Luckily for Grant, the gym was nearly empty when he arrived. He wasn't crying, but he had the crazy urge to hit something. So that was what he did. Picking up a pair of boxing gloves, he moved to the punching bag in the corner, although he didn't see the bag, he saw the guy Adelisa was flirting with. He hit him once. [i]Looks like we both weren't right for each other after all.[/i] He him it again. [i]Dammit.[/i] He hit 'the guy' twice more in quick succession, each punch more powerful than the last. How did he feel about Addie? He loved her. Grant wasn't always the most fun guy out there, preferring his quiet activities or hiking to partying, preferring to make connections and go for tons of internships to hanging out at a bar, but Addie was his fun side. She made him laugh, feel more alive than the thought of becoming a lawyer. It was his dream, but she'd been his life. [i]Except for the part where you were too ashamed to be seen with her,[/i] a snide voice from the back of his mind reminded him. He hit the bag with all his might. Suddenly it didn't look like the guy,it looked like him. Sweat streamed down his face. No, not ashamed. He'd never been ashamed of his beautiful, beautiful Addie.

Then what? She'd complained about how he'd never even hold her hand in public, how he'd never mentioned her as his girlfriend to his mother or pretty much anyone but Hunter and Jareth. He hadn't been ashamed, he knew that much. He'd been afraid. Of what people would say, yeah. His father, before he'd been shot in a courtroom, had always told him that he'd have it harder than other people, white people, yes. People would subconsciously or consciously judge him, and it was important that he never give them a reason to think him a thug, a delinquent, anything less than the best lawyer. He needed to conform. So he had, until Adelisa came around. She was beautiful, and he'd wanted her, but he still didn't want to risk everything he'd worked for over how unorthodox she was. Her tattoos, her piercings.. It hadn't fit with the image he wanted, so he pretended to everyone that she wasn't in the image at all. 

But hell, now that she wasn't in the image at all... Grant's fists were a blur, giving blow after blow until he could hardly think. [i]I need her,[/i] he thought, panting, [i]but it looks like she doesn't need me.[/i] Giving a last, tired punch, he tore the gloves off and wiped his face with the towel round his neck. He wouldn't ask for her back, he didn't deserve the chance, and maybe she'd find someone better suited for her. Grant was giving up. He walked out of the gym, heading back to his condo for a shower.