Page 12 of Quake
“It’s not his business to change,” I retorted.
She shrugged and took another sip of her wine. Glancing at her plate, I noticed she’d hardly touched her salmon. She was pissed at him, too.
“Did you know he was planning to convince me to go back into training?” I asked. “That all of this is his way of annoying the shit out of me to the point I’ll just do it so he can shut up?”
Mum narrowed her eyes, the only indicator my cursing bothered her. “Darling, you know he hasn’t fought in a long time, and boxing is his entire life. He was devastated when you were injured and gave it all away. Seeing you up there just like he’d been, gave him meaning again. You know being a businessman isn’t his idea of a well-earned paycheck. You can’t blame him for wanting to get you back in the ring.”
I scowled, my temper rising. “I can when he blatantly ignores the fact I may never walk again. I’m pretty sure wheelchair boxing isn’t a thing, Mum.”
“It is actually.”
“Mum, seriously? You’re just as bad as him, which means you’re in on it.”
“You’re working at that little gym,” she said, her tone confirming it. Even without the lip curl, I could tell she thought I was slumming it.
“He never came to see me once while I was flat on my back. I was such a fucking disappointment for allowing a cheat to take me down.”
“Caleb!” she exclaimed, glancing nervously around the restaurant. “Language!”
“It’s the truth,” I went on, my temper beginning to boil over. “When I could’ve been crippled, he dropped me like a ton of bricks. When I got up and walked, he was all over me for a day. You know why he dismissed me yet again? Because the doctors said I could never fight again.”
“But you can fight, Caleb,” she argued.
“Not without taking a hell of a risk.”
“He came to see you last week…” she said. Even she didn’t sound convinced.
“Is that meant to be some kind of comfort? A grand gesture of love?”
“I came to see you all the time,” she went on, attempting to calm me, but I was beyond it.
“Wow, thanks, Mum. At least you were around once a month when I was laid up in the hospital,” I said, scraping the chair back. “You couldn’t face your disappointment, either.”
“Caleb, honey, don’t leave.”
“I shouldn’t have come in the first place,” I said, rising to my feet.
Ignoring the hurt in my mother’s features, I turned, strode across the trendy restaurant, and pushed out onto the street.
Outside, the sun was low in the sky, the long summer day still sweltering over the city. It wouldn’t be fully dark until at least nine p.m., and the balmy evening saw hundreds of people packing restaurants along the promenade outside Crown Casino. The Melbourne CBD towered before me, the skyscrapers lit up like Christmas trees.
Turning back into the Crown complex, I found the valet and waited for them to return my car.
Thousands of people, laughing, smiling, and having a great time with their loved ones, walked back and forth, disappearing in and out of the casino. It only made my mood sourer, knowing my life was so devoid of happiness. I couldn’t stomach it.
As far as I was concerned, I didn’t have much of a future to look forward to. At least, not the one I’d envisioned growing up. I’d idolized my father, bought into his bullshit, did the training, fought my way up, valued integrity and hard work. Then it all came crashing down. When it was obvious I was damaged goods, I’d been cast aside like a fucking loser. A taint on the Carmichael name.
When my car arrived, I slid in and slammed the door closed, thumping my fists on the steering wheel in complete and utter frustration. I couldn’t fight, but perhaps there was still something out there for me. Could I be satisfied with being a coach and seeing other guys take out the titles I’d so desperately wanted to win myself? I didn’t know.
My thoughts went to the woman—the blue eyed, black haired beauty—and I could see the fear in her features as clear as if she were sitting beside me. If I could help her, could she show me a new path?
Glancing at my watch, I saw it was already a quarter to seven. If I hurried, I might be there in time to catch the last few minutes of class.
Gunning the engine, I pulled out into traffic, heading toward Brunswick and the studio.
But by the time I got back to Beat, the class was already over, and everyone was gone.
* * *
