Page 55 of Choke Hold

I drop onto the bench and kick my shoes off, letting out a huge sigh.

Ty turns to face me as he pulls his t-shirt on. “What?”

“Text from my dad.” I stand, tossing my clothes into my locker. “He won’t give it a fucking rest.”

“I thought your plan was to ignore it?” Ty asks, closing his locker door and walking towards the exit.

“Trying my fucking hardest,” I mutter as I follow him.

As we make our way to the weight room, a heavy silence falls over both of us. And I take a moment to let myself seethe, because it’s getting harder and harder to push this all aside and focus on what I really need to. With my parents constantly breathing down my neck, trying to force me into what they want, making me feel like I’m not good enough, a poor reflection of them, and like I’m a failure for doing what I’m passionate about… it’s fucking chipping away at me. With the added stress of Ty possibly not being ready in time for Dallas… fuck.

I turn my head to look at him as we reach the weight room, and catch him anxiously glancing at the cage. And when his eyes meet mine, they’re full of anxiety.

“We need to get in the ring tonight,” he says with desperation in his voice.

I nod. “Yeah. Sure.”

Because I have nothing in me to fight it right now. Is it a good idea for him to push it today and get in the ring? Probably not. But it’s what he thinks he needs, and right now, I have no idea what’s best for us. So it’s easier to just give in.

I just wish we could go back to the happiness we felt in the kitchen last night.

NINETEEN

“Hey, guys!” Rosa greets us with a smile as Luca and I enter the weight room.

I give her, Elijah, and Seb a nod in greeting, and Luca slaps on a smile.

“Hey,” he says. But the smile is weak and the usual cheer in his voice is missing.

And I fucking hate that. I hate that stress and pressure is now ruling our lives, seeping in and affecting both of us. Especially after we were finally able to let go of it last night.

Briefly.

With a sigh, I head to the side of the room to stretch and warm up for my workout.

Seb glances between me and Luca as he sets his weights on the rack. “Everything ok?”

“Yup,” Luca answers flatly, setting his water bottle on a bench. “Great.”

As I start my stretches, I watch Luca rub a hand over his face and turn his back to everyone. I don’t know why this text from his dad has caused such a drastic shift in him, especially after he was so quick and happy to push his missed calls aside this morning. And it’s kind of pissing me off. Because even though I don’t know how, I want to help him. But every time I try, he shuts it down with a smile and a joke, saying he just wants to forget it and focus on the fight.

Looks like that plan isn’t working so well anymore.

“Took the morning off?” Rosa smiles at me as she sits on the mat next to me to start her cooldown stretches.

I nod. “Yeah.”

“That’s great,” she says. “That must have felt good.”

Another sigh escapes me as I give a little shrug, once again looking out to the cage and trying to ignore the anxious anticipation. I should have been here this morning. I’m too far behind to have taken a morning off.

“You’re doing great, Ty,” Rosa says softly, looking up at me from the mat as she reaches forward to touch her toes. “Go easy on yourself.”

“It’s true,” Seb says, picking up another set of weights. “You’re rocking it, dude.”

“It’s not enough,” I mutter, stepping forward and grabbing some weights from the rack.

And as I step back, I catch Luca’s eyes in the mirror. He watches me for a moment with a furrowed brow, then turns away again with an unreadable expression on his face.

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