The Incident

It was like any other day. I entered the gym with my oversized jacket and gym shorts. Recently I gained some weight, so I was working on my hips. I usually work upstairs in the "unofficial" assigned space for women. However since the gym was empty, I worked by the weights stand. Suddenly a group of 4 men walked into the gym. I had my headphones on, blasting music and doing my reps.

Suddenly, one of the 4 men sat at the bench near me and was scrolling through his phone. As I was doing my reps, this man glanced over multiple times. His eyes narrowed, and he sighed as he walked towards me. He tapped my shoulder, as I took off my headphones, and tapped my foot to fix my footing. I awkwardly thanked him and rolled my eyes when he turned around. However, he caught my annoyance via the mirror. ‘Well aren’t you just a little bitch.’ He spoke in a husky voice. I froze in shock and looked towards the direction that he came from. He was now looking directly at me. His dark brown hair curled slightly, but it fell perfectly over his face. Suddenly the three other men walked towards me, and surrounded me. "You should be thanking me, and rather I get this attitude?", he spoke. "I know what works for my hips, I don't need a man with a completely different physic to tell me what to do", I barked back. "I know what works for my body too, and I also know how much it hurts when you disrespect me." He smirked at me. I felt like throwing up. I felt the blood drain from my head, and my heart pounded. It was the first time he had actually spoken directly to me. The others chuckled while he glared back at them. I have never felt so annoyed yet scared. "Let me make this clear", he said as he cleared his throat, "If I ever run into you, I will check those hips of yourself myself".

Before walking away, I saw the look in his eyes. Something dark and evil. My stomach flipped again. My heart hammered harder and faster. He was still glowering at the four of us. "You're all idiots", he muttered under his breath before walking away. A shiver ran down my spine, I quickly finished my reps and left the gym. After exiting the building, the adrenaline faded away and I slumped against a wall outside. I breathed hard, trying to calm my nerves. I pulled out my cellphone and texted my best friend, Lily. 'Shit'. I found the whole situation amusing. When I described the man, Lily's tone got more serious. "Julianne... That was Keith Wayne. I don't think he was joking". "Why would he be? He doesn't even know me". Lily sighed. "Look, we'll talk about this later ok?". I nodded, she then hung up the phone. I slid down the wall until I reached the ground, sitting down. I put my head between my knees. My heartbeat was rapid and fast. I tried calming myself down, but it didn't work. His dark eyes, and piercing gaze kept coming back to me.

"There's no way... right?"

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