and explained every last thing before he even touched her. The few minutes he was supposed to spend with her had turned into an hour before it was over. He continued to attempt to control her from the top and with his instruction that she followed so well, she was able to break away from him with ease before he smiled and collapsed to the mat beside her.

“You did excellent today. I have some work to do, but I’ll be here next time you’re here.”

“How do you know when I will be here?”

“I don’t. I pretty much live here, though.”

“Oh.” She stood and walked to the bench where her belongings were. She grabbed her towel and patted her head a few times before turning back and seeing he was gone. She felt a bit of disappointment because she hadn’t got to thank him. She would tell him tomorrow, though. If it was the last thing she did every day before going home, she was coming back to get all the help she could. For the first time since leaving Steven, she felt like she could actually partially hold her own.

It had been three months since she met Jose and began training with him. In that short time, she had transformed to a woman that wasn’t so jumpy around men. A woman that was in the best shape of her life. A woman that wasn’t in total fear of walking down the street and being found. She rarely thought of Steven anymore. The only time she needed to remember what he had put her through was when she was ready to quit training for the day and Jose would use him to give her the push he needed to finish.

Over the last three months, she had found another friend. She had developed a bond with Jose that couldn’t be described. She trusted him with every ounce of woman she was, and loved him like a brother. He had been her angel in the dark when she needed someone the most.

“Jose, I need to tell you something. Something that I haven’t told anyone.”

He smiled, wiping his forehead. “Okay.” He sat on the bench next to her.

“When I left Steven, I decided that if I couldn’t get over it, I would end it myself. I didn’t want to live in fear of him finding me and I surely didn’t want him to find me and actually go back to what I had worked so hard to leave behind.” She took a deep breath and wiped a tear that was trailing down her cheek. “I had this bottle of hydrocodone. It was the last bottle that I had filled before I left him and the divorce was final. I had kept it and my plans were to take the entire bottle if I couldn’t cope. If he found me. I was going to end my life because I didn’t want him to have any more control and I wasn’t willing to give him the power to take anything more from me. I have stared at that bottle every night since then. But last night, I pulled the bottle from my nightstand like I always do and for the first time, I started laughing. I realized there was no way in hell I was going to take that bottle and do what his ultimate goal was. I found a new pep in my step as I went to the toilet and flushed them. I want to thank you. You really have no idea how you have saved my life.”

She watched as his eyes glistened and his chin twitched. “No, it is you saved me. I am so glad that I found you. I have a confession to make now. Days were passing when I was searching for someone like you. Someone that needed me to help them. I was beginning to lose faith that I would ever find you. Then I looked across the gym and saw this woman who…well, since we are being completely honest with each other now, had no clue what she was doing and I knew right then, I had finally found you. My life hasn’t been the greatest either. I lost my way there for a long time and I found my way back in helping you. It’s you that I owe many thanks to.”

“Wait, what? You’re not mad about my admission? About the pills?”

“No. You never would have taken them. You’re too strong for that. You may have thought you would, but you are not a quitter.”

He reached for her and pulled her into his chest. “If I had only met you sooner,” he whispered, kissing her cheek and then walking away.

She wanted to chase after him, but her cell began ringing and she knew that it could only be work-related.

“Hello.”

“Hey, Kamry. This is Suzy. I wanted to tell you that Ms. Maybelle has taken a turn for the worse and we have called in hospice. Her grandson is here with her now and he wanted you to be called. Ms. Maybelle had been talking with him about you.”

“How bad is she?” Kamry asked.

“She won’t be with us by tomorrow, we’re afraid.”

“I’m on my way.” Kamry ended the call and began a steady jog home. She showered, changed, and headed to Ms. Maybelle.

The minute she walked into her room, she saw how bad she was. Suzy was there and she had the familiar bottle of MSIR—morphine sulfate instant release. She knew they usually only used that particular medication when the end was near, because just a few drops of medication under the tongue and it would get into the system. It was used when the person was unable to swallow anymore or when the pain was too severe, because it would get into their system faster than swallowing medication.

“Hey, Kamry,” Suzy whispered.

The man sitting in a chair with his back to the door stood, turned, and smiled. Damn, if the circumstances were different. He was tall. Six foot, athletic build. Short, dark hair that looked like he had just gotten straight out of bed and ran his fingers through it. Dark brown eyes that were lit with attraction, with a tan complexion and long legs. He was wearing a white t-shirt that had some kind of black shape on the front and dark embellished jeans. He was a walking, talking GQ model and there was something very familiar about him. He was definitely Hispanic. That had to be it, Kamry decided. Jose was Hispanic, so maybe she was relating the two of them because of that.

