Chapter 14 - Lauren Went Back to the Gym Without Dustin
Eight months later, Lauren surprised me.
“I want to learn.”
“Learn what?”
She pointed at my hands.
“That.”
“No.”
Her eyebrows rose.
“No?”
“I’m sixty-eight now. Everything makes noise.”
She laughed.
Then explained.
She didn’t want to become a fighter.
Didn’t want revenge.
She wanted to stop feeling afraid whenever someone moved aggressively near her.
So she enrolled in a beginner self-defense class.
At the same gym.
Rick had invited her only after asking if returning there would feel safe.
She said yes.
The first session was difficult.
She froze when a padded partner moved too quickly.
The instructor stopped immediately.
No humiliation.
No:
Push through it.
Lauren reset when she was ready.
That mattered.
The gym had once been where Dustin’s physical confidence made everyone else smaller.
Now Lauren was learning that strength could look completely different.
Boundaries.
Awareness.
Distance.
Leaving.
Calling for help.
Sometimes fighting if escape was impossible.
May you like
But never confusing fighting with winning.
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