Chapter 7
Imogen
I sit at the table at my parents’ house listening to Mom going on and on about the cruise she booked for her and dad to take in a few months. I’d be happy to sit here and listen to it if it weren’t the twentieth time I’d heard about it. Luckily, we have Rylee here who gives her all the appropriate ‘ooh’s’ and ‘ahh’s’ at all the right times.
Cole gets up and grabs himself and Rylee new drinks from the fridge before returning and taking his seat beside her. With the table distracted by mom’s news, I find myself thinking of Caden.
He’s always been there for me, ever since we were kids, but recently it’s been different and I can’t help but really like it, and that’s honestly scaring the shit out of me. He came to me when I was out drinking and made sure I got home safe. He didn’t even storm into the club and drag me out like Cole would have. He just sat in his truck and waited until we were finished. Then he took care of my whole car thing and completely took my stress away. And for some reason, I absolutely loved having him look out for me.
I mean, he’s always done this kind of stuff and it usually pisses me off. I always saw it as the boys treating me as a child who couldn’t handle herself. But the way Caden has been taking charge and treating me like his queen has been getting me hot, like really hot. I don’t know… it’s almost as though I like him taking care of me, which is ridiculous of course. I can’t like it, that’s not part of our deal.
I don’t know what’s happening between us, but things are changing. The only problem is that I don’t want things to change. I love our fucked-up dynamic. I love the way we’re something, but nothing at the same time. It’s our secret and at the end of the day, I can go home pretending as though not a damn thing is going on.
Caden has been desperately wanting to spill his guts to Cole, but the second he does that, I’m going to have to face the facts that what I’ve been doing is wrong. Right now, I live in this fantasy world where I’ve convinced myself that it’s alright. That Cole will be thrilled to find out what we’ve been doing.
Instead, Cole is going to have the shits and it scares me that I have absolutely no idea how far he’s going to take it. I mean, no doubt he’s going to give Caden the silent treatment and probably a black eye to go with it. Then I’m sure as soon as the black eye heals, he’ll do it again.
Caden would be able to handle the black eye and any other physical punishment that Cole decides to dish out, but what will kill him is the silent treatment. It will tear him apart.
The one thing I’m absolutely certain about is that when Cole does eventually find out, things between me and Caden will stop, and when that happens, it might just tear my world in two.
“Earth to Imogen,” Cole says from across the table. My eyes dart back up just in time to see a bread roll being launched across the table and right into my face.
“Ugh,” I groan as the bread roll clatters to my plate and I rub my forehead. “What the hell was that for?”
“Language,” my mother scolds from across the table.
Cole ignores her and narrows his eyes on me. “What’s going on in there? You’re completely zoned out.”
“Oh, um,” shit. Think, Imogen. Think. “I was just thinking about this new kid that’s been coming to see me. He’s had a really tough upbringing and isn’t too keen on opening up. I have to keep him distracted to get anything out of him, so I want to get him involved in something.”
“MMA,” Cole instantly says as though I’m ridiculous for not already knowing the answer.
“No, I’m not sure. He’s suffered through physical abuse since he was a baby. I’m not sure throwing violence in his face is going to be the key in this one,” I say.
Rylee and mom both let out heartbroken sighs as a heavy scowl appears across dad’s face at hearing about Brandon’s situation. “Don’t be stupid,” Cole says, completely surprising me. “Learning to fight in a controlled environment is probably the best thing for him. He will learn how to defend himself, gain confidence and strength, and with the right mentoring, he will learn how to control himself and his new skills. Besides, participating in MMA with an adult in a safe environment is going to be extremely beneficial to him. If he can learn how to defend himself, he won’t ever feel powerless again.”
I press my lips together as I think it over. “I’m not completely sold on the idea,” I admit.
“Oh, honey,” Mom cuts in. “It’s a brilliant idea. MMA did wonders for Cole.”
“Huh?” I grunt. “What do you mean?”
“Maybe you were too young to remember, but when Cole was around ten years old, he was heading down a bad track. He was getting in trouble at school, picking fights with older boys, and quite frankly, he was being a bit of a dick,” she explains. Cole goes to defend himself, but Mom continues on as though he’s not even here. “We put him in MMA and his trainer put the fear of God into him. He whipped him straight into line and now look at him, he’s the beautiful child I always knew he could be.”
I raise a questioning eyebrow at Cole. I knew he was a little shit growing up, but I didn’t realize that was the reason he started MMA. Cole gives me a silent nod and the wheels start turning in my head.
Everything Cole and mom have said circle my head and I really think it over. They’re both right. Knowing how to defend yourself and actually having some really great role models around could do wonders for him, and it’s just that thought that has me completely changing my mind.
