“I can stop you,” she says simply.
I look deep into her dark eyes and shake my head. “You wouldn’t humiliate me like that.”
“This is insane,” she hisses. “You’ll be lucky to get one punch in before the security guards take you down and the two of you get kicked out of school. Zero tolerance policy, remember? Doesn’t matter who hits first—you both get suspended.”
A wildness inside me creates a grin on my face. “I have a plan.”
“Ah, hell, really?” Haley tosses her backpack to the ground like she’s throwing in the towel. Matt’s gym rules: he can’t train for a week if he gets suspended for fighting at school. “When will you get it through your thick skull that I’m not worth fighting over?”
“Yes, you are. And you know this won’t go to blows. The real fight will be in a few weeks in that cage.”
Haley shifts into shock mode with her paled-out face. “No, West. Don’t you dare challenge him. You have a better chance against Conner.”
“I don’t want to fight Conner. I want Matt and I want him suspended from his gym.”
“You have a decent shot of standing after three rounds with Conner, but you’re going to make it emotional by going after Matt. How are you going to keep your head on the game plan in the cage when Matt rattles you? When he calls me names? When he calls me a slut?”
The bastard will be dead if he goes there. “I’ll be fine.”
“When are you going to learn? This isn’t a tough man contest where guys beat their chest, then sees who hits harder. This is the ultimate chess match. Yeah, you’ve got to be strong and have skills, but a lot of times the smarter guy wins.”
“Then it shouldn’t be a problem. Matt’s a moron.”
“He’s trained—a machine—and that’s what I need you to be. No emotion. When I yell at you to watch for something or to do a certain combo, I need you to do it. You have to be focused and search for those open moments. Not pissed off and looking for vengeance because if you lead with your emotions, you won’t find vengeance. You’ll find your ass handed to you.”
“All noted,” I say. “Are we done, because I’ve got a fight to start.”
“When are you going to stop acting on every impulse? It’s going to get you killed.”
“I’ll stop.” I clutch her hand and she tries to yank it back, too pissed at me to let me touch. I flash her a grin and she rolls her eyes, annoyed I can easily disarm her. I lift her hand to my mouth and kiss her fingers. “After I settle this with him.”
“You’re like loving someone sentenced to death row.”
“But you love me.” I drop her hand and stalk to the corner. Matt places his tray at a spot at the end of the table and laughs as he says something to his friends. His low-life little brother, Conner, sits at his left-hand side. No more game playing. It’s time we call this fight what it is: a war.
Matt’s head snaps up as my fingers grip his tray and I push it off the table. The tray, a plastic plate, two bowls and a carton of milk clank and bang to the floor. Food splatters everywhere.
“My bad,” I say. “I must have tripped.”
“He’s mine alone.” Matt jumps to his feet as well as the rest of his crew, but before Matt can gain traction, I grab his collar and slam him into the wall. “If you look at Haley again, talk to Haley again or touch Haley again, I’ll kill you. You want to hit someone, you’re hitting me. Got it?”
A shadow darkens his features and he knows I know. Matt’s fist flies for my face and my guard goes up and I block the blow. My jab immediately retaliates. Purple shirts are everywhere as the school’s security guards pummel us.
Matt lunges for me. “You’re fucking dead, Young!”
“Bring it!”
He points as the security guards pull him back. “It’s you and me in the cage. You and me!”
I relax so the security guards ease up on their manhandling. Mission accomplished.
Chapter 59
Haley
The cutting of vegetables turns into a rote movement. The sizzle of the meat on the stove is the saving buzz that drowns out the noise from the living room and keeps me from blowing my brains out. Out of the corner of my eye, Jax drums his fingers in a heavy metal beat against his arm and gives the floor a death glare. “I can help you cut vegetables.”
Chop, chop, chop. The onions on the butcher block shape into smaller pieces. “It’s better if we keep you away from sharp objects.”
“True. Nice what your boy did at lunch today. I found an ounce of respect for him.”
I sigh loudly. West got suspended for the rest of the day over his stupid stunt with Matt. “He’ll be fighting Matt now.”
