Dante
It took every ounce of strength not to just stare at Sammy.
His words weren't what I expected.
I don't think he was what I expected.
I could feel that familiar sting. The sting that came right before your eyes started to well up with tears, but I pushed all that emotion down.
Sammy
I wasn't sure why Dante's words had stirred me so much. It wasn't that I took offense to what he'd said about his assumptions of New York... it was more or less about the mystery surrounding why he left Texas. I couldn't put my finger on it before, but I now realized that Dante was picking his words carefully.
I knew the dance all too well because I did the same with my past.
It wasn't my place to pry, but with every word that passed through Dante's lips, my opinion of him kept changing. He was an evolving mystery.
I decided to change the subject. It was difficult to think of what to change it to, because all my questions about him would inadvertently bring up his past. It looks like that was a road he wasn't ready to take with anyone, let alone me.
I asked him about his interests. What he liked to do in his spare time. For the most part, he answers were pretty vague. He spoke about liking to put things together. He liked building furniture and scale planes when he found the time to.
Deciding to give him a little break from my interrogation, I let him ask a few questions of his own.
He wanted to know how I got into fighting. I offered him a small smile when his eyes caught mine from up on the beams. "My past's a bit of a dark one." I spoke honestly. "I tried to get on the straight and narrow after a few fuck ups of my own, even did medical school... but I realized that that just wasn't who I am. This is who I am."
Dante gave me a nod. He was nearly done ripping up the last few pieces of wood concealing the hole. The casual short sleeved shirt he was wearing, was now drenched in sweat. I, myself, could already feel the heat from outside sleeping through the roof, and I couldn't begin to imagine how hot it must have been up there.
"It's a special thing, isn't it? To find something that's so you. Something you're truly passionate about." He replied finally. I couldn't tell if that statement was meant for my ears or not, but nevertheless, it made me pause.
"Have you eaten yet?" I asked him. "Did you want to take a break? Grayson should be finished warming up the guys downstairs by now and I think Kassie will be stopping by with lunch soon. Let's go cool off."
After Dante ripped the last piece down, he looked over at me. "That would be great, yeah." He nodded.
Even through the physical exhaustion, he was still able to quite gracefully lower himself. However, I noticed a breath of relief leave him once his feet settled on leveled ground. I'm sure being up that high was no small feat for anyone.
Dante allowed me to lead him back down to the gym. I could see the guys strapping up for parring, as Grayson rolled up the warm up mats.
Dante
"Hello hello." Grayson nodded to Sammy and I as we entered the main gym area. He was back in his gym attire, but he looked a lot less sweaty this time... unlike all the other guys who were getting in the ring.
"Sup. Veterans show up yet?" Sammy asked him.
"All but Travis and Dustin. You'll have to put an APB out on those two if you're trying to locate them on a Saturday morning. Travis's phone is off and Dustin's bitch self sent me to voicemail twice this morning." Grayson replied.
You could visibly see the irritation on Sammy's face.
"At least the novices made it. I've been going at it with Adrian all morning. I just don't get why he's not understanding a right cross lead punch combo. You said you were working on it with him last night?" Grayson asked
Sammy gave him a nod. "He didn't get it then, either, but I knew I had overworked the kid. Jump in the ring with him and let me see."
Sammy and I watched as Grayson called one of the younger fighters over. This one was average build, and couldn't be older than his early twenties. He already looked defeated when Grayson practically dragged him onto the mat.
"Alright, you got this Adrian. Right cross lead punch combination. Right cross- straight left- right cross. Follow it with left hook- right cross." Grayson instructed as he got his pads up and readied himself to be the target.
Adrian lead with the right cross, but his straight left wasn't as strong as it should have been. Grayson didn't even move when it hit him. Adrian tried to finish up with the right cross- left hook, but the left hook didn't land right either.
"I need you to push in with your left side, Adrian!" Sammy called out. "Those hits aren't heavy hitters. They wouldn't even knock down SlaughterHouse's janitor, come on!"
I felt that feeling of uneasiness settle when I heard the noice of the gloves hit the pads. This was resurfacing memories. The memories themselves weren't bad, but they were soured by the person I had these memories with: my father.
Nonetheless, Sammy and I watched as Adrian gave the combo another go. This time he was able to exert a little more force, but not nearly what was needed to make it impactful. The irritation on Sammy was bright as day now.
And I understood why.
"He needs to inverse the combo." I whispered to myself.
It was so loud in the gym, I couldn't even tell if I had said it out loud or not...
But Sammy's head spun in my direction almost immediately.
"He needs to what?" He asked me.
"I-I'm sorry that wasn't my place to-" I started to quickly rush out, but Sammy quickly dismissed it.
"He needs to what?" He asked again.
"Inverse it." I repeated. "Left cross lead punch combo instead of a right. Make that left cross a feint, come in with the straight right, but make that a double, follow with a left hook but aim slightly off the target zone so the impact isn't at great on his left. Follow through with a clean right uppercut." I replied, as I watched Adrian stagger. It looked like he was going to attempt it again.
Sammy's eyes furrowed so deep, I forced myself to mentally run it through again... but it added up. He needed to favor his right side without giving off the weakness on his left.
I was going to tell Sammy to forgot everything I had just said, but he didn't give me the option to. Instead he turned to Grayson and Adrian.
"Alright, inverse the combo. Feint on the cross left, double on straight right, barely on that left hook but follow with right uppercut instead." He called out to the two. My eyes grew wide at his words, but we watched as Adrian got back into position with Grayson.
Grayson knew the calls obviously, but that double right straight knocked him back a bit. Adrian followed with that weak left hook, but when he went for the uppercut, Grayson barely had enough time to react. He blocked the move, but it made him stagger back.
"Yes!" Sammy exclaimed. "That's what the fuck I'm talking about!"
Grayson pulled Adrian in a head lock and messed up his hair. "You almost had me." He joked.
Sammy glanced over to look at me.
"How did you know that?" He asked.
"The momentum and speed were all there. The issue isn't his left side, it's his left hand. He's done a great job at concealing it- I mean a truly phenomenal job... but I'm guessing he's got a boxing fracture." I replied.
Sammy's expression quickly went from excitement, to anger. He slid into the ring immediately and grabbed Adrian by the collar.
"You've got a boxing fracture?" He asked the kid straight. Pure embarrassment visibly flashed across Adrian's face. "What the hell happened?" Sammy demanded.
"I-It was just some kids from the block. T-They tried roughing me up a bit." Adrian replied. "I tried to do a lead uppercut- cross- lead hook."
I saw Sammy's eyes soften slightly.
"You haven't even landed that shit in here yet." Grayson chimed in. He carefully helped Sammy pull off Adrian's left glove, and unbound his hand to take a look at the injury. I felt chills creep up under my skin as I watched the situation play out.
I knew a boxing fracture when I saw one.
It was the fracture my father had got when he sent his fist into a wall after losing one of the biggest fights in his early career.
It was also the fracture my father had received after he threw that same first directly into my mother's nose.
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