Page 2 of Boys Like You

“Mercer,” Rory says, snapping his fingers to get my attention. “Mumma B was talking to you.”

I look from Rory to her and force a smile for her benefit.

“Sorry, I was elsewhere.”

I look over at the little demon child then back to Mumma B.

“I was just asking how your training is going, I know you have a fight night coming up soon.”

She fusses over Dawson as I go into detail about my new schedule for training. When Dawson spills a drink on himself, we’re left alone while Mumma B takes him to change his outfit. Levi jumps up straight away to clean some of the drink that was spilled on the floor while Rocky tries to steal food from Rory’s plate.

“Is there something wrong with him?” Damien spits, his tone full of hatred. He stares at me, a smile on his lips. I try counting to five in my head, because I know I won’t reach ten.

“Wrong with who?” I snap back maybe a little harsher than needed, because I know exactly who he is referring to. Maximus is frozen; he hates when people talk about him as if he isn’t in the room, it’s one of his triggers.

“The nerd with the glasses. Is he slow or somethin’?” He doesn’t take his eyes off me as he says it. People like to label Maximus a nerd because of his glasses, good grades and the fact he never talks to anyone except us. But it’s much simpler than that: if he doesn’t trust you, he won’t talk to you. All you get is silence.

Levi and Rory gasp at the kid’s rudeness, but we need to remember this kid is hurt, confused, and his life has been turned upside down. He probably doesn’t even know any better. Maximus stands, politely pushes his chair back in, and starts to walk from the room.

“If you’re not back in half, I’ll come look for you,” Levi says, watching him leave. Maximus gives him a nod. He and Levi are close; Levi knows how to help when he gets like this. Levi is the only one of us that wasn’t physically or mentally abused in some way by a parent. His parents died, and while his aunt went through the process to get custody, he had to stay with Mumma B. His aunt was fairly young when his parents died and the courts wanted to make sure she was ready to take on a six-year-old kid who just suffered a major traumatic event.

With Maximus gone, we fall silent. Damien goes back to eating as if he hadn’t said anything to upset the balance in the first place. His sister, Emmy, starts to cry and Levi tries to console her while I turn to the kid.

“Outside now,” I demand, staring down at him. He looks up at me with no fear.

“No,” he states simply.

“Get your ass up now. We’re going outside. I will carry you if necessary.”

He doesn’t waste any time. He huffs, pushing his chair out with his legs, sending it crashing backwards onto the floor.

“When Mumma B comes back, just tell her we had some stuff to sort out. I promise not to hurt him.” They all nod as I follow the kid outside.

The backyard brings back memories: the treehouse in the back corner, the same tyre swing hanging from the large mango tree, and the massive trampoline. Rocky still comes out and practices back flips every time we are here.

“So, what, you going to beat on a kid, too?” he says, holding his arms across his chest. His eyes seem slightly worried now, despite his bravado.

“Of course not. You may not see it, kid, but I was like you when I came here, so angry at the world. But one thing you need to learn is just because you’re angry, it doesn’t give you the right to be nasty. What you said about Maximus was rude.” I match his defensive stance, mainly out of habit.

“Well, thanks for the lecture. I’m leaving.” He turns to walk back inside.

“We are not finished here. Let’s see you punch me. You clearly came at me looking for a fight tonight, so try to hit me. I won’t hit you back, I’ll only block.”

He turns back to face me and looks me over, sizing me up, wondering if he could really take me.

“You won’t hit me back?” I know he doesn’t trust me, and he probably never will.

“Nope.” I shake my head.

He still looks skeptical, but steps forward, assessing where he wants to punch me. I know he will go for the guts. I let him get in the first hit.

“Did that make you feel any better?”

“No,” he snaps, trying to hit me again, only this time I block him.

He comes at me again and again when he realises I won’t hit him back. We spar for a good half an hour until Levi comes outside.

“Send the kid inside, we have to go look for Maximus.” He has a no-bullshit tone.

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