He walked towards her, still smiling. He held his hand out. “I’m Garret, it is so nice to finally meet you. Grammy has talked about you every day for the last four months. She really loved you. I believe her words were, ‘you have to meet her, Garret, she is the tea to my cup and she could make your cup runneth over too’.” He smiled. “You know Gram. She’s always looking for the happily ever after. It was never her fault, though. A hopeless romantic to the bone.”

Kamry laughed. “Yes, she is. Nice to meet you as well.” She shook his hand, feeling a bit of a shock as their hands touched. It was something she had only read about, but had never felt anything like it before. It was like electricity tickling her hand and moving up through her arm then down her entire body. One word was all she could think of: amazing.

She took a deep breath and then let go, walking towards Ms. Maybelle. It took her a moment to gather her wits before she could say a word or even ask a question that made any kind of sense. “Has she been awake today at all?”

“No. Unfortunately, she hasn’t,” Garret answered, sitting back down and taking Ms. Maybelle’s hand in his. “She has been like this all day. I came as soon as I could. They called me last night and I was here in, like, thirty minutes or so. I was hoping that it was just a spell or maybe another mini stroke. Since her big stroke, she has had several of those. It’s not though. Is it?”

Kamry wasn’t a nurse or doctor, but she could tell Ms. Maybelle was going to be visiting Heaven soon. Kamry gently checked her eyes, noticing they were glazed over, and her color was pale. She gently raised the blanket’s footing, noticing that Ms. Maybelle’s heels were purplish. Not a good sign at all. “No, I’m sorry.”

He nodded.

Suzy knocked quietly on the door before coming in with another chair. “I thought you might need this. The kitchen is preparing a tray with coffee and stuff, you know the routine. If you need anything else, just let me know.”

“Thanks, Suzy.”

“Yes, thank you.” Garret didn’t take his eyes from his grandmother’s hand.

They sat quietly for a few moments before Garret spoke. “So, I know this is kind of weird, but all this silence is killing me. Can we talk about something, maybe take my mind off of what I am soon to see?”

“Sure. What would you like to talk about?”

“Well, tell me about yourself. Are you married? Kids?”

Kamry stiffened, taking a breath and beginning to rub her hands on her knees. “Um, no and no.” She silently thanked God for no children. Not that she didn’t want children, she just didn’t want any children with Steven. “How about you?”

“No and no.” He chuckled. “I work a lot and my life, well, it’s kind of crazy and a lot of women are just in it for money or bragging rights.”

Her curiosity shot through the roof, but at the same time, he hadn’t actually said what it was he did for a living, so maybe he didn’t want her to know exactly what it was. “That’s too bad.”

“Yeah. So, I can tell by your accent you aren’t from NYC.”

This time it was Kamry that chuckled. “Nope. I’m a SEMO girl.”

“A what?”

She smiled. “Southeast Missouri.”

“That’s it. That midwestern/southern accent combined. But it’s nice. It’s different. I like different.” He looked up and they locked eyes. For an inkling of a second, the world stood still. Then Ms. Maybelle’s SPO2 monitor beeped and brought Kamry back to reality. Both Kamry and Garret started. Ms. Maybelle’s heart rate was dropping. Kamry stood and silenced the machine.

“Do you want to keep this on? I can shut it off and let the nurses know.”

“Yes, please. It’s bad enough watching, but I think hearing it will be worse.” Garret reached up and wiped a single tear from his cheek.

Kamry sat with Garret for several hours before Ms. Maybelle took her last breath. For the first time in a long time, she wrapped a man in her arms and held him while he let the tears fall.

When the funeral home arrived and left with Ms. Maybelle, Garret walked Kamry to her car. “Can I have your number? I would like to let you know about the arrangements.”

“Absolutely.” She reached into her car and grabbed a business card, scribbling her personal cell on it. “Call me any time, even if you just need to talk.”

“Thank you.”

She watched him walk away. She didn’t know where his parents were because Ms. Maybelle had never talked about her children. Kamry assumed it was something along the lines of hard feelings or maybe they had already gone to Heaven, because Garret hadn’t called anyone from when Ms. Maybelle had passed.

Kamry finished her day at work with a sadness in her heart. She had known that Ms. Maybelle was going down because she had been growing tired with therapy, but had insisted on continuing. It wasn’t going to be the same without her there, though.

