Chapter 7
Casper
The clang of metal echoes through the gym, the smell of sweat and rubber thick in the air. My arms burn as I press the barbell up again, trying to drown out the image of Penny’s bruises, the purple, blue, green stains marring her freckled skin. God, I can’t unsee it.
I grunt and push harder, forcing the barbell upward despite the burn.
Ethan whistles. “Easy there, Hulk. What’s gotten into you today, big bro?”
I drop the bar back onto the rack and wipe my face with a towel. “Nothin’.”
He arches a brow. “Uh-huh. You look like you’re about to strangle the weights. Spill it.”
I sigh, grab my gloves, and head for the punching bag. “I took Penny to file a restraining order yesterday.”
Ethan follows, pulling on his gloves too. “How’d it go?”
“They said it’d help the case if we had pictures of the bruises.” I start hitting the bag. Thud. Thud. “So I took some Polaroids.”
Ethan catches the bag as it swings back hard. “And?”
I stop, breath heavy. “She took her blouse off.” My throat tightens. “Her ribs… her back…” I shake my head, trying to erase the image. “You could see a damn shoe print on one of them.”
Ethan’s jaw tightens. “Son of a bitch.”
“Yeah,” I mutter, and slam my fist into the bag again, harder this time.
He steadies it, eyes locked on me. “Cas.”
I freeze.
“This isn’t the first time you’ve seen a woman roughed up. You’ve dealt with worse. So why are you taking this so hard?”
I rip my gloves off, chest rising and falling fast. “Because she’s different, Ethan.”
He smirks. “Different how?”
“She’s…” I exhale, struggling to find the word, my chest tightening. “More.”
“More?” Ethan teases, but his eyes soften.
I stare at the bag. “I’ve never wanted to protect someone so damn bad.
Never wanted to hold a woman and promise she’d never get hurt again.
” My voice cracks. “And with all I’ve seen, car wrecks, domestic calls, kids abandoned…
I’ve never wanted to kill someone the way I wanted to kill that bastard yesterday when I saw what he did to her. ”
Ethan studies me quietly for a long moment, then nods. “That’s not just protectiveness, Cas.”
I meet his gaze. “I know.”
He smirks again. “Well, Sheriff, looks like you’re in trouble.”
I chuckle under my breath, shaking my head. “You think I don’t know that?”
Ethan tosses his gloves on the bench and grabs his water bottle, watching me pace. “You care about her,” he says simply.
“Yeah.” The word slips out before I can stop it.
He nods slowly. “Then be careful.”
I frown. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Cas, you’ve got a good heart, but Penny’s been through hell. She doesn’t need a hero who’ll swoop in and fight her battles, she needs someone who’ll stand beside her while she learns she can fight her own.”
I rub a hand over my face. “You think I don’t know that?”
“I think you feel more than you’re willing to admit,” Ethan says, a small grin tugging at his lips. “And maybe you’re scared that if you let yourself care, she’s gonna end up being the one fight you can’t win.”
I exhale, glancing at the floor. “Maybe.”
Ethan slaps my shoulder. “Then don’t try to win it. Just show up. That’s all she needs right now.”
The words hit something deep. I nod slowly. “Yeah… show up.”
“Good.” Ethan stretches, then grins. “Now stop brooding and help me spot before you break the damn bag again.”
I chuckle, shoving him lightly. “Shut up and lift, little brother.”
He laughs. “That’s the spirit.”
I feel my chest loosen just a little. The anger’s still there, but so is something else. Something steady.
Maybe Ethan’s right. Maybe just showing up is the first step toward something real.
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