“I don’t know if I’m the person to help you, Train. I mean I’m studying to be a nurse, yes. But this isn’t my field of expertise.” We stared at each other for a second before I said to him, “What’s he doing that has you concerned?”
“It’s his temper really. I mean you remember he had a temper, but he never would lose control. Now, man, there is so much that sets him off. And when he gets pissed, he’s like a tornado. You have no idea what mood he’s in on a regular basis. He can go from zero to fucking one hundred in a millisecond. But I’m around him all the time. So for the life of me, I don’t know when he is finding time to do anything.”
“Well, have you talked to him? Asked him about everything?”
“Yeah, I’ve tried to. But he just blows me off. Man, Max, if it was easy to talk to the son-of-a-bitch, I wouldn’t be here.”
“Then, I guess I can’t help you.”
I stood, and then Train stood too.
“Okay, look. I’m sorry. I’m just so frustrated. I’m at my wit’s end. I think he’s going to mess-up his chances in this business, and that’s going to be the death of him. How do I bring up the topic without making him pissed off?”
I looked in his eyes and thought about that very question. I honestly don’t think it’s possible. Then an idea came to me.
I said, “Why don’t you and someone sit down with him and talk to him. I’m sure there is someone in your camp that you can trust.”
Train laughed. “If you believe Trip trusts or would listen to anyone from his team, you really don’t know him. In that case, you’re right; I shouldn’t be here.”
Train headed for the door, and I sighed. I know what I’m about to suggest will come back to haunt me. Hell, I shouldn’t even care one way or another. But the look in Train’s eyes made me stop him.
“Train, you don’t have to go. Okay? I’m sure we can think of something.”
Train smiled at me and sat back down. I took a deep breath and asked Train if he wanted something to drink. He told me, “Water.” When I came back to sit down next to him, we hashed out an idea. At first, I was a little hesitant about it, but Train was adamant in his belief that it would work.
My thoughts moved to the last conversation I had with Mason: “He’s a ticking time bomb waiting to go off.” I knew in my heart he was right, but in about fifteen minutes I was about to find out first-hand.
Train thought it would be a good idea if he and I tag-teamed and talked to him. At first, I said no. I didn’t want to be in the same room as Trip, but Train promised me he would be in the room at all times. I knew if there was anyone that could control Trip, it was his brother. So we made a date to get together and talk. But when Trip just called, Train wanted to do it right now. I shrugged my shoulders and told him ‘fine.’
The moment Train hung up his cell telling me Trip was on his way, I felt that bad vibe you get when you’re about to do something you know you shouldn’t. This wasn’t right. I felt it, but I ignored it, thinking it was just nerves.
My bell went off, and I went to push the button to let Trip inside. When he got to my door, we gave each other a hesitant hug. He wore a white t-shirt and jeans, with a pair of Timberland boots. That was a wardrobe that I always loved to see him in. When he smiled at me, it was hesitant as well and a little shy. That eased my tension tremendously. It was as if the old Trip was back. Once we all sat down, I looked at Trip.
“How are you?” I asked him.
He nodded. “Good, I guess. I have a lot going on right now, but I think everything is going okay. Why? You don’t think so?”
Trip looked between me and his brother.
Train cleared his throat, “Look, bro, Max and I wanted to talk to you a little bit about what’s been going on with you lately. I know—or rather, we both know—you are under a lot of pressure trying to go pro and everything. But we’ve noticed some changes in your moods.”
Trip frowned and sat back in the chair he was sitting in.
He said, “What do you mean by moods?”
Train, copping out as I knew he would, looked over at me. I rolled my eyes at him and then said bluntly, “You’ve been reacting to a lot of situations that you normally would let roll off you. Now you get extremely angry. We just wanted to talk to you to maybe figure out what’s going on and try and work through it. Like if you feel stressed out, what are some of the things we can do to alleviate some of the stress? Stuff like that.”
Trip looked at me and then at his brother.
