by Nicole Fox
But I can’t go to Finn’s because I don’t want another run-in with Haley, and I don’t have the money to rumble aimlessly around town in my gas-guzzling truck. So, I park my truck and walk slowly inside.
Mom is waiting for me in the entryway.
“I’m not thrilled about the ambush.”
“It’s not an ambush,” she says. “Just go in and listen to him. Please.”
Usually after Dad and I have a falling out, he has the good sense to stay away for a month—several if I’m lucky. But it has barely been a week, and he has called me every single day.
“Why should I?”
Mom lays a hand on my cheek and gives me a sad smile. “Because he’s your dad, Caleb. The only one you’ve got.”
Dad is sitting in the same spot at the kitchen table as he was when I last left, but he is in a pair of loose track pants and a plain T-shirt rather than a suit. He looks casual and rumpled, almost.
The circles under his eyes lead me to believe he has been sleeping about as much as I have.
I open my mouth to say something, but he holds up his hand. “I just want you to listen first if that’s okay? Before either of us can lose our tempers, I just want to get this out. Can you let me do that?”
Said in a different tone, this request might have been enough to send me stomping towards the front door and back to my truck. But I can sense the sincerity in his voice. It is a genuine, humble request, and I nod silently.
“I shouldn’t have threatened to take money from you. I’m the adult—your dad—and I should behave better than that. I don’t threaten my kid, okay? I’m sorry, and you don’t ever have to worry about me cutting you off.”
A weight I didn’t realize was on my shoulders lifts off, and I nod. “Okay.”
“Second,” he says, slumping forward in his seat and folding his hands in front of him on the table. “I just want to see you, kid. That’s it. You don’t have to be thrilled about it. You don’t have to fake a smile and play catch with me in the yard. I just want to see you from time to time, maybe talk on the phone once a week or something. Just … connection.”
Defensiveness flares up inside of me. “I wasn’t the one who—”
“I left,” he says, cutting me off. “I left, and I shouldn’t have. I know that, and I’ve known it for years. I don’t know if you know this about me, but I tend to be very bullheaded. Your mom thinks you may have gotten that from my side of the family.”
I hear a feminine chuckle come from the hallway and can’t help but smile.
“As the parent, it’s my fault that we don’t have a close relationship. It’s my fault, Caleb, and I’m sorry if I ever made it feel like it was your fault. I’m sorry if I ever made you think I didn’t want to be around you or didn’t care about you. Because I do. More than I can ever say.”
He swallows down some emotion and clears his throat.
“But from this point on, I want to be more involved in your life. Like I said, you don’t have to be thrilled about it, but I want to be there. I can pay for you to go to a college closer to where I’m at, maybe? Or … or … my friend has a Mixed Martial Arts studio a fifteen-minute drive from my house, and I’ve told him all about you. If you want a summer job, you’ve got one. You could stay with me for a few weeks and make some money and—”
“Whoa.”
I wave a hand to stop him. Mostly because I need a minute to process.
For the last few years, I’ve hated my dad.
I’ve despised him because I thought he despised me.
I pushed him away because I thought he was pushing me away.
I denied how much I loved him because I didn’t want to be hurt.
Now, he is saying everything I’ve always imagined he would one day say to me, even if only in the deepest, darkest place in my heart. He is apologizing and righting all of our wrongs, and I need a second to get my bearings again.
I need a minute to take a breath and figure out how to proceed.
“It’s a lot to take in all at once,” he says, chuckling to himself. “I’m sorry. I’ve had this speech planned for a while. It’s actually what I imagined saying to you last weekend, but as you know … that didn’t exactly go to plan.”
“Not quite.”
“Take all the time you need to decide,” he adds. “There is no rush. I just wanted you to know that, more than anything, you’re my son, and I love you. I’ll be here for you however you need. However you want. Just say the word.”
Suddenly, there is something stuck in my throat. I swallow it down just as soft sobs come from the hallway.
Dad lowers his voice. “That’s what she gets for eavesdropping.”
“I heard that,” Mom says through the wall.
Dad grins, and I realize all at once that my parents are friends. Or, at least, not enemies.
I’d felt so at odds with my dad that I failed to see that he and my mom are no longer at war with one another. After everything they’ve been through, I’m sure they aren’t best friends, but they are friendly.
I can get behind that.
I’ve spent the last two years mourning the family I lost instead of embracing the family I have, and that is all my fault.
That is two years of memories and time lost.
And I don’t want to lose anymore.
“I’m sorry, too,” I say, hating how I still choke on the word. “For everything. All of it. I’m sorry, and I want … well, I don’t know what I want exactly, but I want to figure out what I want.”
“That’s all I want, too,” Dad says, sighing with obvious relief. “We can talk about all of the details later. It doesn’t all have to be done tonight.”
My phone buzzes in my pocket. Haley hasn’t texted me in a week, but her face is the first one I see when I reach for my phone and pull it out.
Because she was right.
