Saturday sees us driving down the familiar road to the sports complex. I wanted to skip the session but Jerome wasn't having it.

"Hey Nessa."

"Emma!" she rushes over. "It's so nice to see you."

"It's nice to see you too." I smile.

Over time, I've gotten used to her hugs but that doesn't mean they're any less life threatening. I mean seriously, she probably arm wrestles with thugs for breakfast and yet somehow, she still looks so attractive.

"Up you go!" she waves at me as Jerome walks up to her.

"Get the mats ready." He calls. "I'll meet you in five."

"Yes Zen master." I mock bow and Nessa starts laughing.

"Really Em?" he deadpans. "Zen master?"

"Or would you prefer 'Macho Mitch'?" I wink, making air quotes with my fingers.

Jerome's face morphs into that of a volcano getting ready to explode and try as I might I can't hold it in. I straight out start laughing as a confused Nessa questions me.

All too pleased, I tell her about the incident; even adding a little salt and pepper to make it sound exciting.

"That's it!" Jerome calls. "Off with you. Move upstairs now or you'll be sorry."

Squealing, I scurry down the hall but pause when my feet hit the first step.

What if...

"Jerome?" I yell. "Can we practice in the basement today?"

I mean sure, I'd freaked out the first time but that was ages ago and I've gotten better at control, right? I haven't gone through any form of therapy but it's something I've been turning over and over in my mind for a while now.

I've even been secretly trying with Edward's basement back home and I finally made it down two days ago; maybe I'll be able to do it here and even train?

"Are you sure?" he quirks his eyebrows at me.

What if it goes wrong though?

What if she gets in my head and I relive everything like I've done before?

"Yes!' I reply, shaking the thoughts away before I change my mind.

"Well if you're okay with it, of course we can."

I nod as he continues talking with Nessa before making my way in the direction of the stairs going down.

"Emma!" Jerome calls. "Are you sure, you're sure? I mean we can just continue training upstai-

"I'm sure Jerome." I cut him off. "I mean I get that you're looking out for me but I want to do this."

He gives me a half smile and I return it in good fashion. Holding onto my bag strap more tightly, I use my other hand to grasp the hand rail and begin my descent.

Halfway there I feel my breath getting shallower so I close my eyes and try to concentrate on breathing for a while.

I can do this.

I hear her voice calling softly in my head but I do my best to push it away. Gripping the rail tighter, I try to conjure up a happy image; any one.

"Emma darling...."

"Enough!" I half yell, rushing blindly down the stairs with my fury and frustration for fuel. I don't even realize I've made it in until a strong pair of arms holds me in place, before pulling me towards a body. I didn't notice that he'd followed me.

"It's okay." Jerome whispers. "You're okay. You did it."

My eyes flutter open to meet his smiling face as my breath evens out. Jerome smirks, gently spinning me around and I gasp as my eyes take in the room before me.

The space is vast, with a lot of lighting and ventilation. I chuckle as I observe the plants standing guard at every corner.

Raising my eyebrows at Jerome, I gesture at them.

"Feng Shui" he shrugs. "Nessa's idea."

I turn around again, smiling at my reflection in an entire wall which serves as a mirror. It reflects the light, giving the room an even more spacious feel.

The blood red wallpaper on the other three walls is barely visible for the countless number of pictures, posters and trophies covering the walls. Everything has been organized in a surprisingly attractive setup.

I walk up to them, reading each one as my hand runs along the smooth surface.

"My weakness becomes my weapon and pain my adventure" I mumble as I walk past a poster with a pair of weight lifts. Some of the black text has been coloured in with red to look like dripping blood; pretty cool.

Next to a bench press on one side, a row of cabinets sits with a mini fridge which I imagine is stocked to the brim. It has a sticker on it saying something cheesy and I smile as I take it in.

There's an impressive array of machines down here as well, heavier than the ones up top with an even bigger replica of the weapon's case. I stand in awe as I take it all in.

This one has a whole section of swords and whatnot. There's a saber with an ancient looking scabbard covering what I imagine would be one wicked looking blade and several other types of swords. I see brass knuckles, some fans, some sick looking daggers, a Kama, several clubs and a bunch of others which I cannot even begin to name.

Next to a whole storage unit full of ball bearings, another poster catches my eyes and I mouth the words whilst reading it.

"Cheat on your girlfriends, not your work outs."

"Really Jerome?" I deadpan, gesturing wildly with my arms. "Really?"

"Eh." He scratches the back of his head, smiling sheepishly. "That's not mine, I swear. It's Asher's."

"Who's Asher?" I furrow my brows.

"He's a friend who Trains here a lot."

"How come I've never met him?'