Frowning, he said, “I see. So you two came together like an intervention or something? You think I’m using or something?”
I shook my head.
“No, of course not, but come on, Trip. I know you have a temper, but you’ve let a lot more things bother you than you normally would.”
“How would you know? You broke up with me, remember? You’re never around. So maybe you’re the reason why I’m ‘stressing,’ as you call it. Maybe if you come back, then I wouldn’t be so stressed.”
I was afraid of this, and I looked to Train for help. But he just sat there looking at me, like he was just a spectator.
I took a deep breath then said, “Trip, let’s be honest. You’ve been acting different even before we broke up. Why do you think we broke up in the first place, besides you cheating on me?”
“Well, I wouldn’t have been cheating if you weren’t acting different towards me. Don’t just blame our breakup on me, Max. You’ve had a big part in it.”
“Me?!” I exclaimed. “How is that? Did I push that one girl’s mouth on your dick and the other one in your arms?”
Trip leaned forward to get closer to me. “You might as well have.”
I scoffed, “Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me. You damn well know I was nothing but supportive to you in everything you did. I didn’t do anything to make you cheat on me.”
Trip stood. “You think I’m stupid, don’t you?”
I stood. “It’s time for you two to leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere. You wanted to have this little intervention, so let’s have it. You claim you were there for me, being all supportive. Well, that’s kind of hard to believe when you’re flirting with every fighter in the gym.”
“Oh, you’re out of you mind. I didn’t flirt with anyone,” I replied, but he just continued as if I never said a word.
“You think I didn’t notice the way you looked at the other fighters? Or how they looked at you? No man is going to look at a woman as hard as they looked at you if nothing was going on. I trusted you, Maxine. And you were going behind my back. Were you helping them during the fights? Were you betting against me?”
I made a face and was about to say something, but the look in his eyes caused me to stop. His normally blue eyes were manic and dark. I started to worry, and I looked over at Train for help.
“Bro, come on. Max would never.” Train started, but Trip turned on him.
“Are you fucking her too? Is that why you’re here? Are you two teaming up against me?”
“Fuck, bro. Are you serious?”
Train jumped to his feet. Yeah, this was a huge mistake. Trip turned to face me, pointing his finger at me.
“Who else did you fuck behind my back? Is it that Reap fucker? Have you two been laughing behind my back? You know I’m going to fucking kill him in that cage right in front of you. I’m going to rip his fucking head off.”
I put my hands up and looked at Train.
“Train, get your brother and get out of my apartment. I knew this was a bad idea.” I looked at Trip. “You really need some help; you’re out of your mind.”
Train went to his brother. “Come on, bro. Man, let’s go.”
“You think this is over, Max? It’s far from it,” Trip spit out.
“Get out before I call the cops,” I told them both.
Then I went to the kitchen to get my phone. I heard the door open and close, and I took a deep breath. My heart was going a mile a minute, wond
ering what the hell just happened. I shook my head. I didn’t want to be alone with Trip, knowing the state he was in.
I walked back out of my kitchen and was met with the most frightening sight of my life. Trip was standing in front of me, with this murderous look etched on his face. I started to say something, but it was at that moment that I felt the worst blow hit me on the side of my face. I saw darkness and then stars. I wanted to scream. I tried to I think, but the next blow to my ribs knocked the wind right out of me. ‘Oh God, no!!!!!’
I shivered and tried to fight back the bile that was starting to climb in my throat. God, I felt awful and more scared than I have ever been. Could he really see the bruise on my face? I removed the scarf and looked at the makeup on my neck. Could he see that too? I shivered.
I can’t believe I was stupid enough to let what happened to me go down. I feel so stupid for trusting him. I should have known where his loyalty was. I should have listened to that inner voice telling me being around Trip was a bad idea, no matter who was with me. I mean, what happened to Train? Did he just leave me? I shook my head, knowing it really didn’t matter where Train was. It was clear that Trip could never be stopped.
