“I don’t want this,” I sighed.
“Ok,” she glanced around like she was afraid someone would hear me. “We’ll talk about it at home. Later,” she narrowed her eyes.
“No,” I slowly shook my head. “I’m leaving…now.” I turned and headed toward the door.
“You can’t leave!” she yelled and then slapped her hand over her mouth when a man a few feet away turned toward the commotion.
“The hell I can’t,” I pulled my arm from her grasp. “I’m not doing this anymore. You’ve had your fun. I don’t want all this,” I waved my arms around as I tugged at my tie. “This isn’t me. If you spent more time with me you’d know this,” I growled.
“I spend as much time as I can. I come to the gym, all your fights, we’re getting married, Weston,” she screeched.
She only called me Weston when she wanted me to give into her. I’d given in on the house. Even though I owned the thing, I hadn’t moved my things in. It was fully furnished, but lacked that personal touch. It had been sitting there empty for three months. I’d been pulling away from my friends, family, everything I believed in to do what she wanted. I was endorsing things that I always said I wouldn’t. What the hell had happened to me? I turned and began pushing people out of the way. I was on a mission to get back out the front door and escape.
Vicki shuffled after me as fast as her five inch heels would allow, but finally gave up when she saw I wasn’t joking. Just as I reached for the heavy door, her warning rang out behind me, “I made you and so help me, if you go out that door, I will tear you apart. Do you hear me Weston McKay? I will destroy you.” Her voice dripped with venom, but I was so angry myself that I didn’t care. I didn’t think she was serious, and even if she was, I was under contract. What could she possibly do that would ruin me? I’d always done everything she or anyone asked. I didn’t have any skeletons.
ooooooooo
When morning came the next day, I was surprised to wake up alone. Vicki and I had fought before, but she’d always come home. This was a first, and the feeling it gave me wasn’t a good one. I wasn’t sure what it was, but as our argument from the night before played over in my head, I got this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.
It was Sunday, and as much as I needed to rest, I hoped that a quick run would help ease the tension I was feeling. I climbed out of bed, dressed in a pair of sweats, and grabbed my iPod. After selecting a playlist, I put my earbuds in, and caught the elevator. I lived in a low-rise building near Beacon Hill and was hoping to escape before anyone saw me.
As soon as I stepped out of my building, it started. Cameras flashed in my face, blinding me, as reporters shouted accusations at me. Was it true? Did I really do it? What did I think I was going to accomplish? How could I hurt my career like that? Why did I go behind my fiancée’s back? I lifted my arms to shield my face as I took off running. I had no idea what the hell they were all talking about, but I knew if I got to the gym, Jimi would fill me in.
It took me twenty minutes to make it there, but when All-Stars came into view, so did the crowd standing out front. “What the fuck?” I hissed as I plucked the earbuds from my ears. I lifted the hood of my gray sweatshirt to try and shield my face as I ventured around to the back. I pounded on the steel door hoping someone would hear me, and let me in. Jimi appeared within a few minutes, but didn’t step out of the way when I tried to enter.
“You can’t be here man,” he shook his head. “I got strict orders not to let you in here.”
“What?” I gasped confused. “From who?”
“Victoria came by this morning. Said that you were in breach of contract. She had a whole stack of papers,” he shook his head. “I can’t believe you did it, man. It just doesn’t seem like you,” he gripped his neck before he looked me in the eyes.
“What the fuck is going on?” I darted my eyes around hoping that the lynch mob I’d been trying to escape from hadn’t come around the corner yet.
“You need to go home. Turn on the news. It’s all over Sports Central,” he sighed. “I can’t help you, man. My hands are tied,” he backed up and closed the door in my face, leaving me standing there completely baffled by the entire situation.
