A Broken Beautiful Beginning (8 page)

He hunches over and wraps one arm around his ribs, obviously protecting the ones that are
still healing. The last few months haven’t been good to him either. He’s lost so much weight, his hair is long and he hasn’t shaved in a while. The bastard smells as if he hasn’t bathed in days too.

I slap him on his face, he doesn’t lift a hand to defend himself or punch back
so I slap him again.

A real bitch slap… g
ive him a taste of what he gave Harley.

“When are you going to realize that those girls are mine?” I wrap my hands around his neck waiting for some kind of retaliation...but nothing comes. It only makes me angrier. I knee him in his stomach and he lets out a painful cry as he falls to the ground holding himself. I’m just about to kick him again…

“I know that! Don’t you think I know that!” he
wheezes out of breath.

“
Clearly you don’t! Willow is
my
daughter! You don’t get to go behind our backs to see her. It’s not going to happen again. You think I trust
you
with my daughter? I don’t.” I continue to kick him as he lies on the floor and he continues to take each blow without fighting back.

He d
oesn’t even curl up to hide the kicks to his ribs.

“I would
never
hurt that little girl.” He finally grits spitting out blood. I watch his nose bleeding as I kneel down to his level and shout in his face. “For fuck sakes, fight back! Do something man!”

“I fucked up and this is my punishment
... If I were you, I would kill me... so go ahead and do what you gotta do. I got nothing left... you can do your worst and no one will give a shit about me.” He mumbles and looks away almost spaced out.

My resolve
is lost, how the hell am I supposed to fight a man who doesn’t want to fight back. I just can’t do it. I let out a deep breath, run my
hands down my face then head out toward the patio.

“Don’t have time for your pity party
man.” I mumble as I fling open the security gate and slam it closed behind me.

I flop my ass
down on the stairs and rest my hands in my hair. Don’t get me wrong I still don’t know what the fuck Harley ever saw in him, I do however try to come up with reasons why she stuck around for so long.

Jace has a way of making you feel guilty even when you’re not in the wrong. Even I feel sorry for the bastard, I should whip his ass regardless but I can’t fight a man who won’t fight back. Just can’t do it. He wants an out and I’m not going to be the one who gives it to him.

Maybe she was drawn to the whole bad boy thing
he has going on...fuck knows.

I hear th
e metal gate swing open behind me followed by the sound of limping footsteps. He lets out a pained breath as he falls down on the stairs next to me. He nudges my arm and I feel something cold so I look over to him, the blood from his nose has been wiped but stains and smudges cover his blue shirt and neck.

I frown when I see the ice cold beer in his hand. He nudges me again and I snatch it from him and gulp down most of it. Hunter’s bike is parked outside but he’s nowhere to be seen. We continue to sit out on his patio in silence.

“The way she looks at you… She never looked at me that way.” I turn to face him but he’s looking out into the dark night. He has a frown on his face and he’s deep in thought. “That day I took her, I saw you all at the beach together… you had a perfect little family.” He shakes his head and looks down at his hands that hold his beer in its grasp.

“
She loves you… I think she thought of me as your replacement while I was with her. Harley never really truly saw me, she always wanted you Caleb.” He says looking into the distance grunting in pain as he moves to get comfortable on the step.

I sigh. “
Not a replacement… never a replacement man... maybe a substitute yeah.” I take in a deep breath trying to calm myself before I speak again.

“
She’s it for me man. I’m hers and she’s mine. That’s how it’s been since the moment I met her and that’s how it’s always gonna be. No one will ever come between us again. I fucked that up once and lost four years of her and my daughter’s life. I’m not going to mess this up again and I’m
not
going to miss any more time with them. You were lucky enough to have her in your life for the time you did, you know how special she is Jace, so you know how serious I am when I say I won’t ever let her go. I’m going to marry her just like I should have all those years ago and I’m not going to let anyone stop me. You feel me?” he doesn’t say anything.

“Meaning, I’m not going to let
you
stop me. You touch either of my girls again and I swear I
will
kill you and next time I won’t show you any pity, no matter how pathetic you look. Harley may have a soft spot for you putting up with all your bullshit but I won’t. You got me?” He finally looks at me sadly and gives me a small forced smile but all I see is sadness in his eyes as he nods slowly.

“I get you man. I’m done
for real this time.” He lifts up both his hands in surrender. “I know she doesn’t love me but I love her enough to let her go. I know I’m not good enough for her, fucked up too many times to count.” His voice is raspy as if he’s holding back tears, “I fucking slapped her! I’m a monster who should be alone. She deserves to be happy...that’s all I ever wanted for the two of them.” He looks down at his beer then closes his eyes and chugs the rest.

Fucking dude knows how to pull on your hearts string
s and make you feel sorry for him. I know I’m going to regret what I’m about to say next but I’ve got a feeling that he needs to hear it.

“She still loves you man, it may not be
in the way you want her to but she does love you. So does Willow, they care deeply for you. Harley hasn’t said much about you taking her but I know she’s worried about you. I’m telling you this because I’ve got a feeling that you’re hanging by a thread and judging by the way you look, things aren’t good for you. It doesn’t seem like you’ve bathed or slept in days and you smell like a bottle of Jack. You’re killing yourself Jace and if you die... it’s going to hurt Harley. I’m sure you know her well enough to know she’ll blame herself. You say you love her? Then sort your shit out man! Get help, stop drinking, doing coke and deal with what’s happening. This pity party you’re throwing yourself isn’t helping anyone.”

