Chapter Sixteen
MAVERICK
All of us let out a deflated kind of growling sound.
Remi slammed his hands down to the desk.
Abel and Riff grabbed for Coach’s shoulders.
I touched my jaw and it felt like someone had punched me in the stomach.
“Coach,” I said.
“I know,” he said. “Found out last week. I demanded a second opinion. But who fucks up the diagnosis, right? Even still, second opinion said the same thing. She’s got breast cancer. What the fuck do I do now? I’ve got two kids. Mike Jr. and Lizzy. They can’t live without their mother.”
“They’re not going to do that,” Remi said.
“Come on, Remi,” Coach said.
I kicked the desk. “Fuck that, Coach! That’s not a fighter’s attitude. You hear me?”
Coach’s eyes went wide.
It took a lot for me to snap and scream.
“You’ve seen us all go through some variation of hell,” I said. “You never gave up on us. So we’re not going to let you give up right now either.”
“Mav is right,” Abel said.
“Guys, it’s not that simple,” Coach said. “Just take a step back and give me a second to breathe.”
We all looked at Remi.
Remi gave a nod.
I moved away from the desk.
Abel and Lay walked away from Coach.
We were all crammed into Coach’s office, near the door.
“Anyone else here?” Coach asked.
“No,” Remi said.
“We were just grilling Mav,” Abel said.
“Over what?” Coach asked.
“Nothing,” I said.
“Over some woman he’s screwing,” Lay said. “He’s acting weird. We thought he was hooking up with some woman that cheated on him. Wanted to make sure his dick is safe and sound.”
“Can we talk about something else?” I asked.
“No, this works for me,” Coach said. “It’s a distraction.”
“No distractions, Coach,” Abel said. “Tell us what’s going on.”