by P. A. Jones
“Why not? Isn’t he supposed to support you as your husband,” she asked in sarcastic voice.
“I don’t care what he is supposed to do. I only know that I need to be more supportive than this.”
“What crisis is he going through? Why doesn’t he join some boxing league and earn some money through it? I heard that last time he went to the finals.”
“No, I don’t want him box. My heart stops beating in fear that he will get injured.”
“But what about his passion, Eva? Isn’t boxing his die-hard passion?” Chloe inquired.
She was right. Deep down in my heart, I knew I shouldn’t come between Nathan and his passion. “But what if he gets injured?” I still tried to save my pride.
“Anyone can get injured, Eva. Even you got injured while running and look, you overcame it, right? Running is your passion and you had been living for this one.”
She made me think harder and deeper about Nathan’s passion.
“Even if you accept this scholarship, it would only be because of your passion. This fuels your life, dear. And I know how much you got pissed off at your mom for coming in between you and your passion.”
Chloe was right. I suddenly felt good about the scholarship. My family business was important and very well-settled, but working there didn’t feel right. If Nathan didn't have come to Canada, I might had run back to N.Y..
“It’s final, then. I’m taking the scholarship. Along with school, I’ll do some part-time job as well.”
“What about his passion, Eva?” she asked again.
My mind wasn’t ready for him to box. But she was right. I just couldn’t take away his passion only because I was afraid. “I’ll talk with him about this. I think I’m ready to talk it over.”
***
“Ready for school?” Chloe asked me while I was brushing my teeth. It was Monday. Nathan was supposed to come home tomorrow. One more day to be in his arms again. I remembered his pecs, his muscles and how it felt to be in his bare arms. Hell, why can’t I get enough of him already?
“Yes, we will travel in my van. Just give me ten minutes.”
“What? It’s a ten-minute walk from here, dear. Why do you have to flaunt your van?” She giggled.
“I want to show it to Cooper, so she will report it to my mom.” I was thinking evil thoughts that moment.
“You and your mom. It seems that you are back on track to be a pain in the ass.”
“Anyways, I’m going to fill out the scholarship form today and then we will celebrate.”
“Yeah, party for us. I’ll invite Terry as well.”
“Your teacher? You know you are gonna get him in trouble someday.”
“What kind of trouble?” She raised her eyebrows.
“I don’t know, may be a pregnancy!” I ran away from her and locked myself in the bathroom. She followed me and thumped on the door for a few seconds.
“I’m gonna kill you for this,” she said, laughing.
A few hours later, I was filling out the form to join the new university. When I signed it and gave it to the chancellor; a burden lifted from my chest. Finally, I was on the right path. Happiness filled my heart.
“Here I come, new college,” I muttered and got out of the office. I went straight to the canteen where a few of my friends were waiting for me. Terry was there as well, the moment I entered the canteen.
“Here comes the champion,” Chloe shouted.
“Yeah to the champ.” Terry followed her. I joined them to celebrate my new journey. It was fun. The new college meant I would have to spend at least three days full-time in classes and then the other two days I would spend playing the designated sport, and the classes included the range of subject from rehabilitation, coaching, referee science etc. It was so good to only look at their schedule. My main interest was, of course, the running.
“Hey, Eva, Nathan is your current boyfriend right?” Noah asked me suddenly.
“Yes, why?”
“He’s on the news. Check it out.” He gave me his cell. He was playing some news on it.
Nathan’s face was featured and a video was playing, showing two medics putting him on a stretcher and taking him to an ambulance. My heartbeat stopped. What had happened to him? I spoke with him only yesterday and he was all right.
“What is this, Noah? What happened to him?” I couldn’t think of anything. What happened to my baby?
“Noah can you rewind it? Is it on YouTube?” Chloe asked him.
Noah replayed the video, It was news for a boxing fight. One day, three fights and Nathan won over Peter in two out of three matches. I watched it, shocked. That was not in any of his plans. He lied to me.
