The next morning Maxine woke up to Turbo licking her face. Her eyes went wide as she felt his soppiness all over her cheek. "Turbo, bad dog." He gave her one last good lick and she giggled.
Her head was throbbing and she felt groggy as she made way into her room. She groaned looking at the clock that barely read four in the morning. Nick wouldn't be up for another hour or so. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail, washed her face and changed into her workout clothes.
"We will run now...come on boy" She spoke to the dog and they both waked out of the house and started jogging as soon as they hit the sand. The morning was frosty as the ocean mist hit her face. The cool breeze made her shiver a bit, but she knew that once she hit the bathrooms by the hotel her body would be warm from the run.
This morning she found herself fighting an internal battle with herself about going to see her mother or not. It made her feel guilty to even be debating such a thing. Her mother had always been there for her. She was her support and the person that she looked up to. Her mother was supposed to come first whether she was dead or alive. Her mother was still somehow breathing and there was a bit of hope that she could come out of her coma.
She felt her calves' burn as her heels hit the sand and she sped up her pace along the beach. Turbo didn't miss a beat and was right by her side. After a few minutes she came to a stop trying to catch her breath by the restrooms. She pulled out the dog's leash and snapped it on him. He snarled and let out a bark and Maxine turned around to find out what was aggravating him. When she turned around she bumped into Derek.
"Crap! You scared me." Maxine yelped taking a few steps back. It surprised her to hear Turbo growling.
Derek glared at the dog and then smiled at her. "Sorry. I was just on my way to the hotel. I saw you and thought I'd say hi."
"Oh. I guess...you will be there later...tonight then?" Her breathing was going back to normal.
"Definitely we are closing together."
"Cool. So I will see you around six. I gotta go...Nick is waiting for me. We start our actual training today. Bye." She gave him a quick wave and started to run back towards the house.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Damn, I haven't seen you in a while. Come in bro."
Nick opened the door wider and in entered a well built bald guy that was covered in tattoos. He was sporting a tight 'Fight Me' shirt and a pair of black windbreakers. He smacked Nick on the back playfully and headed out to the deck.
"No shit, Carter. What have you been keeping yourself busy with that you don't have time to come and get fucked up with us anymore?" The big guy started to punch the rubber man.
Nick shrugged. "Got a girl living here with me. She's got me training her and she's one of my close friend's daughter."
"Is she hot like Bonnie and Amanda? Hey where are those two cock suckers. I'm surprised their not here sucking you off now."
"Shut the fuck up!" Nick grinned knowing his friend had a point. The women had been kicked out by the power of...none other than Max.
"What, it's true. You have the power to get any bitch you want...don't be ashamed. It comes with the territory. Although, you're looking a little scrawny." He punched Nick in the side.
The twosome turned to look when they heard the gate slam shut. Maxine was removing her earphones and relieving Turbo of the leash. When she looked up her eyes went wide and she smiled big.
"Holy crap! Marco Sanchez?!?"
Marco looked at Nick confused and Nick just shrugged. "Do I know you?" Marco grinned.
Maxine understood his insinuation and rolled her eyes at him. "Definitely not! I know you from TV...UFC. My uncle would flip if he was here. You were his favorite."
"I'm not anymore?"
She sighed and met the two men by the door. "He passed."
"Sorry about that! You must be the reason this dickhead being good?" He stretched out his arm and took Maxine's hand and gave it a squeeze.
"I'm trying. I'm Max!"
Nick cleared his throat, "Marco is going to help me with the training today...so I know what to do next time. I usually have a trainer of my own."
"Fine. Just let me put these away." She turned around and walked away from the two men that she knew were staring at her backside.
"Fuck...little one has a big ass."
"You don't change, dude. You're still a fucking pervert." Nick shook his head.
Marco laughed and socked Nick on the shoulder. "Someone has already called dibs on shorty."
"I have not!"
"It's ok...I know that stupid face you get one you got it bad for someone. I saw it when you were with Lauren. Where is that crazy bitch anyway?"
Nick shrugged. "I don't know. Probably somewhere better with my money."
After a long drive to Hollywood they parked the car and headed out to the gym. Maxine was mesmerized by the big banner that read 'Fight Me' welcoming new fighters to register, just outside the gym. Marco was gushing about how this place was his now and he was making his own group of fighters to join MMA soon.
"Max, if you train hard and show me you can do this without getting another black eye...I'll register you as one of my rookies on the spot! Nick here told me you have a fight in February."
"Yes, I do. That's the whole reason for bugging him about training me." She gave Nick a quick look.
Marco didn't waste time getting Nick started on warming up on weights. While he gave Maxine a quick tour and let her watch some girls roughing each other up in the ring. He was intrigued at how passionate she seemed to be about the sport. She was asking all kinds of questions and he was enjoying her company.
