“And you don’t earn money from the amateur fights. Right?”
He rolls his eyes. “Kind of. Any sponsorships or prizes are collected by my father. The money’s reinvested in his gym. He wants to start a franchise and leave it to me.”
“You’rethisclose to starting your professional career, earning your own money. You’ll be out of school at the end of this semester, and not depending on your dad’s support.” I pause and sigh. “I can’t accept your money. You’ll owe your father even more.”
“I told you—the hell with my father.”
“I know how it feels to be controlled by someone else. To be stuck. I’m not going to be the one to put you in that situation. I’m sorry.”
I’m not sure what I’m apologizing for. For the possibility of ruining his life. For getting him in trouble with his dad. No matter how much he denies it, Victor is getting a beating—emotional and physical—at his practices. When he returns from training with his dad, Victor looks like he’s returning from a war. His eyes are devoid of emotion. His body is covered in bumps, bruises, blood. His demeanor says to stay the hell away… until he sees me. Then his eyes soften, his body relaxes, and he asks me if he should cook something for me.
Victor growls. He brings his fists to his face and starts punching in the air.
“There’s got to be a way. I can deal with my father.”
“There’s more, Victor. I don’t want to owe you.”
He stops in mid-punch and drops his hands to his sides but keeps on walking.
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
I wince. “Can’t you see it? If I don’t owe Charlie, then I’ll owe someone else. I don’t ever want to feel like that again. I need to gain control over my life.”
Victor lets out a heavy breath. He scratches his neck and drops his arms to his sides. I hope he’s thinking about dropping the subject.
“I understand you but I don’t. It’s just so fucked up.”
“This is my fight, Victor. It’s not as easy as just punching someone in the face every time I get angry or every time things don’t go my way.”
Immediately my hand flings itself over my mouth. In my frustration, I forgot to be kind.
Victor halts and squeezes his eyes shut for a moment.
“You’re right,” is all he says before he starts running again. But this time his pace is much faster. I run as fast as I can but lose sight of him.
I’ll think of something. I don’t want to be rescued by my brother or Victor.
The skin on the back of my head prickles. I slow my pace to a walk. I rub my forearms—now covered in goose bumps. I can’t shake off the feeling that someone is watching me. I turn and scan my environment but there’s nothing unusual. I dash back to the apartment as fast as my feet can take me without sparing a second glance behind me.
I close the door behind me and click the lock with a heavy sigh.
When I get inside, Abi and Alek are cuddled on the couch, flipping through a magazine. Abi’s eyes sparkle behind the thick brown frames. I think they are my favorite so far. They make her eyes bigger and highlight her freckles. I smile at the lovebirds.
“You guys are stinking cute. What are you reading?”
They both look up at the same time.
“Vacation spots. We’re checking out some cities and choosing our favorites in hope that Alek can get drafted to one of those locations.”
My mouth forms an “O.” My eyes ping-pong around the room. My brother will be leaving me, just as Victor will, once they’re done with school. Just when I decided to stay, they’re abandoning me.
I don’t have much time left to rekindle my relationship with Alek. I’d give anything to feel the closeness to him, the connection we had as kids. Us against the whole damn world.
I don’t know where to start—I’ve done so much damage already. How do I reconcile with Alek when it’s all a lie? Should I fess up everything to him or save him the drama?
Every time I think about where I stand with him, my shoulders tense up and my muscles twitch from the pressure.
“Awww, babe, Florida looks awesome in these pictures.”
