Chapter 5: Sleepless Shelter and Shared Scars
The gym was dark except for a single flickering light overhead, casting a dim glow on the weight racks and boxing bags. It smelled like iron, sweat, and something oddly comforting—like safety.
Alex unlocked the door and led Jake inside, tossing him a rolled-up sleeping mat and an unopened bottle of water. "You can crash here for the night. Don't worry—no one else comes in. I sleep upstairs."
Jake looked around, touched. "Thanks. Really. I mean it."
He hesitated. "If you want, I can pay. I still got a little left."
Alex shook his head. "Forget it. It's just one night. And I trust you."
Jake laughed dryly as he laid out the mat. "Maybe you shouldn't trust people that easily. Could get you hurt someday."
Alex smirked, leaning against the wall. "I don't trust people. That's why I don't have anyone working here."
Jake blinked. "No workers?"
"Nope. Only me. Do the cleaning, train the clients when they show up… That's it."
"What about your friends?"
"Fake," Alex said flatly. "They hang around 'cause I look cool and strong. They disappear the moment I say no."
Jake nodded, understanding more than he expected to. "Family?"
Alex's smile faded. "Only my grandparents ever gave a damn. The rest? Let's just say… they're dead to me. And honestly, that's fine."
A heavy silence hung between them.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Jake said quietly. "But you… you're strong. Not just on the outside. You've been through hell and kept standing."
Alex chuckled and tossed Jake a protein bar. "Coming from you, that's rich. Your eyes? They say a lot more than your jokes do. Maybe not worse than mine, but… deeper. It hits harder when love's the one breaking you."
Jake didn't reply for a while. He just sat there, fingers gripping the protein bar like it might fall apart. "Maybe… maybe I'll tell you my story. But only if you share yours too. Deal?"
Alex gave a slow nod. "Deal."
That night, under the quiet buzz of the gym's old lights, two strangers sat on weight benches and swapped stories like soldiers sharing war wounds.
Alex talked about the abuse, the neglect, the loneliness that drove him to sculpt his body into armor.
Jake opened up about rejection, the silent pain of banishment, the laughter that masked the self-hate, and the girl whose kindness he once threw away to protect her from his brokenness.
They listened.
They didn't judge.
And for the first time in a long time…
Jake didn't feel alone.