From where she has us angled, I can see Casey shouting encouragement to one of the fighters we were tasked with looking over. He’s so in the element surrounding us, it’s almost easy to forget all that’s been going on with him.
Easy to forget the gigantic storm cloud that’s been circling over his head.
“He’s… He’s going to need a lot of emotional stability. He’s going to need a person in his life who can take the abuse he might give. He needs someone who’s going to be there and help him transition from this broken little boy into a man,” she says quietly.
My first gut reaction is to tear her apart, to ask her how the fuck can she call Casey broken.
But I don’t because I know he is, just like me. But he’s worse because I carelessly left him broken. I allowed this to become the dark stain on his soul that it is.
“I’m going to try to do every—” I manage to say before she cuts me off.
“I could use a Yoda metaphor like I do with the kids who come here needing help, but honestly… Don’t fucking just try Emmett. Trying won’t help him grow and learn to be the person he needs to become,” she says quietly, but with more vehemence than I’ve ever seen her have before.
“I know, he’s got the fucking weight of the world on his shoulders,” I say, and the reality is maybe setting in.
I’m going to be taking care of a child that’s not my own, that has been royally fucked over with life, and he’s had no support from one of the most important people in his life.
“Take some of that load, show him he’s not alone in his guilt for being left alive while the one parent who gave a damn in his life is now gone.”
Nodding my head, I really don’t have any words for what’s going on in my thoughts. She’s right on all counts, and I need to step the fuck up.
“Good. Now back to the other part, you’re going to be doing drug tests and physicals for the fight board. Your body from here on out belongs to the gym,” she says with a grin.
“What do you mean?” I ask, and I can feel that little part of my brain again screaming at me that something is about to fuck my world over even more. “The fight board doesn’t give two shits about me raising a kid.”
Avery motions to my pocket. “No, but your contract does. You might want to check your phone when you get a chance. I’m pretty sure it’s about to explode.”
“What the fuck?” I ask as I pull it out.
A sickening urge to vomit hits me as I open up my phone. I always keep my phone on do not disturb when I’m at the gym. Even now I have to turn on notifications. It’s a holdover from when I was in training. It kept all the distractions at bay.
But now that the notifications are turned on, my phone starts lighting up like fucking Christmas. Dings and pings are going off from missed calls and texts that aren’t in my contacts. My email app shows that I have over a hundred unread emails. The text app has just as many, if not more.
What the fuck?
“Dale has contacted the company and he’s put in your official request for a rematch. He’s also let it slip to a couple of key news outlets,” Avery says with a wide grin.
“What the fuck?!” I shout at her.
They have no fucking right to do something like that. He’s not even my official contact for the company. I can feel the heat of my anger rising up my chest and flooding my face with pure rage.
“You guys can’t fucking do that!” I all but yell, and remember too late where the fuck I am.
“We can’t do what?” Chase asks with a pissed off look on his face as he marches over to where Avery and me are talking.
“Fuck you too, fucking Frankenstein’s creation asshole,” I spit out at him. “You guys don’t have the right to act like my manager. That’s Tommy’s…”
Shrugging his shoulders, Chase moves to stand next to Avery. “We did and you will be fighting. Dale’s already got the schedule for you. Avery has her classes for Casey scheduled for the times you’ll be here, as well. So it’s going to be a family affair thing.”
“I… shit,” I mutter. So they’ll be using Casey to keep me in line. “What’s the timeline? I don’t think I’ll be ready for a fight in the contract’s allotted time frame.”
“Two months,” Dale says from behind me.
I’m going to fucking puke, I can feel it right now. Bile is rising up my throat. Holy fuck. Two fucking months. There’s no way. I haven’t prepared or trained in six months. I’ll be fucking killed out there in the ring.
Casey will lose two people if I agree to the fight.
“There’s no fucking way… I mean… I…”