Chapter 19
Nathan
“Hey buddy, how are you today?” Gavin asked. He had come to visit me in the hospital.
“It’s painful, dude. He really fucked my ribs. Doctor said that I would need at least two months before I can start training again. They even asked me to stay in the hospital for a complete day so they could examine me. But I showed him taste of his own medicine.” I chuckled.
“We didn’t have a chance to talk about your wedding yet. How is she?”
“Her name is, Eva. And she is going to kill me for this.” I looked at my bandage. Telling her this would be signing my own death warrant. But I’d decided to tell her the truth and I would for sure. “Where is Mason?”
“When I walked to your room, I saw him talking with someone.”
“Hello, Mr. Brown.” Charlie from ACORD Sports Company came in.
“Hey, Charlie, how are you today?” I asked.
“I should ask you that. You fought marvelously back there. Our Managing Director. is so impressed with you and he want to offer you a contract for a complete year.” He grinned. His company must have made lots of profit from those matches.
“Sorry to interrupt, but I don’t think it is a good idea right now.” Mason entered the room with an unknown man. I raised my eyebrow; he was behaving mysteriously. He glanced at me and winked. “For now, Charlie, the check you promised would do.”
“Yes, of course.” Charlie took out a check and gave it to me. He looked a bit disappointed.
I better keep my mouth shut. Mason must have some reason behind all this.
“But still if you want to reconsider the money, our offer is open for five hundred thousand per annum.” He smiled and shook my hand. “It was nice doing business with you, Mr. Brown.” Then he walked out of the room.
Mason took the check out of my hand. ”That will go to the bank directly. You are not getting anything to spend right away.”
I smiled. “Don’t worry, I’m a married man now and my duty doesn’t allow me to spend money on junk anymore.” I looked at the other man with him.
“Let me introduce myself. I’m Marshall from Pacific Sports Company and we would like to sign you as our brand ambassador.”
I looked at Mason. It was strange to me.
“Don’t worry, they will pay you more than ACORD and they are a legitimate company. You rest for today; we will meet their crew tomorrow.
He looked at Marshal.. “Let’s go, Marshall, we should let the champ rest for one more day.”
They both went out, but Gavin was still there talking with someone over the phone. I heard Pacific Sports in his conversation. After a few minutes, he put down his phone and looked at me with a smile.
“Don’t worry about this company, dude. I checked with Samuel and they are our sister consultant. So you are working with us now, and when Sam is in charge, there will be no harm to you or anything related to you.”
“Thanks, Gavin, but if you are trying to help me based on our friendship, then please don’t.”I was completely opposed to taking any extensive favors from my friends and a huge contract like this would definitely fall under that category.
“Whoa, don’t worry. Even Sam and I didn’t know about this deal an hour ago. I got to know about this from Mason and that fellow. Don't worry, Sam will keep an eye on
the company now. He is so fond of you; he even treats you as his third brother.” He winked at me. “Now I should let you rest. Mason is going to run you through lots of formalities tomorrow.” He waved good-bye.
I kept looking out of the window, thinking about how I was going to explain all this to Eva when the nurse came and gave me an injection which put me to sleep.
***
“Ready for the meeting, champ?” Mason entered my room.
It was the third day after the match. “Yes, buddy.” I adjusted the lapel of my suit I had just purchased for the meeting. My chest was still hurting, but as per the doctor, I was showing the signs of speedy recovery and it was good. I avoided wearing the tie, as it would hurt the bandage around my chest.
“It would have been okay if you chose to wear something casual, like a t shirt.”
“That’s fine, buddy. I need to look and act professional. You know how important this opportunity is for me. this is a must-get opportunity for my marriage as well.” I smiled and Mason replied with a smile in return.
“We’ll get this one, buddy.” Mason patted me on my right shoulder.
“It hurts, dude,” I shouted in pain.
He just laughed and started walking towards the elevator.
