CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Cherry
It was the rich scent of fresh coffee that roused me.
My groggy, sex-sore body resisted movement, and I groaned.
Then my head popped up as I remember the events of last night. Caleb’s sister, Lillie.
It had been amazing, seeing her appear in front of that car. I’d never seen Caleb so alive.
Then so dead inside when she’d disappeared again. Like something inside him had flown off with her.
I dragged myself out of bed, and at the sound of the shower went straight to the coffee pot. I’d drained my first cup and was about to pour another when Caleb walked in.
“I’ll drop you at the gym on my way to the office. You have a change of clothes there, I assume?”
His cold tone had my insides seizing up, my lungs turning into boulders. He’d done an about-face. The man standing in front of me was the cold bastard who made multimillion-dollar deals without blinking an eyelash. I’d seen this Caleb before, and I’d been hoping to never see him again.
I knew I should’ve had a thousand retorts, but the detached gaze that drifted down my body as he buttoned his shirt sleeve had tears pricking, and it took all my concentration to keep them in.
“Yeah.” I lifted my chin. “Everything I need is at the gym.”
He met my gaze but only briefly, and the sick feeling in my stomach only grew. “You can get a shower if you want.”
The thought of surrounding myself with the scents of his shower nearly brought me to my knees. “I can shower at the gym.”
I pulled the brush out of my purse and made my hair half presentable as I went to the door. Used a makeup wipe to remove the old makeup and grimy sleepiness from my face in the shiny wall of the elevator. And gloried in the fact that Caleb watched me out of the corner of his eye. I smoothed my shirt over my breasts, running my hands past my hips for good measure, and his torture.
He dropped me off at the gym and I said, “Goodbye,” as if he were an Uber driver. And when I heard the car door open and heard him call my name, I kept on going, not looking back.
The way I saw it, if he wanted to behave like a block of ice just chipped off the Antarctic, that was his business. I didn’t have the energy to immerse myself in his personal tragedy, especially when his sister was an adult in charge of her own decisions.
I had five other people to worry about, and I considered myself lucky I hadn’t slipped down the tunnel of love so far that I couldn’t pull myself back out.
And I did pull myself back out. By beating the shit out of a punching bag, and doing thrusts extra high, and bloodying the nose of my sparring partner. Though I was a little ashamed about that.
***
Days bled into weeks with me pulverizing things as my cracked open heart fractured further before it collapsed in on itself. I withdrew into preparation for whatever fight would be next. Going to training, training harder than ever, then going home to the only comfort I could find.
Even then, the pinpricks of misery were sharp.
Tonight was movie night. A distraction I was thankful for, even though Honey was making my eardrums bleed with her high squealing pleads.
“Fox and the Hound!” she repeated over and over, coming up on her toes and howling the last part like she was the actual hound she was squalling about. When she saw Sage sitting on the couch with a giant bowl of popcorn, she whined, “Hey, why do you get to hold all the popcorn?”
“Because I’m the second oldest and Cherry is in charge of putting in the movie.”
“That’s not fair! You eat more than any of us! It’ll be all gone in five minutes.”
“Honey,” I hissed, eyeing her furtively. “Be polite.”
“I’m being polite,” Sage rubbed in with a smile and Honey put her hands on her hips. “I just think as the biggest, I should be in charge of passing around the popcorn.”
Mama came breezing into the room with two more bowls of popcorn, making me smile. “What kind of movie night would it be if I only made one bowl of popcorn?”
Honey fist punched the air with glee then simmered down when Mama made her sit down next to Clementine on the floor and share the bowl. Then she handed off the other bowl to Colby, who was nestled in the recliner that had been Dad’s.
Mama sank into the couch next to Sage, throwing the extra pillows to the girls and propping her legs up on the coffee table. She took a long drink of iced tea, leaned back and sighed. Just seeing her relaxed made me happy and was worth any amount of ruckus my siblings caused.
I’d admit, I appreciated how much Caleb had done in the past few weeks. Though we hadn’t seen him, some new surprise arrived practically every day. They were surprisingly thoughtful, especially since he had only spent a short time with my family.
The first had been a new phone, to replace the one I’d broken the day he picked Colby and me up from his school. It came with a note: Please accept this replacement phone so that the office and Andre are able to contact you.
I’d been close to shattering this one against the wall, when a voice startled me. It was Colby exclaiming, “That thing is practically a grand!”
He was right. Breaking it would be childish and selfish. It wouldn’t do to be ungrateful. And I’d known just what I was getting into from the start. I had no one to blame but my own self.
Another gift came, new shoes and a two-foot tall coloring book for Honey. One of Colby’s gifts was a brand-new pair of running shoes that were far out of what we could ever afford, even with my new pay, because he had mentioned going out for cross-country. Sage’s gift was the envy of the house — the latest and greatest tablet for school. Clementine was delighted with the set of books she’d been wanting.
