Let Go (25 page)

Greylan helps
him up and shakes his hand apologetically. He glances over at
Jackson who is laughing profusely. When he looks back Dontavious is
lunging at him with a rounded kick to the ribs. Greylan shakes his
head moving around the kid trying to take him down. They grapple
with each other for two minutes before Greylan takes him in a side
hold. The kid can’t seem to stop smiling. He’s liable to get some
teeth knocked out sometime.

They spar all
day working on various moves. This is the first time Jackson has
him hold his stance in various positions and explains what to do
next. Greylan is able to picture the dance in his head better than
he ever has by the end of the day.

When his
counseling appointment rolls around he debates skipping it, but
knows if he wants his mind to settle down this is a way to do it.
He strides into the office of Bethany Edwards. She is younger than
he expected, probably in her late thirties dressed in navy blue
dress pants and a light pink, silk top. Her blond hair is braided
down her back. She smiles warmly easing Greylan’s uneasiness a bit.
He settles into the chair across from her staring at her over her
immaculate desk. He knows how this goes, the questions and probing
to get you to talk about yourself. Unfortunately for this chick,
he’s not feeling it today. He remains tight lipped as she asks,
“Greylan Pace, I did a little research. You’re a fighter huh?”

Her first
question throws him off. He nods, remaining expressionless.

“Well, I don’t
know if you’ve done this before, but usually I would ask awkward
questions trying to get information from you for you to analyze and
figure out why you’re feeling the way you are.”

She smiles,
“But that’s not who I am. You aren’t going to open up until you
feel comfortable with me and that definitely won’t happen today. So
instead, let me tell you about me. Today you can learn some things
about my life and maybe the next time we can talk about you. Does
that sound alright?”

Greylan’s
brows raise in surprise but he doesn’t say anything. Another nod
and she begins.

“Alright, as
you know my name is Bethany. I’ve been married for ten years to the
love of my life…”

As she rattles
on about her happily ever after life Greylan’s thoughts wander. He
wonders about Mollie and where she is and what would have happened
if she would have stayed longer. His mind moves to Meyer and how
his passive attitude seeped in to piss Greylan off. Truthfully
Meyer didn’t change. He always had the same careless view of
things. It earned him many fights through high school and Greylan
was always there to back him up. But now, after all that has
happened, he still acts as though everything is great or not his
problem. Maybe he has to do that to convince himself to not care.
Maybe that’s Meyer’s coping mechanism in dealing with things when
they don’t go his way. He admitted his feeling for Mollie but
didn’t seem defeated by it. He seemed ready to move on.

Bethany’s
voice breaks through, “I went to college for education. I wanted to
be a teacher but discovered that I liked listening to people more
than talking to them…”

The picture of
Theodore James from the trial moves into his thoughts. His family
made a montage of happy photos to show that he would never attack a
woman like that. They even had his girlfriend, or the girl claiming
to be his girl come in one of the days of the trial. She looked
stricken like she couldn’t go on. That day was the hardest for
Greylan. After that he wasn’t sure he could go on himself. He took
the life of a person but it was so much more than that. He took his
family’s life too. They would never be the same. Their lives would
be forever changed because of his actions.

He shakes his
head trying to dispel the memory and runs his hand through his hair
looking up to the shrink.

A swift smile
spreads over her lips. She nods and stands seeming satisfied.

“Greylan, it’s
been a pleasure.”

Squinting into
her open face he realizes that this was her intent, to get him
thinking about things. Even though he didn’t speak, he still rolled
things over in his mind, making them current and raw. He smirks at
her noting that she might very well be good at her job and a little
sneaky.

He stands and
shakes her outstretched hand. She asks, “Maybe next time you’ll
share a little bit about yourself. I’d love to hear about fighting.
It sounds exciting.”

He nods and
turns, leaving the office. He didn’t utter a word but feels
exhausted emotionally from the thoughts he hashed out. Tonight’s
dreams are bound to be vivid.

When he
arrives at the bar his nerves are a mess because of the visit with
the shrink. Christina still has the guilty look in her eyes. She’s
been taking up the slack as if he’s delicate or something. Finally
tired of this shit for the past week he growls, “Christina, if you
don’t stop with the pity party, I’m gonna have to do
something.”

