Page 7 of Burning Embers
“Firstly, yes, you did the right thing, but I would suggest getting loud andthenpushing back. You shout,‘BACK OFF’!” She flinches as my voice echoes off the walls. “And then you push him.” I show a pushing gesture. “Let’s try it,” I say.
I move towards her, crowding her space, and she instinctively steps back, so I move closer. We do this until her back meets the mirror. I place my hands on her shoulders. “Now, what do you do?” I ask.
She tries to look past me for an escape, but then she surprises me.“BACK OFF!”she shouts, louder than I would’ve expected, and then shoves me hard. I stumble.
She’s blushing from the exertion and reaches out as if to apologise. But I wave her off. “Well done. By being loud, you’re signalling for help, and it also lets your attacker know you aren’t an easy target.”
She looks pleased with herself, and a jolt of pride shoots through me, knowing I had a part to play in her reaction.
“Now, unfortunately, it won’t dissuade all attackers, but it will at least ward off those who are looking for an easy target.” I bring her back into the middle of the mat. I want her to feel strong, powerful, so even if she were to find herself in an uncompromising position, she’d have a chance.
I flinch as a glimmer of the past flashes in my mind. The memories I have of my dad are that of him being a monster. My mother suffered; she took the brunt of the beatings, but as I got older, his attention also wavered towards me. I didn’t care as long as he left Lottie alone.
Chapter Five
RACHEL
I can’t believe I did it. I know this is role-playing, but I found being firm and shouting to be quite liberating. And with Olly as the trainer… What are the chances?
“When you’re in a confrontation, you only have a few seconds before the fight is decided.” He is so serious as he explains, and I can’t help but be in awe of his passion for something so important. “The aim is for you to do everything you can before an attacker gains full control.” He turns me, so our bodies are square as he continues. “You must do everything you can to inflict injury whilst conserving as much energy as possible to get away.”
I nod as my adrenaline begins to spike.
“This is where it’s the case of you or them; it’s hurt or be hurt.” He points to himself. “I want you to show me the parts of my body where you can do the most damage.” My eyes scan down to his private parts. He gives me a knowing smile. “Come on, Princess, tell me where you’d aim for.”
I shake out my hands which I had clenched into fists. “Your groin, knees, and your face?” I say, but it comes out a question, my voice rising.
“Excellent, but it also depends on the position of the attacker.” His voice is thick, masculine. “This will help you choose where to strike and which part of your body to use.” He crowds me again; I step back. “Never movecloserto your attacker. If you think you can aim for his nose, but this involves you moving towards him,you don’t do it.”
He shows me an example, coming close to my face with his hand and then mime-reaching my knee with a kick.
“If you’re going for the upper body, use your hand.” He takes hold of mine and adjusts it, bringing it towards him. “You could strike me using the outer edge of your hand—like so.”
Curling my hand into a fist, he adjusts us so we’re facing the mirror, then leads me through a punching motion.
“I’ll give you a leaflet before you leave today’s session. It has examples of highly sensitive pressure points.” His breath tickles my ear as he leans over my shoulder ever so slightly, causing a tightening in my lower stomach. I stare at our reflection in the mirror, my cheeks are growing redder by the second.
“Eyes,” he says, pointing out mine in the mirror.
“Why eyes?” I ask.
“Because it can cause maximum pain. Have you ever accidentally poked yourself in the eye? It hurts like a mofo, right?”
I cringe. “Yeah, and so does a mascara wand to the eyeball. I’m pretty sure that shit is more painful than childbirth.”
His laugh vibrates through my upper body, making me smile. There’s something about seeing him like this, in his element, eyes sparkling—captivating me. It’salmosteasy to forget that this man—when he wasn’t deliberately trying to irritate me—has mostly ignored me since the day we met. Almost.
“I wouldn’t know on either count, but I take your word for it. If you can mess with their vision, even if it’s only temporary, it can mean the difference in making your escape easier.”
He goes into detail, pretending to gouge, poke and scratch. If he ever needs work, I think he could join the theatre—the way he explains this has me imagining a female version of Fight Club.
“Nose,” he says, tapping the tip of mine gently. “Using the heel of your palm, you can strike up under his nose, throwing your whole-body weight into the move. Believe me, this will cause pain.”
He re-positions himself until he’s standing behind me, the heat from his body enveloping.
I turn my head slightly to eye him over my shoulder. “Olly, why does it sound like you’re speaking from experience?”
He laughs, and damn, the sound makes me tingle. “I used to get into a lot of scrapes in my late teens. Boxing helped me harness my excess energy.”