I wasn’t sure how long I’d been in here, but I needed to get out there before things got worse. I wasn’t sure if Trip would do what he said he would, and I was fearful for Mason. I heard the crowd screaming and cheering, which told me the fight probably had already started. I walked quickly toward the main gym. When my eyes fell on the spectacle in the center of the cage, my mouth dropped. Mason was on top of Travis, pounding his face. Travis desperately tried to cover up. What the hell?
Mason did the oddest thing. He got up and gave Travis a minute to get to his feet. What was he doing?
Travis charged at Mason, throwing punches that were connecting and even managed to split the top of Mason’s eye. I cringed at the blow, but it didn’t faze Mason at all. It seemed he was in a haze of some sort as he took Travis’ punches as if they were nothing. Now I could tell Travis’ punches were deadly. Hell, I kind of knew firsthand how hard his hits were. But to Mason, it looked like nothing. The couple of hits that landed on Mason’s head only caused his head to tilt on impact.
However, when Mason threw his punches, Travis practically fell over. I walked toward the side of the ring until I came into Travis and Mason’s line of sight. Travis saw me and smiled. It seemed as if seeing me gave him energy. He charged Mason and did a move, rendering Mason on the mat. Alex was yelling at him and, hell, so was Lou. I knew Travis was the king on the floor. He could put you in a hold so tight you would either find yourself passed out or you would tap out.
This fight was over. I could see it. Travis gripped his hands tight together, and I saw Mason’s face grow red. Shit!
Travis then looked at me and whispered something in Mason’s ear. Mason then looked over at me, and I couldn’t meet his gaze. It hurt too much. I simply stood there and watched as Mason was going lights out.
What I learned that moment was to never underestimate Mason ‘The Reaper’ West. Some way he managed to get out of a superb hold. It surprised everyone in the room, including Travis. Mason smiled at Travis and said something I couldn’t quite catch. Then he waited as Travis charged in anger.
Mason wasted no time. He threw a few punches and directed a series of kicks at Travis’ midsection. I could see it was already red, so I knew he was in enormous pain. Mason didn’t care; he was not about to let up. He was relentless. Just before the round was over, Mason stepped up on the side of the cage for momentum and drove his fist to the side of Travis’ face. The hit was so hard that his head snapped back. I watched in horror and awe as Travis fell back against the cage and then hit the mat face-first.
Mason stepped back and waited as the ref counted. His chest heaved up and down, as the ref got to ten and ended the fight. The crowd went bananas. They chanted Reap’s name loudly, as the referee announced Mason as the winner of the fight. Train and two of Trip’s boys entered the cage, as well as his trainer. They gave him some smelling salts to revive him. Once they did, Travis jumped up and was still ready to fight.
I heard him yelling, “You think this is over motherfucker?”
Train was holding him back, but it looked like he was holding him up instead. Mason didn’t seem to care. He took off his gloves, pushed Train out of the way, and walked right up to Travis’ face.
I got close enough to hear Mason say, “Anytime you want to dance, you just let me know. I’ll be there to beat the fuck out of you again, and there won’t be a cage or a referee to protect you.”
He then got closer to Trip, and I could have sworn I saw Trip back away slightly.
Mace said, “If you ever put your hands on her again, I swear in front of everyone in this fucking room, I will kill you slowly and painfully and then revive you only to do the fucking shit again. I will make you regret fucking living every day of your miserable fucking life. Please, test me.”
My hands went involuntarily to my neck, as Mason backed away from Trip. He never lost eye contact until he got to the side of the cage and sat, so Lou could fix the cut above his eye. I then saw Alex lean into Trip’s group.
“You fucking pussies, watch your backs.”
Trip then looked over at me as he was helped out of the cage with his brother. Mason looked over at me, too. It was at that very moment that I wanted nothing more than to feel his arms around me. I heard someone else calling Mason’s name, talking shit, and I turned to see “The Butcher” approaching. I moved next to Alex as The Butcher headed toward the cage.
“Yeah, you try that shit on me, motherfucker.”
