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“I can fucking kill you,” he said sinisterly, but I didn’t give a shit about that threat either. Let him fucking come at me. Let him try and kill me. “I can fuck you up for this. I can break every damn bone in your body, you piece of shit.”
“I’m out for good, Nero. Fuck off.”
I allowed the phone to fall from my hand and onto the seat below. I could hear him yelling and screaming at me, but it no longer bothered me. Fuck him.
I stumbled into the locker room with my mind all over the place, trying to get myself focused for training today. I allowed myself to imagine my dad on a lounge chair soaking up the sun, taking in the air of home. It gave me comfort to at least know he was happy now. It brought me peace, if nothing else. It suggested everything happened for a reason, because if I hadn’t been with Nero, I might have forced my dad to stay. I probably would have made him endure more treatments he really didn’t want. I might not like the way things had turned out, but that wasn’t up to me now. I could see that.
He’d finally done what he wanted, what he needed, and honestly I fully respected him for having the balls to do it.
“What are you doing here, bro?” a visibly confused Teo asked me, as he gazed up at me. I’m sure I looked a little messed up, but not enough to warrant that much of a reaction. “Didn’t you get the message?”
“Huh? What message?” What the fuck was I missing here? From the look on everyone’s faces in the gym, it was clearly something huge. Something that I should probably already know. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ve… been suspended…” Teo said, giving me a curious look. “How the hell didn’t you know that?”
What the fuck?
A black storm clouded over my vision, and with fury in my heart, I stormed over to where Frankie was standing in the gym. How the fuck had I been suspended? I hadn’t actually done anything wrong. And didn’t I have enough going on in my life without this shit to add to it? How could Smiley’s think that it was a good idea to load this on top of me as well? I was sure Ari had informed Frankie of my personal issues, and I needed a little fucking breathing room.
“What’s this about me being suspended?” I snapped at Frankie. “Why did no one tell me?”
“You have been contacted by email about it,” Frankie replied in an overly calm tone of voice, one that only served to infuriate me further. “You have been suspended because I don’t feel confident having you as part of the gym anymore. You are currently being investigated to see if you’re still a good fit. We have someone filling in for your fight in Heathens Hollow.”
I knew what that meant. He was digging to get all his shit together, and then he’d make it official and kick me out of the gym completely. I was being edged out. I was not a fucking idiot, and he knew that. Judging by the smirk plastered across his face, he didn’t give a shit either.
“Why?” I had to ask, already knowing I was going to hate the answer.
“I think we both know the reason.” There was a threat in his tone now—one that Frankie really wanted me to hear. “You are an untrustworthy fighter. You threw the last Heathens Hollow fight you were at. We can’t have you up to your old tricks again, and I have my suspicions that you might be.”
The look that Frankie gave me suggested he knew much more than he was letting on. Did he have someone following me, or tracking me? Did Frankie know I’d been to see Nero again? Maybe if he’d heard about my dad being sick, he’d figured I needed to be investigated… and rightfully so, I suppose. But how did I tell him what was going on without basically admitting to the fact I had planned on getting back in bed with Nero? Surely by saying that, I’d be suspended anyway. Maybe fired immediately or even sued for breaking my contract with Smiley’s. Frankie had me backed into a corner, and he was very aware of that.
“But Heathens Hollow is the most vital fight,” I tried my best to argue logically. “If you don’t have me fight, we lose any shot at having me headline other fights like we’ve planned. Does Ari know about this?”
“Ari doesn’t need to know about every decision I make for this gym.”
“I think she’d be very interested in the fact that you pulling out the only chance you have of winning Heathens Hollow.”
“Look, Bones, I think it would be best for everyone if you stopped arguing and just got the fuck out of here,” he said. “I’m trying to stay calm and… professional for Ari’s sake. But what I really want to do is beat you to a bloody pulp.”