There was more. Groceries delivered every other day with a form to fill out for what we wanted next. The kids had been happy to fill that out and the usually suffering pantry was overflowing with junk food.
Mama had been embarrassed at first. Now, she just shook her head and smiled each time the doorbell rang and it was another delivery.
She’d been overwhelmed with the first grocery delivery, including cuts of meat that were three times what we would ever have bought, even on a special occasion. And then there were fresh veggies, fruit and all of the fanciest condiments.
Then came the flowers. They weren’t addressed to me and there was no card, so I’d handed them to Mama and fled to my room.
After that came new curtains — of all things — for our windows, brought by a woman with a tape measure and a sewing machine who hemmed them to fit. Our blinds were looking raggedy, missing slats in places. Mama’d been so pleased.
These were deeply considerate gifts that showed he paid attention to who we were and what we would like, and most especially what we needed.
“Ohhh! Cherry’s starting the first movie. Quiet, all of you!” Mama ordered, staring at the screen like it was a mythical unicorn that would disappear at any moment. She didn’t get much quiet or time off her feet.
“Mama, do we have to watch Fox and the Hound again? Sis watched that this morning,” Clementine whined.
“Hmm,” Mama hummed. “I seem to remember a little girl who watched Frozen three times a day.”
Honey leaped off the couch, spilling popcorn everywhere. “Let’s watch Frozen!”
The boys groaned, Sage saying, “You already picked. Besides, I’d rather watch F & H a thousand times than icicle women.”
Honey took that as a personal offense and abandoned her popcorn to make pretend ice come out of her fingertips, freezing both brothers into blocks of ice.
“It’s starting!” Honey squealed and took her seat again.
My eyes flicked to the screen as everyone settled into their usual spot, the crunching of popcorn all around the room. I bit into a brownie, which I’d made for the occasion. Mostly because I needed chocolate, and lots of it. I had the self-destructive thought that I wished Caleb were here, and there was a painful twist in my stomach. Yep, needed more chocolate.
I heard a snicker from one of my siblings and turned to glare at the boys. Colby made eye contact with me and stuck his tongue out in response to my shushing.
Mama pinched Colby and shot me a wink, and the room finally quieted as the movie started.
I kept my eyes locked on the screen, determined to become immersed in movie night, to push out the thoughts of Caleb. Of Caleb turning back into the hard man he’d been when I first met him. And the guilt that swirled in my chest that told me I could somehow make things different.
I shook that from my head and concentrated on what was on the screen.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, reminding me of Caleb — everything reminded me of Caleb — and I ignored it, but it stopped then buzzed again.
I hopped up and pulled out the phone, answering the call from a number I didn’t recognize once I’d gotten to the kitchen. “Cherry Bomb speaking,” I said in a sing-song voice.
There was a deep, unfamiliar chuckle and my stomach plummeted. A hidden part of me had been hoping it was Caleb. “Cute. Hello, Cherry Bomb, this is Hunter. I’m sorry to interrupt your evening.”
Why would Hunter be calling me? Panic punched me in the stomach. “Is Caleb alright?”
“Oh, yes, he’s perfectly well. A stubborn asshole as always, so nothing new.”
I fake laughed. At least he was an asshole to everyone, not just me.
Hunter filled the silence. “I had our social media manager set up a promotion schedule and we’ve had a few bites already. It seems a female fighter is just what women, and men for that matter, want to see.”
“Then…” My breath caught as realization rushed over me.
“Someone is already interested in Cherry Bomb.” He cleared his throat. “A satellite radio channel with a focus on fighting wants to do an interview with you to get your side of the Roberto fight.”
“A radio interview? Oh, I’m not sure—”
“Monday at ten. This is satellite. It can be heard all over the world, not just local. I’ll have the car come for you at nine. We’ll see you there?”
I agreed. What else could I do? Then I almost dropped the phone when I turned around and my family had paused the movie to listen to my conversation, their curiosity alive on their faces.
“Who was that!” Mama asked, one hand on her cheek. “A radio interview? My baby?”
“It was Hunter, Caleb’s partner. And yes, radio.” I was shell-shocked. How could I do an interview where anyone in the world could hear my voice?
Mama stood, placing her cool hands on my face. “My daughter is a smart and exciting person. You share some of who you are, be who you are, and it will go smoothly.” Throwing her arms around my shoulders, she squeezed like she could press all of her happiness and excitement into me. “I do not like what you do, but I respect the strength that it takes. You have so much of your father in you.”
I returned the hug and soaked in the rantings in the background about how their sister was going to be famous. As much as I complained about Mama doting on me, or being overly fussy, I knew that I was lucky to have the support I did.
“I think I take after you.”
She laughed and playfully batted at the air in front of her. “Such flattery! Definitely your father.” She shook her head and then sat down and hit play on the remote.
I could do this.
I had to do this. For them.
I just wished Caleb had been the one to call.