Fight of Life (Perception Book 3)

by Shandi Boyes

  “No, I didn’t know” I reply softly.

  “So you weren’t the one that encouraged him to take drugs?” Curtis questions furiously.

  “No Curtis, I wasn’t” I rebut crossly “Callum is a grown man, I am sure he is capable of making his own lifestyle choices” I continue before I recommence walking into my house. Curtis lifts his arm, blocking my entrance into the door.

  “Yes he is an adult, but then woman like you turn up and throw a spanner in the works, causing their life to spiral out of control. Take your boyfriend Jacob for an example” he breathes harshly into my ear, forcing my eyes to quickly dart up to his.

  “You didn’t think I knew who he was? I have known for months” he informs venomously to my stunned expression.

  “He seemed to be doing well, until he started dating you. I guess you have some kind of negative effect on people’s lives” Curtis taunts harshly. He then removes his hand from the doorway and starts walking down the concrete footpath back towards his truck.

  “Tell your boyfriend his day is coming” threatens Curtis before he jumps into his truck.

  I abruptly slam the door shut and start securing the locks. My run in with Curtis has rattled me enough that my hands are shaking as I try to latch the security chain on the door. Once the latch has been secured in place, I hear my cell phone ringing in my room. I dart into my room and when looking down at the screen I realise it is Jacob calling again. For the past week, I had been ignoring all of his calls and I refused to go to the door when he turned up the day after the incident at Mavericks.

  “Hello” I state angrily into the phone.

  “Lola, finally. I have been calling you for days” Jacob states relieved, as he exhales a large deep breath.

  “I am aware of that. What do you want Jacob?” I question irritably.

  “I wanted to make sure you’re okay” he responds kindly. I can clearly hear his genuine concern through the phone, making my bitch façade slightly falter.

  “I am fine” I reply sternly.

  “I also wanted to apologize for the way I reacted when you told me what had happened” Jacob whispers softly.

  “It’s too late for apologizes now Jacob, what is done is done. But maybe next time you decide to pound your chest like a caveman you may consider the consequences of your actions first. I didn’t need you to rush in and save me. I am more than capable of looking after myself” I respond crossly.

  “I wasn’t trying to save you Lola… I just snapped” he responds as he breathes heavily down the line.

  “No you didn’t just snap, you acted like an imbecile” I interrupt angrily “I have to go Jacob”

  “Please don’t cut me out of your life again Lola” he pleads softly, causing my heart to start cracking.

  “I am sorry, but this friendship agreement we have isn’t working out for me anymore” I state firmly, before disconnecting the call and switching off my phone.

  I know that some of the rage I just reflected at Jacob was meant for Callum, but I can’t keep leading Jacob on anymore. I want my life back to how it was a few months ago. When I wasn’t held responsible for other people’s action. I can’t have that life if Jacob is a part of it.

  The week after the incident, I officially handed in my resignation at Mavericks and the following week I managed to secure a part time position at a local bar in Erkinsvale. Jacob finally gave up calling me after three weeks of me sending his calls directly to voicemail and his text messages ended a few days after that.

  Over the next few months, things in my life seem to be going back on track to how they were before Jacob’s storm rolled in. Don’t get me wrong, I miss Jacob every day, but I knew what I was doing was the right thing for both of us.

  Chapter 26

  Jacob

  Six months later….

  “Have you got ants in your pants?” I cheekily question Emily, who hasn’t stopped squirming since she sat in the passenger seat of my car.

  “I’m nervous” she responds while pouting out her bottom lip.

  “You will be fine” I assure her as I pull into a spare carpark.

  Today I am helping Emily to move into her dorm at Parkwood State College. Noah had originally organised to help her move, but the band had a huge meeting today with a record label that was interested in signing them. Noah was going to cancel the meeting just to make sure he could keep his word to Emily, but we both ended up convincing him that we were more than capable of moving a few boxes into a dorm room while he attended his meeting.

  Noah was probably more concerned about leaving me alone with Emily. I would never touch a hair on Emily’s head, but I have too much fun stirring Noah to let him ever know that. He has a bit of a jealous streak when it comes to Emily, not that I can blame him. I have seen the way guy’s heads turn when she walks into the room. I more see Emily like a sister, I would like to say sister in law but Lola has made sure that is never going to be a possibility.

  I haven’t seen Lola since the day I found out about Callum. To say she was angry at me for beating him would be a major fucking understatement, she was furious. She told me she didn’t need me to save her and that she was more than capable of looking after herself. I wasn’t trying to save her. I was trying to teach Callum a lesson. Did it work…who knows? But he may think twice before he lays his hands on another woman again. Lola no longer works at Mavericks. I think she may have gotten a job at a bar closer to her home. To be honest, I haven’t actually asked anyone. I practically begged Lola for forgiveness and left her hundreds of voicemails and text messages, but she never returned one single call. At the start I understood why she was angry, but within a few weeks I started to become furious that she was reflecting all of that anger at me. I had flushed my whole UFC career down the toilet for her and all I got for that was nothing but her resentment and anger.

