Fighting Silence (On the Ropes #1)(45)

“Stop! Calm down!” he barked into my face. “You’re both going to get booted from the gym.”

I couldn’t have given a damn about On The Ropes in that second though, but I did care about Eliza.

“Goddammit, Till. Stop. It’s not worth it.”

My body fought, but my judgment finally caught up. I stared savagely at Bailey as I allowed Flint to push me away.

“You stupid f*ck,” Bailey cursed, rubbing his chin.

“Chill!” Flint pleaded, holding my eyes. “This is not the time or the place. Just let it go.”

I took a deep breath and tried to reel it in. The desperation in my brother’s eyes was the only thing that grounded me.

I begrudgingly started toward the door, but then I heard Bailey mumble words I couldn’t quite make out. Flint’s entire body went stiff beside me, physically revealing their severity. But before I could even ask what was said, Flint spun and, with one unexpected right, dropped Derrick Bailey to the ground.

Out. Cold.

“Holy f*ck!” I grabbed Flint as he dived back in for seconds.

“Yeah. Say it again now, bitch!” Flint yelled over my shoulder as I shoved him out of the locker room.

A few of the guys lingered around the door, obviously listening.

“Jacob. Sam. Go check on Bailey,” I ordered as I dragged Flint up to the office.

He wasn’t fighting against me, but he was obviously fuming.

“What the f*ck did he say?” I asked as soon as the door closed behind us.

“Nothing.” Flint flopped down into the chair. His legs and arms were noticeably shaking as the rush of adrenaline left him.

“Oh it was something if it set you off like that.”

“He’s just a dick. That’s all.” He looked up nervously. “Am I gonna get kicked out of the program?” Flint had recently turned sixteen. He was huge and would easily be bigger than I was in a few years, but he was still just a kid in a man’s body, who was worried about getting in trouble.

“Nah. I’ll talk to Slate. It’ll be fine.”

“Okay.”

It seemed to be enough to ease him.

“So you’re really not gonna tell me what he said?” I asked him.

“Nope. You’d end up in jail. Just let it go.”

We both turned to look out the glass windows as Bailey made his walk of shame out of the gym. He didn’t say a word as he left, but his tail was firmly tucked between his legs. I found it especially gratifying when I saw his girl from earlier watching from the treadmill.

“Hey, we should celebrate. It’s not every day you get to knock out a big-time, professional boxer.” I looked over at Flint, who erupted in laughter.





IT HAD BEEN ALMOST TWO weeks since I’d shoved Till out of my front door. I hurt. I missed him. I missed the boys. I missed the everyday, routine life we had. It sucked. When I’d made the decision to slam that door, I’d had no idea that it would shatter my fantasy as well.

I’d tried to stay gone as much as possible during those weeks. I’d taken up studying at the college library and picked up every possible shift I could get at work. I just hadn’t been able to stay in that apartment. Life had gone on for my family upstairs. And every time I had been forced to listen to them talking or laughing, it’d shredded me.

Late one night, I heard a loud commotion upstairs. I assumed that it was Flint and Quarry arguing or Till wrestling with them. Any other day, I would have been up there before the first shout. But at that point, I had lost them all.

“Quarry, stop!” Till yelled before the door slammed.

Feet pounded down the stairs, and the wall shook with the sound of glass shattering.

I glanced out my window for long enough to see Quarry sprinting away. He stopped at the end of the sidewalk as if it were the edge of the Earth. He looked to the left, then the right, and then crumbled to the ground.

I raced outside after him, completely unsure what the hell was going on but still positive I needed to help.

“Quarry!” I called, rushing toward him. “What’s going on? Are you okay?” I squatted down and scanned his body for any possible injury. But only his tear-stained cheeks seemed to be worse for wear.

He didn’t say a word as he turned and threw his arms around my neck. He was nearly the same size I was, and I struggled to remain my upright. It was pure force of will that I didn’t topple over.

“What’s wrong?” I turned to gain better traction, but if the shake of my knees the moment I met Till’s devastated eyes were any indication, the ground had fallen away completely.

He stood on the upstairs breezeway staring down at us, his hand furiously rolling his bottom lip.

“What?” I mouthed up at him while holding Quarry tight in my arms.

It was such a simple gesture that it should have confused me, but my heart dropped to my stomach the second he lifted a finger and tapped his ear.

Oh, God. Quarry was going deaf too.



I helplessly watched her holding him. I wasn’t sure if Quarry was crying, but I knew with absolute certainty that salty tears were flowing from Eliza’s eyes. Right then, as they were wrapped comfortingly in each other’s arms, I wasn’t sure which of them I was more jealous of. I made my way down the stairs, stopping just before I reached them. What the hell would I even say? So, like a coward, I backed against the wall out of sight.