AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He was right. I took a deep breath and quietly drank from my bottle. I understood what he was saying.
“I understand and I’m sorry. I got distracted. And I’m pissed at myself for allowing myself to get distracted.”
“Hollis, relax. We’re training. You have time.”
We sat quietly for a few minutes, which was rare for us. Even when we took breaks we were usually talking about the prior session or what he’d like to see me do during the next five-minute session.
“I’m going to tell you something, but not to inflate your head or give you a big ego, okay?”
I smiled and nodded.
“You are more savvy about combat fighting than many young TCF fighters. You’re very bright, Hollis. You’ve had a handful of trial combats in the early stages of training, and they’ve been against older guys. Eighteen-year-olds, some twenty-year-olds. You’ve outscored all of them. The ability to see and predict your opponent’s moves, like you do, isn’t a skill that is easily learned. You either have it, or you don’t. And there are fighters in the TCF who don’t possess that trait. When we tell you that you have everything that makes the ultimate fighter, we mean everything. You have the skills and physique to be the greatest this sport has ever seen. You are a weapon.”
“This.” Marty leaned over and tapped the side of my head. “Everything in here is so important. When it’s in top form, the rest of you can perform its best. When it’s clouded, or if there’s noise in there, then those seconds are going to tick by, and someone else is going to get you. You’re very motivated.” Marty paused and gestured around the gym at all the other guys training to become TCF fighters. “All of these men are motivated, Hollis. Motivation is good. Emotions are good. Drive is good. All of this is good until they become distractions. Distractions are like a small fire that has broken out in a closed-up room. Smoke fills the room. It blinds you and makes it difficult to breathe and see. The only way to clear your vision and breathe is to let some of the smoke out of the room.”
I nodded.
“If you step into the cage surrounded by smoke, you could get badly hurt.”
I nodded. I understood. Sparring was one thing, but for an actual fight, I couldn’t have anything on my mind but my opponent.
“Do you hear what I’m saying, Hollis?”
I nodded again, but I didn’t look at him.
“You have the stamina to go two or more intense five-minute rounds. You have the quickest reflexes of anyone in this gym. You’re built like a tank. As long as I’ve been working with you, you’ve never let me tap you inside of two minutes.”
Marty paused and took a drink from the bottle.
“Let’s open the windows and clear the smoke. Where’s the smoke coming from, Hollis?”
Fuck. I hadn’t expected him to ask that directly. I didn’t know what to say. I grabbed my towel and wiped off my face. To stall, I opened the Gatorade bottle again and slowly drank from it.
“Talk, Hollis. We’re not stepping back into the cage until the smoke settles.”
“I have a friend who has a shitty home.” I almost said it was Patrick because Marty had met him before. I’d brought him to the gym a few times, but I kept the identity of him guarded for now. “He and I work out at school. He has an older stepbrother who gives him crap all the time, and it really bothers him. I don’t think his parents give a damn about him. It’s just on my mind is all. I worry about him and want him to be safe.”
“Is his older brother physically hurting him?”
I had to be careful what I said because if Patrick got wind of this, it could make things worse for him. Plus, all that Patrick had said was that it started with them messing around, but a huge part of me doubted that was the case. I shrugged and added, “I think it’s a possibility.”
“Hollis, you need to talk to your parents. Whatever is going on with your friend is now affecting you. Let’s wrap up early tonight so you can get home and talk this through.”
I nodded in understanding. As weird as it was, I felt so much better after mentioning it to Marty. Out of all the trainers I’d worked with, Marty was the most laid-back and easygoing.
All the way home, I thought about Patrick and exactly what I was going to say to my folks. I’d hoped to have everything decided upon by the time I got home, but I pulled into the garage with nothing planned.
I went inside and set my gym bag down in the mudroom before I headed toward the kitchen. I could hear the TV on and I walked into the great room. Mom and Dad were standing beside one another, and Mom had the cordless phone to her ear. They both looked up and then Dad smiled at me. He picked the remote up, then turned the TV off. My brothers turned around to look at Dad and then over at me.
“Morgan, Chase… your brother is home, and your mom and I need to talk to him.”
“Hollis just arrived. Thank you so much for your call,” Mom said into the phone.
Who was she talking to?
“Morgan, Chase, go upstairs, please,” Dad told my brothers.
“Who were you on the phone with?” I asked Mom.
