“What the fuck? How does he know where she lives?” I didn’t think they were that good of friends just yet.
“Johnny got the address from Becca, apparently.”
“Iknewthat fucker wanted her.” Johnny has been hinting about wanting to see Becca again. I wonder when he managed to pull it off. “He better not do anything to hurt Becca and wreck my chances with Alex any more than they are already.”
“Ryder will talk to her.” Devon seems pretty confident in Ryder’s abilities to convince Alex. Then again, he’s also made fast friends with her, so he probably knows what he’s talking about.
“I still can’t believe that she beat the shit out of that chick. Guess Pops taught her a thing or two after all.” I’m not looking forward to talking to him about this mess, that’s for sure. He might not look so kindly upon how I’ve hurt Alex, even though it’s a misunderstanding. “Did Denise take care of that? Alex isn’t going to get in shit for it, is she?”
“Nah, she’s good.” Devon says as he unlocks the doors to the truck. “She was protecting you from a crime, so she won’t be charged. I called a cop buddy of mine too, and he said they’re not interested in pursuing charges against her.”
Just as we get into the truck, we both receive a notification ding from our phones. It’s Ryder.
Ryder- I’m with Alex now. She’s drunk. Has been since last night, looks like.
Ryder- She answered the door wearing her underwear and drinking straight from a bottle of whiskey. Homegirl is so pissed off at you, Connor.
Me-Tell her to turn her phone on so I can call her.
Ryder- She won’t even talk about you dude, there’s no way she’s going to talk to you right now.
Me- Fine. Let me know when I should come by.
Ryder doesn’t answer right away. If I don’t hear from him in the next couple of hours, I’m going to just go over there. If I can get Johnny to give me the address, that is. Becca probably made him promise not to give it to me. I get she wants some time, after what she thinks happened last night, but I can’t stand to have her thinking that about me. I said I would never hurt her and I meant it. Too bad there was no way to predict some dumb bitch would force me into a situation like this. I wonder what Alex will think when she finds out she protected me from a rapist?
“Did you want to stop anywhere on the way home?” Devon asks before he turns out of the hospital parking lot.
Should I go see Mike right away? I should try to own up to what happened instead of letting Alex tell him. Even if she learns the truth before she talks to him, he seems like the kind of guy who would appreciate it if I come and tell him about it myself.
“Yeah.” I look over at Devon. “Take me to the gym. I need to talk to Mike. If he hits me, you can drag me back to the truck.” I attempt to laugh at my little joke, but the truth is, I know even at 75 years old Mike can still do a little damage. Especially since I won’t defend myself if he punches me in the face. Hell, I’d even let him get one of the trainers to do it for him if it makes him feel better. I feel like shit for how I made Alex feel, even though I was just a bystander. I didn’t want her hurt, whatever the reason. But the truth is Ididhurt her, and I’m ready to let Mike deliver whatever punishment he sees fit.
“You sure about that? That old guy is pretty tough, and I’m sure he has a soft spot for Alex the size of a football field. He’s going to be pissed at you, even though you didn’t really do anything.”
“I know that, but I think this will just sound better coming directly from me. He told me what would happen if I hurt her. I just hope he believes what I have to say about the situation. He’s pretty old school. The idea that a woman would attempt to rape a man might be hard for him to wrap his mind around.”
“Either way, it’s your funeral man,” he says, already driving in that direction. “I’m going to put ‘here lies a dumbass’ on your tombstone, FYI.”
I chuckle at that. “Yeah, sounds about right.”
The hospital isn’t far from the gym, so it doesn’t take too long to get there. Devon parks right in front, which is great since I’m still a little out of it. I’m not interested in walking a long way just to get my ass kicked. Devon opens the door and lets me go in first.
“Mike, you here?” I yell out as soon as we walk in. “I need to talk to you for a minute. Where are you?”
“Up here, kid,” he yells out from his office. “Come on up.”
“Wish me luck.” I turn to Devon. “I’ll either walk down in a bit or he’ll throw me down those stairs in a couple of minutes.”
Devon gives me a nod and goes to the desk to talk to the trainer that’s working. He’ll keep himself occupied for as long as he needs to. I don’t think this will be a quick conversation. I take a deep breath and walk up the stairs to the office.
“Hey Mike,” I greet him as I walk in. “Mind if I sit?”
“You bet, kid.” He gestures to a chair. “What’s going on? You asking for Alex’s hand already?” He laughs like it’s the most hilarious joke. It’s not funny to me though. If I can get Alex to trust me after this, I will be getting a ring on her finger as soon as possible.
“Not yet, Mike.” I run my hand down my face. “Something happened last night that I need to talk to you about. I’ve hurt Alex unintentionally and I want you to hear it from me first.”
“What do you mean, you hurt her? You didn’t hit her, did you?” He’s already standing up, getting ready to teach me a lesson.
“No, no,” I say. “Nothing like that.”