“Can he do some sessions with you?” I question as the hope starts to fill within me.
“I don’t know,” Cole says with a cringe. “I’m so busy at the moment with Xander’s fight coming up. I could possibly squeeze him into the group session. How old is he?”
“He’s only eleven,” I say. Cole cringes and I know before he says anything that the group session won’t work. The boys in that group have been fighting for a few years and range between sixteen and eighteen. That would be the worst possible thing for him. “I think one-on-one mentoring would be better for him.”
“I agree,” Cole says. “Why don’t you give Caden or Jace a call? This kind of thing is perfect for them.”
“Jace?” I grunt with sarcasm.
“Yeah,” Cole laughs. “Maybe call Caden.”
“I’ll have to do a little research to see if this is even something I can do before I go ahead and make any plans, but if it all checks out, I’ll give him a call.”
“Awesome,” he says. “Depending on how this goes, maybe we could make an outreach program with the community. You know, help out the kids who really need it.”
“That sounds great,” I say as Rylee’s eyes light up with adoration as she listens to Cole.
He goes on and on about the possibilities for his outreach program, but the excitement of a real way to help Brandon has me completely ignoring him and pulling out my phone. I start my research and by the end of lunch, I have everything sorted out, I just need to get a shit load of paperwork done.
After doing a round of goodbye hugs, I get into my ugly little rental car, that certainly has nothing on my red convertible, and get my ass home.
As I drive, I can’t help but feel a desperate longing for my car, but as Caden had guessed, I had done a good amount of damage to its little engine, but luckily for me, it can be salvaged. It will just be in the shop for a while, and by shop, I don’t mean my shop, I mean the shop that both Caden and Cole had picked out for me, but it’s for the best as my original shop apparently sucks, like really bad.
I get myself inside and dump my handbag on my entryway table. I rifle through it and pull out my phone before taking a seat on my couch. I look down at the phone and find myself a mess of nerves.
What the hell is wrong with me? I talk to Caden all the time and I know with one hundred percent certainty that he will jump at the opportunity to do this. He loves being the hero and he loves helping people in need even more.
I don’t usually call him though, it’s more of a random text every now and then asking him to come over. I’ve grown up with this guy, calling him should be second nature, instead, it’s giving me butterflies.
Fuck. Pull it together.
I search his name through my contact list and hit call. I let out a breath, hold the phone to my ear, and wait patiently. I don’t need to be nervous. There’s no need for it. It’s just Caden.
“Well, look who’s actually calling for a change,” he says in a smug tone that makes me want to slap it out of him.
His attitude instantly has the butterflies flying away and I finally feel like myself again. “Hello to you too,” I laugh.
“What’s going on? You know I’m working. I can’t come around.”
I roll my eyes and resist groaning at him. “This isn’t a booty call, Caden.”
“Really?” he grunts, confused as to why I’d be calling.
“Really,” I confirm. “I wanted to run something by you.”
“Oh, ok. Shoot,” he says. I instantly jump into my rundown of Brandon and give him a brief explanation of his past. I’m hardly through my explanation when Caden jumps in with the suggestion to get him into MMA. “Why don’t you get Cole to train him?”
“I, ah… was actually going to ask you the same thing.”
“Me?” he grunts. “Why not Cole? I mean, I’ll definitely do it, but Cole’s the fighter.”
“I know,” I say. “Cole doesn’t have time to take on a project with Xander’s fight coming up. He suggested you’d be good for it.”
“Oh, I see,” he teases. “I’m your second choice.”
“Shut up,” I laugh. “Brandon’s only eleven. It’s not like you’re training a professional fighter. Just teaching a kid the basics to help lift him up and gain confidence. So, you’re going to be just as good as Cole would be.”
“Why, shucks, ma’am,” he says with a poor southern drawl.
“You’re such an idiot,” I laugh. “But I’ve only just put this together this afternoon. I still need to discuss it with Brandon and clear it with his caseworker.”
“Alright,” he says. “Let me know when you’ve done that and we’ll work it out with my schedule.”
“Thanks,” I smile.
“So,” he starts in a tone filled with curiosity. “Got any plans for tonight?”
A grin rips across my face. “Yeah,” I tell him. “I’ll be drinking wine in my jammies and watching all those celebrity carpool karaoke videos on YouTube.”
“Right,” he grunts. “So, you’re not busy.”
“Why?” I question. “Do you plan on changing my plans?”
“Fuck yeah, babe,” he says, making my insides quiver at the way he calls me babe. “I’ll be there at seven.”
I physically can’t say no to that. “Alright,” I laugh. “But you better make it worth my while.”
“I always do.”