On The Ropes Series Box Set

by Aly Martinez

  “That she is,” I confirmed.

  “Come on. I’ll show you all the stuff I had added to it. The hand pedals are super easy to use. Let me grab the keys and I’ll meet you out there.” He squeezed my shoulder and walked toward the garage.

  I started after him, but just before I made it to the door, Eliza stopped me.

  “Hey, Flint.”

  I turned to face her.

  “Come back, okay? Take some time and get your head straight. But please, just come back.” She smiled tightly, tears once again flooding her eyes.

  “I promise.” I swallowed hard, praying that it was one I could keep.

  * * *

  Armed with a bag of clothes, a check folded in my pocket, and a handicap-equipped minivan, I pulled out of Till and Eliza’s driveway. As I watched the mansion disappear in my rearview mirror, I had absolutely no plans of going back—despite whatever promise I had made Eliza. I couldn’t even conjure a day where that place wouldn’t send me into a tailspin.

  My first stop was the college. I spent hours filling out paperwork: admissions, financial aid, and housing. Fortunately, they’d extended the acceptance I had received before the accident. Unfortunately, there was actually a two-year wait list on the handicapped dorms. The best news I received all day, though, was the fact that being broke had its advantages. The financial counselor set me up with enough loans and grants to cover tuition, with money left over to cover housing too. It would take several weeks to get the money, but that was okay. I still had the difficult task of finding a place to live first.

  I left the college feeling marginally better. At least that was a step in the direction of getting my life back on track. After hoisting myself into the van, I drove around aimlessly. I considered calling Slate to see if I could crash at his house, but that would pretty much guarantee a conversation about why I didn’t want to go home and probably an appearance from Till when Slate no doubt ratted me out.

  Eventually, I found myself in an all-too-familiar rental office, begging for the keys to one specific door.

  Chapter Five

  Ash

  AFTER MOVING TO MINNEAPOLIS, WE only spent a few months in a two-bedroom trailer before moving to an extended-stay hotel on the outskirts of Chicago. Finally, we landed a sweet, run-down house in the slums of Indianapolis. Such was my life. However, of all the places I would ever live, Indianapolis became the golden standard against which everywhere else would be judged.

  When I turned sixteen, my father started letting me drive. I had no idea why he’d made me wait; it’s not like he took me to get my driver’s license or anything. But I definitely didn’t argue when he handed me the keys one night and asked me to go pick something up for dinner. And even though he didn’t offer a single penny in cash to pay for said dinner, I still snatched the keys from his hands and ran out that door before he had a chance to change his mind.

  He and the step-witch loved alone time. And I loved not being there during alone time. There were some things that even a set of earbuds blaring Taylor Swift couldn’t cancel out. I took off at every opportunity I got.

  With newfound freedom, I was able to branch out, and within a few weeks of being in the new city, I had actually made some friends.

  True friends.

  “Slumber party!” I yelled, dropping my bag onto the ground. “All right, which one of you is painting my nails?”

  “Not me,” Max declared, swiping the pillow from my arms.

  “Okay. Donna, you’re up,” I announced, handing her a blanket and a bottle of polish.

  “Honey, I ain’t no damn manicurist,” she snapped.

  “Well, you two suck. Worst BFFs ever.”

  It was a total lie. They were the absolute best BFFs ever. Mainly because they were the only ones I’d ever had. Since the first night we’d literally run into each other on the street outside my favorite grocery store to shoplift from, they had always been there for me.

  “You sign up for school today?” Max asked, opening the pizza box I had just deposited onto his lap.

  “No. My dad’s an asshole.”

  “They usually are,” he replied, offering the box for me to take a slice.

  “No, you two go ahead. I have to watch my figure.”

  “What figure?” Donna snarked before snagging a piece of pizza.

  “I’ll have you know I have excellent boobs. It’s all the other stuff I have to worry about.” I rubbed my stomach and glanced over at Max, who was shaking his head in defeat. He hated it when we talked about girl stuff, but as the sole penis in our club for misfits, he had to deal with it a lot.