"Because you don't need to." He folds his arms. "Now enough of the chit chat; get the mats out."

"Now that's the Jerome I know and love." I huff, walking over to the mats to do as I'm told.

Jerome ignores my statement, switching into trainer mode and starts talking almost immediately.

"There are three MUSTS when dealing with the sort of defence I like to practice." He starts pacing. "You MUST use your head, you MUST use your heart and you MUST use your body."

"In other words, be mentally aware, act with spirit and train realistically. You can have the heart of a lion and the mind of a genius, but theories and formulas and lots of passion will not save your butt unless you can put them in motion physically."

"I hear you." I reply, snapping my fingers and going for a snazzy look.

Jerome gives me a look that could melt frozen ice so I stop and fall back in place like a kicked puppy.

"Survival doesn't mean that you don't get hurt. It may mean getting hit a few times before you can escape or being beaten badly, but counterattacking to hurt the attacker enough to force him to stop."

"When you feel afraid, do not freeze. What you are feeling is adrenaline and will be useful in your defence."

"I know all of this!" I whine. "You've said it all before."

"Unless you are in a movie, are Bruce Lee, or have Cage experience, you shouldn't try to do anything too amazing, and you should not stop hitting your opponent until you're sure he is incapacitated." Jerome keeps on talking like he didn't even hear me.

"Your objective," he begins, wagging his finger at me.

"Is not to win. It is to get out alive" I complete, rolling my eyes to show how bored I am.

Jerome smiles at me. "Good." He says.

"We're going to practice defending yourself from a group today. For today, I've asked Nessa to help. We'll get bigger groups for practice as you progress. You can have a rest while I get her down here."

"Finally." I mutter, dropping down to my knees and sitting cross legged as he leaves.

If I thought we would get the action rolling with Nessa around, boy was I wrong.

Soon as they arrive, the one man show that is Jerome teaching starts up again. I get that it's all important stuff that will help me but c'mon!

"When being threatened, always make sure to watch the group's body language. Watch their eyes and look out for any subtle movements that can help you figure out when they are going to attack."

"Fighting a group does not always mean having to fight the whole group. In fact, your goal is to fight as few of them as possible. Instead of defeating each of their bodies, you must instead destroy their minds." Nessa takes over. She has on a sinister smile that I've never seen before.

"Destroy their minds?" I furrow my eyebrows.

"What I mean is make your first strike spectacular and very visible to the group." She explains. "The more visible the injury is the greater physiological effect it will have on the rest of the group."

I nod as Jerome starts talking again.

"If you don't have a weapon, improvise."

"Identify who the main adversary in the group is and take them down first. In a life or death situation, there are no rules. Take out their eyes, break their kneecaps, jab them in the throat; do anything you can to win the battle. Your goal is to immobilize the attackers by any means available."

"No rules." I smile. "Got it."

"We should practice a little of this."

"Definitely" I gush a bit too loudly. Nessa chuckles but Jerome doesn't even so much as smile.

They both move a ways back, converse for a while before approaching me, each of them taking a seemingly casual stance. If it wasn't for the menacing look on their faces, you wouldn't even guess their intentions.

I quickly decide not to take Nessa down first. Jerome has more bulk so it would be wiser to attack him.

She shoots a quick furtive glance at Jerome. It's so fast that if I wasn't concentrating, I'd have missed it. Quick as a flash I charge at Jerome, grasping him in a chokehold before he can react.

Nessa delivers a blow to the back of my head and I fall back, releasing him. She tries to deliver another blow but I roll over, grabbing onto her leg in the process so she also falls down. Adrenaline rushes through my veins and I slam my fingers down on the side of her neck.

Nessa passes out.

"What the hell Em?" Jerome screams. "Are you insane?"

"You're the one who said no rules!" I shoot back. Truthfully, I actually didn't knock her out on purpose. It was more like one of those spur of the moment type things.

"Well excuse me for thinking you're smart enough to decipher what I mean!"

"Ouch!"

"Get over it."

"She'll be up in a bit anyway."

"This is a bigger deal than you're taking it to be Emma."

He gently puts her in a lateral position and checks for her pulse before walking over to one of the storage lockers. When he returns, he has with him a bottle of smelling salts which he uses to revive her.

Nessa coughs and I sheepishly offer her some water.

"I'm sorry." I offer uncertainly.

"No worries." She waves her hand. "Better watch your back though." She gives a sly smile and winks at me.

Jerome sends Nessa back to reception and for the rest of the session we practice one on one. It takes quite a bit of effort as Jerome seems to come at me harder and harder as though retaliating for what happened earlier.

After an eternity of being bruised, I sigh in relief when Jerome calls it a day.

Thank God I made it out alive...