Impact (The Fight for Life #2) (2 page)

A lone tear slipped down my cheek and I brushed it away angrily. He didn’t need my tears. He needed my strength, and I would give it to him because he still held every part of my heart.

The only silver lining to the situation I’d found myself in was that I now felt wide awake. Jetlag had taken a back seat to the adrenaline rush of seeing Leo again, and then his mother. The weird thing about jetlag was that it could play tricks on your mind. Walking back through the orchard, I had a momentary out-of-body experience. Was I asleep? I had dreamt of Leo almost every night I had been away, so it would make sense if I were. I stopped and shook my head, knowing I was being ridiculous. This was no dream. It was a waking nightmare.

“Darling,” my mother cooed as she rushed forward. “Is he okay? I thought he’d be happy to see his mother. What a happy coincidence, don’t you think? Can you believe—”

“Stop, Mother.” I raised my hand to keep her at arm’s length. “Please just stop.”

I turned to Gwendolyn. “Were you part of this setup?”

“Darling—”

I glared at my mother. “I’m talking to Gwendolyn.” I returned my gaze to the pale woman who had just turned a few shades paler. “Did you know Leo and I were coming together today?

We locked eyes, and I was immediately struck by one thing. Her eyes were the same two-toned blue as Leo's, and like his, they were a window to her soul. The shadows I saw were probably caused by the fading afternoon light, but I saw a darkness that Leo didn't possess.

Gwendolyn nodded her head and lowered her eyes.

“Why are you here?” I asked, choosing to ignore the fact she couldn’t look at me.

“Don’t be so nosy, Juliette,” scolded my mother. “I raised you better than to ask rude questions.”

I closed my eyes and tried not to snarl as I turned back to my mother. The woman was absurd. She'd raised me to pretend to be someone I wasn't, settle for less than I deserved, and made me feel inadequate and unworthy because of it. “Really, Mother?” I taunted. “After all you've done, you're going to call me rude?”

Completely gobsmacked, my mother stumbled backward slightly. “I… I…”

“I think it’s best you say nothing at this point.”

She pursed her lips but said nothing.

“I knew he wouldn’t want to see me, but I still hoped he might change his mind.”

I turned my attention back towards Gwendolyn’s soft voice. She had regained a little colour in her cheeks. “Why are you here?”

“I’m under a lot of stress and this place is the best.” She glanced at my mother before returning her gaze to me. “If Leo took any interest-”

I interrupted her. “He told me you were dead.”

“The way he has shut me out for the past five years, I might as well have been dead.” Her eyes glazed with tears. “Sometimes I wish I was.”

The anguish written all over the features of her face was hard to witness, but Leo’s plea was front and centre in my mind.
“Don’t believe anything she says. She’s manipulative and she’s a liar.”

“How did you make the connection to my mother?” I felt like a ruthless interrogator, but I had burning questions and all this cryptic bullshit was doing nothing to douse the flames.

“I love my son, Juliette.” She paused.

“I didn’t ask if you loved him.” Sleep deprivation did not agree with me and I was getting snappy. “I asked how you made the connection to my mother.”

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her darkening eyes. “I knew my son was dating the daughter of Melbourne’s society queen, Isabel Fontaine, so when she turned up here I knew immediately who she was.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, glancing at my mother. “Well, I couldn’t help thinking it was meant to be somehow.”

My mother piped up. “How about we change the subject?” She clapped her hands together. “Juliette, you have no idea what I’ve had to endure here.”

I rolled my eyes.

“I’m leaving Dartmoor today.” Gwendolyn ignored my mother, keeping her eyes fixed on mine. “Perhaps we could have lunch together sometime later in the week.” She looked around. “Somewhere that isn’t here?”

My mother interrupted like a petulant child knowing she was being ignored. “That sounds wonderful,” she said. “We would love that.”

“You don’t come home until next weekend, Mother.”

“So you can wait ‘til then.”

“This is a very private matter,” Gwendolyn interjected. “I’d like to speak to Juliette alone.”

“I’m sorry, Gwendolyn, but I can’t.” I had come home to resolve things one way or another with Leo, and despite the curve ball this whole situation had thrown our way, there was no chance I was going to jeopardise what I knew we could have on a stranger. “I’m sorry.”