  Donna rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’ll give you that, but some pizza on those hips wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

  “Well, aren’t you in a mood tonight? What has your panties in a bunch?” I asked, motioning for Max to hand me a piece of pizza. I really was starving.

  “Same shit, different day,” she answered, snapping her fingers until I passed her a napkin from my purse.

  “No way. It has to be more than that.”

  Max filled in the blank. “Her sister stopped by today.”

  My eyes grew wide. “Oh my God. What the hell did that bitch want?”

  “Don’t know. Don’t care. Just seeing her face was enough to ruin my entire fucking night.”

  Max shook his head again, taking another piece from the box and saying, “You should have talked to her.”

  “Oh hell no! I’m not talking to her. You think for a single second she feels bad about getting me kicked out of my own mother’s house? Horseshit. I know her better than that. She’s scheming for something.”

  “Like what?” I whispered.

  Donna’s family drama was exactly why I loved her so much. It was always something. I mean, I had a shit-ton of drama at home, but it was so much fun listening to someone else’s problems for once.

  “Who the hell knows!” she yelled. “That witch is up to no good. I’m positive.”

  “Good lord.” Max rolled his eyes, not nearly as excited to hear about Donna’s family issues as I was. “Ash, what’s your pops’s excuse for not letting you sign up for school this time?” he asked, changing the subject.

  “No excuse. He just laid down the law.” I sucked in a deep breath, pulling my ponytail over my forehead in a mock comb-over, and put on my best Ray Mabie voice. “‘Ash, I said no. School will get you nowhere in life. Street smarts are what you really need.’”

  “Well, he’s not wrong,” Donna said smugly, reaching for her water bottle.

  “Oh, I forgot! I brought you guys a present!” I dug to the bottom of my overnight bag then revealed a bottle of vodka.

  “Now we’re talking!” Max clapped.

  “Where the hell did you get that?” Donna asked, dropping her pizza back into the box before snatching the bottle from my hands.

  I shrugged. “Stepmommy dearest.”

  “You don’t think she’ll notice?” he asked, taking it from Donna and twisting the cap off.

  “Oh please. I’ll divide one of her other bottles into two and tell her she drank it the night before. She’s a dumbass.”

  “Cheers to the dumbass!” he lifted the bottle in the air before tossing it back for a long pull.

  Donna slapped him on the chest. “Hey, Ash scored that shit. She should have had the first shot.”

  I curled my lip. “Ew. No, thank you. That stuff is nasty as hell. Give me some more pizza though.”

  “Fair trade.” Max laughed, passing me the entire box and then tipping the vodka back for another gulp.

  “All right, slow down.” I snatched the bottle from his mouth mid sip. “I’m not washing the puke off your clothes again. Besides, I brought some more cards. I have serious intentions of winning back my money from last week.”

  He let out a loud laugh as I passed the bottle to Donna. “Oh lord, Ash. I spent my winnings about ten minutes after they landed in my pocket.”

  I huffed. “Fine. I’ll loan you ten bucks, but I
’m taking that back tonight. I still think you cheated somehow.”

  “Nope. You’re the only magician around here, sweetheart.” He gave me a knowing glare that made me burst out laughing.

  I’d hustled the shit out of him the first night we’d hung out. I’d immediately returned his money, but he hadn’t found it humorous in the least. Luckily for me, and thanks to Donna, I’d found out he had a soft spot for food and booze. It had taken me a full two weeks of “apologizing” to get back in his good graces.

  “Laugh it up,” he said seriously, but an unmistakable smirk grew on his face.

  “Oh, I will,” I shot back, almost falling over in hysterics.

  Donna quickly joined me while Max sat watching us, unimpressed.

  “Okay, okay.” I sat up before bursting back into laughter. I wasn’t even sure why I was laughing at all. But God, I loved that feeling.

  Finally sobering up, I retrieved a deck of cards from my bag.