She turned into the gym parking lot. After entering and changing her clothes, she did her warm up. Usually Jose didn’t show up until after she was finished working the bags over, but today, he didn’t show at all. She worked through the routine they had been working on. She was proud of herself for being able to do the things she was doing now and she owed it all to Jose.

She owed a lot to him. She would have to invite him to dinner or something to thank him. She knew it wasn’t much, but something told her that Jose enjoyed the smaller things in life and that no amount of money would mean as much as a good dinner.

When she was finished, she started worrying about him, but grabbed her bags and went to leave. A poster that she hadn’t really paid attention before, which hung next to the exit, caught her attention for reasons unknown to her.

She smiled, raising her brows. It was Jose, Jose Cortez, and apparently he had just won middleweight champion belt in MMA. He looked completely overcome with joy. Next to the poster was an article about him. She began reading it, and noticed words like had, was, and past, and wondered why the article was written in the past tense. Maybe it was because he was no longer fighting, she thought. She read through his entire career and then reached a sentence that stunned her.

“Jose ‘Hope’ Cortez was at the top of the MMA world before his life was taken tragically in a head-on collision.”

“What?” That couldn’t be right. Something was wrong with the article. Panic began to fill her when she realized he wasn’t there today and she looked at the date of the article, which was five years old.

Her hand clamped over her mouth. “No way.”

She kept reading and then learned that he had a brother that continued to fight and was also making his way up to the top: Garret Maybelle.

Her blood seemed to drain from her body. That explained why he looked so familiar, as reading that put all the puzzle pieces together. He did favor Jose. How was this possible? How was Jose training her?

How?

How?

How?

Kamry didn’t return to the gym for the next few days. She did go to Ms. Maybelle’s funeral after receiving several phone calls she didn’t answer. Garret had left a voicemail with the details. She paid her condolences at the service, but nothing more. He had asked her out for coffee after, but she turned him down, using the excuse that she had work to get back to.

Really, she just wanted to get back to her apartment and try to wrap her mind around what was happening. It didn’t make any sense to her. For the past few days, she still couldn’t figure it out. How could he be dead? Why was he training her? How had she met him, Ms. Maybelle, and then Garret?

If she ever wanted to tell someone, to see if their brain could make sense out of it, they would assume she had lost it and needed a straitjacket. Nope, that wasn’t an option either, but calling Garret back and taking him up on his coffee offer was.

She reached for her cell and quickly dialed his number. Three rings later, he answered.

“I was afraid I would never hear from you again.”

“I’m sorry about that. There’s been a lot going on. Do you want to meet up, maybe have that coffee today?”

“That’s a nice surprise. Absolutely. Do you have a place in mind?”

“Do you know where Jay’s is?”

“Do I ever. They have the best cinnamon rolls in NYC. Meet you there in an hour?”

“An hour it is.”

She hung up and quickly changed her clothes. She opted for casual and comfortable: embellished Silver jeans with an AC/DC black t-shirt and her ever-faithful, black flip flops. She may have lived in NYC now, but country was forever in her blood.

She reached the cafe about fifteen minutes early. She found a table and ordered her favorite cup of coffee, black. She would have ordered his, but she really didn’t know what he would take in his coffee. She knew he would order a cinnamon roll, but assumed he would want it warm.

The minute she heard the bell of the door, her body began to tingle. The hair on her arms began moving with the beat of something… She didn’t know what the beat belonged to, but she did know they were in perfect rhythm with something. She looked up and sure enough, he was walking towards her table. He smiled that smile that would make any woman stop and stare at him. The man was walking perfection when it came to looks.

But what she liked the most was his eyes. They were full of mystery and sexy and yet so warm and inviting. Knowing what she knew now, she had seen those eyes long before she met Garret. They were Jose’s eyes.

Garret sat at the table and used his hand to gesture for the waitress. “I’m glad you called. I seriously thought I had seen the last of you. I was a bit disappointed.”

Kamry smiled. “I’m sorry. Things are…complicated. I lead a very private life and there are things in my past that I don’t want to exactly talk about in detail and to this day, I run from. I didn’t kill anyone or harm anyone or break any law. It’s just…complicated.”

“I like complicated as well. It’s a puzzle. I enjoy them too.”

This time, Kamry smiled. She didn’t know why, or what for, but she had this soothing feeling coming over her like a warm blanket on a chilled night. She liked it.

“So…I’m so terribly bad at this. I don’t even know what to say.”

Garret laughed. “That makes two of us then.”

They both laughed. “How about something that piqued my curiosity?”