She nodded solemnly. “I understand and I admire your loyalty.” Moving forward, she wrapped her arms around me. “Thank you for bringing my son back into my life,” she whispered in my ear.

I untangled myself from her tight embrace, feeling awkward and a little creeped out. I took a step back and looked her in the eye. “I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but my loyalty will always lie with Leo.”

“If you change your mind, I’d love to hear from you.” She handed me a small white card with her name and a number written on it. She appeared dangerously sincere. “Goodbye, beautiful Juliette.”

I stood in silence, watching the last person on earth I would’ve expected to meet today float gracefully towards the lake’s edge.

“What a bitch,” my mother stated firmly once she was out of earshot.

I swung around to face her. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, nothing, dear.”

I’d heard what she’d said and was in no mood for her. “I have to go, Mother.”

“Look, sweetheart.” She glanced down towards the lake. “I’m not just saying this because of who her son is, but I don’t trust her.”

I placed my hand on my forehead, wishing I’d just stayed in bed today instead of coming here. Again, the word trust was being thrown around by someone who had broken mine.

“I’m afraid I don’t give the slightest credence to your character judgement. In fact, it makes me want to run down there,” I said, pointing towards the lake, “and be her best friend.” I was starting to feel delirious with frustration and fatigue. “You set Leo up. Again.”

“Don’t lash out at me, darling. I was right about the kind of man he is.” She raised her eyebrows and appeared self-righteous. I wanted to punch her in the face. “He was hiding a pretty big secret from you.”

“Oh my God, Mother.” I rolled my eyes. “You have no clue what kind of man Leo really is. All you see is that he was on your staff and, therefore, beneath you.”

“Well, of course he’s beneath us, Juliette.” She appeared genuinely affronted. “Most people are.”

I clenched my teeth and started walking back up the hill. I tried to swallow past the lump in my throat, but it was impossible. My eyes brimmed with tears at the realisation that she might never change. I just had to find a way to be okay with that.

I could hear her calling after me.

I stopped and turned around. “There’s nothing left to say, Mother. I’m really tired and I just want to go home.”

“I don’t trust her, Juliette.”

“Well I don’t trust you, so we’re at an impasse, aren’t we?”

She sighed. “I’m fine now, I promise. We can start fresh when I come home and forget all this silliness. I have such big plans. I’m thinking we need to move. Maybe Sydney?”

I shook my head. “Dad will pick you up next weekend, okay? Take care of yourself.” I closed the distance between us and kissed her on the cheek. I hadn’t expected a miracle, but I’d hoped for more than this. If the definition of insanity is doing something over and over again and expecting a different result, perhaps it was me who belonged in the looney bin too. I was done.

I jogged all the way back to my Jeep, climbed in and slammed my palms on the steering wheel repeatedly. Over and over again, I pummelled it, trying to block out my mother’s face. I’d spent the last few months thinking my time in the cage was over. My future with Juliette was my priority, and I had even been in serious talks with my childhood coach, Nick, about re-entering the boxing circuit. All that had come crashing down the second I’d come face to face with the devil. She was pure evil, and I hadn’t been able to get away from her fast enough. I wanted to beat the living shit out of someone or something, and at that moment, the steering wheel was copping it.

The fact that I’d left Juliette in there consumed me with guilt, but I couldn’t go back. There was no way I could go back there ever.

My phone rang and I answered the call in a bit of a daze.

“Is this Leo Ashlar?” a man with an accent I couldn’t place asked.

“That’s me,” I replied, rubbing my forehead, unsure why I had answered the call in the first place.

“Pete Sanders here. Fight promoter from Perth.”

Surprised, I didn’t immediately reply. Promoters rarely called a fighter directly. They would negotiate with the manager or coach. “This isn’t a good time, mate.”

“I want you over here for a fight next weekend. I saw footage of your fight at the Melbourne Pavillion last week and you’re exactly who I need. My fight is the weight division below, but you strike me as the kind of fighter who likes a challenge. I know—”

“That was a one-off fight.” I cut him off.
Jesus Christ,
the guy didn’t draw breath. I pinched the bridge of my nose, struggling to think straight.

