His father walked around the ring. “Doesn’t this take you back?” he asked, throwing his hands up. “You and me in the fights again. Just like the old days.”
“Stop it,” Blue said. “You and I are not on the same side and never will be. I’m doing this to get Chelsea’s sister back and after that I’m out, forever.”
“Come on, Blue-”
“No,” Blue interrupted. “I’m not interested. Where is Jamie?”
Terrance led him back through the basement to another locked door that led to a kind of servants’ quarters. There was a table, a couch, a TV, and a coffee maker. The TV was showing an old episode of Jerry Springer and two men and woman were splayed on the couch as they walked in.
“Terrance,” the one man said, but Blue noted how none of them stood up when Terrance entered the room. These people didn’t work for Terrance; they worked for the boys from Detroit – the sponsors who Blue had yet to meet.
“Gonna see the girl,” Terrance explained and they nodded as the two men passed. Terrance led them through a small hallway to a door where he produced a key and unlocked it. And there, sitting on the bed, perfectly unharmed, was Jamie.
“Bye,” Blue said walking into the room and closing the door behind him. He could have tried to fight his father, but then there was the matter of the three people in the other room. He had seen two guns on them and he didn’t think he would be able to get himself and Jamie out of here alive if he decided to make a break for it. And there were still the boys from Detroit to think about. If Blue ran they would chase him, and Chelsea and Jamie. No, running wasn’t smart, not yet.
“Blue!” Jamie said hopping out of bed and embracing him in a hug.
“Hey,” Blue said, hugging her back. “Don’t get too excited, I’m not here to rescue you yet.”
Jamie pulled away and looked up at him with a smile. “It’s still nice to see a friendly face,” she said. “Welcome to my hellhole,” she continued waving her arm and showing off her scant quarters. “It’s horrible, take a seat. I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve been stuck in this room with nothing to do and no one to talk to. I was worried I was about to go crazy.”
“You’ve been in here the whole time?” Blue asked.
“I get to go to the bathroom three times a day and yesterday they moved me for some reason. It was awful. I think there was a fight here. I could hear all these men screaming and these other men hitting each other. It sounded barbaric. I’m sorry!” she said quickly as she saw Blue’s face, “but, then again, I guess you’re used to it now...”
“Yeah, still isn’t any fun for me, though.”
“Because you’re a good person and not a monster,” Jamie said with a wan smile. “Blue, I’m so sorry you have to do this. I wish there was some way you didn’t have to fight...”
Blue shrugged and said nothing. There was nothing to do. His father had won and now if Blue wanted a future with Chelsea, if he didn’t want to see an innocent woman die, then he would have to fight.
“How’s Chelsea?” Jamie asked.
“Horrible,” Blue answered. “She felt so guilty over what happened. She’s been crying for days. And then someone tried to grab her, too.”
“What?” Jamie demanded.
“We were in the house when that guy from the party, Jimmy, snuck in and tried to grab her. But I managed to fend him off. She’s safe, for the moment anyway. But she’s a wreck without you, Jamie.”
“I’m sure having you around helps.”
Blue scoffed and ran his hands through his hair. He suddenly wished the room were bigger and he had space to move around.
“What?” Jamie demanded. “I saw the way the two of you looked at each other. All through high school she had such a crush on you. I kept telling her to go for it, but she was waiting for you to make the first move. You two are good together, you belong together.”
“Me and ‘pop star’ Chelsea Riley?” Blue scoffed. “I’m more likely to be her pool guy than her boyfriend.”
“Are you kidding me? She is nuts about you and I know you’re nuts about her. And now that Chelsea’s broken up Terrance and Colleen, there’s nothing separating you two.”
“She broke them up?” Blue asked.
“Yeah, Colleen is out of the house. So no more of this stepsibling nonsense. You’re just two attractive adults and nothing should be keeping you apart.”
“Except for all of this,” Blue said, looking around Jamie’s cell. “This is my life; how can I bring her into that? Look what’s happened already.”
“That’s your father, Blue. Not you. Your father is a jerk and a monster; you’re a good guy. Your dad’s reach is only in Snowbird. Once we’re gone he won’t be able to reach us.”
“Don’t be so sure.”
“Don’t be so defeatist. You and Chelsea belong together; I can see how in love you both are. Stop fighting it. She’s a big girl now, Blue. She can share some of the burden with you.”
“I don’t want to have to give her any burden.”
“We all come with baggage. It’s just that your baggage is insane and violent, but Chelsea loves you and she wants to be with you and to help you. Besides, she has baggage, too. You said it yourself: she’s pop star Chelsea Riley now. You think that’s going to be easy for her? Already the gossip rags are looking for something to write about when it comes to my sister. She’s going to need someone she can rely on to deal with what’s about to happen and that person should be you.”
Blue shook his head. He had never had any sisters and no female friends, other than Chelsea. Guys didn’t talk like this, they didn’t talk about needing someone or being good for someone, they didn’t talk about relationships at all. But here was Jamie saying all the things Blue was feeling.
“I’m sorry,” Jamie said, shaking her head. “But I love my sister and I’ve been trapped in this tiny room for days, so I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and now I have lot to say.”
“What if I mess up her career? What if I say something dumb, or her fans don’t like me? I don’t want to ruin this for her.”
“You won’t ruin it, just keep it private. Your relationship with Chelsea is between the two of you and no one else. As long as you love each other and are honest with each other, everything will work out.”
“If I survive the fight,” Blue said with a scoff.
“Don’t even joke about that, Blue. How could I ever look my sister in the eye if you died saving me?”
“It’s not you, it’s Terrance. This is what he does. He doesn’t experience any emotions other than greed, so he does this instead. He gets people all wrapped up in his games and gets them to blame each other until they forget that he’s the man pulling the strings. If something happens, don’t let Chelsea take it out on you. It’s all on Terrace.”
Jamie opened her mouth and started to speak, and then she closed it and looked away.
“What?” Blue asked. “What were you going to say?”
“I was going to ask why you had never beaten up your father before. You’re certainly stronger.”
“Because he’s my father. I might want to, but it wouldn’t solve anything. Terrance is a bastard and hitting him isn’t going to change that. I never did in the past because I was dependent on him. I don’t now because I need to stay on his good side as best I can. He’s betting on me, which means it’s in his best interest to keep me alive and happy. If I piss him off he might root for the other guy and actively work against me. As terrible as it is to say, I would rather have him in my corner than working against me.”
“He really is a bastard,” Jamie said with a shake of her head.