She smiles,
“Ah, there’s our old Grey. I wondered where you went. You gonna
beat my ass or something?”

“Dude, just
let it go. I’m fine, trying to get ready for this fight. I don’t
need any distractions and you looking at me like that just pisses
me off.”

She nods as
she attends to opening up the bar.

The bar fills
up, making the time pass quickly.

He vowed that
he wouldn’t drink again until after his first fight. He needs to
keep his weight steady and his body has a more difficult time
coming back from the alcohol when he is training this hard. So when
Jimmy enters the bar at exactly eleven o’clock Greylan regrets his
decision for a moment. Dealing with Jimmy sometimes needs the
filter that alcohol can bring. He fits into a chair at the bar
exclaiming, “Hey Grey, long time buddy.” They slap hands over the
bar before Greylan pours him a double shot of whiskey. Jimmy can
drink him under the table any day. He never understood how that was
possible given his slighter frame but he doesn’t doubt it’s still
true.

Greylan asks,
“You ready to get down to business?”

Jimmy smirks,
“Isn’t that my line? Of course, the sooner the better.”

Greylan nods
to an empty high top across the room and skirts around the bar
grabbing a bottle of water. As he passes Christina she looks to
Jimmy and back to Greylan, a concerned look crossing her
features.

“It’s all good
Christina. Actually, come over and meet him. I have a feeling
you’ll hit it off great.”

Christina
follows Greylan to the table where Jimmy has made himself at home.
He looks ahead, his glance passing over Greylan immediately eyeing
Christina. His brows raise as he asks, “Grey, you been holding
out?”

Greylan sits
across from him and smiles at the fact that Jimmy will never hold
back. He’s thankful for that fact.

“Jimmy T, this
is Christina, my very good
friend
. Christina, Jimmy is my
manager, newly rehired.” He stresses the word friend so that Jimmy
is clear on his meaning but he doesn’t seem to acknowledge it.

“So, you’ve
been keeping this beauty to yourself. I’d keep her locked up at
home though Grey. A bar like this is no place for a chick like
her.”

“She owns the
bar Jimmy.”

Jimmy grins
his shitty ass smile like he’s a dirty car sales man. Greylan would
knock his arm if there wasn’t a table between them. He looks to
Grey and holds his hands up, “Come on buddy, you know I’m just
playin.”

Christina
chuckles at the whole scene. She looks to Jimmy, “It’s a pleasure
meeting you Jimmy.”

“No doll, the
pleasure is all mine.”

“Well, I’ll
let you two talk business.” She winks at Greylan before turning to
go back to the counter.

Greylan looks
to Jimmy tipping his bottle of water back. Jimmy taps his glass but
Greylan shakes his head.

“No getting
drunk on me yet Jimmy. I need to know what the deal with Jesus
Reyes is. He was the only fighter to beat Parker Harris. Did you
represent him?”

As Greylan was
thinking about this meeting he mulled over how Jimmy, Parker and
Jesus fit together. He figured Jimmy was Jesus’ manager but beyond
that it could be anything with Jimmy. Somehow he screwed things up.
When he fought Jesus a few weeks back he itched to ask but by the
end of the day he was so over it all that it didn’t matter. Now it
matters. If he’s going to go down this road with Jimmy again he
needs it all out on the line.

Jimmy slams
the rest of his drink back and places it softly on the table. He
turns the glass around as if stalling for time or looking for
words. Greylan isn’t sure.

“When you left
Grey, it was tough. I had things lined up for your pro fights
already. I knew you’d do it so I put my name out there and money. I
know it wasn’t legal but it was necessary to get you in.”

Greylan frowns
trying to understand what Jimmy is telling him.

“I wasn’t
there yet though. What if I would have lost?”

Jimmy shrugs
still refusing to meet Greylan’s stare.

