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“Let’s see what you got mouthy,” Lucy taunted.
“Lady, I don’t wanna show you up. It’s cool.” Saint stared at Celt and made the sign of the cross while Bridge fell about howling.
“Ah, you’re yellow-bellied. Don’t want to be beaten by a girl, wimp!” Lucy said, and Celt’s eyes widened.
“Yeah, I know what you’re doing,” Celt replied.
“Put your money where your mouth is jelly belly.” Celt’s lips firmed, and he glanced at the four of us staring at him with amazement and laughing too hard. Saint put two fingers to his head and pulled the trigger. Celt squared up to Lucy.
“Bring it on, sister.”
Half an hour later, I could swear Celt was crying in pain. Celt had actual tears in his eyes as Lucy snapped commands and berated him. At first, he’d been cocky, keeping up with Lucy, and then she upped the ante. Saint didn’t help by the constant remarks while Bridge shouted out encouragement to Lucy. Kye let me lie across his lap as I watched as Celt worked up a sweat I don’t think he’d ever broken. To his credit, Celt kept pushing himself until Lucy called time, and then he collapsed in a heap on the floor. Sympathetically, Bridge pushed a bottle of water at Celt, who gulped it thirstily.
“She’s fuckin’ Satan,” Celt grumbled as Lucy tossed a clean towel at him.
“Lucy is a goddess amongst women,” Saint disagreed, and Lucy’s tinkling laugh echoed around the room.
“Suck up! It won’t work, you know,” Lucy teased Saint, who glowered. To her credit, Lucy wasn’t impressed by our stardom and treated us like she would anyone else. Kye and I had been tickled when she’d drawn a poster detailing Johnno as a wimp and stuck it on his bedroom door. I was damn sure Zyaire would get the same treatment tonight.
“I tried,” Saint said forlornly.
“Swimming time, you four have twenty laps around the pool. Chey has to do ten, and Chey use the supports instead of drowning yourself,” Lucy chided. I’d been given what was basically the adult version of a child’s safety ring. I had pouted at using it and nearly drowned myself yesterday. Today I’d use it because swallowing half the pool wasn’t pleasant. Celt rose to his feet and picked me up, placing me in the wheelchair. My arms felt like spaghetti, so I was relieved when Celt pushed me towards the Olympic sized swimming pool. Celt let out a groan as he spied the size of the damn thing.
“Shit, and the she-devil wants twenty laps?” Celt groaned.
“Yup, don’t think about skiving off. There are spare shorts over there,” I grinned, pointing out a changing room.
“Shit,” Celt moaned and wandered off. Angie, my nurse, entered and helped me change in the other cubicle. I could hear the four men teasing each other and making ribald comments, and I smiled. Angie supported me onto the lift, and I lowered myself in as Lucy threw my ring into the water. Saint dived in, causing a splash, and swam over to me. Saint helped me get the aid on and winked before doggy paddling away. Lucy shouted abuse, and Saint sent her a wave before breaking into the breaststroke.
“Chey, I want you to use this float to rest your head on. After yesterday, I hope you’re more amenable to listening today.”
“Rub it in, Lucy!” I retorted, and Lucy threw a white neck support at me. I caught in between both my hands and did as Lucy instructed.
“This will help you adjust to the new style of floating. Before you could command your legs, and they helped you stay afloat. Until we have use of them back, your body needs to learn anew. Pull the float in closer, Chey. That’s better. Now your head won’t get dunked, so relax and allow the support and your upper torso to do the work.” Yesterday, I’d sank several times before being yanked out by Zyaire. Today I was learning to listen to Lucy. I had pitched an absolute fit when I kept sinking and had forced Bridge to remove me from the pool as I worked myself up into hysteria. After a good night’s sleep, I understood what Lucy was trying to do and made myself stop battling against her. I drifted for a few seconds and then tipped into the water. Spluttering, I clawed my way free, and Lucy jumped in beside me.
She helped position my body and set me floating again. This time, with the new positioning, I floated far easier. Lucy let me float for a few minutes and then asked me to use the breaststroke to complete ten laps. Except my laps were the width of the pool while the boys were doing the length. Lucy swam alongside me, helping support and correcting my posture when she felt I needed it. When I’d completed them, I barely had enough strength to reach the hoist.
Lucy kept a trained eye on me as Angie hit the button to pull me up, and whatever she saw caused her to nod before she too exited the pool. She told Angie to dry me off but leave the swimsuit on as she would massage me now before cramps set into my muscles. After my rub, Angie rushed me back to my room for a bath and then helped me dress. I wondered what Celt was doing and if Jesse knew he was here.
I discovered the band and Celt in the games room split into three teams. Celt and Kye were on one, Jesse and Saint the second, and Johnno and Bridge the third. Zyaire was on the PlayStation and ignoring the banter coming from the others.
“What’s going on?” I inquired as I pushed myself. Jesse detached himself immediately and came to help. He shoved me into a corner that Jesse clearly deemed safe as Kye waved his pool stick about.
“We’re playing pool,” Saint grunted. I frowned.
“How will that work for three teams? I asked.
“Any ball counts; we’re just going by who can rack up the most points,” Bridge explained as Johnno took a shot and missed the pocket.
“The kid is a hustler,” Celt complained as Jesse glowed.
“Yeah, I taught Jesse well,” I quipped. Celt sent me a smouldering look that said he remembered me hustling him several times during pool. My mouth dried at the raw emotion in Celt’s eyes. Those had been fun moments, Celt watching my back as I wiped the floor with his chosen friends in Hellfire. That made me think. Even then, Celt had kept himself distant from certain members of Hellfire. Puzzlement crossed Celt’s face as I sank deeper into memories I’d not allowed myself to recall.
Chance and Bear had always held themselves separate from Zeus and his bunch of assholes. Standing with them had been Big Al, Rooster, and Diesel. They had recruited Celt, Pyro, Levi, Shotgun, Tiny, and Shee. And in every memory I searched, they’d kept themselves distant but remained Hellfire. I recalled talk of how Chance and his brothers needed putting down, that they were acting against Zeus’s orders, and it had scared me. Clearly, Chance and his side had won, but at what cost? I’d seen everyone in Hellfire now, and it was clear Chance had carved out the rot that had infested Hellfire.
“Chey?” Celt asked, and I jolted.
“Sorry, I meant to ask, what did Chance’s old lady have?” I replied, not willing to share my thoughts with Celt. Not yet anyway. Celt’s face softened.
