Now she was Axel's. But that still wasn't right. She didn't belong to him and he didn't belong to her. They were together because they wanted to be. They wanted the other to be happy and being with each other made them happy. There was no jealousy or anger in their relationship. They were simply ecstatically happy with each other.
She fell asleep on the couch. Axel lifted her slight frame up in his arms and carried her to her bedroom. She fell onto bed and crawled between the sheets with Axel close behind. He snuggled next to her, kissing the back of her neck, but listening for any strange footfalls in the apartment.
Chapter Thirty-Four
The daycare had re-opened, the lice thankfully eradicated. Marie was grateful she and Cate had managed to avoid the infestation. They, and the mansion, were lice free. Cate knew the way to her daycare by heart and she was always eager to go. She would race up the block, running as fast as she could, her little arms pumping fiercely, until coming to an intersection where she would be forced to impatiently wait for her mother. She wasn't yet allowed to cross the street on her own. Once Marie was there, she would take Cate's hand and together they looked both ways making sure the way was clear and then they would cross the street together. Once they were on the other side Cate would run to the next corner and wait and they did this all the way to the daycare.
Marie was sore as hell. She had taken a couple of ibuprofen, but her legs still cried out with every step. Lifting a coffee cup was agony, and she cursed any steps she encountered on the way. Axel had put her through the ringer yesterday and she was wondering when she would finally recover. It was a good sort of sore, however. It was the kind that came from hard work. She had pushed herself farther than she knew she could go. She would have to keep pushing herself if she wanted to really change. She understood Axel a little better after that last training. He did that every day. He did it of his own accord. He pushed and urged himself on. His strength was amazing to her. After that last day in the gym all she wanted to do was sit on the couch and watch TV. She couldn't imagine doing that day in and day out.
She hadn't felt this sore since her original training. She knew she was stronger than ever, but she still wasn't as strong as Axel. When they had been sparring in the ring he had easily batted her best hits away. She hadn't landed a single punch or kick. Sometimes, ensconced in their sleepy town, she forgot he was a professional fighter. She had seen the evidence firsthand. It was like she had to get through a brick wall before she could even touch him. Marie was jealous of that power. She wanted to be that good. She wanted to be able to protect herself from the worst kind of hits, both the verbal and physical kind. Once she could do that, no one could stop her. She wouldn't need to be afraid of Austin; she would be able to handle him. But she still had a long way to go before she was that good.
They were on the block with the daycare and an excited Cate careened inside leaving Marie on the sidewalk. With a shake of her head Marie walked inside and gave her a kiss on her head before heading back out. It was a good thing Cate liked daycare; ever since the success of the fundraiser Marie had been given a lot of additional work at the museum. She was in the process of updating all of their donor information. She was putting together a comprehensive list of everyone who had ever given money to the mansion with names, email addresses, everything.
Lost in thought she didn't bother with the man who was blocking her path on the sidewalk. Thinking he was lost she simply stepped around him as she debated the best way to sort and filter through hundreds of names.
"Marie DeSantos?"
Marie froze. She literally froze. Every atom in her body stopped moving as she achieved absolute zero on the sidewalk. Her stomach clenched and then dropped as her limbs began to shake. A thousand questions went through her mind and then finally she was able to move and slowly she turned around to face the other man. "Yes," Marie said. "Can I help you?" Without realizing it she slipped into a fighting stance. Her feet were shoulder width apart and she was light on them. Her hands formed into fists as she looked at the other man. He was short with a weasel-shaped face. He looked familiar, like she had seen him around town, but she couldn't quite place him.
"I'm Hayden Walker," the man said. If he noticed Marie's pose, he chose to ignore it. He kept his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels as he spoke. "I'm Axel's coach."
That was where she knew him from. This was the Hayden Walker, the one Axel had been arguing with. She had only seen him in passing at the gym. He seemed to always be out when Marie was there. She had wanted to meet him, but Axel felt that was a bad idea and she hadn't wanted to push him.
"It's nice to finally meet you," Marie said, relaxing a little. She had wanted to make a good impression on Axel's coach. She knew how important Hayden was to Axel's career and she wanted the two of them to start off on a good foot.
He didn't respond to her pleasantries. Instead he stared into her face as if he were looking for something there. Marie felt cold under gaze, like a piece of meat in a butcher's case. It felt like he was looking her over trying to pinpoint her every flaw, noting and cataloguing them for later. He didn't speak for a very long time. Marie grew uncomfortable under his gaze and she shifted on her feet. How long was she expected to stand in the street with this man?
"Your boyfriend's looking for you, and his daughter."
Nausea swelled in her stomach, she felt light headed, and her vision went fuzzy. For a moment she almost lost her balance and she came dangerously close to toppling over into the street. But then the moment passed and she looked at the man across from her. She reached down into herself and searched for the strength she knew was there. She was not some meek little mouse who was going to let Austin scare her from afar. She was a lion now. Her vision cleared, her nausea disappeared, and she took a step towards Hayden. "He's my ex and I don't care what he wants anymore. You should be wary of contacting him. He is a dangerous and violent man. You shouldn't meddle in things that are none of your concern." She was in his face now, her lips pressed together as she breathed through her nose. Her fear was replaced with anger. Did Austin really think she was going to go back to him? Never. She was done letting him intimidate her.
"The thing is," Hayden responded, "it is my concern. Axel is my concern. I'm his coach and his manager and you are bad for him." Marie took a step back as if she had been slapped. What did he mean? "You're ruining his career," Hayden continued. "Ever since he's met you he's been a mess. Missing practices, crapping out on his trainings. He's not looking good for this fight with Castellano. He's not ready. Being with you is ruining him."
"But he said he was fighting better than ever..." Marie said, her voice trailing off. Had Axel meant those things, or was being with Marie actually hurting him?
"Oh I'm sure he has. This is typical Axel. He gets nervous before a big fight and finds some girl to help him relax. But it doesn't really help. It's more he's running from his problem than dealing with it. Then he gets too involved with this girl, because he's nervous about the fight, and his training goes to shit and everything implodes. I hate to break it to you, but you're far from the first girl Axel's gotten himself all tangled up in. This is what he does. He's gonna bomb this fight, blame it on you, break it off with you, and then get back to work.
"The problem is, fighting is a young man's game and Axel is at his peak, but he ain't getting any younger. I don't know if his career can take this hit. If he stays with you he's going to lose the fight and his title and his career might be over for good."
Marie was shocked. Axel hadn't told her any of this. He told her he had been a lifelong bachelor with just a few flings here and there. He told her his training was going great and he was going to beat the snot out of Castellano. Was he lying to her? Was he trying to cover up his insecurity with empty promises? Marie didn't know what to think or who to believe.
"And what happens when your boyfriend comes here and sees you and the kid with Axel? Think he'll take kindly to that? Or do you think that will make him very, very angry? What happens if he takes that out on Axel? You could get him killed. Is that really what you want?"
"No," Marie whispered, shaking her head. She looked into Hayden's beady eyes. She still wasn't quite sure what was happening. How had her nice day turned into this? Where had she gone wrong?