Normal Shit

Chapter 29 - Normal Shit

SPECIAL ONE-SHOT: I've just released Claire's Breakdown, and this one is different... There's an important reveal inside that could change the story in the future.

Want to know what happens? Check it out on Patreon at the end of the chapter.

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The alarm rang before sunrise.

Mike opened his eyes, stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, and let his sore body sink into the mattress. His shoulders ached. His legs felt heavy, and even his hands were still stiff from yesterday's training.

For a moment, staying in bed sounded like a great idea.

Then his stomach growled.

Mike pushed himself up with a groan and headed for breakfast.

An hour later, the ache in his muscles had followed him into the gym.

He tightened the wraps around his hands and started his training. The first few movements felt slow. His body protested every stretch, every punch, every step.

Mike kept going.

By the time sweat ran down his back, the stiffness had faded into something familiar. His feet moved more naturally now. His punches came together with less thought. The same exercises that had left him exhausted a few days ago no longer felt quite as brutal.

Just easier.

Mike finished the set, lowered his hands, and took a long breath.

He had done this yesterday.

And the day before that.

And the day before that.

Two weeks had passed like that, one morning after another. Wake up, eat, train, recover, then do it again.

The Amateur Cup was already underway. His first victory had moved him forward, but it hadn't made the road any easier. If he wanted to keep winning, he needed to keep improving.

Mike picked up the bag again.

His muscles were already tired, but he punched anyway. One combination became another until his arms felt heavy.

"Enough."

Mike lowered his hands and wiped the sweat from his face.

"Squats."

He stepped under the bar.

"Down."

Mike lowered himself with the bar across his shoulders.

"Up."

He pushed back to his feet, already feeling the burn in his thighs.

"Again."

"How many?"

"Five more."

Mike glanced at Vanessa. She stood beside him with her clipboard, eyes fixed on his form.

"You're enjoying this."

"Down."

Mike sighed and dropped into another squat.

The squats turned into deadlifts, then presses, then core work. Every time he tried to slow down or slip in a joke, Vanessa answered with another number.

"Rest?"

"Thirty seconds."

"That's it?"

"Twenty now."

Mike shook his head and grabbed the next weight.

Whatever heat had passed between them before, Vanessa had locked it away. She kept her attention on his form, the weights, and the numbers on her clipboard.

Nothing else.

"Five more," she said.

Mike stared at her.

"You really don't let anything go, do you?"

"Four more."

Mike glanced toward the rings.

Mia was near the rings between drills.

She gave him a quick nod.

"Hey."

"Hey."

Her coach called from across the gym.

Mia glanced back, then at Mike. "I have to go."

Before he could say anything else, she was already heading back to her training.

Her match was coming that weekend, and her coach had her working through one drill after another. The few times Mike saw her after that, the result was always the same—a quick nod, a brief smile, then she was gone.

No long conversations.

No late visits.

They barely had time to stop.

Mike watched her disappear around the corner, then pulled out his phone.

Nothing.

He stared at the screen for another second, then locked it.

Eve hadn't said goodbye.

After that night in the preparation room, she had packed her bag and left for her family home without sending him a message. Her apartment had stayed quiet ever since.

During the first few days, Mike kept checking his phone whenever it buzzed, hoping to see her name.

It never did.

By the end of the week, he stopped checking.

The days kept moving, and Mike buried himself in training.

"One more round, Mike."

Mike raised his hands and stepped back into position. By then, his shoulders burned from Vanessa's weight session, his legs ached from the morning roadwork, and the hours of pad work with Coach Darren had left his arms heavy.

He pushed through the final combination, took a shower, and headed back to the dorm with his bag hanging from one shoulder.

Campus lights glowed along the paths as he crossed the grounds. The noise from the gym faded behind him, replaced by the quiet of the dormitory.

Mike climbed the stairs, unlocked his door, and stepped inside.

Silence.

He dropped his bag beside the bed and sat down. His body sank into the mattress, and his shoulders finally relaxed.

For the first time all day, he didn't have to do anything.

Ring-ring. Ring-ring.

Mike's phone broke the silence.

The name on the screen read Emma.

Mike stared at it for a moment.

Then the old System quest came rushing back to him.

Fuck the married MILF receptionist.

The timer had been ticking away in the background all this time. Now, only about a week remained before the quest failed.

Mike's expression tightened.

He answered the call and raised the phone to his ear.

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