Half an hour later, we were entering the sports company’s office. As Gavin said, the company was huge and a well-known name in the sports industry.
I could see the richness by just looking at their lobby. They had at least fifteen turnstile machines for people to enter. We had to get a guest pass to enter, but the receptionist made sure that we were comfortable.
“Mr. Brown and Mr. Mason, please take elevator number four to reach the fourth floor.” The receptionist smiled at us.
“Here we go, champ.” Mason pressed my shoulder gently.”For a new beginning.”
“For a new beginning,” I muttered. I’d never had any opportunity like this. It seemed to be a golden one.
As we reached the fourth floor, my breath choked in my lungs. I guess Mason was in the same condition. Mr. Marshall. was standing with Samantha at his right hand.
My eyes widened as I saw her standing there and smiling at us. “Hello, Mr. Brown and Mason. Glad to have you here.” He came forward and shook our hands. “Also, I’d like you to meet Samantha. She is my personal assistant. She will help us with the legal formalities.”
We were still staring at Samantha. She had changed a lot. She looked different, like someone had sucked the life out of her.
”Hello, Nathan and Mason.” She greeted us with a smile on her face. But her smile was different, too, like she was trying to hide an excruciating pain. “Follow me, please. We will discuss the details in a meeting room.” They both turned around and moved to a large meeting room.
“Are you fine, buddy?” Mason whispered before following them.
“Yes, I am. I don’t care if she is here. I’m not bailing on this opportunity for her,” I said in a firm voice.
“Good, I was afraid you would. Just keep calm. I’ll take care of everything.” His voice was shaking a little. Was it because of me or because of her presence?
Chapter 20
Eva
My heart broke when I saw Nathan injured and an imaginary knife pierced it when I realized he had lied to me.
How could you do this to me, Nathan? My heart cried in pain. My legs lost the power in them; I couldn’t even stand properly.
Chloe understood my condition and took me to the dorm.
“He lied to me, Chloe; he lied to me about the matches.” I was devastated by his actions and couldn’t hold myself together.“It's hard to understand why he did this to me,” I told her as I sat on the couch in shock.
“Maybe he had his reasons, Eva. Let him come back and explain things to you,” Chloe answered, but even her voice stuck a couple of times.
“Even you are not sure about his intentions, Chloe. I don't know how I'm going to trust him after this.” The trust inside my heart had evaporated like steam. “If he had just asked me, I would have said yes. Lying is the worst thing for me and this is his second time.” Chloe already knew about Samantha.
“I can understand your feelings dear, but…”
“Samantha was a genuine reason, I can understand that. But why now, and when we are married.” I couldn’t get even angrier than this; it was just like I had lost all hope in him.“I’m afraid my mom was right about him. My mind was getting wrapped in various suspicions. Thought I didn’t believe my mom personally, her words were sounding true this time.
“No, Eva, no. You mom’s words are not at all an indication of the truth. Sorry to bring this up to you, but she has not been a good supporter of your decisions from the start,” Chloe warned me.
”What if I was wrong every time she warned me?”
“Come on girl, you have a life outside of her influence. You can't trust her now. And this is about Nathan, not about your mom. You can’t judge him by her words.” Chloe's face turned dark; I knew she wasn't fond of my mother.
“I can’t take it anymore, Chloe. I need a break.” My tears were dried and that was worse. I was having a meltdown, a dry melt down, where my emotions didn’t come out. And then I felt uneasy; breathing got difficult for me. Someone was tightening his grip around my lungs and I couldn’t get oxygen anymore. “Chloe I can’t breathe,” I whispered in panic and then I fell down on the ground. My heart was running out of air and I could see the black spots in front of my eyes.
Chloe ran towards me and helped me to sit on the couch. “ Breathe fast Eva, breathe fast” she screamed in my ears. I could hear her words, but couldn’t register it in my mind. And then out of nowhere, a giant thump hit my back. Somebody hit me hard and I puked.
