Page 10 of Dylan
CHAPTER 4
INeed Ya
Dylan
Four months later …
I stand in my gym,lost in thought as I have my arms folded over my chest. I’m up in the office, looking out of the viewing window down onto the floor below. I was so grateful to Da for allowing me to run this place.
Logan and Cole run some of our more complicated businesses. While I step in when needed, I don’t think I have the temperament for what they do. At least not on a daily basis.
This gym suits me. My gaze lands on one of my closest friends and a smile comes to my face. I remember how hard things were for me in the beginning.
Taegan changed all of that around. I never had the chance to see Ciara before my family moved to America and New Yorkbecame our home for good. I went from painfully shy to being a complete introvert.
I even stopped talking to my brothers and sisters, making them all extremely protective of me. My parents were the only ones who could get me to talk. My ma because no one got away with not answering her, and Da because he didn’t ask for much in the way of conversation, just a simple response.
America was no better than Ireland. Instead of being teased for being the smallest kid in school, I was teased for my heavy accent and for being scrawny. Well, that was until I stopped talking in school as well.
Then I shot up like a tree in the tenth grade. It turned out I wasn’t going to be the smallest in my family forever. By fifteen, I was almost as tall as my older brothers and gaining on them fast.
By the eleventh grade, I was picked on for being tall, lanky, and awkward. The giant Irish mute. I spoke only when needed and I never felt a need to.
I felt like I lost something vital. A piece of me left that island when Ciara left, and it never returned. I didn’t care about much once we got here.
I had no friends. Instead, I focused on learning to hone my skills in the ring and counting down the days until I was old enough to return to Ireland on my own. I didn’t understand a lot of things back then.
My jaw clenches as I think of all I know now. So much has changed since the day Taegan and I met. I smile just a little as memories of that day fill my thoughts.
“Come on, O’Brien, just give us your money and we’ll make this easy today,” Roger, the school bully, taunted with a smug grin on his face.
I hated this kid. My dad worked hard for the money he gave me, but this kid and his crew were there to collect every day. Especially since none of my older siblings were around toprotect me. Sure, it pissed me off, but it was better to give over the money and be done with it.
I hated it in America and in two more years, I’d be on my way back home, where I could find Ciara and keep my promise. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the money my da gave me that morning. I learned to keep what I wanted tucked away in my sock.
I never let them take it all. When I lifted my head and my hand to hand over the money, that’s when I saw her. The little spitfire with the fiery red hair.
Benny Jones snatched the money and pocketed it, but I barely noticed because my eyes were fixed on the bouncing red curls heading my way. I looked at her face to see her brows furrowed and her lips set in a tight grim line.
“What’s the matter with ya, O’Brien?” she snapped with her sharp Irish accent. “Ya make us all ashamed to claim ya. Yer the tallest kid in your grade, and I know for a fact yer brothers haven’t left ya to be a wuss. Find yer balls and make yer countrymen proud. For Christ’s sake, make yerself proud and put an end to this.”
Her big green eyes burned into mine as her chest heaved with anger. I don’t know what it was, but there was something about her eyes that reminded me of Ciara.
Not the color, but the look that said she believed in me, and I could do anything. Something snapped on the inside. I suddenly didn’t want to let them pick on me.
I wanted to fight back. It wasn’t like I didn’t know how. I’d been boxing since before we came here to the States. Ciara’s dad would teach us both and sparred with me when I hung out in the barn with Ciara to watch him train. I continued training when we moved here.
I figured when I found Ciara, I would need to keep up my part of the bargain, and if her dad wanted to kick my ass, Iwasn’t going to make it easy. However, I never thought to fight back when I needed to. I never took what I learned in the ring outside.
In that moment, my temper became unhinged, and I had a feeling it wasn’t going to allow me to lock it back away. I straightened my shoulders and turned to Roger.
“Tell ’em to give me my money back,” I hissed.
“Don’t let your little girlfriend here get your ass kicked, O’Brien.” Roger chuckled.
Before I could think, I smashed my fist into the side of Roger’s face. I turned to Benny, who threw his fists up, but he was too slow. Two body shots and he doubled over, groaning.
Let’s not forget to mention he wet his pants. I turned for the other three who were with them, but they were running out of the schoolyard, not bothering to look back.