A while later they found Nick sweating it out as he worked on the shoulder press. He seemed a bit agitated.
"Everything good, Carter?" Marco asked.
"Just...fuckin great!" He faked a smile and Marco let out a laugh.
"Come on Kid. Someone is about to—"
"Turn green." Maxine finished Marco's sentence. "Has he always been this impossible?"
Marco paused for a bit and started to punch in some numbers on a really fancy treadmill. "He used to be motivated to be the best. He was on a winning high and then he met Lauren and fell head over heels for her. She wasn't bad...just changed him drastically and ended up breaking him. Little by little he started to lose interest and the energy to even fight. It was worse when she left...he showed up because he needed the money. It's a long story kid, but you got some kind of magic cause he seems to be coming around again."
"It's not easy. He's a complete jerk sometimes."
Marco laughed. "That's a good sign. It means you are getting to him...he cares." That made her smile and she happily got on the treadmill ready to embrace the day of training with Marco.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"That was amazing...tiring and inspiring all in one." Maxine shut the front door behind her. The guys had worked her till she couldn't anymore. She was ready to call it a night, but she realized it was only four o'clock.
"I'm gonna shower." Nick stated and made way up the stairs, Turbo on his heels.
Maxine trudged to her room, undressed and hopped into a warm bath to relax for a while. She closed her eyes and felt her body get loose with the warmth of the water. Her dream was so close to becoming true and she didn't have her mother to celebrate it with. Her stomach coiled when she realized that she'd forgotten to see her mother. How could she forget something like that? How?
Nick laughed as he prepared a healthy dinner for Maxine and himself. It consisted of salad of some sort and bottles of water. If she wanted to be a fighter, then she'd have to eat like one. The doorbell rang and Nick wondered who it could be, he could have sworn the front gate had closed.
He didn't expect to see Howie standing on his deck. Quickly he opened the door and greeted him with a smile, but Howie only frowned.
"What's going on, Howie. I thought you weren't coming till New Years Eve?"
Howie walked into the house and slouched against the wall. "The hospital called my house...Leigh found out about me helping Kristine...I got so pissed at her for being selfish and I blurted out that I had a daughter. Then all hell broke loose and she kicked me out."
"Oh fuck! You're welcome to stay here."
"I can't right now. I'm gonna stay in Kevin's guest house till Leigh comes around. It's enough with you letting Max stay here. All this isn't even her fault...the worse part is that I have to tell her tonight that her mom is dead. The doctor said they need to pull the plug...how do I say that to her."
"I don't think you should right now. D, she's all hyped up with the fighting and training."
"Training? That's what you two have been doing. I don't want her fighting..." Howie was angry.
They were interrupted by Maxine coming down the hall having a conversation with her dog. She was feeling much better and had found something similar to what Derek had said they could wear to work. She was dressed in a jean skirt and a white blouse.
"Howie?" She questioned approaching the twosome.
He greeted her with a half smile, but he couldn't hide all the emotions he was going through. "How are you?" She told him she was fine, but tired and heading to work. "Max..." Howie took a deep breath he didn't want to have another day go by without telling his daughter the truth. "Max...there is something I need to tell you."
"Howie...can't you just wait. Don't do it right now, man." Nick tried to plead softly.
Maxine knew something was wrong and her smile disappeared. She looked at Howie and then up at Nick. "What's going on? You're not trying to take me with you to Florida now right?" She wasn't ready to leave just yet. "What shouldn't he tell me right now, Nick?" Panic settled in. Her heart started to work overtime and she felt like the ground was moving.
"I...I...wish it was that. Max...your mom..."
"Oh...no..." Tears glistened in her eyes as she shook her head.
Howie felt a knot in his throat as he tried to finish saying what he needed to get out. He swallowed hard and licked his lips. "I'm sorry, Max. You're mom is not going to wake up...ever. I'm sorry I should have told you sooner, but I didn't want to break your heart, Max."
Her hands covered her mouth to muffle her sob. She felt her knees give out, but Nick was quick to catch her. "Max..." He whispered.
She looked up at him and pushed him away. "Did you know about this?" He looked down at the floor. "You knew and you didn't tell me! You watched me talk...to my DEAD mother and you didn't tell me!" Nick looked away.
"Max...I asked him not to say anything." Howie tried to explain.
"You too. I hate you both!" She ran out of the house and onto the beach until her legs couldn't go any further. She let herself fall to her knees instantly sinking into the sand. She felt exhausted and broken. That one thing she wanted more than being a fighter would never happen...she would never see her mother smile at her again.
Everything she was working for just seemed to be in vain.