“I was told you wouldn’t be interested, but I wanted to hear it directly from you.”

“Hold up.” His earlier comment suddenly hit me. “Did you say the weight division below?”

“That’s right.” He sounded very casual about a pretty big deal breaker.

“Are you insane? Even if I wanted to fight, I can’t lose seven or eight kilos in a week.”

“There are ways, Leo.” He paused. “If you really want something, you find a way.”

I couldn’t believe I was even considering this, but the idea of taking my mind off what had just happened with my mother and the opportunity to get the hell out of Melbourne was appealing, regardless of the potentially insurmountable issue with the weight.

“So I presume you spoke to Nick.”

“The one and only Nick Matthews.” He chuckled. “Told me to go to Hell.”

“There are hundreds of legit fighters you could get. I don’t understand why you would come after me, especially given I’m in the wrong weight division.”

“My local boy needs a bigger challenge and you’re the fighter I want. I asked around my Melbourne contacts, and your name kept coming up as the next big thing. I know about your caged Muay Thai background, and that just makes you even more perfect.”

I looked out the windscreen at the dark clouds and took a deep breath. “If I can get Nick on board, I’ll do it.”

“Call me back by tonight.”

Two months ago, I’d returned to Lilydale the day after Juliette’s fight and reconnected with Nick Matthews, my childhood boxing coach and mentor. I’d been inspired by Juliette’s performance in the ring and asked Nick if he could line me up with a fight. Given my reputation in the cage, he had been able to secure me a high-ranked opponent at the Pavillion. I’d completely smashed him and taken victory by knockout. It had been exhilarating and a reminder of how much I loved the boxing ring. However, my first thought when I’d seen my mother was how much I wanted to be in the cage. It had become my refuge and my own personal oblivion that I didn’t think I could find in the ring. Perhaps this Perth fight could serve as a good distraction though.

Needing to talk to Nick in person about it, I headed to Lilydale, leaving Dartmoor, Juliette and my past behind me.

I poked my head around Nick's office door. “Everything okay?” he asked. “Come in.” He stood up and moved around his desk to shake my hand. This man had played such an important role in my life before I’d stopped boxing and I was surprised by how much I was enjoying spending time with him again these past few months.

Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven strummed soulfully through the speakers. “Still listening to 70s music?” I asked, smiling.

He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t go knocking the greatest era in music history.” Shadow boxing, he gave me a mock warning. “I can still kick your butt, you know.”

“Good luck with that, old man.” I chuckled as he returned to his chair.

I sat down in the uncomfortable plastic chair and glanced around the small room… Memories of my youth flooded my mind. They had been the 'before' years. The years when my life had been simple. I had been normal and untouched by tragedy. A familiar picture caught my eye and I squinted to focus on the image.

The sound of his voice pulled my gaze from the picture. “Remember that day?” asked Nick. “It was the day I knew you were destined for greatness.”

“I remember.” I was surprised by the nostalgia in his voice.

“I told you at the time you were my once-in-a-career fighter, but you’d already made your mind up.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I was devastated, but I saw the magic again at the Pavillion last week.”

I linked my hands behind my neck, stretching my legs out in front of me. “I remember you saying that all those years ago.” I looked back at the picture of a sixteen-year-old me holding up a trophy and smiling broadly. I remembered the decision behind my easy smile. I’d won the fight no one thought I could win except Nick. I was satisfied and ready for something new. I was young, idealistic and had the world at my feet. “You were pretty pissed when I quit.”

He shrugged. “So what brings you out this way? You want another fight?”

“Pete Sanders called me.”

“Ugh. That snake. Trust him to do the unethical thing and call the fighter direct.” The look of disgust on his face matched his words. “Did you tell him to go to Hell just like I did?”

“Not exactly.” I narrowed my eyes and waited for his reaction.

“Tell me you’re not serious.”

“Deadly serious.” I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “Will you come with me?”

“Why the fuck would you even consider this? Besides the fact it’s got dodgy written all over it, you would have to practically kill yourself to make weight and that arsehole would know it.”