Trick pushes me harder each day and, while I love the constant adrenalin flowing through my veins, his attitude this last few days is really starting to piss me off. He has an issue with Chance, and he’s not shy about vocalising it.
“She’s no good for him, she’s making him soft,” Trick hisses at Mase when he says something about Chance to him.
I stop pounding the training ball, stepping back out of its trajectory, then shove Trick into the nearest wall, “You need to cut this shit out Trick. I’m over it, man. I respect you and you’re the best goddamn trainer around, but you say one more word about my girl and I will end you.”
Trick sneers in my face, “Maybe the old you would have tried to end me, but not the pussy you’ve turned into,” he throws his hands into my chest, shoving me back a step, “This fight is your foot in the door, you fuck this up and that’s it, you can say goodbye to career in MMA.”
My pulse thrums in my temples. “Fuck you,” I spit, “I got this and you know it. What’s your problem with Chance? Seriously, what the fuck is your deal with my girl?” I demand, shoving him back into the wall again.
His face contorts, “She’s making you weak! Chance doesn’t like violence. Chance doesn’t like the bruises. Chance needs me. Chance, fucking Chance! That’s all you care about anymore. Your head isn’t in the game, Carter. How are you going to win if your head is off with your delicate fucking flower of a girlfriend?”
My fist aches to slam into his face, but before I can do it Mase is behind me, pulling me back. “Don’t, Carter, he’s pushing you to get a rise. He’s trying to piss you off,” he says in my ear. “Prove him wrong, brother, in the ring not out here.”
I shrug out of the hold Mase has on my shoulders and storm away. I’m done with Trick’s shit today. “I’m out, I’ll hit the hills,” I call back to Mase, grabbing my headphones on my way out the door.
My muscles are already warm so I don’t bother stretching before I break out in a run, heading out of town. I normally start the day with a run but I slept in this morning after staying up all night fucking My Girl’s brains out.
Five Finger Death Punch plays in my ears and I fall into rhythm with the beat, increasing then slowing my pace to match.
Two hours later, I stroll back in through the door to the gym and head to the kitchen to make a protein shake. Mase follows me in, “You good now?”
I shrug, “Depends, is Trick going to drop his shit about Chance?”
“Think so,” Mase replies, “We had a little chat while you were gone, I think he’ll back off now.”
I finish scooping powder into my shaker, add the water, screw the top, on and begin shaking it before I slowly turn to face him. I take a long pull of my shake then place it on the counter at my hip and cross my arms over my chest. “Thanks, man, I don’t know what his deal is.”
Mase leans a hip against the bench a few feet from me, “This fight means as much to him as it does to you. You know he’ll never be able to compete again himself, he’s invested everything he has in you. Not just money, but his time and his passion. When you skipped out on training, he thought you were going to lose condition and end up fucking it up for both of you.”
I know all of this, but none of it had occurred to me before now. I drop my head back, staring at the ceiling “Shit, I’ve been so caught up in the shit storm Chance is trying to wade through, I completely spaced on Trick’s shit.”
Mase slaps me on the shoulder, “Well, that’s what I’m for, to keep your head where it’s supposed to be. You need to learn to separate, man. Separate the guy you are with C.C. and the guy you need to be when you walk through those doors,” he says pointing out to the entrance.
He’s right, I know he is, it’s the only way to make this work. The old me would never have skipped out on training, the only exception to that being if something happened to Bells. Bringing Chance into my life has changed me, and whether Trick thinks so or not, it is for the better.
I finish my shake with renewed focus, this fight isn’t just for me, and I need to remember that. Trick’s pinning his career as a trainer on me winning that fight.
The next morning, when I arrive at the gym, I turn my phone off and throw it in my duffle, which I should have been doing since I officially began training for the fight. But I wanted to be reachable in case Chance needed me.
When I got home last night, I told her I wouldn’t be available during the day any more, and she’s cool with it. I just hope her family isn’t hiding any more dirty little secrets that can blow up in her face. She deserves better, especially from the people she trusts more than anything in this world.
As soon as Trick sees me approach, he fires off, “We need to clean up your hip roll escape, running drills for the next hour.”
I don’t argue, even though I want to, just to show him I’m still the dick I’ve always been, but I know I’m better off rolling with it and showing him my commitment in the ring.