  “Hey! Guess what?” I said as I began shuffling the cards.

  “Hell no! Don’t try to distract me. I’m watching you to make sure you don’t stack that deck. You know what?” He reached forward, plucking it from my hands. “Let me shuffle.”

  I laughed but willingly let him take it from me. “No, I’m serious. So, apparently, Ray’s wife has some kids. I overheard them talking about going to get the youngest tomorrow.”

  “Wait. How long have they been married? And you are just now finding out that she has kids?” Donna asked.

  “A few years. And I mean, I knew she had kids, but I just assumed they were all older. She doesn’t talk about them or anything. I know one of them is some big-time boxer, but the little one is only, like, fourteen.” I shrugged, taking the two cards Max had dealt me. “I think his name is Corey or something. Anyway, I’m freaking stoked. It’ll be fun having a little brother.”

  Donna quirked an eyebrow. “What if he’s an asshole like his mom?”

  “No way. He’s gonna be awesome! I can feel it. I had a dream last night—”

  “And here we go,” Max moaned.

  “Shut. Up. Don’t be mad because I’m clairvoyant,” I lied.

  I wasn’t even close to being able to see the future. I actually didn’t have dreams at all. Every night, I would fall asleep, but never once did my traitorous synapses fire off during REM, leaving me unable to dream. I’d tried though. Hell, I couldn’t even give myself a nightmare. I had always heard that dreams were inspired by a person’s emotions or real-life experiences, so I decided to make up my own. I had a sneaking suspicion that what I created was a hell of a lot more fun than the dreams my brain would have made. Loneliness and robbery probably didn’t combine to make glitter and unicorns.

  “Trip Queens,” I said, dropping my cards.

  Max let out a loud curse.

  “Just be glad that was a warm-up.” I winked. “Anyway. This kid is going to be awesome. I can’t wait to introduce him to you guys.”

  They both groaned, but it did nothing to suppress the giddiness I felt inside. Sure, he was a little younger than I was, but I was stoked about having some company around the house. A girl could never have too many friends, right?

  Chapter Six

  Flint

  FOR SIX MONTHS, I MANAGED to avoid my family. I’d wanted a fresh start, and that was exactly what I’d gotten. For the first two weeks, Till had blown my phone up with texts wondering where the hell I was. It had taken a month before Eliza had started messaging. I’d never engaged their conversations, but I had at least let them know that I was fine and okay. I understood why they were worried, but I was committed to my new life.

  Alone.

  I’d severed every possible connection they’d had to me. They didn’t know where I lived, and I had even stopped going to the physical therapy sessions Till paid for each week. Instead, I’d started working with one of the PT students at the college. It was only once a week, and I knew I needed more if I ever wanted to walk again, but my head and heart were what needed the most healing.

  Living in Eliza’s old apartment had its perks. The memories were abundant, and they carried me through more than just a few lonely nights. However, it also had its downfalls. It wasn’t wheelchair accessible, so it made even the simplest of tasks extremely difficult. I also had all of those memories haunting me but absolutely nothing tangible to ground me.

  I missed her.

  I missed Till.

  I missed Quarry.

  I missed Slate.

  But most of all, I missed Flint Page.

  I was wasting away. Hell, I’d thought I was half a man months earlier; I wasn’t sure there was even a proper fraction to describe myself anymore. It wasn’t just my physical appearance, either. My desire to fight was gone. Once my nemesis, wallowing became a way of life.

  The only thing I was actually doing well in was school. Despite my advisor’s recommendation, I was taking the maximum amount of hours allowable for a freshman. I fucking loved the distraction. School was probably the only aspect in life in which I didn’t have to struggle. It had always come easy for me.

  My life might have been a mess, but it was at least simple. I had a schedule that drove my day. Wake up, go to school, come home, do homework, study, go to sleep. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

  However, with a single knock on my front door, everything I had worked so hard to maintain crumbled in front of my eyes.

