17th March 2019;

"Punch. Duck. Up. Repeat."

Sweat glistened on her skin, hair damp sticking to her forehead, ponytail frizzy and mouth in a thin line. Her thigh barely ached again as her fists pounded the thick mitts. Discarding them, Gus winked at her and she smirked. "Enough warming up, kiddo. Let's tango." The real fun just began.

Biting her lip, Aurora stalked toward him, focused, bandaged fingers flexed, muscles taut, fists up. Both waiting for the other to make the first move. Lips pouted, air puffing one annoying strand away. Slamming her foot down hard, the sudden move startled Gus into action.

Blocking his punch, her leg slammed his side. Staggering back, he grinned. "Oh, you're good, ah?" Swing. Dodge. She panted. So are you, She hissed blocking his kick. "You seem a bit distracted though. Daydreaming about that boyfriend of yours?"

Aurora gritted her teeth, landing a blow on his shoulder then cheek. "He's not my boyfriend."

Gus wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Sure, sure, princess." Alerted, he dodged her hit, grabbed her ankle in mid-air and tugged. "You've been cozying up lately. Must be why your thigh got better quick. Practice."

Bending both of her knees, her back collided with the ring. Seizing his surprise as an opportunity, her hand shot out to grab his feet and pulled. He crashed down next to her and she sprang up to hold him down. "We're not."

He flipped her off him, winking. "Whatever you say."

Frustration and annoyance rolled off of her. It's true that Aidan has been nursing her no matter how many times she'd tried kicking him out, refusing his help. "He knows the address." She reasoned, shoulders lifting in a nonchalant shrug before somersaulting to avoid getting tackled.

At Gus' taunting look, she huffed. Determination set in her mind, her body moved swiftly into action. Swing. Dodge. Triple punch. Block. Kick. Jump. Block. Another kick. Her knee slammed his abdomen, his figure hunched over.

"You sure love to use your feet, Rho." Her head twisted sideways.

"Aidan." Mouth agape in surprise.

"In the flesh," he grinned, hands moving around gesturing to his presence. Her heart thudded harder.

"Oh, the boyfriend is here," Gus waved catching his breath, disregarding Aurora's heated glare. "You did a pretty good job," he teased patting her thigh. "She won this round."

"It's only because you're aging, old man." Aurora untangled herself from his arm around her shoulder and marched to the side to retrieve her towel.

"You wound me, princess." He rasped out, getting a curt 'I'll be in the showers' as she dismounted the stairs.

After disappearing, Aidan's eyes moved from her to Gus' watching eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck, uncomfortable at being caught staring. "She's real good."

A series of short nods were the reply as the man leaned against the ropes. "One of the best I trained. We first started two months after her shoulder healed. She got shot again though...around seven or eight months later." Answering Aidan's silent question, then he added to clarify. "She went behind my back and thrashed some guys." Eyes shone with unspoken pride.

"She didn't even rest that much. She'd go on short walks until she was able to jog again."

People bustled in and out of the gym, busy working out. Faint music hummed softly in the background. Gus proceeded to tell him stories about her practice ever since they met. "The guys here respect her a lot. She beat half of them, though. But, they admire her." Who wouldn't?

"They're just scared of you, Gus." She returned, hair dripping slightly. Glad she was out of her enticing workout clothes; Aidan followed closely how the two bickered. He smiled softly.

"Sorry to interrupt your interesting conversation, but, Rho," eyes moved to him, "we need to go. Unable to reach you, Jesse contacted me. She's waiting for us." And she was freaking out on the phone.

In the car, Aidan drummed his fingers on his leg as she maneuvered her way expertly through recklessly annoying drivers. "It was me that night in the police car as you'd stated before." Silence was thick. It was unnerving. "I wasn't with them. I just joined matters involving the areas you've been targeting. I was also looking for clues about you. Nada, though."

"Everything about my family was already prepared before the murder. I wouldn't trust the police to help." He nodded, totally agreeing.

Parking, her grip tightened a fraction around the steering wheel. "The building that burned up that night?" His fingers brushed hers, easing them. She'd lived here after rebuilding this up and moving out from Laura's.

Urging her out, hands clasped, they headed up to Jesse's. The door was left unlocked for them. Alison was sprawled on the floor, Matt on the kitchen's marble and Jesse rushing around. Coffee cups littered the decent space. Dark circles, disheveled, tired eyes looked their way.

"Finally!" Jesse threw her hands up, wiggling her eyebrows. "Took your sweet time." What's up with everyone and their suggestive remarks? Aurora grumbled and took a seat on the armchair. Aidan crossed his arms, tense stance, legs slightly spread, erect like a Queen's Guard. Protectiveness stemming from his worry and need to shield her from what was to come.

"Excuse our lack of hospitality," Matt munched on a carrot. He was obsessed with them. "Chinese food is on its way."

"As you know, tasked with finding information regarding this Mark that no one seems to know much about," Alison started, pushing herself into a seating position grimacing at her back's soreness. "We found considerably vague shit...at first."

Her body stiffened. Jesse flung papers at her, planting the computer on her lap. Scrolling through the pictures, Tom's face appeared numerous times with Mark. "Where were these taken?"

"Over the span of the past five years." Her body shuddered and Aidan tensed. "Yes, I know what you're thinking. That night was no coincidence."

"It wasn't," he decided to butt in. "After Rho left to go home," his face contorted. "Took me a while but I snatched his phone and managed to read the text he received from Mark. It was sent way before he found you outside. That's why, you were able to escape." Rho's face tilted up to meet his stare. "Send her home. I'm heading there." She was about to hyperventilate. His hand massaged her shoulders. "Breathe," his whisper brushed her ear. "But, I couldn't track down the number."

Silence loomed over the place for some time. Jesse weighing her words. Her friends tapping away on their devices. She chose to speak. "Aurora," her mouth opened and closed few times. "I don't know how to say this."

"Just get on with it, noob." Matt muttered.

"Shut up, idiot." Turning her head back to them, she chewed on her lips.

"Oh, for fuck's sake. Mark, he's your 'uncle'." His fingers flexed making air quotations.

The world spun around, a sharp inhale filling her constricting chest with too much air. Aidan held her upright, evident shock etched on his features.

"That's not just it, Aurora." Jesse whacked him upside the head, scowling. Then a nervous glimpse in their direction, a sympathetic expression plastered on her face, she mumbled. "Madeleine and Joshua aren't your real parents either."

Aurora blinked, body sagging, fingers clinging to Aidan's shirt. "huh?"

Alison sighed. "Barbara Berslin. We found her, too."

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