Before the crowd could come and find me, I turned and began jogging back toward my apartment. I wasn’t sure what was happening, or why I was suddenly newsworthy, but I knew that whatever had happened was because of Vicki. When I approached my building, and saw the crowd still gathered there, I thought better of trying fight them. I reached in my pocket, pulled out my keys, and rushed to the parking deck to escape in my car. It didn’t take them long to spot me, and a few banged on my windows as I pulled out onto the street.
Anger boiled inside me as I floored it, and began to head out of town. The only place I knew I could escape to was the cabin. No one would find me there except Cole or Vicki, and I was so mad that if she showed up, I might blow.
ooooooooo
It took me a little over two hours to get there, but when I pulled up, all I could think about was getting inside and in front of the TV. Curiosity was slowly killing me, and I knew whatever people were saying couldn’t be true. I quickly unlocked the door, flicked on a few lights, and made myself comfortable on the couch. As soon as the TV turned on, my surroundings began to fade into the distance. In blue lettering on the side of the screen was an update that said I was being investigated for using enhancements.
“What?” I roared as I stood and searched for my phone. I needed to call Vicki and find out what the hell she’d done. My fingers trembled as I dialed her number and waited for her to answer.
“Stephens, Incorporated.” Her voice was robotic, businesslike, and nothing like the way she answered when she knew I was calling.
“What did you do?” I growled.
“What are you talking about?” she chirped as if she had no idea the shitstorm that she’d created.
“I’m watching the news right now. What the fuck did you do?” I hissed with barely controlled fury into the phone.
“I seem to remember someone telling me that they didn’t want the life they had. That they wanted to go back; they didn’t need me?” she sing-songed as if it was a typical day in the office. “It was unfortunate that things didn’t work out for us,” she sighed. “I would have been able to warn you before you started drinking those energy drinks. They had all kinds of things in them that showed up as enhancements on the last bit of testing they went through. Too bad you didn’t want my advice.”
“What are you talking about?” I dropped to the couch because there was no way what she was saying was true.
“The FDA shut down Maxx Builder yesterday. I heard it might happen before the event last night. Those men at the club were so naïve to think that the rumors would go away without some investigating. I was told to let you know in case something happened, but you left in such a hurry that I wasn’t able to. Oh, and with all that’s happened, I really think we should call off the engagement. Good luck with everything,” I could tell she was smiling by the tone in her voice, and when the call dropped I just sat there stunned at what was happening.
When my brain finally started working again, I called Cole. It went to straight to voicemail like it had so many times before, and after leaving a message, I threw it across the room. I wasn’t sure how I thought he’d call me back when it shattered into a million pieces upon hitting the wall. I left the TV on most of the day listening to all the different speculations on why I’d done what I’d done.
I wasn’t sure how to fix it. Vicki had given the media just enough information to crucify me. They didn’t have the details, and they didn’t seem to want them. The last straw was seeing Vicki live on TV. She was standing near the practice ring in All-Stars, her dad behind her showing his support, as she publicly trashed me. The longer she was in the spotlight, the more lies she spewed. The world thought I was a ‘roid head. She’d made me out to be some loser who was only interested in money and winning, when in fac
t, she was the one more interested in the trappings. She wanted the fame, me on her arm, and she’d been using me to get to the top. I’d noticed when she’d lifted her hand to brush a piece of hair out of her eyes that her engagement ring was absent. I wondered how long it took her to take it off. I wondered if she ever really loved me, and I wondered how the fuck I was going to recover from this.
I flicked the TV off, and stumbled over to the kitchen. After grabbing a bottle of bourbon, I flopped back on the couch and lifted it to my lips. The alcohol never felt so good, and I was on a mission to sink into oblivion as fast as possible.
I don’t know when I passed out that night. When I woke the next morning, the empty bottle sat on the table in front of me. I spent a week doing the same thing over and over again. I didn’t bother changing my clothes, or showering. My diet consisted of Jack Daniel’s and later Jim Beam. I’d lost everything I’d worked so hard for. It had been taken away by misplaced trust in the woman I thought loved me as much as I loved her. I wasn’t sure then if I even knew what love was anymore. I was circling the drain, and I didn’t care at the moment if I drowned or not. Everyone who I thought cared about me had deserted me, and now here I was, in a cabin no one knew about getting drunk off my ass.