He raised his eyebrows, giving her a devilish grin. “I do enjoy piqued curiosity almost as much as I enjoy puzzles and complications. Tell me, what has yours piqued?”

She looked into his eyes, seeing the humor and hidden meaning behind his words. They normally would have bothered her, but there was just something about him that made it easy to let the guard down that she had built up and made permanent with every bit of cement she could find.

“You’re pretty easygoing, aren’t you?” she asked.

“Kamry, is that what has your mind asking questions over and over again or is that something that just popped in the wonderful brain of yours? And, yes, I am really easygoing. I’m laid back. I’m not one for drama or stirring a pot that doesn’t need stirring. I don’t like arguments and I haven’t even raised my voice in…well, outside my work, in a very long time.”

“Um…no. That wasn’t the question I wanted to ask. You fight, don’t you?”

She watched his shoulders square a bit. She could tell he wasn’t upset for her knowing, but something else. “I do.”

“Does it bother you that I know?”

“No. Of course not. How did you find out?”

“It’s the funniest story, really. I work out at this gym and there was a poster of Jose there. I read the story about him and then saw your name.”

“You work out at a gym that specializes in MMA style fighting?”

“Yes. It’s close to where I live and I was pretty much left alone until…well…” She laughed. “That’s even a funnier story and you probably wouldn’t believe me.”

“He came to you, didn’t he?”

Kamry’s eyes grew wide. “How did you know?”

He let out a sigh. “I still see him and talk to him and train with him. It’s amazing. I don’t know how it happens or why it happens, but I can’t wait for him to come back to me each time he leaves.”

“Oh my God! I seriously thought I was going crazy for a bit.”

“Wait. Is that why you called me? Because you found out I fight in MMA and that Jose fought and please tell me you’re not like the others.”

“Of course not. I met your grandmother long before meeting you. I began training long before meeting you. I met him only because I didn’t know what the hell I was doing with the bag I was trying to kick but was really kicking me back harder than I was delivering. I’m not like them. I saw the poster, and that’s why I was so standoffish at the funeral and didn’t answer your calls. I was freaked out. That’s all.” She really hoped he believed her, because it was the truth and she liked how easy it was explaining things to him. Had it been Steven, she would have been laid out on the floor by now.

“Kamry, I believe you. You just can’t imagine how many are only after that.”

“Oh, I do actually. Wait, no. I mean, I can imagine. I watched Rocky, like, a billion times and I can see how everyone acts. Not Adrian of course, she was awesome. But you know, the fans.”

“I love that movie. They are all my favorites. Actually, anything with Stallone in it is on my favorite list.”

“Mine too. I love him. I even loved it when him and Dolly were singing together.”

“That’s funny. I have every single one of his movies.”

“Wow. I have a few, but not all of them. Maybe one day.”

“Would you like to come to my place sometime? Have a Stallone marathon and eat extra butter popcorn with cheese sprinkled on top?”

“Well, I could watch all of his movies at home because I could just order them on demand, but since you added the popcorn and cheese, count me in.”

They both began laughing and for the next several hours, they sat there, getting to know each other and planning when their movie marathon was going to happen. When the streets began lighting up with something besides the sun, Kamry sighed. It was definitely time to be getting home.

They both said their goodbyes, after Kamry refused to allow him to walk her home several times. She watched him get into a cab and then she waved. She hadn’t felt this good in a long time. She was finally comfortable with a man close to her again. Well, a man that she liked and was attracted to, anyways.

Kamry lay in bed thinking about Garret and how they had so much in common. It had been two hours since she had watched him get into that cab and she was still thinking about him. There was just so much about him, but what she loved most was how easy she felt sitting there and talking, laughing and sharing stories. It had been great.

She had learned that Garret had a masters degree in English lit. That he had once wanted to go into publishing because he enjoyed reading so many books. She had asked his favorite genre and he just smiled and said he didn’t have one. He loved them all. He even admitted to reading romances as well.

His favorite movies were of course action stories, but again, he would watch anything that had a good story to it.

His favorite color was blue, same as hers. He loved all music but enjoyed opera most, which surprised her. Just thinking about him made the hair on body come to life again, while the little butterflies in her stomach began to wake up. She smiled remembering the first time they had touched. It had been innocent, but the pull and electrical vibe she had felt was the most wonderful thing she had ever experienced.

Kamry heard someone knocking quietly on the door. She ran her fingers through her hair and walked to the door with Garret still on her mind. When she opened it, the air in her lungs was sucked from her. The smile and look in Steven’s eyes were filled with dangerous intent.

