Take Me On

Chapter 61

Haley

I step out of the back door with a full trash bag in hand and stare up at the rolling gray clouds. It’s been sunny for days, but tonight thunderstorms are supposed to move in. Small drops of water sprinkle onto my arms, but I don’t care. I’d rather be wet than inside.

Besides West getting kicked out of school for harassing Matt, today was a good day. I finished the paperwork for the scholarship and my teachers let me skip classes so I could work on the video at the computer lab. Now all I need is the ending: the fight between Matt and West.

West winning would be a fabulous ending, but my hope doesn’t lie there because that is the stuff of fairy tales. This is reality and I’ve built my whole premise around taking a scrapper and training him in a few techniques in the hopes he could listen during a fight and last one round.

The ultimate irony: my advantage is I know how Matt fights and I’ve taught West how to use Matt’s weaknesses against him. I’ve given West the best ammunition I have. The rest, unfortunately, is up to him.

“I’ve been waiting for you.” Matt turns the corner of the house and I jump out of my skin. The instinct is to throw the trash at him and run back inside, but heading in isn’t much better.

I toss the garbage into the can and wipe at the drizzle gathering on my forehead. Avoiding Matt is what I should do, but I’m done running from him. I’m done being a coward. “What do you want?”

Matt rubs a spot over his eye before shoving both of his hands into his pockets. “We’re two weeks away from the fight. Have you considered my offer?”

“I’m with West now. We’re over, Matt.”

“Did you know he’s a Young?” he asks.

I curse internally. West has tried to keep people from knowing his roots, afraid his family’s money would complicate matters. We both knew the truth would eventually surface. “I know my boyfriend’s last name.”

“No, Haley. He belongs to the Youngs.”

Crap. “He doesn’t have any money. His dad cut him off—”

“I don’t give a fuck about the money. I give a fuck about you.”

“He’s good to me.”

“I was good to you and I screwed up one time. I’m curious if you’ll hold a grudge against him like you’ve held a grudge against me.”

The rain picks up and beats against my uncle’s car. The air is warm, but the drops are cold. I shiver against them. “Is there a point before I drown?”

“You know my dad was also laid off with your dad, right?”

I nod. My dad worked in the office. His dad on the line. Fortunately for Matt, his dad found work at another local plant.

“The Youngs are the reason why our dads lost their jobs. They’re the ones that bought the company, then sent the lines to Mexico. Ask your boyfriend how long he’s kept that from you.”