Cole hadn’t called me back, and after three days, I wondered if he even cared anymore. I’d saved him countless times over the years, and now, the one time I needed him, I seemed to be on my own.
Chapter 13
Wes- Age 24
It was a week before he found me. Seven days of nothing but drinking and sleeping. Cole had shown up at the cabin, confused at first, but then angry.
“What a bitch!” He growled as he slumped in the chair across from me. “Are you ok?”
“What do you think?” I lifted the beer that I was now consuming. I’d polished off the hard stuff the day before, and now I was working on the month old beer that had been left in the fridge.
Cole placed his head in his hands as he leaned forward, “Tell me you didn’t do what they say you did. Tell me she’s lying.”
I looked up at him in disbelief, “You’re my best friend. We’re practically brothers. I can’t believe you’d even ask me that!” I gasped. “I didn’t do any of the things she’s accusing me of.”
“Ok,” he sighed. “How do we fix this?”
“We don’t,” I shrugged as I finished the beer, tossed the can in the general direction of the trash, and grabbed another. “What’s the point? I’m staying here. She can rot in hell for all I care.”
“You can’t run from this,” he slowly shook his head. “You can’t let her win.”
“I’m not letting her do anything,” I took a giant gulp from the can before closing my eyes. “I’m done fighting. I started because it was fun, something I enjoyed, she’s taken that all away. I don’t want her, or the publicity, or anything from that world. I don’t have a reason to go back. There’s nothing there for me.”
“Dude,” he jumped to his feet and stormed over to me. After yanking the beer from my hand, he glared at me, “Will you listen to yourself. What the fuck is wrong with you? You don’t give up like this. You’ve never been one to give up. You taught me that back in high school.”
“I was naïve,” I rolled my eyes as I stood and tried to swipe the beer back from him. He stepped out of my reach, and I began to lose my balance, swaying on my feet. “Give me my fucking beer and go away!”
“No!” he crossed his arms over his chest.
“You may be a fancy trainer now, but I can still kick your ass. Now, Give. Me. My Fucking. Beer!” I moved over to stand chest to chest with him, but he wasn’t giving in.
“I’m not letting you do this,” he growled, refusing to back down.
I don’t know if I would have done it if I’d been sober, but seeing him fight me, on the one thing I thought I could still control, caused me to snap. I lifted my arm and delivered a right hook right to his jaw.
He stumbled back a few steps, hissed, and gripped his chin with his fingers, “Feel better now?”
I stood frozen. What had I done? We hadn’t gone to blows in years, and I was letting a woman come between us. A woman that I didn’t even want anymore. I shook my head as I lowered myself onto the couch. “Shit! I’m sorry.”
“That’s your one shot. Do it again, and I will lay your ass out,” Cole pointed at me as he placed the beer near him. “No more booze. Let’s figure this shit out and fix you.”
ooooooooo
It took us six months for the rumors die down enough so that I wasn’t newsworthy. Six months of hiding out, giving interviews to the local papers, and trying to find a gym that would let me train. No one would touch me, and I was put on probation by the circuit. Victoria had given everyone enough doubt that no one would come within ten feet of me.
I tried to get representation for a while. Cole made contacts with other trainers that worked at his gym. They all gave him the run around. It wasn’t until later that fall that things seemed to turn in a positive direction.
I was walking home one day from a run, and I passed a building with a for sale sign hanging in the window. It was large– almost warehouse like– and would make a perfect training facility. It took me all of ten minutes to call Cole and ask him to come take a look. And that’s when it happened… my life changed directions.
