Page 2 of Uncaged Obsessions

After three days of sleeping at the park, one of the guys that I consider a friend at school offers me a place to stay on the couch in his garage. I hesitate taking him up on his offer, but he tells me his parents wouldn’t mind and sleeping somewhere that isn’t grass sounds nice.

His name is Jordan, and he ends up letting me stay, even after the news about my dad came out.

He didn’t die.

He couldn’t remember anything about the attack and somehow no one has come after me. The nightmares that have plagued me my entire life continue, with him always makingan appearance. Only now, there is the added fear of the cops showing up at Jordan’s and taking me away in handcuffs.

But somehow, it doesn’t happen.

Jordan’s the only person who knows what happened and he didn’t look at me with fear. He just said he wanted to show me something.

So one night, we sneak out and go to this old abandoned building that’s covered in graffiti and overgrown bushes and vines.

“What is this?” I ask.

“Come on.”

I follow him into the dark building and I’m instantly hit with the smell of smoke and the lack of light. There’s the sound of a crowd, and grunts with the familiar sound of flesh hitting flesh.

That’s when we’re met with the sight of two men fighting in a makeshift ring. I watch them trade blows, and both have blood running down their faces.

“You ever seen a fight before?” Jordan asks.

“On TV, sure, I guess.”

“I think you’d be good at it.”

I grimace, looking back at the two men, one looks like he’s struggling to stay up, swaying on his feet while the other guy uses it to his advantage. With one more blow the weaker man goes down and the other is announced as the winner.

“What do you think?” Jordan asks.

“I don’t know how to fight like that. I just… I don’t know.” I shake my head.

“What if we train?”

“The fuck do you mean?”

“I know someone, and I told him about you. He would be willing to train you, well us, if you wanted.”

“Let me think about it.”

He accepts my answer and as the next fight starts, we stand and watch. I find myself focusing on the way they move, the precision of their feet and how they seem to be tactical in some of their moves while others seem to be drawn from emotion. I’m familiar with that because those are the only kind of fights I’ve been in before.

As we continue to watch, I think about Jordan’s offer and that it might be a good thing for me. A way to regain a semblance of control over my life. Especially when I learn these guys are winning money, and that’s something I desperately need. I’m not sure how long Jordan’s parents will be nice enough to let me stay, and I need to be prepared to be on my own.

Maybe this is exactly what I need. Maybe this will be the thing that changes my life.

I’m pulled out of my memories and back to reality by the banging on my door. This time, before I answer it, I anticipate the pissed off man that’s about to greet me. This time I’m ready.

I open it, already speaking, “Max isn’t here?—”

“We have a problem,” Caine cuts me off, and the feral look in his eyes lets me know he’s serious and this time the problem doesn’t have anything to do with either of us.

CHAPTER 2

ADAM

Idon’t think about my childhood, ever. Remembering the various foster homes I was bounced around to and from isn’t something I like to recall. Sometimes, I do remember what led me to where I am today, and that’s especially true when I’m laying in the quiet. Just the sounds of Athena slithering around the couch onto me, then exploring the couch even more.

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