CHAPTER TEN
Chapter 9
Change is coming, whether you like it or not.
Max
“Stop dropping your left! Keep it moving! Max get it together.”
I step back from my sparing partner and best friend Declan. I try to shake my self loose but all I keep thinking about is Maggie.
It’s been 4 days since I’ve seen her. After our little chat her father threw me a dirty look and ushered her out the door after telling Mike they would be back later in the week. I have a feeling there is no way that man is leaving me alone with his daughter and honestly that is probably for the best. I keep trying to get her out of my head, but something happened when I looked into her eyes.
It’s that wounded look. One you only get if you have scares inside of you that you know will never go away. A look like that comes from the knowledge that you are irreparably marked by violence and evil. I’ve seen that look before. In other victims I worked with, but I have never seen such a strength. I don’t think she realizes it’s there. That look in her eye that shows me just how strong she is. That determination to be more , to survive and to fight.
Shaking my head I look over at Declan and get back into a fighting stance. He does the same and waits for my signal that I’m ready and we go back at it. No less than two minutes later I’m flat on my back tapping out of the fourth time since we started an hour ago.
Fuck it.
I get up and start stripping off my gear as I walk towards the benches along the wall.
“Max what the hell is going on with you today man?”
Declan, or Deck, sits down next to me on the bench and, taking my cue that we are done for the day, starts stripping off his own gear. I sit there and lean back against the wall and close my eyes. Deck is my best friend and there isn’t much we don’t share, but damn I don’t want to talk about how spending five minutes with one girl has me thinking all kinds of crazy-ass things. Although, wanting a girl you can’t have is basically Deck’s life right now. We don’t talk about it, mainly because he thinks I haven’t noticed, but he’s in love with my little sister. I don’t really know when I figured it out, but one day we were all hanging out at a party and Deck was hyper aware of my sister and whoever she was with like it was his only mission in life to watch her. Anytime a guy got to close he made sure they knew she was off limits with a look, gesture or even going so far as to go up to them and lead her away.
Opening my eyes I look over at him and notice he’s staring at me.
Patient.
Expecting.
That’s pretty much Deck. He doesn’t push or pry, but he makes it known when he is waiting for you to open up. We’ve been friends since kindergarten. You would never know it by looking at him now. Now he’s got maybe an inch on me making him about 6’4” and about 220 lbs of solid muscle. He keeps his blond hair cut short which just make his blue eyes look, formidable. This guy is all muscle and hardass. Back then he was about 3 inches shorter than me and the kid everyone picked on. I punched Joey Blanco in the nose after he stole Deck’s lunch and the rest is history.
Been best friends ever since.
Looking at him now I wonder if the reason we don’t talk about his feelings for my sister is because he is waiting for me to bring it up. Waiting for me to acknowledge it. If thats the case he’s going to have to wait a little longer because I’m not ready to give him the go ahead to try to date my little sister. She has been through too much and I don’t know if she needs it or I do but one of us needs more time after everything she went through last year.
Blowing out a breath I look back out over the gym and the other fighters getting their training in.
“I got a new trainee,” I say without looking at him.
“Is it having the trainee or the trainee herself thats getting to you”.
I look back over at him and see a smirk on his face.
“What makes you think it’s a woman?”
The smirk gets bigger and he wiggles his eyebrows up and down.
“What else throws a guy off like that if it isn’t a woman?”
Shaking my head I resist the smile I feel tugging at my lips and look back out over the floor.
“She got to me. I literally stopped breathing when she looked at me. What kind of shit is that anyways? I always though that was just bullshit they write about in books, but I swear for a second I forgot how to fucking breathe”.
I look back over at him and expect him to be smirking still, but he isn’t. He has this distant look on his face and then turns and looks back out on the floor before he speaks.
“Sometimes it just hits you. Like some part of you recognizes what she is to you before the rest of you can catch up. It sucker punches you. Right in the gut. It’s the best and worst feeing in the world.”
Staring at him I’m almost positive we aren’t talking about me anymore. In that moment I realize just how much he must care about my sister.
Turning so we are both looking out at the floor I say something I know will hurt him, but it needs to be said. For both of us.
“She needs more time Deck. She needs more time to heal, grow and just live on her own before she gets wrapped up in someone else. Just a little more time, but then I think she will be ready.”
I feel his eyes on me for a solid minute before he speaks.
“More time for her or for you?”
Closing my eyes I think about Maggie and what would happen if someone was sitting here telling me to wait. That she needs more time. That I should stay away. I would want the truth about why.
“For me. Give Char more time. For me.”
He blows out a breath.
It’s out there.
No more talking around it.
I look back over at him and his eyes are closed. He looks down at the water bottle in his hands before he nods his head.
“How long have you known?”
I lean forward bracing my arms on my knees and look down at the floor.
“Awhile.”
“I love her.”
I close my eyes. Not realizing how much I needed him to say it. To know that it was more for him. For him to know it.
“I know.”
“I’ll give you the time because we have been best friends almost as long as we have been alive, but I won’t be able to give you a lot. I will only wait so long.”
I nod my head without looking at him. I grab my bag and leave him sitting there. I walk right out the back of the gym to my truck and throw my things in the back. It isn’t until I’m sitting behind the wheel of my truck that close my eyes and I lean back in my seat.
Everything is about to change.
I can feel it coming.
Whether I’m ready or not.