Obviously I would help him, if he’d accept it,
until he found something sustainable, but wouldn’t he resent me? Wouldn’t he
always see me as the girl who shot first and asked questions later without
thinking about the consequences?
I couldn’t let
this go on, though. I couldn’t let Kellan keep living a lie. He deserved so
much more than that. I just hoped he saw things my way and that I wasn’t about
to destroy the one good thing I had going for me right now.
~
ELEVEN ~
Kellan
My next fight came way sooner
than I’d expected. Vic kept his word and I didn’t have to hit the mat until
Monday night, several days after our phone call, but man, time flew by when all
I could think about was seeing Parker.
She hadn’t been
able to come over during the week—she was working hard on a new story, she
said, though she wouldn’t tell me what, which just made me absolutely certain
it was erotica—and over the weekend, I’d taken a little road trip to see my
stepbrother and sister. Slade was a damn good doctor who’d fixed me more than
once, and it was always good to see Iris. We’d been close ever since we were
kids.
Okay, so it was a
little odd that they were married and fucking like rabbits, but it wasn’t like
they were actually related. And now I understood, more than ever, that
sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants.
It had taken me
years to get to this point of acceptance. My stepdad had really poisoned the
well of my opinion of Slade by insisting that my stepbrother had taken
advantage of Iris. I knew now things were way more complicated than that, and
thankfully, with that realization came a lot of healing. It was still a little
weird, though. Not gonna lie. But it’s not like they grew up together, or
anything.
Plus, Slade
understood that I didn’t want heavy-duty pain killers, even if that made my
recovery that much harder. He got me some extra-strength OTC stuff that would
take the edge off, but he respected my decision to stay clean, save for the
occasional beer. He’d watched me go through rehab and recovery a few years ago,
so he knew what was at risk for me. Vic’s guy never would have got it—just
would’ve shoved some pills in my hand and told me to “man up.”
Seeing them had
done me a lot of good, anyway. It was nice to hang out with my family. And when
I’d told my sister about Parker, her eyes had lit up like the Fourth of July. I
think it took a lot off her mind to know that her baby brother was starting to
find his way in life.
“Took you long
enough,” was all Slade had said about it. Dick. Still loved him, though.
Now I was back
here in the prep room, listening to the distant roar of the crowd as Vic draped
my robe over my shoulders. I cracked my neck on each side, hyping myself up.
Parker was gonna be out there tonight. She’d promised. And that made all the
aches and pains worth it: knowing she’d be there to cheer me on.
It was nice not to
feel alone and ashamed. No, fuck that—it was damn amazing. A bona fide miracle.
“Hey, Killer,” Vic
said, “before you go out there, there’s somethin’ we should talk about.”
I frowned. “What’s
that?” This wasn’t about the payout, was it? Or was Vic about to ‘fess up to
pitting me against a way bigger and heavier fighter?
“It’s about your
girl and her friend. You know who he is, right? The guy she brought the other
night?”
“Some guy named
Thom,” I answered. “Look, Vic, if you’re about to tell me they’re getting cozy,
you should know Thom’s not exactly batting for her team—”
“He’s a reporter,
Killer,” Vic said soberly. I’d never seen him look so serious in all my life.
“Some sports guy from The Spill. Your girl is bringin’ a fuckin’
reporter to our very illegal fights. Did you know about this?”
I hesitated. No, I
hadn’t known. Parker had never mentioned it. Maybe it wasn’t worth mentioning.
Maybe they had some kind of deal where Thom wasn’t allowed
until he found something sustainable, but wouldn’t he resent me? Wouldn’t he
always see me as the girl who shot first and asked questions later without
thinking about the consequences?
I couldn’t let
this go on, though. I couldn’t let Kellan keep living a lie. He deserved so
much more than that. I just hoped he saw things my way and that I wasn’t about
to destroy the one good thing I had going for me right now.
~
ELEVEN ~
Kellan
My next fight came way sooner
than I’d expected. Vic kept his word and I didn’t have to hit the mat until
Monday night, several days after our phone call, but man, time flew by when all
I could think about was seeing Parker.
She hadn’t been
able to come over during the week—she was working hard on a new story, she
said, though she wouldn’t tell me what, which just made me absolutely certain
it was erotica—and over the weekend, I’d taken a little road trip to see my
stepbrother and sister. Slade was a damn good doctor who’d fixed me more than
once, and it was always good to see Iris. We’d been close ever since we were
kids.
Okay, so it was a
little odd that they were married and fucking like rabbits, but it wasn’t like
they were actually related. And now I understood, more than ever, that
sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants.
It had taken me
years to get to this point of acceptance. My stepdad had really poisoned the
well of my opinion of Slade by insisting that my stepbrother had taken
advantage of Iris. I knew now things were way more complicated than that, and
thankfully, with that realization came a lot of healing. It was still a little
weird, though. Not gonna lie. But it’s not like they grew up together, or
anything.
Plus, Slade
understood that I didn’t want heavy-duty pain killers, even if that made my
recovery that much harder. He got me some extra-strength OTC stuff that would
take the edge off, but he respected my decision to stay clean, save for the
occasional beer. He’d watched me go through rehab and recovery a few years ago,
so he knew what was at risk for me. Vic’s guy never would have got it—just
would’ve shoved some pills in my hand and told me to “man up.”
Seeing them had
done me a lot of good, anyway. It was nice to hang out with my family. And when
I’d told my sister about Parker, her eyes had lit up like the Fourth of July. I
think it took a lot off her mind to know that her baby brother was starting to
find his way in life.
“Took you long
enough,” was all Slade had said about it. Dick. Still loved him, though.
Now I was back
here in the prep room, listening to the distant roar of the crowd as Vic draped
my robe over my shoulders. I cracked my neck on each side, hyping myself up.
Parker was gonna be out there tonight. She’d promised. And that made all the
aches and pains worth it: knowing she’d be there to cheer me on.
It was nice not to
feel alone and ashamed. No, fuck that—it was damn amazing. A bona fide miracle.
“Hey, Killer,” Vic
said, “before you go out there, there’s somethin’ we should talk about.”
I frowned. “What’s
that?” This wasn’t about the payout, was it? Or was Vic about to ‘fess up to
pitting me against a way bigger and heavier fighter?
“It’s about your
girl and her friend. You know who he is, right? The guy she brought the other
night?”
“Some guy named
Thom,” I answered. “Look, Vic, if you’re about to tell me they’re getting cozy,
you should know Thom’s not exactly batting for her team—”
“He’s a reporter,
Killer,” Vic said soberly. I’d never seen him look so serious in all my life.
“Some sports guy from The Spill. Your girl is bringin’ a fuckin’
reporter to our very illegal fights. Did you know about this?”
I hesitated. No, I
hadn’t known. Parker had never mentioned it. Maybe it wasn’t worth mentioning.
Maybe they had some kind of deal where Thom wasn’t allowed
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