You could use a night out. With me.
I scoff before replying.
Rae
How would you know what I need?
Asher
Just a guess.
Rae
I don’t really go out.
I twist my mouth to the side because that would be my initial response. That’s what the good, perfect Rae would say because she doesn’t go out. She doesn’t give paparazzi any excuse to see her doing something potentially scandalous.
At least I didn’t used to.
Rae
Actually, that may be exactly what I need.
Asher
You won’t regret it. *wink emoji*
I’m not entirely sure that is true. I think the one thing about this is that I will, in fact, regret it.
CHAPTER 11
Asher
Fuck all of this shit.
I ask the doctors to refer me to a surgeon in Denver because the last thing I want is to stay in Oregon if I can’t fight. I’m still fucking pissed at my coaches at Uncaged, and not a single one of them would see my side.
I even tried to talk to Max to see if she could convince the guys to let me keep training.
“I’m not going to be responsible for your recklessness. Get better, get back to training,”she told me. It was my final straw. I stormed out of the gym, determined not to go back.
While I want to avoid the surgery and recovery altogether, the pain has only gotten worse, and I know I’ll come back better than ever. Then I’ll fucking show them that they lost me, I’ll go to another gym. A better one, or I’ll do it myself. I don’t care, I just want to get the fuck out of Seaside.
As soon as I’m back in Denver it hits me why I didn’t want to come back here either. The billboards showcasing all the professional sports teams seem to haunt me as I drive down the freeway. The familiar faces of some of the people I’ve grown up with seem to follow me.
Hockey…football…baseball, they’re all over the place here and it makes me sick.
Then there’s one I pass that hasn’t been taken down yet highlighting Rae Sparks.
Now there’s a face I wouldn’t mind seeing again. The only one from my past that I don’t hate thinking about.
Too bad, she’s always with the rest of them. I don’t think there’s any way to get involved with her without the baggage of everyone else along for the ride. Even just for a little fun. She doesn’t seem like the type to keep it casual.
After my surgeryI’m stuck in a bed once again and I hate it even more this time because I can’t move my arm at all. The medication is still in my system making my whole body feel weak and I hate feeling weak. It makes me feel helpless, like a child stuck where I couldn’t defend myself. I could only curl up in a ball and try to lessen the damage being inflicted on me from the adults that were supposed to take care of me.
I scroll on my phone to try and distract myself. I’m sick of TV, and everything online is boring me. But then a headline catches my attention.
Are the sparks fading? Rae Sparks, Hollywood’s good girl…boring?
