Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 56257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Lots of people are calling Maddie a liar, but a few people are agreeing with her. I need to know, but, at the same time, it can’t matter to me. Rust said we could never be in the same room again, and now we’re going to surprise him? Should I message him ahead of time?
A knock at my door breaks me out of my thoughts. I sit up and call over. “Yeah?”
“It’s me,” Brad says. “Are you ready?”
Ah crap, I completely forgot. Brad sounds so excited. He thinks this is going to be a good thing. He thinks Rust will be happy to see us, in his own way, at least, but I know the truth. I know how badly this is going to go. We shouldn’t do it. We should stop now, but what excuse can I give?
“I need ten minutes. Is that okay?”
“Yeah, ten minutes, okay.”
He sounds impatient. I have no time for a proper shower or to fix my hair. I splash myself with water and tie my hair up, not bothering with makeup. I put on a hoodie and thick blue jeans. It’s not like hiding myself worked last time. Three long weeks ago. I need to find time to get a pregnancy test. My thoughts won’t stop skipping, torturing. I need everything to slow down.
“Are you ready?” Brad asks ten minutes later, with another knock.
There is no slowing down. “Yeah.”
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
RUST
“I didn’t even like surprises when I was a kid,” I tell Marquis as we drive into the gym together. He lives around the corner from my penthouse, an ideal setup since I’m his most successful student by far.
“You’ll like this one,” he says gleefully, turning the wheel, seeming like some trickster god. “It’s a good surprise. Not like an assault.”
“Self-defense. The cops didn’t even care.”
But I cared. It’s been two nights since then. Two nights of Maddie Maddox’s bullcrap online. I’ve had time to reflect on what happened: Dad’s call, the tears, the emotion. It’s all because of my woman. It’s because I’m letting myself think of her. Now, I have to be ruthless. I have to eliminate her from my thoughts.
“And a secret affair,” Marquis goes on jokingly.
“No,” I tell him. “Not a damn affair. I never saw that woman before that night.”
“Okay, okay, jeez, I apologize.”
“I don’t want anything to do with her,” I snap.
“I understand, my friend. Anybody would think I have struck a sore point, but I’ve never seen that lady before.”
“It’s because I’d rather set myself on fire than be with anybody…” Except Mary.
“What? Female?”
“No. It’s not like that.”
“Anybody at all, then?”
“Are you driving or talking?” I grunt.
He focuses on the road, tsking. “This fight is only getting bigger. I’m sure you saw what Cruz said.”
“Yeah, that I staged the whole thing to play the hero. I don’t give a damn.”
“Training is more important than ever. Getting you sharp. All I know is what my eyes tell me, my friend, and my eyes tell me you need help.”
“You’re not taking me to a therapy session, are you? I’ll walk out.”
“Not therapy in that sense,” he says. “No, we’re going to the gym.”
When Marquis insisted on driving, I suspected it was because he didn’t want me to be able to leave easily. He’s pulled stunts like this before, like having me hit pads on an open-top trailer on a train. Or run hills at 3 a.m. to condition my mind. Usually, I’m game, but I know nothing will fix this mood I’m in except Mary. Except for Brad saying, Please, claim my eighteen-year-old sister again. No hard feelings.
“There is something I have been wondering,” Marquis says, taking the final corner to the gym. I say nothing, and he continues, “I have been your coach for sixteen fights: fifteen wins and one loss. I have never seen you angry in a fight, but you were fighting angrily in that video.”
“My technique was good enough,” I grunt.
“It was fantastic,” Marquis says. “The armbar attempt, the spatial awareness, the fight IQ, all top-notch, but you were angry, Rust. Why?”
“Maybe because I’m a man and not a goddamn robot. What do you want from me?”
“You are normally a robot, though. Let’s be honest.”
With a sigh, I tell Marquis the only true thing I can. “My dad called just before that. He tried to play the whole I am a changed man thing. He thinks because he’s quit drinking and drugs, we should throw a goddamn parade for him. It’s pathetic.”
“It’s natural he’d want to make amends with his son.”
“You’re on his side?”
“No, Rust, but every father—”
“If you knew what he’d done to my mother, if you knew the things I’d heard, you wouldn’t be saying this. Some men don’t deserve redemption. The only good thing they could do for the world is jump off a goddamn bridge.”