I let out a deep breath, “God, can’t believe I’m even going to suggest this….
But if you do clean yourself up and get your act together, I’ll maybe....
maybe
think
about letting you see Willow and Harley if she wants you to, only then though. I should probably forbid you to see either of them but I’ve got a feeling it’ll only do worse.” I turn to look at him. His eyes are wide and his mouth hangs in shock. Then a frown appears and he blinks and shakes his head.

“
You’ve grown up a lot man, can even pack a punch. You’ll be able to protect her, she deserves someone like you and you’re good for her. I’ll sort my shit out and I’ll get cleaned up too. I promise you! I just want them happy and I want to be able to see Willow grow up. Hardest thing of my life was saying goodbye to that little girl.” He looks back up to me before he continues.

“
Sorry for that by the way, I’ll never step on anyone’s toes again or cross the line with Harley. I get she’s your woman and I’m stepping back. You’re so lucky you have her and I know that you won’t fuck it up, you lost her once... God knows you won’t do it again.” His eyes are all teary. He lets out a nervous chuckle and wipes away the tears with the back of his hand. “I remember you from the night of the car wreck you know. You were so fucking tall and scrawny, looked like a jock but you’re bigger now, tougher. Not the cocky kid I saw that night.” He says leaning forward on his elbows resting on his knees.

“You were so full of yourself. I was
pissed as fuck, wanted to hurt you so bad, even though you were badass and double my size I still wanted to rip her out of your fucking arms.” I say truthfully letting out a chuckle remembering how scared I was of him back then. So much has changed over the years.

“Well isn’t this fucking cute. Sorry to break up this little make out...err” he coughs, “make up session, but Caleb I just got word from one of the boys at the club, says your woman just left and was in one hell of a mood. Think you better get back and calm her down.” My heart swells whenever one of the boys from the club says
my woman
. I start chuckling and so does Jace before stopping to hiss in pain, holding his hands over his ribs.

“Knowing Harley
, she’s probably already stomping around your house slamming every damn door she can find.” Jace smiles shaking his head, maybe he truly wants Harley to be happy after all. I hope he follows through on all he promised but from what Brent told me, promises don’t mean shit to Jace.

“Better
get going then. You gave me your word Jace; follow through on it if you ever want to see Willow again.” I don’t wait for a response as I turn and head in the direction of my car. Jace clumsily stands up and stumbles into the house. Hunter follows me.

“
If Harley was mine? I would have killed him...” Hunter says through the silence, he lets out a deep breath and continues, “...but then again, we’re not the same type of man. What you did there with Jace? You gave him hope, gave him something to work for. That was big of you; no other man I know would have dealt with the problem like you just did. They would’ve used the fact that he’s a wreck to their advantage and taken him down… but you didn’t do that. From where I was standing it would’ve been easier to kick his ass solid just like you intended when you walked in there but instead you threw pity on him and gave him something to work on and hope for in the future. That must have been fucking hard for you, considering what he did to your girl. You’re a good guy Caleb and good for her. Jace never deserved her. He wasn’t good enough for her... I told her that from the start but she’s too fucking stubborn and wouldn’t listen. You look after her man.” He moves his hand toward me for a handshake and when I place my hand in his, he pulls me to him hard and pats my back in some sort of man hug. I slap his back a few times too. I almost want to tell him that Harley isn’t his and explain to him how close I was to ending Jace but after the little speech he just gave I don’t want to ruin his moment.

“I love Harley and Willow more than my own life. That little girl adores Jace, sees
him as an uncle and she keeps asking about him. If I had to kill the fucker, my heart would break every time my little girl asked me about him and I can’t lie to her man. With that being said, I don’t trust him with Harley at-fucking-all, let that be known, but I think the two of them have a lot of unresolved issues that need to be sorted out on their own terms before Harley can really open her heart to me. I love her enough to spare his life and be the better person. He needs to sort his shit out though, deal with his own issues and stop the drugs and drinking before I will even
consider
letting him near my girls.” I climb into the car; Hunter doesn’t say anything just nods his head like he usually does.

I start the car and drive
away.

There’s
somewhere I need to stop before I go home though, I still have all that pent up anger built up inside me. Since I didn’t get to release it when I planned on beating the shit out of Jace I need to get it out before I go home and Harley sees how tense I am. She’ll know something’s wrong and I don’t want to take my agitation out on her.

I park in the dark parking lot
in front of the gym that I recently opened.

It’s open 24/7 but I don’t go through the front door. I unlock the metal door at the back
in the alley and with some force I manage to open the heavy thing. The door makes a noise as it opens and I’m overwhelmed by the darkness from inside. I feel along the wall for the light switch and with one flip the entire basement lights up. The basement still has some work to be done but in a month or two I know it will be perfect, just the way I planned it.

Grimm,
Hunter and Brent are the only ones that know about the underground fighting ring I’m building. I haven’t found the nerve to tell Harley about it yet, I’m not sure how she will feel about the entire situation. I will tell her eventually and I’ll also have to tell her about Grimm being my business partner when it comes to running the illegal side of things. There’s actually a lot I need to speak to Harley about, I know it’s bothering her and I know I’ve been avoiding giving her direct answers or finding ways to put it off. I’m just not ready to tell her yet, I’m afraid of what she’ll think of me… I’m afraid she’ll take Willow and run.

This fighting ring will be nothing like those fucking grungy places I fought in. It’s going to be professional and swanky with security, and even though it won’t be on the map we’ll make sure to fill the space with a wealthy audience. It’ll be my responsibility to make sure all the fighters are looked after. Not like those fucking bastards who are only in it for the money, and don’t care what weight class you are in. Putting up an eighteen year old stick thin boy against a thirty four year old meat-head won’t happen in my place.