“It doesn’t
matter now. You left and I was stuck. The guy I was dealing with
had me and if I didn’t come up with a fighter right away…let’s just
say things wouldn’t be good. So I found Jesus Reyes. He was
struggling with drugs. I offered to clean him up. He was already in
the circuit; he was just losing in the ranks because of his
addiction. It was not public knowledge so I thought I could patch
it all up before it got out.”

Greylan thinks
back to the day he met him on the mat at Jackson’s. He was clear
that day. Greylan would have been able to recognize it.

“Anyway, he
got cleaned up and fought. You were who they wanted but they
settled for him. He started winning. His streak wasn’t as clean as
Harris’ but it was good enough. So they were matched. And he won. I
was shocked. Actually, I think everyone was shocked.”

He leans his
head down and shakes it. The next words are softer, “He used a
dirty move during the fight and it came out that he had been using.
The fight didn’t count. Of course if you ask anyone, they’ll tell
you Reyes beat Harris and that was his one loss. But in the
rankings, Parker is undefeated. ”

He looks up
into Greylan’s face, determination in his eyes, “I know he wasn’t
using Grey. I checked with him regularly and had him tested. I
don’t know what exactly went down but that was it. His reputation
spread as a dirty fighter and he couldn’t get any matches after
that.”

Jimmy’s
explanation answers the questions roving through his head since the
day with Reyes at Jackson’s. He wondered why Reyes would take the
time to spar with him.

“Who did you
make a deal with Jimmy?”

He shakes his
head, “That’s not important Grey.”

“It is
important because if you make deals this time around, I’ll drop you
so fast you won’t know what hit you.”

Jimmy nods, “I
know now Grey. Trust me, everything we do is legit. I promise.”

“Okay, then
you will need to talk with Jackson. He set something up already for
the day after tomorrow in Vegas.”

Jimmy’s hand
roves through his thin hair, “Shit Grey, I didn’t know there was
already something in the works.”

Greylan
nods.

“Who?”

“David
Pontas.”

Jimmy relents,
“Alright, I’ll talk to Jackson but just know he doesn’t like me too
much. No more fights scheduled by anyone but me, deal?”

Greylan nods
wondering how this will affect Meyer and Mollie.
Fuck
Mollie.
He gets up stating, “I gotta get home, only two more
days to train.”

Jimmy nods and
asks, “So is your girl over there taken?”

“Jimmy, what
the hell? Yes, she is and you’re not her type.”

“Didn’t think
it would hurt to ask. Can you send her over?” He lifts his glass as
an explanation.

“Are you going
to behave yourself or do I have to kick you out now?”

Jimmy raises
his hand, “Scouts honor.”

“Fuck, that
doesn’t mean shit. You are anything but a scout. Night Jimmy.”

Greylan heads
to his truck satisfied with his deal with Jimmy. He knows not to
screw him over. He’s glad he refrained from any drinking. It wasn’t
necessary this time. Jimmy was on his best behavior. He only hopes
he remains that way but Christina won’t put up with any shit.

As he pulls
into a spot in front of his apartment he realizes that he might be
drinking tonight after all. Either that, or killing someone, which
will put him right back in jail, somewhere he doesn’t really need
to be right now.

He moves out
of the truck, worry etched into his face, as he approaches his
sister’s small figure on the first step near his door leading up to
the second floor apartments.

He can tell
she’s upset, but instead of anger showing in his voice he tries to
make light, “Hey kid. What are you doing here?”

She glances up
at him from her crossed arms and his heart falls. Her eyes are
swollen from crying and she looks exhausted. He clenches his fists
wanting at Parker more than anything.

“Aw Trin, what
happened? Why didn’t you call me?”

She shakes her
head sinking back into her arms.

Greylan moves
to sit next to her along the step.

“I don’t
believe you. If it was nothing, you wouldn’t be here on my stoop
waiting for me to get home.”

She looks up,
new tears following each other down her cheeks. He is so pissed he
starts to see red. How can one fucking dude hurt someone so much?
Now he’s pissed at himself for telling her not to give it up. He
knew the guy was bad from the start. He should have fought their
relationship from the beginning; anything for her to avoid this
heartache.

She wipes her
eyes quickly and asks, “Can I stay over tonight?”

“Of course,
Trin.”