Page 114 of Sterling Fight

“Let’s start at the beginning,” Stone says as the drink sits between all of us, a glaring reminder of our past.

“You really want to go that far back.” I lift my head, almost challenging Stone when he is not my enemy.

“How about last Halloween?” Sebastian counters, reminding the table of when I punched a man for bullying a child at a family Halloween party.

Clay’s eyes are on me, knowing he stopped me in his office to explain myself a few days later and I didn’t. That was six months ago.

“What we just witnessed was more than a spontaneous, lucky punch,” Knox clarifies. “Which might explain how you landed that other hit like an expert.”

My mouth twists, fighting a desire to smile, a twinge of pride on my lips. Then the curve of my mouth straightens. My two younger brothers sitting at this table took more beatings than me. Sebastian as a scrapper and Knox as an interventionist. Neither should see me how they just saw me.

“When did this start?” Stone asks next, his voice still puzzled.

“College,” I state and lift my head. “But I don’t want y’all to think I’d ever use my skills outside the ring.”

I glance from Knox to Sebastian, then Stone and Clay. I’d never intentionally hurt someone else. The boxing ring is a controlled environment. A cage of energy.

“We know that,” Clay says, drawing my attention to him and offering his sympathetic support. “I think the question is why? Why now? Why here?”

I let out a deep exhale, uncertain I can put it into words. “I just wanted to prove to myself that I wasn’t all the things he said.”

“You’re not,” Clay quickly defends.

“And I know that.” I tap my temple. “But sometimes, it’s still hard to accept.” I point at my chest, where my heart still beats faster than it should.

“I’m sorry you’ve let him be under your skin this long,” Stone states, his voice low like he’s disappointed in himself. Like he should have done something else to right the wrongs of our father when it wasn’t his responsibility.

“You didn’t need⁠—”

“We all carry the demon with us,” Sebastian cuts me off, staring at Stone. “No matter what you think you needed to do for us, you cannot take away what he did.”

We sit in silence a second before Genie returns to my thoughts. “She’s going to leave me.”

Clay’s head swivels toward me. “Who?”

“She’s not,” Knox adds.

I stare at my younger brother and former childhood roommate. “How do you know?”

“Because your heart has been calling out to that girl for years, and you aren’t going to give her up so easily again.”

“Again,” I scoff.

“I was there, remember? I know what happened. What you did. The beating you took in order to protect that ring.” Knox eyes me. “But you were also a kid, like me.”

When Knox reached his final straw and fought back harder than any of us ever had. It hadn’t even been his fist that ended our dad but cutting words.

We wish you were dead.

I hadn’t been home when it happened, happy to leave Sterling Falls in the rearview mirror. Guilty but content to leave my three younger siblings behind with that man, knowing Clay was looking out for them, even if from a distance.

We all have our guilts and our crimes. Our demons.

“You have loved Genie since you were eighteen,” Knox says.

“Ten,” I correct.

“Then it’s time to fight for the girl,” he continues, keeping his eyes on me.