March Heat

by Chase Jackson

  Somehow deep in my belly I knew that I’d almost died. Or maybe I did, maybe they brought me back to life. And that was also my fault. I always was my own worst enemy.

  Leo gave me a loving look which I knew was going to be followed by serious talking to. He always took care of me, so it was his duty to be the one to let me have it. “What the hell were you thinking? Going off by yourself like that! To an underground fight! You knew what those chumps wanted to do to you. You had a death wish going there. And now you had your mother and Berkley and me worried. That’s on you.”

  The pain in my throat was too severe to speak again so I simply nodded and cast my eyes down, trying to relieve myself of some of his shame. He was completely right. All of this was on me.

  He put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

  I knew that he meant it too. “Corina, why don’t you and I take a little walk? Give him and Berkley a minute alone.”

  My mother kissed me on the forehead before she followed him out the door, looking over her shoulder at me as the tears welled up in her eyes. I’d hurt her so badly.

  Berkley sat down on the side of my bed with bags under her eyes from lack of sleep. I couldn’t believe she’d stayed after how I had treated her. She deserved so much better than this.

  “You scared the hell out of me. I came to that fight to stop you. Those guys wanted to kill you, to knock you out of the competition permanently. Did you know that?”

  I slowly shook my head, the room spinning as I did so.

  “Don’t ever do something so stupid again. I just don’t think my heart could take it.”

  She chewed on her lower lip, and even in the hospital bed it still turned me on. Berkley was everything I wanted, but nothing I deserved. Once I had my strength back, I would explain that to her and let her make her choice. I wouldn’t make it for her, not this time.

  FOURTEEN

  BERKLEY

  “Wake up!”

  “Why? I asked groggily.

  “Girl, you made me promise not to let you sleep all day. You’re going to miss your two PM class. How much longer are you going to keep this up? Dillon’s going to be in the hospital another three or four days. And you’ve been dragging your ass for a week. I don’t know how you’re keeping up with your class schedule and spending most of your nights at the hospital.”

  I rubbed my eyes, trying to control the burn from lack of sleep. Naomi was right. I hadn’t been sleeping much. Dillon’s mother was at the hospital anytime she could be, but when she was working her shifts as a waitress, I spent as much time there as I could. He had finally started to talk again and his face was healing up well. The doctors were impressed with his progress, and they felt that they would send them home by the end of the week. I knew it was killing him to just lie in a hospital bed, but I was hoping that every second he had to lie there made him think about making poor choices again. But there was something blossoming between us at the hospital, the way his fingers intertwined with mine and how he seemed so peaceful when I was there. Somehow I knew that deep down he was thankful I’d been there that night, and he knew that we were even now. A debt for debt.

  “I know I said that, but I need to sleep sometime.”

  She shook her head, “Yes, but you need to sleep at night so you don’t miss your classes. I know you’re like totally hung up on him, but you barely know him. He’s obviously dangerous, doing some illegal fight. You have to watch yourself, before you get too involved.”

  I was already involved. That was a big part of my problem.

  “I promise that I will take care of myself. I just have to take care of him for a little bit longer too. He gets out this week. Then things will go back to normal.” I was excited to see his apartment. I had a feeling it would be was ridiculously clean and probably didn’t have a lot in it, since he spent so much time at the gym. But I was hoping I would find a couple small pieces of him there, something that would give me more information than he did. Dillon was still mostly a mystery to me, regardless of how much time I spent up a hospital talking to him.

  “Fine,” she muttered before walking out of our bedroom and going to her own class. I pulled myself up into a sitting position—thank God for multiple pillows—and looked down to check my phone. My dad had called me again, second time this week. That was unlike him, and I had a few minutes before class, so I thought I could talk to them on the way there. I grabbed my bag and shoved my laptop inside before pressing the call back button and walking out of my room.

  “Hi Daddy. How are you?” I could almost feel his smile from the other end of the line.

  “Berkley! I’m wonderful, darling, how are you? Your mother’s been worried about you. You didn’t call us back earlier this week. Is everything okay?”

  Did I tell him that I potentially had a new boyfriend who was a well-known MMA fighter? Probably not. “I’m fine. Just trying to get back into the swing of things with classes. It’s only the second week, you know. And I really have to focus this semester, get my career back on track.”

  “And what career is that?” He sounded concerned. He had every right to be; I still hadn’t made any final decisions about my future. I’d been so wrapped up in Dillon that I hadn’t even opened my résumé yet. That wasn’t doing me any good. “I’m taking an accounting class right now, I like that a lot. Maybe I’ll try to get a job in a firm.”

  “A firm is a solid choice. But don’t you think you’re wasting your talents a little bit? What about law school?”

  Law school. I hadn’t even thought about it since freshman year. I certainly didn’t have the course load to prepare myself for that. “Daddy, I don’t want to be a politician. That was Jake’s dream. I was just going along for the ride.”

  “But what is your dream? Berkley, you really need to decide what you want to do with your life. You’re running out of time to make hard decisions. And as much as your mother and I would love to have you come home, I don’t think that’s what you want.”

