Sibling Respite
Category: Drabbles

The muffled thwacks of fists pounding into well-worn leather echoed through the dimly lit basement gym. Sweat trickled down Hunter's bare back as he drove blow after punishing blow into the hanging heavy bag, grunting from the exertion.

This had become his nightly ritual of late - working himself into a lather through whatever physical outlet presented itself. An attempt to expel the ever-simmering darker impulses lurking within before they could fully detonate.

So consumed by the rhythmic violence, Hunter didn't even register the overhead lights flicking on until a familiar voice cut through the silence.

"Jeez, bro. You keep wailing on that thing like it owes you money, pretty soon we'll need to invest in a new one."

Hunter faltered mid-combination, chest heaving as he turned to face the intruder with narrowed eyes. His expression softened only slightly upon recognizing the figure leaning against the doorframe.

"Lorey. Didn't hear you come in..." He swiped at the sheen of perspiration coating his brow with one taped hand. "Thought you had that work thing tonight?"

His older sister shrugged one slim shoulder, pushing off from the frame to drift further into the makeshift gym. Even in her stylish pantsuit, Loretta managed to make the surroundings seem smaller by her presence alone.

"Conference call got moved. I figured I'd swing by, see if my little brother wanted some company for once." Her lips quirked in a teasing smile as she nodded towards the punching bag. "Unless this particular opponent is providing more entertaining conversation than I could?"

Hunter barked out a mirthless chuckle, shaking his head as he resumed battering the hapless heavy bag with a series of brutal combos. "Well, it's not much for memorable repartee. But at least this loudmouth knows to shut up and take his lickings without any backtalk."

The strained attempt at sibling banter fell flat between them, both immediately regretting having given it voice at all. An uncomfortable silence descended, broken only by the dull thudding of Hunter's gloved fists kneading into unyielding leather.

Eventually, Loretta sidled up to the mounted bag's opposite side, tilting her head appraisingly at her brother's handiwork.

"You want to talk about it?" she asked in a gentler tone, all teasing pretense dropped. "Whatever it is that's got those demons rattling their cages so loud you're down here at..." She craned her neck to check her watch. "2AM on a Wednesday wailing on this poor defenseless thing?"

Hunter's jaw muscle twitched, but he maintained his laser-focused state of percussive violence, refusing to meet Loretta's concerned gaze.

"Not really, no." Each blunt word was punctuated by another thudding impact that caused the heavy bag to shudder on its chain. "Kinda the whole point of all this, Lor. Pound all that crap into submission without having to dredge it back up with talking."

He could practically feel his sister's incredulous stare burning into the side of his skull. But Hunter refused to relent, refused to grant her entry into the storm front currently roiling within. Not out of any animosity for Loretta - she'd been one of the only tethers preventing him from spinning off into the ether entirely after...after everything went to hell.

No, Hunter's reticence was more out of weary resignation, and a gut-deep fear of fracturing the fragile stasis Loretta's support had allowed him to maintain. So he poured every ounce of swirling anguish into demolishing his silent, unyielding foe. Each stinging blow chipping away at his internal agonies, if only for a few fleeting moments of impact.

The tense quiet between them stretched onward, Hunter's ragged breathing and the cadence of gloves pummeling cowhide the only soundtrack. Until eventually, Loretta let out a soft, sad sigh of resignation.

"You're killing yourself with this strong and silent routine, you know that right?" she murmured, leaning back against the nearest wall with her arms crossed. "Pretty soon there won't be anything left of you except that towering brick wall you keep insisting on rebuilding over and over."

In his peripherals, Hunter watched Loretta's caustic stare morph into one of resigned acceptance as she studied his contorted features. As if realizing she had lost this particular battle before it even began.

"Well, when you've finally beaten yourself stupid against whatever demon is riding you tonight, I'll be upstairs." Pushing off from the wall, she began heading back towards the doorway, steps heavy with disappointment. "Don't be a stranger if you start feeling human again and want to join the rest of us, Hunter."

As her receding footsteps faded from earshot, Hunter felt something inside crumple and splinter - as if one of his ricocheting fists had slipped through his defenses to cave in his sternum. He staggered upright, chest heaving with exertion and eyes squeezed tightly shut against a sudden upwelling of bitterness.

Before his mind could fully process the compulsion, Hunter had already pivoted and launched his boxing glove directly into the swaying heavy bag with a guttural roar of fury. The thick hide split apart instantly on impact, canvas restraints parting as an eruption of sand and stuffing splattered outwards like a light eruption.

For a beat, Hunter simply froze amid the settling debris cloud and regarded the scene of destruction with hollow detachment. Then he slumped backwards until his spine thudded against the concrete wall behind him, sliding downwards to sit cradling his throbbing hand in stunned silence.

And that's where Loretta found him nearly an hour later - slouched against the wall with his head tilted back in exhausted repose, tear tracks visible on his cheeks even through the semi-gloom.