About my dad and my friends and … everything. I’ve been a coward and right now, despite my bullheadedness, I’m willing to tell Haley she was right.
Maybe it’s too soon for forgiveness, but I can admit I was wrong.
But it isn’t Haley. The number is private. The message is short.
We have Haley at the schoolhouse.
I don’t think twice. I don’t need to.
I know who “we” is, and I know there isn’t time to waste.
I jump up and run to the door.
“We will continue this conversation later,” I throw over my shoulder. “I love you, but I have to go.”
My dad sounds confused as he yells that he loves me, too, but he still loves me. And that’s enough for right now.
45
Caleb
J.C. and Noah were already together at J.C.’s house, so I only have to explain what is going on once.
“The Hell Princes have Haley out at the old schoolhouse. I don’t know what they want, but I think we can assume they don’t want to sing songs and roast marshmallows.”
“They want a fight?” Noah asks.
I shrug. “I don’t know. I texted the number back, but no one is answering. Haley isn’t picking up her phone, either.”
“And you still care about Haley, then?” J.C. asks.
If he’d asked me an hour ago, I wouldn’t have known what to say. I would have been confused and needed time.
But that was before I realized she was in danger.
Now that I know someone has her—that she could be hurt—the truth is impossible to deny.
“I do.”
J.C. nods and then lifts a fist into the air. “Then we go to fight!”
“Or, preferably, watch from the sidelines,” Noah adds as he jumps into the passenger seat of my truck. “Fighting is more Caleb’s thing.”
“We go for emotional support!” J.C. amends with another fist thrust.
“You might have to fight. I don’t know how many people are there or if they have weapons. I don’t know anything about what we’re walking into.”
“Hey,” J.C. says,
leaning forward from the back seat and nudging my arm with his elbow. “We’re here for whatever you need, okay? No matter what happens, we’ve got your back.”
I glance at Noah, and he gives me a quick nod. “And Haley’s back.”
“We’ve got both of your backs,” J.C. clarifies before his face splits into a wide grin. “So that you two can go back to making the beast with two backs.”
Noah and I groan at the same time.
“It’s Shakespeare, you uncultured swine. That was a Shakespearean sex joke.” J.C. flops back into the back seat and shakes his head. “I’m so underappreciated around here. I thought you said you’d start laughing at my jokes since I decided to stay friends with your poor ass.”
If the stakes were lower, I might laugh.
But since Haley is on the line, I can’t find it in me to think anything is funny right now.
I just need to get Haley back.
No matter what it takes.
46
Haley
John paces around the mostly empty auditorium like a trapped animal, barking useless orders and grumbling with impatience.
“I guess your new boyfriend doesn’t care about you as much as I thought.”
I don’t bother telling him Caleb isn’t my boyfriend. John wouldn’t care or believe me either way. Anything I say now will be seen as an attempt to escape, and that would only make this more enjoyable for John.
So, I’m doing my best to seem relaxed, casual.
I’m anything but relaxed, though.
If Caleb never shows up, I’m not sure what will happen. John might be right—Caleb might not care about me anymore.
And if he doesn’t, will they let me go?
Or will they find another way to get revenge?
“I’ve paid you your money. Don’t you think this is all a little … dramatic?” I say with a roll of my eyes.
I’m trying to sound more confident than I feel.
God knows I spent enough time letting John see how much he terrified me.
“Says the girl who flipped my kitchen table after we broke up.”
“After I dumped you,” I correct him. It feels important to reiterate exactly how that went down.
Maybe antagonizing him is a bad idea, but it seems like a better option than collapsing in tears, which is what I really want to be doing. So, for now, it is what I’ll go with.
John’s dark eyes shimmer with malice. “I guess we’ll see if you made the right choice. If you were my girlfriend, I’d already be here to save you. I don’t like when people touch my things.”
Things. That word alone proves to me that, no matter what happens, I made the right choice. I’d rather be dead than be John’s possession. A thing for him to play with, torture, and toss away at will.
“We’re in agreement then. No below-the-belt stuff when we get in the ring.”
A third voice echoes through the auditorium, and I snap my head to the doorway just as Caleb steps into the frame. He waves his fingers in front of his crotch. “I don’t like when people touch my things, either. Well … most people, anyway.”
He takes that opportunity to shoot a wink in my direction.
I don’t know if he is just flirting with me to get under John’s skin or if there is some chance he really has forgiven me for everything, but I don’t care.
Because Caleb is here.
He came, and that at least means he has some concern for what happens to me.
J.C. and Noah take up positions on either side of Caleb.
Almost as if on command, the doors at the back of the auditorium open and five Hell Princes come streaming in, including Levi and the man who attacked me in the park.
There would probably be more Hell Princes here if the fights weren’t tonight. Felix and a good number of the other members have to be there to keep the event running. I say a silent prayer of thanks that I reached out to Estefania on a Saturday rather than any other night of the week.
Three versus six still isn’t ideal, though.
And John knows it.