  But like a second bullet to the back, it also changed my life.

  “About fucking time,” Slate said, pushing me out of the way as he strode inside.

  “What do you want?” I replied with an attitude I never would have dreamed of using with Slate before that moment.

  “Did you join a cult?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.

  “What? No?”

  “Then what the hell is that dead animal on your face?”

  I rubbed the scruff on my chin. “Did you come here to critique my grooming habits?”

  “No. But I would have brought you a razor if I had known you were having such a difficult time getting your hands on one.”

  I rolled my eyes. “How’d you find me?”

  “Leo followed you from class about six months ago.”

  “Awesome,” I mumbled.

  “Till got worried after he knocked on the door of every dorm on the first floor of the entire fucking college. Don’t worry. I didn’t tell him where you’re living. Your secret’s safe. You really should have given him your address. That was a dick move.”

  “Why? So he could have busted in here like you? I’m doing my own thing right now. I needed some space.”

  He walked over to the couch and flopped down, stretching his long legs in front of him, crossing them at the ankle. “So let me get this straight. You decided to just disappear and take some space. To hell with your family. Flint’s the only one who really matters, right? You’re more important than the people who love you and miss you, right?” He popped a knowing eyebrow. “It must run in the family. Seems to me that’s exactly what your mom and dad did to you.”

  My head snapped to the side, and rage boiled my blood. “That’s not at all what I did! I am not my parents!”

  “Could have fooled me.” He shrugged. “Just for future reference, you can have space and family. Phone calls and the occasional visit wouldn’t fucking kill you. But this little disappearing act you pulled is killing them.”

  I shook my head. He didn’t get it. And short of spilling all of my dirty laundry at his feet, he never would.

  “Awesome. Good pep talk. You done?”

  “Nope, not even close.” He smiled and pushed to his feet. “Your brother has been blowing up your phone this week for a reason.”

  “I’ve been busy.”

  “Well unbusy yourself. Your mom showed up at Till’s with the cops on Monday and took Quarry.”

  “What!” I yelled, never wishing that I could fly to my feet more. “She can’t do that!”

  “She can and she did. T
he law got involved, and Till has no formal custody agreement. Even though she abandoned you boys, she is still biologically your mom. Quarry’s only fourteen, so he defaults to her until a court date can be arranged.”

  “You have got to be shitting me,” I breathed.

  “We got a whole legal team involved and managed to get Till weekend visitation while we worked out a court date for next month. But that still means Q is gonna be living with your mom during the week until then.”

  “Son of a bitch.” I raked a hand through my hair. “Is Till freaking the fuck out?”

  “You can’t even imagine. I actually just dropped him off at the gym. I spent the last twenty-four hours trying to bail him out of jail.”

  “Jail?” I exclaimed.

  “Apparently, Till went to pick him up yesterday and your mom’s husband refused to let Quarry leave with him.”

  “Her husband?” I clarified in shock.

  “Yep. She married Ray Mabie, and that piece of shit was dumb enough to step between Till and Quarry. All hell broke loose.”

  Suddenly, I had a sickening feeling in my stomach. Nothing stood between “The Silencer” Till Page and his family.

  “Did he kill him?” I asked.

  “Nah, but Ray left in the back of an ambulance. Till was in the back of a police car.”

  “Fucking hell,” I cursed in relief that the death penalty was at least off the table.

  “Anyway, I need you to go pick up Q. Till isn’t allowed within two hundred feet of Mabie’s house, and it has to be an immediate family member to pick him up, which means Eliza and I are out.”

  Just the mention of her name twisted my gut. “I, uh, I mean . . . I can’t.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I can’t. I mean, I can. But—”

  “Okay, let me rephrase this.” He slapped the back of my head. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Your brother is sitting at your worthless-piece-of-shit mother’s house. You remember what growing up with that woman was like, right? Don’t give me any of this bullshit about can’t. Get your fucking keys, get in your car, and, if you have to, break every goddamn traffic law on the way to pick him up.”