Stupid, Kamry, she thought. She should have looked through the peep hole. She had been so caught up thinking about her date…coffee meeting with Garret that she didn’t even think about it.

She quickly tried to close the door, but he used his large frame to stop it. With one hand, he gripped her throat, shutting off her airway and smiling the entire time. He threw her backwards once inside, shutting the door slowly and locking it.

“You are one tough bitch to track down,” he said.

Kamry picked herself up. “Yeah, and you are one son of a bitch who shouldn’t be here either. You’re breaking the restraining order. You shouldn’t be here. Please leave.”

She reached into her pocket, grabbing her phone to call 911. He was on her before she could hit talk. He smashed the phone into pieces before giving her one good blow to the face. The last thing she remembered was hearing him laugh.

When Kamry woke, she was in his vehicle driving down the highway. She tried to move but before she could get anywhere, he elbowed her in the face and knocked her out again.

The next time she came to, she was laying against a wall. He was sitting on the side of the bed, drinking whiskey like it was water.

“Steven, where are we?”

He looked over at her, smiled and began laughing. “Somewhere you can scream all you want and they will never hear you.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Because you owe me.”

She watched him walk around the room. Pacing back and forth slowly. He looked like he hadn’t showered recently and he definitely hadn’t shaved in a few days. He reeked of sweat and booze.

Her head was pounding and her ribs hurt each time she took a breath.

“Why are you just sitting there? I taught you better than that.”

She looked up and Jose was standing there, looking down at her.

“You know who I am now. More importantly, you know who you are as well. Get up and fight!”

“I can’t,” she whispered.

“You can’t fucking what!” Steven yelled, but Kamry didn’t look at him. She kept looking at Jose.

“I’ll help you,” he said, reaching down and grabbing her arm to help her up. “There you go. Stay on your feet and if he gets you down, you fight!”

Damn, she didn’t know who to be more afraid of: him or Steven.

Steven started laughing when Kamry raised her fists in the position that Jose had taught her. “What do you think you are going to do?”

“I’m going to leave here,” she said, her words trembling.

“Don’t you show him you’re scared,” Jose coached. “Show him that you are a strong woman. Show him he can’t victimize you any longer.”

She took a step towards Steven as Jose kept guiding her.

“Feed off of all that anger he has made you feel. All that fear you have felt. You are a survivor, Kamry.”

Steven swung and Kamry ducked, coming back up with a fist to the bottom of his chin, knocking him backwards.

“Stay on him, Kamry. Don’t let him get a chance to come back at you. You keep on him.” Kamry took a deep breath, heading towards him. She was going to show Steven he could not hurt her anymore. He could not scare her anymore. That he was nothing.

She swung again, pounding her fists into his face, his ribs, giving him liver shot after liver shot.

He kicked his leg out, knocking her down and making her land on the side where her ribs hurt, taking the air from her.

He mounted her, using both his hands around her neck. She couldn’t breathe.

“Use your hips, Kamry.”

She swung to the side, laying on her right hip. With her left leg, she managed to place her foot on his hip and push him back. She brought her left elbow down over his arms, breaking his hold on her.

“Don’t worry about gasping now. Stay calm. This isn’t over yet, Kamry. Use your other foot.”

She pulled her right foot up, kicking him in the chest with everything she had and knocking him completely off her.

“Get up!” Jose yelled.

Kamry stood, walking to Steven, and began kicking him in the ribs. The rage poured from her body with every last kick. She watched his face become wrinkled almost, his eyes squinting with each kick. She loved it.

She kept going but then she realized she was not going to kick him to death. She was going to do to him what he had done to her so many times. She reached down, rolling him onto his back and mounting him. She placed both hands around his neck and began choking him. No matter what he did, she held on. She watched his color go from red, to purple, to blue. He was weakening and she was loving the power she had over him. His arms dropped to the side and that’s when it hit her. She wasn’t going to be the one to kill him. She let go, and stood.

He gasped for air, grabbing his throat and coughing.

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m not weak anymore. You will never be able to hurt me again.”

“He will never be able to hurt any other woman or child again. I have some people that can’t wait to get their hands on him,” Jose said.

“What do you mean?” Kamry asked, but Jose didn’t have to answer. She heard a growling mixed with a low roar. “What is that?” she whispered.

“It’s his end,” Jose answered.

She watched as black shadows rose from the floor around him. He began screaming. “No, don’t take me. Kamry, help me!”

