Mason:Inked Reapers MC(85)

"Yep," Jasper sighed as he climbed off the hospital bed, his bandaged knee struggling to support his weight.



"You okay there, champ?" Carl cast a wary look at him.



"I'm still standing … barely," Jasper quipped. He pushed himself away from the bed and unsteadily wavered on his feet.



"Least you've not lost your sense of humor," Carl grinned.



"Hmm."



"Listen, I know you're tired and just want to rest, but you'll be back at it in the gym tomorrow, right?"



Jasper wilted at the thought of another day's training.



"Maybe if my trainer had stuck around I'd be more inclined to go," he  replied, deciding to be bold and tackle the issue of his dismissed  trainer head on.



"I had to let him go," Carl lowered his head apologetically. "I'm sure you can figure out why."



"Yes," Jasper nodded. "But you could have run it past me first. Of all  the things that could go, I didn't think my trainer was one of them."



"I'm just doing my best to keep you afloat," Carl said, sounding hurt.  "I made an executive decision. Once you're back on top and winning  again, you can fly him back in. Until then, you're on your own when it  comes to training. But that's not so bad is it? I mean, you didn't have a  trainer back when you were starting out."



"No," Jasper agreed. He didn't have a trainer back then, but he had the  hunger. He wanted to win more than anything in the world; nothing else  mattered. But now there were other things in his life like Kait. The  hunger to win wasn't nearly as veracious as it once had been. Thinking  about Kait made Jasper feel even more exhausted. He'd lied to her, and  he hated himself for that. She was always just trying to help, to look  out for him, and he repaid her time and again by pushing her away.



"Let's get you back to your place," Carl said, holding open the door for  Jasper to awkwardly hobble through. "All you need is a good night's  sleep to get you back on track."





Chapter 82



"You need to head over to his place right now!" Anna fumed down the  phone. Kait was lingering in the car park of the gym, her cell phone  glued to her ear.



"Really?" Kait squeaked in response.



"Yes!" Anna insisted fiercely. "He's probably over there right now doing  who knows what with God knows who! You need to catch him in the act and  put him in his place!"



Kait just wanted to go back to her apartment and hide under her duvet.  The thought of finding Jasper in bed with someone else was making her  feel physically sick.



"Kait, you deserve the truth from him."



"I know, I know," Kait kicked at a loose stone and watched it skitter across the tarmac.



"All I want is for you to be happy."



"I know."



"And a relationship can't thrive when it's built on lies." Ever since  getting serious with Robert, Anna had morphed in to one of those  annoying types who suddenly felt like they were romance experts. Most of  the time Kait didn't mind, but at times like this, it really annoyed  her.



"If he's lying, he'll have good reason to," Kait defended. She was  starting to regret having called her friend in a panicked moment of  weakness. Nothing Anna had said had made her feel better about Jasper  lying to her.



"Like what? He's in bed with someone else and doesn't want you to know?"



"It might not be that!" Kait snapped, tears brimming behind her eyes.



"Okay, then go over to his apartment and find out for sure."



"You think?"



"Yes!" Anna insisted shrilly. Then, more gently she asked, "Want me to come along?"



"No, no," Kait was already striding off in the direction of Jasper's plush apartment building. "I can do this on my own."



"That's right! Pull up your big girl pants, and show him who's boss!"                       
       
           



       



"Yeah," Kait sighed. She wanted to be angry and brimming with  indignation, but she was more scared than anything. Just when she  thought things were finally getting serious with Jasper, that he was  finally letting her in, he goes and shuts her out all over again. It was  beyond demoralizing and left Kait feeling suspicious and betrayed.



"You've got this, Kait," Anna told her sincerely. "And whatever happens, I'm right here for you. Don't forget that."



"Thanks, I won't."





Chapter 83



Jasper was slumped against the wall of the elevator as it silently  climbed to his floor. Carl was gone, despite having offered to help  Jasper up to his apartment. Jasper had declined; he just wanted to be  alone. Besides, he needed to quickly learn how to support himself on his  bad leg else there was no way he'd be able to get back in the ring  again.



The sleek elevator doors opened, and Jasper hobbled out on to his floor,  taking his time as he traversed the plush hallway. He turned and headed  towards his own door before abruptly stopping. He rarely ever  encountered anyone on his floor. It was the top level consisting of  three penthouse suites. He didn't even know who lived in the other two.  But now there was someone leaning against his door. Jasper froze as Kait  lifted her head to look at him, tears streaked down her cheeks.



"Kait?" As he moved towards her he did his best to hide the limp in his walk.



"There you are!" Kait gestured angrily towards him. "Where the hell have you been?"



Jasper opened his mouth to respond, but she pointed a shaking finger at him.



"And don't you say the gym!" she shouted. "I went there to … to talk to  you, and you weren't even there! Where the hell have you been, Jasper?  Why are you lying to me?"



Jasper sheepishly looked around the empty hallway.



"Come on, let's talk inside," he awkwardly rummaged for his keys before  unlocking the door and letting them both in. Automatic lights clicked on  and bathed the open plan apartment in an elegant glow.



"Well?" Kait remained by the now closed door, her arms folded across her chest.



"Kait," Jasper's head dropped to his chest. He wanted to lie. He didn't  want to admit to her the terrible truth that he was broken, that he was  at risk of losing everything he had.



"The truth, Jasper!" Kait demanded. "Are you cheating on me?"



"No!" Jasper gasped, appalled at the suggestion. "Of course not!"



"Then what's going on?"



Jasper couldn't remain standing any longer; his knee was throbbing  unbearably. He hopped over to the far side of his apartment and his  leather sofa which boasted a backdrop of floor length windows which gave  a magical vista over the city. As he dropped onto the sofa, he groaned.  Kait had reluctantly followed him, her eyebrows pulled together in  confusion.



"I was at the hospital," Jasper admitted shamefully.



"At the hospital?" The anger in Kait's expression was quickly replaced with concern.



"Yeah," Jasper didn't want to make too big a deal of it. He just wanted  to rest up and prepare himself for a day's worth of training the next  day.



"Why? What happened?" Kait was now beside him on the sofa. Jasper pointed lamely at his knee.



"Your knee?" Kait gasped in horror.



"I dislocated it."



"Oh, Jasper!" Her hand fluttered up to her mouth. "You should have told me, I would have come with you!"



"But I don't want you to see me like this," Jasper cried empathetically.  "I'm broken, Kait," he said as he thrashed his arms angrily against the  sofa. "I'm fucking broken, and I'm a loser."



"You're not a loser!" Kait insisted.



"Yes, I am!" Jasper snapped back, his jaw tightening. "I risk losing all  of this," he gestured around his apartment, "unless I get one more win.  I've already lost my trainer and some of my sponsors."



Kait reached for his hand and squeezed it.



"Win or lose in the ring, you'll always have my heart," she promised him tenderly.



"If I go out, it has to be on top," Jasper explained. "But right now, that's not happening. Right now, I'm a laughing stock."



Kait listened intently to his words.



"I have to get back on top," Jasper told her. "I just need one more win to keep my sponsors, to keep my dignity."



His knee burned with a sharp blast of pain, and Jasper winced and reached for it.                       
       
           



       



"You can't fight in this state," Kait noted with concern.



"I have to!" Jasper shouted. "Kait, I've no choice!"