Twenty

 

Enzo

 

 

“What the hell do you mean, “she's gone?” She wasn't supposed to leave until tonight!” Yeah, I'm yelling like a damn madman, but Paige wasn't supposed to leave until tonight, early hours of tomorrow morning, in fact. I thought I had time to convince her that I loved her. Fuck! I never even got to tell her.

“What's it to you, Enzo?” I rake my fingers through my hair. How could she do this? How could she leave and not even tell me about our baby?! “You motherfucking son-of-a-bitch!” Okay, I should have anticipated that punch. Freddy will get just one. Best friend or not, I will kill him.

“Do not touch me again.” My voice is calm but my racing heart is anything but. I'm not of sound mind right now, only god knows what I'll do.

“How could you, Enzo? You're my best friend! How could you screw around with my sister?!”

“Because I love her, you son-of-a-bitch!” I close my eyes for a second, feeling the weight on my chest. “Because I love her. It's my baby she's carrying, Freddy. She should be here with me.”

“If there's even a baby anymore.” He says it so nonchalantly, but his words hit me square in the chest. Would she really abort our child? She moved to fucking L.A just to get away from me, what the hell makes me think she'd keep our kid?

I slump down on the porch swing outside Freddy's house. I'd only come by to pick up Paige because we needed to talk. Really talk. This is what I walked into.

“I'm sorry that I deceived you. It was the last thing I ever wanted to do, Fred. You don't have a clue how hard or how long I have fought what I feel for her. I gave myself every damn line in the book. I'm too old for her, too dangerous.”

I sigh and scrub my hands over my face.

I don't really believe I'm too old for Paige, yeah I'm a few years older, but age means nothing when you love someone. And yes, I'm dangerous, but I would never be a danger to Paige. I would never hurt her. Not for anything. In the physical sense at least.

He sighs and slumps down next to me. “I would've understood, Enzo. You could've just told me about the two of you. What the hell did you think I would do?”

“I don't know, Freddy. I didn't think I was good enough for her. I tried to fight what I felt for her so fucking hard.”

“You've been trying for years, Enzo.” He's right, I have. Seems everybody knew what I felt for Paige but me.

“I need to talk to her, Fred.”

“I'm sorry I can't let you do that.” I shoot him warning daggers. I'm not fucking asking here! “She doesn't want to talk to you, Enzo. She needs time. You have to respect that.”

I don't want to respect that, I want to force her to talk to me. I want to go to L.A and force her to come home to me. I want to hear her tell me that she hasn't aborted our child, that I haven't lost another. I can't take the way this feels. I've never felt pain like this in my life. Not even my mother's death hurt like this.

She'll be gone for the next three months and there's nothing I can do about it. It doesn't mean I need to stick the fuck around either. Reza wants me to train with him down south. Fighting is what makes me feel alive. If there's any way for me to put this behind me, for me to forget Paige Monroe it's fighting. I'm gonna take the old fuck up on his offer and get the hell outta this fucking town.

“I know you're hurting, man, but don't let her come back here to find you a fucked up mess.”

Getting to my feet and stretching out my body I tell him, “I've always been a fucked up mess, Freddy. I'm getting outta here for a while. I don't know when I'll be back.”

“You're leaving town?”

“First thing in the morning. Take care of Della.” I slap him on the back. He's a good guy, better than me. He means a lot to me, my dear friend.

“You'll keep in touch, right?”

“Sure.” But as I say it we both know it's a lie. I won't keep in touch. I want a clean break from this place. Whether I ever come back or not I don't know. Apart from my brother and his kids, there's not much to keep me here. My businesses run themselves. I haven't worked as a firefighter in weeks. If I ever come back I know they'll be a job waiting for me should I want it.

Men, my age don't have long left when it comes to cage fighting. It kinda feels like you're an old piece of cheese coming up to its sell by date. This will be my last chance to show what I can do. Hell, I've been head hunted for years due to my undefeated streak. Who knows, maybe some punk will get lucky and actually knock me out. Maybe having my face pummeled will knock some sense into my brain. Either that or it'll give me some kind of brain damage that makes me forget ever knowing Paige Monroe.