But thanks to that hit, I could breathe again.
“She was going into shock, Chloe. You should have done it earlier.” Terry’s voice materialized from behind me.
“Thank God you are here, baby,” Chloe replied. “I thought I just lost her.” Tears fell down from Chloe’s eyes. Chloe bent down and hugged me tightly.
I was too tired to reply. In the back of my mind, I was worried that my puke was there and I had ruined the carpet.
“Thanks, Terry.” I said it somehow. “Chloe, I’ll clean this mess up.”
“Don’t worry about that. I can do that. But I think you are out of your mind right now. You need some time to settle your thoughts on the freaking issue. And please, for God’s sake, don’t go into shock again. You scared the hell out of me dear.” She wiped her tears.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine. I’ll clean the mess up. Just don’t choke me now.” I flexed my muscles to smile, but it was a difficult action after losing all the energy in my body.
“Don’t worry. You won’t die this easily.” She giggled. “Anyways, I like your decision to move in with me for a few days. That way, I’ll get rid of Terry as well for a few days.” She winked at Terry.
“Okay, you got me. I’m going on a study tour for two weeks, so you girls can enjoy a good time,” he said.
“Thanks, Chloe, for the generous offer. I’ll get my bags packed tomorrow or the day after that.”After I said that, I switched off my phone. I didn’t want to talk with Nathan for a couple of days. I wanted to see if I even could talk with him again. He really broke my trust this time and he deserved to be punished.
I spent the next day in bed. Fatigue still remained in my body. Chloe set everything I needed near my bed. I slept for fifteen to sixteen hours straight and forgot to switch on my cell. One day after, I headed to his apartment to pack my bags. When I was almost done, I heard the door open. He must be in. My mind flooded with emotions again. I didn’t want to see him or talk to him. But when I looked at him, my heart melted. He was bruised and had injuries all over the place, but he had lied to me. I just couldn’t get my thoughts away from that.
With determination, I waved him good-bye. For that moment, I could only think of getting away from him. May be after a few days, I could talk w
ith him about the issues.
Chapter 21
Nathan
“Why aren't you picking up the phone, lady,” I muttered.
A lady sitting on the chair next to me raised her eyebrows while looking at me. I must have said it louder than I thought.
"Sorry, ma’am. I must have said that too loud.” I smiled at her, but she didn’t smile back.
Eva wasn’t picking up the phone. For the last two days, her phone had been switched off, and then once it was on she didn’t pick up any of my calls. What's wrong with her? I was freaking out because of her. At first, I thought some issue with her phone, but then her phone was turned on. At least my rings were going through.
I again tried to call Chloe, but she also didn’t pick her phone. My mind had been wandering through all the worst possibilities already. I couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to her. You are my life, Eva. I punched my own bag. Now the lady next to me got up and walked away.
Finally, they announced my plane and I boarded it. But the whole journey, I kept thinking about Eva and looking at my watch.
I checked out of the airport as fast I could and took a cab to my house. The company I had signed the contract allowed me to travel first class. It was a comfortable journey, but my worry about Eva turned every comfort I got into a hollow pleasure. Where are you, sweetheart?
When I reached home, I saw Eva’s mini van parked near the apartment. So she was home. I sighed in relief. I gave a hundred dollar bill to the driver and, without waiting for the change, climbed the stairs. I couldn’t wait to see my sweet wife and tell her the good news.
When I opened the door, I saw three bags packed and sitting on the couch. What is going on? I dashed to the bedroom. Eva was packing something.
“Sweetheart, what is this?” I asked.
“So you’re back.” She turned to me. A lone tear fell down her left cheek. Her eyes had everything; happiness, sorrow and anger. But why is she angry?
“Yes, I’m back, baby, with good news.” I moved forward to take her in my arms.
She looked at me for a second then turned away. “It’s good that you are back. So I don’t have to tell you over phone that I’m moving to Chloe’s room.”