Lucy Lahey trusted the man she was dating, and it turned out to be her biggest mistake. Reeling in the aftermath of a rape that stole not only her virginity, but her confidence, her love for MMA, her clarity and more, Lucy now finds herself in Jerse...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"I feel like this is a super bad idea and it will get us both into trouble."
I stare at dad, standing in the living room while I remain wrapped on the sofa and refuse to go back to a school where the only two people I'd sort of become friends with, hate me.
"Lots of people don't finish school," I say.
"Mom won't go for it," he paces in his suit and tie, he has meetings this morning. "She wants you to graduate. Sort of have to finish senior to do that."
"It's a waste of time," I say.
"How is it a waste of time? You want to go to college, right?"
"I dunno."
He stops and exhales a deep breath. "Well, what do you want to do?"
"I dunno."
"You can't take risks like that. Once upon a time, you wanted to go into professional fighting. We still wanted you to go to college but at least if that didn't happen, you had a plan. You don't have that now. You can't just ride along on 'I dunno.'"
"I'll do what you do," I say, sitting up, pleased with the impulsive idea. "I'll do real estate stuff. I'll come to the firm and learn the ropes. Take over the business one day."
"That's all well and good in theory but if you're going to build a career out of something and take over an entire business, you have to have a passion for it, Luce. It can't be something you do just for the sake of having a job."
"Actually, dad, people in the real world have jobs they don't love all the time. It's called, surviving."
"There's a difference between a job and a career."
I slouch back into the sofa with an exasperated huff. It's quiet for a while, both of us mull over what to do next. Or at least, I'm mulling over what to do next. School is not it. My last resort would be to suggest a new school but I'm saving that card for absolute desperation.
I've never been overly enthusiastic for academics; school was just one of those mundane but compulsory parts of life I felt I had to grin and bear through. But with some thought, I've realised I don't need it.
"What about this," dad stands in front of the sofa. "You can leave school— I'll talk to mom and all that— but you can leave as long as you start fighting again."
"What?"
"Start fighting again. Create a career out of it and you can leave school."
"You're going to bargain with that?" I snap. "It's— I can't—"
"At least give it a go," he sits next to me. "Go to a gym, get in the ring, see how it goes. You used to love fighting, Luce."
"It's useless," I say, staring at my fingers in my lap while I pick at them. "What good is it if I can't even protect myself. Or if I don't ever win because whenever I'm in the ring I can hear his voice taunting me and telling me I can't fight back. It's not like I wanted to give it up, but it's gone, the relationship I had with fighting is gone."