  “I don’t know, I wouldn’t mind living with you guys are just a little bit longer. I mean if you would have me.” Rent free of course, because without a job I couldn’t afford anything. My little brother would hate if I came back home though. Totally ruin his run of the household vibe. “How is Logan, anyway?” Last time I’d heard he was getting into some serious trouble at school and with girls.

  “Are you trying to change the subject?”

  “Yep.”

  He laughed, “Well your brother is always a good subject to talk about. He’s going to play lacrosse in the spring; hopefully that will give him something to do. He needs to put his energies toward something positive.”

  I was guessing that my father didn’t find my brother’s drinking a positive avenue for all of his excess energy. “Is he still going out with that girl? You know the girlfriend that he was planning on taking to prom?”

  “No, she broke up with him at a basketball game. I guess it was some sort of big scandal. Turns out your brother likes to kiss other girls while he has a girlfriend. Now I doubt he’ll have any date to prom.”

  “Serves him right. You and Mom certainly taught him better than that. I bet she was livid.”

  He laughed again. “Your mother grounded him for three weeks. Including taking the phone. She gave in on the phone though after only a week, because she got sick of him hanging around us all the time. But she monitored him closely. The woman makes an impression, you got to give her that.”

  I smiled to myself. I was lucky to have parents still involved in my life. Just like Dillon’s mother was, but in only slightly different ways. My parents had raised me with morals and the will to work hard. Dillon’s mother had obviously tried to do the same.

  I sighed. I needed to bite the bullet and just tell him. “On the girlfriend note, I’m seeing someone. I don’t need you to freak out, but he’s not my typical type of guy. I mean, he’s definitely not Jake.”

  “Well that’s a relief.
I wouldn’t want you seeing someone like him again. The way he treated you, Berkley…”

  “I don’t want to talk about him. But anyway, when you tell Mom I called, I want you to tell her that I’m seeing someone and I don’t know if anything’s going to come of it, but I like him. He makes me feel… alive.”

  My father didn’t say anything for a minute and then finally cleared his throat and said, “Whatever makes you happy.”

  “He does Daddy, I promise.” I arrived to class so I cut our conversation short. “I gotta go. I’m at class, don’t want to miss the beginning of the lecture. I’ll call Mom later this week, I promise. I love you.”

  “Love you too, baby.”

  FIFTEEN

  BERKLEY

  It was another few days before Dillon came home. I’d wanted to be at the hospital as much as possible, but I had so much schoolwork to catch up on. Luckily Dillon’s mother had gotten my phone number and had been sending text updates. I ran to his apartment right after class as soon as he was home. When I got there she was just settling him into bed, with Leo at her side.

  “Now remember, you are on bed rest for another two weeks. And I’ll take you to your doctor’s appointment at the end of the week to make sure all your incisions are healing properly. Do not do anything dumb, Dillon,” she said sternly. For such a small woman she certainly put the fear of God into her son.

  “Of course, Mama. And again, thank you for all of your help.”

  She smiled at him dearly, “All of your medicines are on your bedside table, and I’ve already poured a glass of water for you. When you get hungry, you call me. I’ll bring you some soup later. But for now you need to rest.”

  I waited by the door as I looked around at the very small studio apartment and saw mostly what I expected: bare walls, and just one picture of him, Leo and his mom.

  His bed was along one wall with a recliner sitting next to it and a small table between them. His TV was on the other wall right next to a small kitchenette that had a washer and dryer attached. The bathroom was on the right side of the wall near the hallway. It wasn’t much, but it was his.

  Leo sat down in the recliner and started clicking through television channels, and Dillon noticed my presence. “You’re here.”

  I gave him an encouraging smile. “So are you.”

  “Finally.”

  “Yeah, it took you long enough. You know, I’ve wanted to see your apartment for a few weeks now. It would’ve been nice if you could’ve shown me around, instead of being so lazy.”

  He smiled at my joke but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. His mother gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I have to go to work. Leo will be with you today, and I’ll be back later with dinner. You three behave.”

  I nodded to her, “Yes ma’am. I promise I’ll keep an eye on these rascals.”

  She smiled at me and squeezed my arm as she walked past, closing the door behind her. There wasn’t really anywhere else to sit but Dillon scooted over in his bed just enough that I could perch myself on the edge. He started whispering to me almost as soon as I sat down. “I feel like I’m in high school again.” He turned his eyes towards Leo. “I haven’t had a chaperone on a date in a long time.”

  “Is that what this is? A date? I mean, usually I don’t get into some guy’s bed for quite a while. I’m a classy lady after all.”

  He moved his hand over to my thigh and squeezed it. “I remember. Don’t you worry, it’s one of the things I’ve been thinking about an awful lot. One of the reasons I need to get better so quickly.”

  Leo looked over at both of us. “I might be old, but I can hear. You two are disgusting. But if you feel well enough to talk to a girl like that, then you don’t need a babysitter. I’m going down to the gym to check on things. I’ll be back in an hour.” He stood up and walked around the bed towards the door. He stopped with his hand on the handle. “And don’t you dare tell your mother. That woman might be small, but she scares the hell out of me.”