A month later, I owned my own gym. I’d decided that if I couldn’t fight anymore, I’d help others. I had all the equipment to train fighters, but no one to train me. They didn’t trust someone who had been accused of the things I had. I had convinced Cole to quit his job, and join me, and together we ran McKay’s. I set up classes in self-defense. I wanted to help people, and thinking back to all the things I did over the years to help Cole and Angela made me want to do some more good. Cole loved the idea and became my lead instructor.
We were unstoppable together. I’d go to local women’s shelters and support groups giving demonstrations, and Cole would teach the classes. Over the years, we had some amateurs stop in and want to spar, but no one saw me as more than the owner. My life as a fighter had ended, and now I was nothing more than the owner gym rat.
ooooooooo
4 Years Later…
Angela- Age 23
I’d been in California for two years. Alex and I had moved as soon as I’d graduated, a year early. I’d worked my ass off to finish school, and as soon as I could escape Boston, I did.
I’d seen the news when it happened. I hadn’t been looking. After the on-air proposal, I’d stopped following his fights. It was painful and unnecessary. Ally had told me repeatedly that I was only torturing myself, and I should move on. I had a great guy who loved me, and wanted to have a future with me, so I gave in. I completely shut Wes out of my life. I’d changed my number, and sworn Cole to secrecy. It had worked, too. Wes didn’t contact me, but I’ll never forget that morning.
I’d been sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast when Alex turned on the news while fixing his coffee. I wasn’t watching, but could hear it in the background. I knew it was something big by the way the reporter was going on and then I heard the live feed. I glanced up to see him shoving though the crowd. His face wasn’t visible, but I knew just by his body that it was him. He was wearing a gray sweat suit, and shielding his face as he climbed in his car.
The reporter had flashed back to the station desk where they gave the highlights of the story stating that Amateur Middle Weight Fighter Weston McKay of Boston was being investigated for using performance enhancing drugs.
My spoon clattered to the table, and I froze. The things they were saying sounded nothing like the Wes I knew. He would never do that, and I knew it was a lie. Alex had made some comment, asking me if I knew him. I’d mumbled a response as I cleaned up my mess then left for class. I’d needed the escape and time to process what I’d just seen.
Later that day, I’d called him. I wanted to hear his voice. I wanted him to tell me it was a lie. I needed to know that the boy I fe
ll in love with was still in there. All my calls went directly to voicemail, indicating that his phone was off.
I tried for several days, hoping to get through, but every time I dialed, it went to voicemail. After a month, I gave up. The final call I made was answered by a message saying the number was no longer in service. I knew it shouldn’t have hurt like it did, but the fact that someone I was once close to had completely cut me out was heartbreaking. I wanted to be there, to tell him it was ok, and everything would be fine, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t do the one thing that he’d always done for me. I couldn’t save him.
ooooooooo
Now, sitting here in my office, I tried to think of how I was going to tell Alex that we were going to be starting a family sooner than we’d planned. We weren’t trying to get pregnant, it just happened. He’d been working a lot lately and complaining about my job. I’d landed a secretary position at an accounting firm. It wasn’t what I wanted, but jobs had been slim when we moved to San Diego. Alex had taken a position in his father’s law firm and was now a junior partner. We already saw very little of each other, and just last week he’d been talking about a case he was getting ready to take on.
I liked where we lived, but I missed my friends from back home. Ally had been out to see me a few times, but not Cole, and I missed that. I mentioned to him just last week that I was thinking of coming for a visit. I wanted to see him, and meet this new girlfriend he’d been talking about. He seemed really taken with her and happy.
He’d kept me informed over the years about his and Wes’ business, and had offered several times to let me stay with him. I’d turned him down so many times I’d stopped counting, but last week I finally gave in. Alex had said it would be perfect timing for me to make the trip. He was going to be busy, and wouldn’t be home much. I can’t say that I was thrilled to hear that. He’d been at the office so much lately, I felt like I knew his secretary better than I knew him. We talked daily, and she was always sweet. In hindsight, I guess I should have been more suspicious of her kindness.
My Broken Angel Page 10