Peace in a Storm

26 - Max

Me: Hey, we're leaving the hospital now. Do you still want to hang out later?

Audrey: Sure.

Audrey: Can we just cuddle and watch movies, though? I'm not feeling super great.

Me: What's wrong?

Me: Are you okay?

Audrey: We'll talk about it later.

"Who are you texting?" Cristian asked, glancing at me from the driver's seat.

When I came downstairs around one o' clock, still wincing and grimacing from the pain in my muscles, Cristian took one look at me and told me he was taking me to the hospital. I tried to decline, but he wasn't hearing my bullshit. He grabbed me by the back of my neck and dragged me into the car. Luckily, our mother was still working her shift. She was able to take a quick look at me and redress the wounds on my face.

"These matches are getting more brutal, mi hijo," she spoke quietly in Spanish. "I don't like it."

"I'll be eighteen next week, mama - they're only going to get worse since I'll be a legal adult."

A deep frown appeared on her lips. "Maybe you can find a different sport. I know you and father bonded over mixed martial arts, but -"

"It's not about him," I assured her. "I like MMA; it's a good outlet for me."

"But look at what it's doing to your body," she said, motioning over the array of bruises on my body. "I don't want you to get a serious injury."

"You know Tony wouldn't let that happen."

"Tony told me the two of you have been talking about larger tournaments and matches outside of the neighborhood gyms. Those referees and organizations have their own agendas. Tony won't be able to protect you then."

I opened my mouth, ready to tell her that I was more likely to get seriously hurt in one of my fights on the street than in the octagon. Within the cage, my opponents were required to fight by the rules. On the streets, there was no referee holding anyone accountable for fighting dirty. But, I didn't want to deepen her concerns. Cristian hadn't told her about my fights with Tommy and Carter - or my recent interactions with my father. If she knew, I doubted she'd even let me out of the damn house. At that moment, I just needed to nod my head and promise her I'd be fine as far as my organized fighting went.

I glanced at Cristian as he repeated his question, this time looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Calm down; it's not dad," I replied.

"Has he texted you at all?"

"No." I leaned my head against the window. "I haven't seen him since Tommy and Carter's punk asses jumped me."

"Good," Cristian muttered. "Have those boys bothered you since then?"

"No. I should catch my fair ones, but they're not worth the energy."

A smile tugged at my brother's lips. "Well, look at that: you're letting things go."

"Yeah, don't go telling the whole world. I've got some dudes still scared I'm gonna punch them into the next week"

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. What do you want for your birthday?"

"For you to get off my case for a whole twenty-four hours."

"Not happening. Try something else."

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't really want anything."

"Well, I was thinking about buying you one of those Jeeps you've been eyeing over at Deemer's dealership. Benny told me you've been saving up all these years for one. I figured maybe you could keep adding to that pile until there's something bigger that you want."