  My fighting career with Isaac is going stellar. I don’t have to worry about whether I win or lose in his fighting circle for how much money I take home. I just have to turn up and fight and I get paid. He pays me three thousand dollars a fight and I only have to compete in one fight a week. That’s not saying I don’t fight to win. I have a pretty good record at the moment. In the past six months I haven’t lost one fight. In Isaac’s fight circle there is no restriction on size and height. If you believe your fighter is good enough to fight another, then you propose a fight to their ‘owner’. If both sides agree to the fight, it will be scheduled for a few weeks’ time.

  The deal I have going with Isaac seems a little too good to be true, but I am going to take everything that is offered as I don’t see many businesses around who want to hire a business manager with a criminal record. I have been contracted to fight for Isaac for a year as part of our agreement. I haven’t decided what I am going to do once our year is up yet, I might just take it a week at a time. I was given two years’ probation for beating Callum, so I have plenty of time to work out what I want to do between now and then.

  “Do you want to take the stairs or the lift?” I question Emily as we start walking to her dormitory both carrying a couple of boxes. Well I am carrying three boxes and Emily is carrying one.

  She looks over towards me with her eyebrows pulled together before she replies “The lift” like I was crazy for suggesting anything else.

  “This box is heavy” she states while giggling. She is such a light weight.

  Noah has started working out with me more the past three months. I ended up telling him about my fighting career after the incident with Lola, but I failed to mention the part about how I am a paid fighter for Isaac. Noah started coming down to Hank’s Gym with me to ‘offer his support’ like I do for him when I watch his band play every Friday night. Noah appears to have taken a liking to Hank as well and they often do a few rounds of boxing in the ring together once or twice a week. Hank was furious with me when he found out that I had been charged with assault. It took him a few weeks, but he eventually forgave me. Hank is still my trainer but now h
e gets paid by Isaac instead of getting a cut of my fighting profits.

  I asked Noah not to tell Emily what had happened with Lola. I don’t like forcing him to keep a secret from her, but I had promised Lola that I wouldn’t tell anyone what had happened to her. It was the only way I could get her to tell me the truth that day I drove her home from Mavericks. Noah seemed hesitant to start with, but then he said he understood why I didn’t want to tell anyone. He has also agreed to keep my secret about fighting. I don’t know why I still choose to keep it as a secret, since what I do in my personal life no longer affects Lola, but I just don’t want Lola finding out about it from anyone else but me.

  The instant the lift opens, several college girls pile out. As their eyes roam over my body, they smile and flutter their eyelashes at me.

  “Ladies” I greet kindly, as I walk into the lift with Emily.

  “Really Jacob ‘ladies’ is the best line you can come up with” giggles Emily, causing my eyes to narrow at her.

  “I think I might have to come and visit you at college every week” I reply while chuckling and waggling my eyebrows.

  I have seen nothing but beautiful women walking around the college grounds since arriving at Emily’s school. Emily looks at me disgusted, before she starts to pretend to do little barf noises, making me take a large step away from her.

  “That’s not funny” I reply seriously.

  “Yes it is” she giggles as she continues to make vomiting noises.

  Noah had obviously let on to Emily my disgust at the idea of people being sick. I hate barf, vomit, spew, chunder, whatever you want to call it. It’s disgusting and just the thought of someone being sick, makes my own stomach swirl in protest. Emily continues to tease me until the lift finally arrives at her floor.

  When she walks out giggling, I follow her into her new room for the next four years. The instant I walk into her dorm it reminds me of Noah’s room at his mom’s house, except Emily’s mattress is at least on a bed frame. I hastily dump down the boxes I was carrying, before turning around to go and collect some more out of my car.

  “I will be back” I advise Emily; whose face looks concerned as she peers around at her small room.

  I quickly run down the stairs to my car, deciding that I need the exercise since I am missing out on a training session to help Emily move. I only end up taking one box this time, as this one box weighs a fucking ton. It is only as I make it up the last flight of stairs do I actually look at the description written on the box.

  “Sex toys and lingerie” I read loudly, triggering two girls in the stairwell to giggle.

  There is no way Emily would have enough sex toys to fill this box. I promptly lower the box down onto the top step. My gaze nervously darts around the stairwell to make sure no one is looking, before I take a quick peek inside the box, eager to find out what type of toys Noah and Emily might have in their collection.

  “Oh” I huff harshly. Books, there is nothing interesting or even remotely like a sex toy in this box. The whole box is just full of boring books.

  Just as I step out into the hallway, I spot Noah exiting the lift. I swiftly add some paces in front of him, before darting into Emily’s room.

  “Where do you want this box Emily?” I ask while waggling my eyebrows at her.