She smiled. “There is no help for you.” And then they took him. It happened quickly, and he was gone.

The room began to blur then. She didn’t know what was happening and she didn’t really care. He had gotten everything he deserved.

“Where did they take him?” She asked, hoping for the answer she received.

“Hell.”

What happened next, she wasn’t sure of. She remembered hearing a loud crash and then arms were around her waist, pulling her into the body they belonged to. The room began to spin and everything went dark.

“You did a good job, Kamry. Just rest,” Jose whispered.

A steady beep was in the background. Otherwise, silence filled the area. There was a clean smell to the air. She was waking up, and could feel her body being touched. Her hand, her cheek were being rubbed.

“Time to wake up, sleepyhead.”

“Jose?” Kamry looked around the room, finding his familiar eyes on her and then someone else in the chair next to her.

“Jose, where am I?”

“The hospital. You’ve been asleep for a bit longer than we had anticipated. Steven thought a good swift kick to your head while you were out would add to the multiple injuries you had.”

“Oh.” She was never happier than that day to see Jose. Had it not been for him, she never would have been able to get free.

Jose gripped her hand. “It’s time for me to go now, Kamry.”

There was both sadness and happiness in Jose’s eyes. “But, why?”

“Because I did what I stayed behind for.”

“Jose, what are you talking about?” Tears filled Kamry’s eyes.

“Kamry, I know that you know I’m a ghost. I had unfinished business and you helped me finish it.”

“I didn’t help you with anything, Jose. Whatever business you had is something you still have.”

“No. You were my unfinished business. And him.” Jose nodded to the man asleep in the chair. His head was facing the opposite direction, but she knew who it was. Garret.

“How did he find me?” Kamry asked.

“I may have dialed his number on your cell phone so he would hear you and track you down.”

“How did he find me, though?”

“I’m not sure. That’s a question for him.” Jose smiled. “Before I left here, I wanted to do two things. One, help someone that needed me. I thought that you needed me, but in all reality, I needed you. You reminded me that there are still many things out there worth fighting for. You were always a survivor, you just needed a push in the right direction.”

“I don’t understand what you are saying.”

“I had been watching you for weeks, pounding away at that bag. You showed so much heart and determination that I knew without a doubt, you were never going to stop. That’s very admirable. I’ve only seen that much determination two other times before. Once in myself and then once in Garret. I never thought I would see it again until you came along.”

“You’re not making any sense to me,” Kamry cried.

Jose chuckled. “It don’t have to make sense to you. It was my business to finish.”

“What was the second thing that you had to do?”

“I not only watched you at the gym, but I saw you with Grandma. You took care of her like she was royalty. You cared for her. You made her laugh. You were there for her when I couldn’t be.”

“Ms. Maybelle,” she whispered.

“Yes. Garret is my younger brother and he was my second thing I needed to do. You see, when Grandma died, she was the last one in our family. I didn’t want Garret to be alone. And then I saw the chemistry between you two and knew that you were perfect for each other. Cupid in the making, I am.” He smiled.

Kamry turned her head towards Garret. She had felt a chemistry between them, but was she ready for a relationship again?

“Don’t over-think it. A ghost is standing here telling you to let go and follow your instincts. Allow your heart to lead you.”

“I know,” she whispered.

“Well, I hear them calling me.”

“Who?” Kamry asked.

“Grandma, Grandpa, my mother and father. They are waiting for me.”

“I don’t want you to go.”

Jose smiled. “You’re not alone. He’s a really great man. He deserves you just as much as you deserve him. I won’t be far. I’ll keep tabs on the two of you. They are very impatient. Take care of him for me, Kamry. I know he will take wonderful care of you.”

“Wait!” she hollered, watching him walk away. “Can I ask you something really quick?”

“Better hurry.” He smiled.

She could see his body becoming almost translucent. “Why did they call you hope?”

He laughed. “Because there is an old saying: where there is life, there is hope. Well, I lived by that motto in the ring. My first fight, I was the underdog. I was losing but I wouldn’t give up. I kept going until he was worn down. After I won, they were asking me questions and a reporter asked me what gave me the drive to keep going. I said, hope. It stuck.”

“Thank you.” She smiled, watching him wink at her then turn, take a few steps, and disappear.

Kamry laid there staring at Garret and then she smiled. Ms. Maybelle had rubbed off on her grandsons, and she suspected that Garret would be a cupid as well. She laughed, watching him sleep, and was thankful for meeting Jose, who would forever be known to her as Kamry’s Hope.