He pointed at Mason. Mason watched as his next opponent approached the cage with the air of annoyance and impatience. He looked over at me, and I really tried to sit down slowly to make sure I didn’t show how much pain I was in. But by the look that crossed Mason’s face, I knew I failed to do that. I wanted to cry; it hurt so much. I felt the tears in my eyes, and I wanted to let them go, but I didn’t. I wanted him to focus on this fight. Then we can have our own fight that I knew was coming.
Mason glanced back at the fighter opposite him with, what it seemed to me, a mild calm.
“Hey, baby girl. Are you okay?”
I turned to see Alex looking at me with a caring expression that, for some odd reason, didn’t match what I saw in his dark brown eyes. I’ve been breathing shallowly this whole time, trying to breathe through the pain of my bruised ribs. I simply nodded and gave him a weak smile.
We both turned our attention to the fight in front of us. The Butcher came out with fists flying, and Mason just protected himself.
Alex started yelling, “Don’t play with this clown. Your girl needs you Reap. Put this fucker to sleep, so you can take her home.”
I stared at him with my mouth agape. I couldn’t believe Alex just called me “his girl.” What was even crazier is that Mason listened. I watched Mason dip to the left and come up with an uppercut to his opponent’s jaw. The man back-peddled slightly, and that’s when Mason went to work. He came with a barrage of punches to the face and the abdomen. Then he did a one-eighty turn in the air and kicked the man square in the jaw. The Butcher flew in the cage. Then, as the man righted himself against the cage, Mason met him with a knee to the face. The Butcher went down with a thud, and the crowd erupted.
Mason stood back as the ref counted. As the ref got to ten, he raised Mason’s arm. That ignited the crowd again. Out of the years I’ve been a part of this sport, I’ve never seen a fighter like Mason. And I’ve never felt the way I feel right now for any man ever.
I stood slowly as Mason pulled off his gloves, exited the cage, and came toward me. He wrapped my hand around his and walked slowly with me, as he headed to the locker room. When we got to the room, he guided me to a chair. He watched as I sat down, trying not to wince.
I watched as he let Lou cut his tape off and tell him how well he did. Lou told him how proud he was of him, and Mason nodded his
thanks. Lou told him to hit the showers.
Then he looked over at me and said simply, “I’ll be five minutes. Then we can go.”
He didn’t wait for me to respond. He just walked in the showers. I saw Train walk into the room, and I tensed up. Train looked over at me and looked like he wanted to say something to me, but Alex and Lou were there.
“You best keep walking,” Alex told him.
“Look, I just want to say to her…,” Train began, but Alex held his hand up to stop him.
“Man, I don’t know the full story about what happened. But it’s clear your fucking brother put his hands on her. Now to be honest, you’re lucky Reap isn’t in here, or you’d be breathing out of a tube right now. There’s nothing you need to say to her that matters.”
Train looked at me, and I shook my head and turned from him. I didn’t see him, but I heard him leave. Mason came out right after with just a towel. He pulled out his sweat pants and sweatshirt, and packed the rest of his stuff in his bag.
He looked over at Lou and said, as he quickly got dressed, “I need a few days.”
“Take what you need,” Lou told him.
Then Lou kissed my cheek and walked out.
“You ready?” Alex asked Mason.
Mason nodded and reached for my hand. I gave it to him, and he pulled me to my feet slowly. I couldn’t look him in his eyes for fear that I would come undone. The walk to his car was uneventful. He got congratulations from anyone that was still around the gym. He nodded his thanks and fist-pumped a few, but he never said any words.
He didn’t say much in the car either as he drove us to his place. He helped me out, since it was painful as hell to bend to get in the car to begin with. I guess pure adrenaline numbed me when I was dropped off. He watched me intently, and I still couldn’t hold his gaze. When we finally got in his apartment, he guided me to his room.
“Let me draw you a bath so you can relax, okay?” he said simply and went in the bathroom.
Ruined: Loving An Alpha Male: BWWM Romance Page 14