  We both laughed as Dillon agreed, “We won’t, I promise. I’m not trying to get in trouble with her either. She’s mad enough.”

  “You’re damn right she is. We all are, even Berkley, although she won’t tell you.” He sighed before opening the door. “We just care about you son, nobody wants you to get hurt like that again.”

  I saw worry etch around Dillon’s eyes. “I won’t Leo, I promise.”

  Leo simply nodded and walked out, shutting the door softly behind him.

  As much as I knew that I shouldn’t, I believed him. I could tell in the short time that I had been around his mother that Dillon really respected her. He cared about her so much. He knew that by getting hurt he’d practically broken her heart, and I didn’t think he would do that again.

  He patted the empty space next to him. “Lay with me.”

  I lay down next to him and as he put his arm around me, I snuggled into the soft space between his shoulder and jawbone. I didn’t want to hurt him, so I tried to be as gentle as possible, but he just pulled me closer. He took in a deep breath and I felt him wince underneath me. “I can move.”

  “But that would defeat the purpose.”

  “The purpose of what?”

  “Of you being close to me. I don’t want you to move. I want you next to me.”

  I sucked in a deep breath. “Okay.”

  He turned looking at me with sad eyes. “You saved my life, Berkley. You got into a cage when everybody fled. That was bad ass. So I figure as long as you’re next me, I’ll be okay.”

  I tried to contain my smile. “I think I can do that.” I paused for a moment, but the silence felt awkward to me. “I like your mom, and Leo. Your family’s nice. They really love you.”

  “Yeah, I’m lucky. My dad split when I was just a baby, and Leo’s always been there for me. I know how hurt he is that I did this fight. But I’m going to figure out a way to make it up to him. To all of you.”

  I set my lips into a thin line. “I just don’t understand why you did it. You didn’t have to.”

  He let his fingertips gently graze my temple before speaking. “I know that now. But sometimes I just get these urges, this need to prove myself. It’s more to prove myself to me, if that makes sense. It has nothing to do with anyone else. I told you that I was dangerous.”

  I turned to look at him, his fierce blue eyes shining in the fading sunlight of his apartment window. “No, you told me that you are dangerous for me, but you’re not. The only person that was in any danger was you. You have a freaking death wish.”

  He laughed again but stopped short, flinching under the pain.

  “You should take some of these pain meds. You need them. And the anti-inflammatory; you heard what the doctor said—if you swell up again you’re going to have to go back to the hospital.”

  He nodded slowly closing his eyes. “Yeah, give me the anti-inflammatory and I’ll take three of the Oxy.”

  “Three?” Clearly he didn’t know what he was saying. The pain must have been worse than he was admitting. The prescription had been very explicit: one every twelve hours. If he took three, he would be lucky if he didn’t fall into a coma. “I think you’re only supposed to take one.” I sat up and started to unscrew the cap off the pills when he started arguing with me.

  “Three is the only way it will do anything. Trust me; I’ve been on enough of those.”

  I looked at him, confused. “You mean when you hurt your shoulder? That was a long time ago. These are probably much more serious medications. You’re not taking three.”

  “I thought we agreed that you weren’t going to try to control me anymore.”

  “I’m not trying to control you. I’m looking out for your health. I didn’t just get you out of the hospital for you to go back.”

  I looked at the bottle to be sure that I was right. And that’s exactly what it said. One pill every twelve hours, but then I noticed something. The doctor on the bottle for this Oxycodone was not the same doctor on the anti-infla
mmatory pills. And the date was all wrong; this had been filled three months ago. “Dillon are you still on pain medication from your shoulder?”

  He put his hand over his eyes. “I really don’t want to get into this right now with you.”

  “What the hell does that mean? Are you still taking these medications or not?”

  He sighed and looked at me with an anger in his eyes I had only seen one other time. When he had kicked me out of the locker room and we’d ended things the first time. “Sometimes I use them to take the edge off. My shoulder still hurts, especially when the weather is bad or if I’ve had a fight two days in a row. It’s no big deal.”

  I set the bottle down on the table carefully. “It is a big deal, isn’t it?”

  He clenched his jaw and I saw the muscles in his face tighten.

  “Isn’t it? Answer me! Are you addicted to these?”

  He shut his eyes like I’d hit him in the face, his pained expression reaching all the way down to his mouth. “I think you should go.”

  “What?”

  “I don’t like to repeat myself. Just go.”

  SIXTEEN

  DILLON

  I had told her. I had warned her that I was volatile. That I was dangerous. But she wouldn’t listen to me. And now she found out about my dirty little secret. The thing that I’d been hiding in my locker and in my gym bag for two years. I took Oxy to feel alive. And she was right, I was completely addicted.

  I popped pills before every fight, and I popped pills after most fights too. Sometimes I took them in the morning just to take the edge off. Other times I would swallow them down with a nice cold beer after a win. I liked the way that they made me feel. Like my injury couldn’t beat me, like no one could. But suddenly, watching her look at me like I was some type of monster was killing me inside. All I wanted to do was snatch the bottle out of her hands and throw some down the back of my throat, but I couldn’t do that with her here.