Jax grunts. “Like he wasn’t going to be fighting him before.”
“Do you think West will be ready?” Because I sparred, Jax and Kaden have upheld their end of the agreement and have been helping me train West. Jax has been working with him on boxing and Kaden on grappling.
Jax has that thoughtful-owl look again. “I don’t know. Maybe. He’s got raw talent, but he’s just that—raw. Plus he’s got a hell of a temper. You’ve gotta tell him to control it.”
“I have.”
“Then tell him again.”
My uncle’s voice rises. “...biggest screwup on the planet...” Jax’s mom hums a church hymn louder from her forever sanctuary in her bedroom. She’s mending something...again.
I pour more oil into the skillet, so the hissing sound of the fryer will mask listening to my uncle berate my younger cousin for walking into the house with dirt on his sneakers.
“It could catch fire if you do that,” Jax says. Our eyes meet and an insane spark of hope stirs within me and the sad part is the same delirium burns in Jax’s eyes.
“The Red Cross gives shelter to people whose homes burn down.” I return to the vegetables. “In small disasters they often give hotel rooms. Sometimes multiple rooms depending upon the size of the family.”
“Interesting. I’ll keep that in mind.”
The more time I spend in this house, the crazier I become. The aura of my uncle is embedded in the paint in the walls, a fine layer on the floors, hanging from the ceiling. It lurks and consumes and digests. Sometimes I find myself wishing he’d choke while he eats, fall asleep at the wheel or just drop dead.
I toss the onions into the hot oil. “I think I’m becoming evil.”
“It’s the house. If we survive until we graduate from high school, everything will be fine.”
Mom walks into the kitchen with Maggie on her hip. Music blares from the earbuds stuck in my sister’s ears. Even though my sister is eight, she clings to my mother like a toddler. Maggie isn’t immature; she’s afraid of evil. She should be scared, instead of being numb like me.
My mother settles Maggie into a chair. “Have you seen your father?” In her jeans and black Roadhouse shirt, she’s seconds away from stepping out the door to start her second job.
After my acceptance to the University of Kentucky, he’s been akin to a ghost. One more thing I’ve screwed up. “He’s probably still at the library. Dad’s really trying for a job.”
Mom sucks in a breath like she’s going to talk, then stops before slipping paper and crayons in front of my sister. “Please take care of Maggie while I’m gone.”
Jax snatches a piece of raw potato. “With my life.”
“Making sure she doesn’t hear yelling, eats her dinner and goes to bed will suffice. I’m hoping none of you will be reduced to life sacrificing.”
Jax chuckles. “Just saying.”
“You’re a good boy.” She pats Jax on his arm. “And you’re one of Dad’s favorites.”
Jax pops the potato wedge into his mouth and the grin on his face speaks volumes. Mom kisses his cheek, my cheek, then Maggie’s and is out the door. Somehow the room loses warmth.
“You know I’ve seen your dad a couple of times up at the strip mall.”
The knife in my hand pauses. “He’s probably wasting time before the bus shows.”
“He could be going to the bar.”
I viciously slice through another potato. “Have you seen him there?”
He’s silent as the blade of the knife thumps into the wooden board with each stroke.
“We don’t have the money for it,” I say. “And Dad doesn’t drink. At least not like that.”
“Beer at the bar is cheap.”
I slam the knife down and round on Jax. “My father wouldn’t give up.”
“Not the enemy.” He picks up my sister, who sits staring at us wide-eyed. “Come on, Mags. Let’s hide in the basement.”
Chapter 60
West
The principal suspended me for the rest of the day because I slammed Matt into a wall. I chuckle. That would have gotten my ass expelled at Worthington.
At the breakfast bar in my mother’s kitchen, I pile high another layer of ham and smash the bread on top. Haley’s been on me about weight. She’s threatening me with hours wrapped in plastic in a sauna if I don’t stop eating high-calorie garbage. I’ve got five more pounds to drop and ham shouldn’t kill me. The sandwich melts in my mouth. After the tournament, I’m eating everything in sight.