“Your crew is looking a little small these days,” John says. “Too bad your members aren’t more loyal.”
“Unlike you shitbird townies, our friends are out seeking a higher education. While you all grow old and fat, still running the same corners and peddling drugs to teenagers, we’ll be running our own companies.”
John’s jaw clenches, but he manages a smug smile and a shrug. “We’ll see how much education helps you all in a fight.”
Caleb frowns. “We don’t all need to fight. This is between you and me.”
“No,” John says, tucking in his lower lip and shaking his head. “We had a truce, but you broke it the second you offered protection to someone who had wronged us. I mean, I get it, she’s a good fuck. I just hope those five minutes will be worth it to you in the end.”
Caleb slaps a hand over his mouth and snorts. “Is five minutes all you think I got? If that is how long you think a good fucking is, then I think you’ve already punished Haley enough. We’ll just take her and get out of your hair.”
My face burns with embarrassment, but I also have to bite back a laugh.
J.C. doesn’t even bother to fight his. He throws his head back and cackles at full volume, the sound bouncing off of the limestone walls.
John’s nostrils flare and his hands fist at his sides. “You’re not going anywhere.”
He raises a hand. The Hell Princes behind advance to the middle of the auditorium. Caleb starts moving, too, Noah and J.C. just behind him.
They are going to fight. Over me, I guess?
I insulted John when I broke up with him and stole his drugs.
Caleb insulted John by protecting me rather than handing me over to him that night at the campsite.
But even then, this fight feels like a bandage over a bullet wound. The damage is deeper than this, and even if they do fight, this won’t be the end of it.
John’s issue is with me.
If anyone should be fighting, it should be the two of us.
“Wait!” The rusted bleachers squeal as I jump up and run to where the two groups are about to converge.
John holds up a hand. “Sit down, Haley. This isn’t about you.”
“Yes, it is, you idiot!”
That catches his attention, and he turns to me, face contorted into the same mask of frustration and annoyance that I used to look at every day.
The same face that would push me against walls, holding me by my neck, and threaten me to obey him or else.
Now, I’m in charge of the or else.
I am going to set the rules.
No more damsel in distress.
“You all have drama that stretches out beyond me, I know, but your truce is broken right now because of me. Because of what I did. So, let me be the one to fight.”
Caleb steps forward immediately. “Haley, don’t—”
“Yes.” I turn pleading eyes on him, begging him to understand. I asked Caleb to teach me to fight, not knowing exactly what situations would arise, but now I see exactly what I have to do. “I have to do this. I have to be the one to end this.”
I can tell Caleb wants to argue, but his shoulders sag slightly in resignation, and I know he will support my decision.
John laughs, forcing me to turn my attention back to him. “You can’t be fucking serious. You really want to fight me?”
He lowers his voice and his head, looking up at me from beneath lowered brows. “Haven’t you taken enough beatings to last a lifetime?”
A roar erupts from all around us. Suddenly, Caleb is lunging for John’s neck.
I barely get between them in time.
Caleb’s face is red and the look in his eyes is unhinged. I press my hands to his chest, and immediately he seems to calm a measure.
When I start to speak, his eyes clear.
“I have taken enough beatings to last a lifetime,” I say, both to John and to Caleb. “Which is why I won’t be taki
ng another one.”
Caleb’s full mouth tilts up on one side, and I think I see pride in his expression.
I’ve come a long way from the scared girl I was when Caleb saved me from Levi outside this very building.
I’m still scared, but I know how to overcome it. I won’t freeze or give in.
I’m going to fight for myself and my future.
“Confident little bitch,” John laughs. “You’re going to get destroyed out there.”
Now that I’m sure Caleb won’t start a fight, I turn around to face John. Caleb’s hand snakes around my side, his fingers gripping my hip.
I’m not sure if he is trying to support me or keep a hold on his own temper, but either way, I enjoy the contact.
“If you’re so confident I won’t win, then you might as well indulge me.” I gently pull Caleb’s hand away and step forward, putting little more than a foot between me and my ex-boyfriend. “Because, John, I’m calling you out.”
I can practically hear John’s teeth grinding together as he considers. The Hell Princes around him are silent and watchful.
If he refuses me, it could be seen as a sign of weakness.
Then again, fighting a woman doesn’t exactly make a man look strong. Even then, if he does accept and loses, that would be worst of all.
John has a lot to lose here, and I have a lot to gain.
No matter what, this will be an end to our feud.
If I win, it’s over.
If he beats me, then he will have his revenge, and it will be over.
I stare into his dark eyes, trying my best to hide the trembling in my hands as adrenaline fills my veins.
I can’t falter. I can’t show any signs of weakness.
Finally, John forces a harsh breath out of his nose and throws his hands up in resignation. “Fine. You want to fight? Let’s fight.”
He turns on his heel and walks to the ring in the middle of the floor. And without looking back, I follow.
My heart is pounding against my rib cage. My entire body feels like it is thrumming.
