Page 94 of Fight Me Daddy

Calix

I stoodin the mirror and stared at my reflection. Gabriele hadn't let me more than five feet away from him since we'd moved into Amadeo's. Even now I knew he was outside the bathroom, pacing back and forth and waiting for me to come out. I could see his shadow moving in front of the gap underneath the door.

Sighing, I straightened up and grabbed a brush. We had dinner to go to, something Gabriele insisted on. He wanted us to be "normal" but what was normal at this point? I dragged my fingers through my hair and pulled it up into a bun.

My phone rang and I picked it up. My coach. I'd forgotten all about Mel. The last few days had been a blur of eating whatever was shoved in front of me and going back to bed afterward. I hadn't even had the heart to call my dad and tell him what happened.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"Cal, I'm so sorry," he started. "I haven't heard from you but I figured it's because you're dealing with stuff. After your gym burned down I-"

I bristled. Ice worked its way down my spine and I had to grip the sink for support. "Can we not talk about that?”

"Yeah, yeah sure,” he said, sadness in his voice. “I was worried about you that’s all.”

“What did you need?” I asked.

He paused as if he wasn't sure to tell me before he continued. "You have a match coming up soon and I wanted to know if you were going to participate or not? I know, you've been through some shit thought so-"

"I'll do it," I said as I straightened up and forced my emotions back down. "I need this."

"But if you need time..."

"No," I cut him off. "Time isn't going to help me. And if I miss this match I'll have to pay a damn fee and they'll start looking at me like I'm not serious about this and I am. When is it?"

"Three days from now, Saturday. Eight o'clock."

"I'll be there."

"Will you make weight?"

I frowned. That I wasn't so sure of. "I'll figure it out."

"Alright, call me back soon."

I hung up and let out a breath. No one was going to take away my dream. I'd lost everything else, but I could still do MMA. I could rise through the ranks and become the man I'd wanted to be from the start. Gabriele had cleaned up my mess, my friends still needed my support, and my father would need someone to look out for him too.

"Calix, are you okay in there?"

I shook my head and pulled on the clothes that Gabriele had picked out for me. A pair of dark slacks, a burgundy shirt, and a black jacket. Wherever we were going sounded fancy as hell, but that was Gabriele's style. And it wouldn't just be us, his whole family was coming along as well. I don't know how they fake normalcy the way they do.

Gabriele banged on the door and I jumped. My heart raced and I gripped my shirt for a moment before I walked over and ripped it open.

"I'm not deaf."

"You weren't responding," he growled. "Don't do that shit again."

"Fine," I mumbled as I brushed past him and picked up my locket off the dresser. It was one of the only things that had survived. "Let's go to dinner."

"Who was on the phone?"

I glanced over my shoulder at Gabriele. He looked good when he was all cleaned up. The dark suit was perfectly tailored to his body. His beard was neatly trimmed. And I could smell the cologne that clung to his skin when I walked past him.

"My coach," I said. "Mel. There's a match-up in a few days and he wanted to know if I was going."

He pushed his hands into his pockets. "How did he take the bad news?"

"The bad news?" I asked.

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