  When she peers over towards me, her cheeks give off a little pink hue. Just as I hear Noah step into the room from the hallway I quickly question.

  “What the hell have you got in here anyway Em? This box weighs a ton” I chuckle, pretending to take a peek inside of the box.

  “That’s for me to know and you to never find out” Noah advises as he slaps the box flap down and snatches the box out of my grasp. Point one to Jacob!

  “Oh come on Noah, don’t be a tease” I laugh, while Noah strolls over to Emily like he is on a mission, giving me my cue to leave.

  I swiftly move back into the hallway as Noah and Emily suck face, to go and collect the last two remaining boxes in my car. Just as I am about to head down the stairs, I spot an attractive blonde walking down the hall. When she notices my perusal of her body, she offers me a small shy smile.

  “I have seen you at Mavericks before haven’t I?” she questions as she closes the distance between us.

  I nearly shake my head no at her question, as I am pretty sure I would have noticed someone as beautiful as her before, but I decide against it when I realise I have spent the last few months at Mavericks staring at the door wondering if Lola was ever going to walk through it.

  “I have seen you there when ‘Rise Up’ play. Are you their manager?” she questions curiously.

  “No” I chuckle “They are friends of mine though” I advise smiling.

  “Lucky friends” she whispers as her brown eyes stare into mine.

  This girl is attractive, but in a natural way that is hard to explain. Maybe it has something to do with the freckles that adorn her nose, they give her a real youthful appearance.

  “I’m Jacob” I introduce as I offer her my hand to shake.

  “Crystal” she replies as she accepts my handshake. It’s a lovely name for a beautiful girl.

  “Maybe I might see you at Mavericks sometime” she states softly as her eyelashes flutter, clearly giving me an indication that she is interested in me.

  “Maybe” I respond friendly.

  I watch Crystal as she slowly starts walking down the hallway. She is normally the type of girl I would go for, but I haven’t been on any ‘dates’ in the past six months. Noah always jokes that I have ran out of dating privileges since I used them too often in my teenage years. But I know the real reason I can’t move on. I just can’t get the feisty, temperamental, infuriatingly beautiful, buxom brunette with the most dazzling brown eyes out of my fucking head. Don’t get me wrong, I have had a handful of hook ups the past few months, but no one has sparked an interest out of me like Lola did the first time I met her. I miss Lola every day, but I can’t force someone to be a part of my life, especially someone who is as stubborn as Lola.

  When I walk back into Emily’s room after collecting the remaining two boxes from my car, I notice Emily is cradle in close to Noah’s chest.

  “Get a room” I chuckle, causing Noah to flip me the bird.

  “These are the last two boxes Em” I advise, before dropping them onto the bed next to them.

  “How was your meeting today Noah?” I question excitedly once he stands up from the bed they were sitting on. I had completely forgotten to ask when I first saw him, but that was because he had Emily in his radar and there is no stopping him once he spots her.

  “Good, really good. They said they enjoyed the sound we are creating and a few execs are coming to watch our show this Friday” he replies smiling brightly.

  “That’s great news Noah. This is what you have been waiting for your whole life” I respond proudly as I grab Noah in a big bear hug. Noah is not the touchy feely type of guy, so I decide to hang on to him a little longer than he likes, with the hope of being able to spark a reaction out of him.

  “Alright their big guy, don’t start crying” laughs Noah, forcing me to instantly drop my arms.

  Oh, so Noah wants to play along with the tease game today. He knows I hate being taunted about that one time I cried in primary school, but two can play that game.

  “Whatever” I mumble as I immediately grab Emily in a huge big hug and spin her around the room, making her squeal softly.

  “Emily loves my big hugs” I declare loudly, before I slowly lower her down my body, making sure her body is plastered as close to mine as possible, causing Emily to blush vibrantly.

  “Get off her Jacob!” Noah demands. Another point for Jacob, Noah really makes this game too easy for me to win.

  “Bye Emily” I state daintily as I wave my hand at her. Noah storms over towards the door and slams it in my face.

  “Game set and match, the winner is Jacob!” I silently cheer to myself as I walk back down to my car.

 
Chapter 27

  Jacob

  “Hey Maggie” I greet happily as I stroll over towards the bar.

  For late on a Sunday afternoon, Mavericks has a lot more patrons than I had expected. Maggie’s gaze instantly pops up from the benchtop she is wiping with her beloved red dish cloth to look at me with concern.

  “Hi Jacob” she replies apprehensively “what are you doing in here on a Sunday afternoon?” she continues, as her eyes dart back and forth between mine.

  “Noah is helping Emily move into her dorm and I felt like a cold beer and there are no colder beers than the beers at Mavericks” I reply cheekily. Maggie always quotes that same saying to all of the Mavericks patrons.

  “Talking about beers, would you mind giving me a hand to get a couple of cartons from the cold room?” she questions quickly.