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3

ELEONOR

""Michael wants you in the dressing room. Doesn't he realize this place isn't meant for girls? Who does he think he is, my father or Michael's right hand?""

""Let go of me, brute,"" his grip on my arm wasn't entirely rough but far from gentle. It seemed he had no concept of ""gentleness.""

As we entered the same hallway, he led me into the room where my brother was, but he didn't follow.

""Could you ask that guy not to touch me?"" I looked at my brother, trying to tend to some of his wounds.

""Don't call him that, Eleanor. You have to show respect,"" my brother responded to my complaint.

I approached him and examined the not-so-serious bruises on his face.

""Let me help you, Michael."" I began to treat him slowly.

""You see, I'm fine, right? What do you want me to buy you? Ask for anything."" He had always been like that with me; sometimes, I doubted if he had truly chosen this path.

""I don't want anything, Michael. Those hits will eventually take a toll on you, no matter how many fights you win. Someday, you'll suffer the consequences."" I tried to reason with him.

""Eleonor, don't you support me?"" His green eyes pleaded with me to be his only support.

""Always, Michael."" I continued cleaning his minor wounds. ""How do you cover them up?"" I asked, attempting to lighten the mood. He had never come home beaten up before.

""I use an ultra-cover foundation that I stole from your drawer."" We both laughed at his remark.

""So, you owe me a new one,"" I said, recalling that some time ago, my favorite foundation had gone missing. I had assumed I lost it on my last trip.

There was a lot of excitement outside.

""Why all the commotion?"" I asked my brother, not understanding.

""Most likely Zeus won. People love watching him fight; he doesn't last ten minutes in the ring, finishing every opponent quickly,"" he told me.

Well, it didn't surprise me. He looked like a monster with that massive body.

My brother's phone vibrated, interrupting my provocative thoughts about that guy. I shook my head, wanting to avoid any contact with that animal.

""Can you wait for me here for about ten minutes, please? Some trainers want to see me; apparently, they liked my fight today."" He quickly stood up, very happy." "Does it matter to him?

""I'll be here for you."" He kissed me on the forehead.

""Don't leave here, Eleonor. I won't be gone long, I'll tell you later."" I nodded after hearing his words.

It was impossible for me not to be happy for my brother as I watched him hurry away. I love seeing him happy, most of the time he keeps a low profile at home because our parents put a lot of pressure on him not to be himself. It makes me feel good to know that at least today I'm with him and supporting him. However, we had told our mother that we were going to the movies with some friends.

The door to the locker room opened. A sweaty Zeus locks his eyes on me, but walks to his locker to get a drink. He had a gash on his left eyebrow.

""Shit!"" I heard him curse in a whisper as he put down the cotton.

""Let me help you."" I knelt down and picked up the cotton to keep the blood from continuing to flow down.

He was sitting on the bench where my brother was. I wet the cotton with alcohol and slowly, without getting too close to him, helped him with his wound.

""I'm not going to eat you."" His voice startled me. I was very focused on his only wound.

I didn't say a word.

""Just so you know, I'm only doing this so I don't owe you anything. You just saved me from that guy."" He said sarcastically.

""Thanks."" That was all he said to me.

""Finally, a little girl has some use in this place, huh?"" I said in the same arrogant tone. He smiled again. His flawless white teeth showed a beautiful smile.

""What's your name, little girl?"" He asked, staring into my eyes.

""You're not interested in little girls, at least that's what you told me yesterday. What's wrong?"" I crossed my arms and looked at the perfectly clean wound.

""You think because I want to know your name that I'm interested in you?"" He's an asshole.

Yesterday, my brother mentioned my name in front of him. Doesn't he know that?

""I don't mess with little girls. What makes you think I'm interested in you just because I want to know your name?"" Is he mocking me?

""Believe me, the last thing I want is for you to have any attraction to this little girl. You look like a monster, disgusting and very scary. I don't deal with ogres."" I spoke slowly and kept confronting him.

He stood up and suddenly grabbed both of my arms and forced me against the wall. Everything happened so fast that I couldn't take in what was happening. I couldn't understand how I went from being in front of him to being trapped between his arms on either side of the wall above his head. He pressed his forehead against mine so hard I could feel and hear his ragged breathing, just like when he arrived after boxing. His dark eyes locked onto mine completely, as if he wanted to possess me, or intimidate me, I don't know.

I was about to protest, but his lips silenced me. Yes, his mouth gagged me too. His hands grabbed my hair and pushed against my head deepening the kiss while his fingers buried themselves in my hair. Yet the kiss was so authoritative, and so passionate, yet so brief that I couldn't stop. He suddenly released me and turned away, and all I could do was bite out an 'o' with my mouth and wipe the corner of my mouth.

What was that? Damn, he kissed me.

""Eleonore, we have to go, honey."" My brother walked into the room for me, and I wished he'd spend more time with the trainers.

""Congratulations, Zeus. See you tomorrow."" My brother said goodbye and picked up his things.

The dark-eyed man cleared his throat.

""See you tomorrow, I'll be waiting. Well played, man."" Zeus said goodbye to my brother.

As I was about to leave with my brother, he turned to me and looked me in the eye and I felt him calling out to me from his heart.

""Goodbye Eleonor, be good, my dear."""

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