Page 84 of Bourbon Truths
“Don’t you see I’m a shell of the man I used to be? Fuck, look at me, Jett.” He did as I said as a lonesome tear fell down my cheek. “Why would you want a sorry excuse for a man like myself to hang around? You’re hanging on to the past, to who I used to be.”
“You’re hanging on to the past.” Jett got up and stood in front of me. “If taking your life is what you want to do instead of fighting back, then do whatever the fuck you want. I understand what happened was a mistake, I know that your boxing career was stolen from you, and I know you’ve been seeking justice, but at some point you have to let it all fucking go. There is a beautiful girl waiting for you, wishing to be a part of your life. There are friends who want to see you happy. You’ve done your time. Live your life.”
I was about to respond when the door flew open and Madeline strode in with a towel over her shoulder and a water bottle in her hand.
“Hi, Mr. Kace,” she shouted, waving at me, not picking up on the awkward silence between Jett and myself. Quickly, I wiped my face and cleared any remnants of sadness.
“I got to go,” Jett said over his shoulder as Madeline stepped up in front of me.
“I’m ready for a workout, Mr. Kace,” she said while taking her water bottle and squirting it on her face and then wiping the water with the towel. She was outrageous.
“I can see that,” I replied, wiping my cheek one last time.
“You’re sad,” she stated, placing her hand on my knee, looking past my fake veneer.
I looked at Jett and he shrugged and took off, leaving me alone with Madeline.
“Where’s your mom?” I asked, ignoring her question.
“She dropped me off. She wasn’t having a good morning. She was sad like you.” Madeline draped the towel over her head and started swaying back and forth. The girl had too much energy. “She was sad last night too. I heard her crying.”
I shouldn’t have asked. I needed to distance myself, but morbid curiosity won out. “Why was your mom sad?”
Madeline started doing the boxer shuffle I’d taught her yesterday while holding her tiny fists up next to her face. “I don’t know. When I asked her, she said something about the past and how she was thinking about it.”
Bingo.
Fuck!
Of course Linda was upset. How could she not be? She was putting her daughter into boxing and self-defense classes so the past didn’t repeat itself, so she didn’t lose another person she loved to violence.
“Are we going to box?” Madeline asked, shaking me to my core.
“Yeah, uh, let’s wait for the rest of the group.”
“All right. Can I do some cartwheels?”
“Get at it, kid,” I responded while I headed over to the stereo to turn on some music. It was going to be a long day, especially with Madeline at my side.
Chapter Twenty-Five
My Past…
The melodrama between Jett and Goldie was really starting to get on my nerves. Jett was so fucking in love, but he had no clue how to handle his feelings. Instead of talking to Goldie like a normal boyfriend would, he tried to protect her from harm, but all that had led to was miscommunication and a frustrated Goldie.
The feud between Jett and his father had gotten out of hand to the point that I was afraid it was going to destroy my best friend and everything he’d ever worked for. That was why I found myself standing outside of Goldie’s room, about to break her door down with my knocking. I would do anything for Jett, and if that meant inserting myself in the middle of his relationship, then I would.
Without her permission, I blew through her door. The shocked look on Goldie’s face was priceless.
“What the hell?” she shouted.
“Are you seriously just waking up?” I asked, taking in her position on the bed.
“Are you seriously barging into my room again? For the love of God, get a hobby.”
Sassy fucking woman. “It’s noon and you’re not answering your phone,” I stated, pointing out why Jett had panicked and made me check on Goldie.
She was living in the Lafayette Club with Jett, diving head-first into their relationship until Leo, Jett’s father, threatened the safety of Goldie, making sure to point out he knew Goldie was Jett’s crutch. Jett had made it his mission to make it look like he’d cut all ties with her. That was why she was staying with Diego and helping him out with some of the paintings in his club. It was a temporary solution, but it was putting a strain on their relationship.
