Page 60 of The Way We Fight

“Did it ever occur to you that he wanted you to leave because he felt the same way about you and knew he couldn’t pursue you if you were employed by the NFL?” Mom and I were done eating and her shock had turned into motherly concern.

I tilted my head back and forth, mulling over what she had just said. Was it possible that Levi wanted me to quit because he loved me? Was that even the right thing to do?

“I think he wanted me out of his way. I think he knew we were too risky for our careers.”

“So, it would seem he was right.” It was more of a statement than a question.

“Yeah, I guess so. But I never considered being the one to leave. I worked too hard for that job.”

“What do you want more? Him or the job?”

I laughed, loud and almost manic at that question because the truth was what hurt the most. “Doesn’t matter. I won’t get Levi, and after this season, I’ll be traveling all over for games like regular officials, so I won't even have to see him as much. I just have to get through the rest of this year and then it will be like none of this ever happened.”

“If you're in love, it won't be that easy,” Mom reminded me. “You have to at least talk to him.”

“I have two weeks until the next game. By then, I’ll have built a defensive front around my heart.”

* * *

While I was at mom’s, I left my phone in the car, so when I got back in to drive home, I saw the twelve missed calls and forty-seven text messages from the guys at the gym. No one was specific, they just said to call ASAP. Axton and Bond were the main ones, but there were a couple of calls from Bobby as well.

My heart immediately went to my throat, worry coursing through me the way all my other feelings did. I called Bond back first, not brave enough yet to talk to Bobby after the show I caused with Levi before the fight, but Bond didn't answer.

Next, I tried Axton, but his phone also went to voicemail.

Something bad happened, I could feel it. I somehow managed to drive home but was unable to get out of my car from how sick I felt.

After a few minutes, I got the courage to call Bobby and as if he was waiting on the call, he answered quickly. “You okay, Kid?”

“Yeah, just had lunch with mom and forgot my phone in the car,” I explained.

“I just wanted you to know Sisco beat the shit out of your boyfriend.” His voice was calm, like he hadn't just ripped me apart with his words.

“Is he okay?”

“He walked to the ambulance, if that's what you mean.” Bobby sounded as if he was talking about the weather. Like he didn't have a care in the world. He should have been happy Sisco won, mad that I hadn't been honest with him about Levi, or maybe even sad that he put in all that work for me to end up begging him not to even fight.

“The ambulance?” I swallowed.

“We called one as a precaution, but he seemed to be okay.” A sigh of relief escaped me, and Bobby snorted on the other end of the phone. “You let me arrange a fight knowing that he was Levi Peyton.”

“You had already planned the crowd and the bets before I even had a chance to tell you,” I explained, like I was a little girl and Bobby was in charge of my punishment.

“I do that all the time, Charleigh. But I would have never intentionally outed a fighter who wanted to remain anonymous. That isn't my style.”

I rolled my eyes because Bobby was only upset that the fighter was famous. Had it been any joe-blow from the streets, he wouldn't have cared about how that fighter felt about it. He always relied on the payout being enough to smooth things over. Levi didn't care about the money Bobby offered him after the fight, I could guarantee that. More than anything, Bobby was probably embarrassed.

“It was never my place to tell anyone, anything. I never told Levi about your plans, either.”

“But you wanted to, didn’t you? You came barreling in here earlier wanting to save him.”

“He and I have enough on our plates on the field, adding more drama because of the fight seemed like too much.”

“Well, I’ll let you two work that out, then,” he sighed. “I just wanted to tell you one thing. And you are the only person that I am telling this to, you got me?”

“Okayyy.”Great, more secrets.

“Peyton blew the fight. He had Sisco so far down that in a vote, he would have won. Sisco was barely holding on. He allowed Sisco one good hit and when I say he allowed it, he dropped his defense and let it happen.”